WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 4, Episode 16 of Haikyuu!!, now streaming on Crunchyroll.
In its current season, Haikyuu!! has introduced Karasuno's newest opponents: Inarizaki High School and their star duo, the Miya twins. Referred to as "the best twins in the high school volleyball scene," Atsumu and Osamu Miya have proven themselves as a force to be reckoned with, especially considering how Atsumu trained with Kageyama at the All-Japan youth camp. The twins recently shocked everyone after imitating Hinata and Kageyama's infamous "freak quick" in Season 4, Episode 14.
Given this remarkable display of talent, it's no surprise that people would begin comparing our duo of protagonists to these new challengers. Are the Miya twins more skilled than Hinata and Kageyama at their own game? Let's conduct a deep dive into these players and how their abilities match up.
Because they're both setters, Kageyama and Atsumu make for a relatively simple one-to-one comparison. They each have a talent for setting the ball with astonishing accuracy, which explains the Miyas having replicated Karasuno's quick attack. Hinata got fired up after witnessing Atsumu's flawless set to Osamu, seemingly excited that someone other than Kageyama could potentially match his speed. Additionally, Atsumu can perform both a jump serve and float serve, compared to Kageyama's singular jump serve.
But is Kageyama just an inferior version of Atsumu? To answer that question, you need to understand how Kageyama's mindset has progressed throughout the series. The former "King of the Court" has more to him than what meets the eye.
Kageyama used to be a tyrannical presence on the volleyball court, setting based on his own opinion of what would lead the team to victory. However, due to his time with Karasuno, he learned to trust his teammates and communicate with them properly. He adapted to what each spiker needed, and Atsumu called him a "goody-two-shoes" for doing so. Based on this interaction, we can conclude Atsumu likely hasn't achieved the same level of self-reflection that Kageyama has.
As for Hinata and Osamu, these two can be compared in two different aspects: pure athleticism and strategic ability. Hinata clearly has the upper hand when it comes to physical fitness, and even the twins couldn't help but marvel at how "springy" he was. However, Osamu seems to be more advanced intellectually, claiming to be the brains of the operation when Atsumu supposedly "mentally regresses" during matches. Hinata's self-awareness has grown throughout To The Top, so he's not merely relying on instinct anymore, either.
Ultimately, who should be considered the better duo: the dysfunctional twins who've been together since birth, or the unlikely pair of players who embody different extremes? Skills-wise, the Miya dynamic tends to focus on Atsumu more so than Osamu, causing them to seem a bit unbalanced; but admittedly, this perception could be attributed to knowing limited information about them from the anime. Plus, being unbalanced shouldn't matter as long as you can win.
Furthermore, since Hinata and Kageyama are the protagonists, they naturally receive extensive character development, so viewers are inclined to know more about them than the Miyas. Comparatively, the Miya twins seem to be set up as two-dimensional antagonists, though that could change in episodes to come. Based on the amount of information available, it's safe to say that fans thoroughly understand Hinata and Kageyama's dynamic, but there's no way of knowing for certain if that means they work better together. We'll have to wait and see who comes out on top -- Karasuno or Inarizaki -- to make a final decision.
