Synopsis
Kei Tsukishima is a middle blocker for Karasuno High and the younger brother of former Karasuno player Akiteru Tsukishima. As a child he was noticeably more cheerful and proud of his brother, who claimed to be a starting player on the team. When Kei finally attended one of the games himself, he discovered Akiteru had actually been benched the entire time — a disappointment that cooled his enthusiasm for volleyball, and for trying hard at anything, for years afterward.
That history shaped the blunt, condescending manner that regularly needles his teammates, particularly Hinata, Kageyama, Nishinoya, and Ryuunosuke Tanaka. Underneath the smugness, though, Tsukishima genuinely doubts his own worth: even after being named MVP of a major match, he dismisses his own performance as unimpressive. His closest friend remains Tadashi Yamaguchi, whom he once shielded from bullies back in elementary school without fully meaning to.
After graduating, Tsukishima continued his education at college while playing for a Division 2 V.League club, with plans to eventually work at a city museum once his volleyball career winds down.
