Synopsis
Keishin Ukai is the head coach of Karasuno High's boys' volleyball club and the grandson of its former legendary coach, Ikkei Ukai. In high school he played setter himself, wearing the number 2 jersey, though he didn't see official match time until the starting setter was sidelined. It was during those years, facing Nekoma repeatedly, that he first became friends with Manabu Naoi.
By habit, Ukai is a fairly typical man in his twenties — he smokes, drinks, and talks about both with a casualness that raises eyebrows among his players' parents. On the surface he seems lazy and perpetually irritable, more likely to be found reading a newspaper with his feet on the counter at the family store than actively working. Underneath that, though, is a genuinely sharp coaching mind and real dedication: he rearranged his entire work schedule, starting far earlier each morning, just to free up time to coach Karasuno.
Once the team's high-school run had ended, Ukai took over running the family store while continuing to coach Karasuno's volleyball club.
