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Kenjirō Shirabu (Japanese: 白布賢二郎 Shirabu Kenjiro) is a second year setter from Shiratorizawa Academy .
Appearance
He has copper colored hair that's parted unevenly into two sides, brown-gray eyes, and a small build.
Personality
He is respectful towards his upperclassmen but tends to bicker with Goshiki, a first year. Though he appears serious and composed, Shirabu is extremely hot-headed and gets annoyed at nearly every move his opponents pull. However, he is capable of recomposing himself quickly.
Shirabu is very studious and hardworking, spending all of his free time studying in order to pass the difficult entrance exam for Shiratorizawa. During junior high, he had good grades.
Background
Shirabu is the only player on Shiratorizawa's Boys' Volleyball Team who didn't get into the school with a sports scholarship. He took the exam to get into Shiratorizawa in hopes of being able to play with tall and strong players after watching Ushijima play in junior high.
During junior high[1], Shirabu would watch Kitagawa Daiichi and Shiratorizawa play in the finals. He noted that outstanding teamwork and attacks never stood out to him; height and strength were what mattered, but his own team didn't have very tall players or a strong ace. Shiratorizawa, Ushijima in particular, stood out to him because it fit the qualities Shirabu wanted, but he didn't think they would want a setter who is self-conscious.
Set on playing for Ushijima and Shiratorizawa, Shirabu began to change his playing style (which included a strong presence and lots of quick strikes) to a self-effacing style where he focuses solely on simple, high tosses to bring out the ace's power.
Plot
Interhigh Arc
Shiratorizawa's featured on TV after destroying Ougiminami.
In Block H, Shiratorizawa played against Ougiminami and completely crushed them (2:0 / 25-10, 25-6)[2]. Shiratorizawa eventually went up against Aobajōsai in the finals[3]. Even though Shiratorizawa was leading, Aobajousai held on, leading spectators to think that Aobajousai could have a chance at winning. Near the end of the second set, Shiratorizawa messed up a receive and some of the spectators stated that Shiratorizawa couldn't perform a quick now; Shirabu simply replied that it didn't matter because Ushijima doesn't need a quick to blast through the blockers. The match ended with (2:0 / 25-22, 25-23) and Shirabu headed off the court right behind Ushijima.
Spring High Preliminary Arc
On the first day of the Spring High, led by Ushijima, Shiratorizawa entered the Sendai City Gymnasium. As usual, Shirabu walked next to Ushijima.
Shiratorizawa’s first match was on Court A against Araigawa (2:0 / 25-15, 25-12)[4]. Sometime later, as Karasuno was dominating its way through the matches, Shirabu asked Ushijima who he thought they were going to go against in the finals. Ushijima simply replied that it didn't matter because either way, Shiratorizawa would win[5].
In the end, Shiratorizawa's opponent for the finals was Karasuno[6]. Before the match started, Shirabu set for his teammates during the warm ups. As the team was getting ready, Goshiki stated that no matter who the opponents are, his team can use its strength to defeat them. Shirabu cut in and told him to improve his strength first before saying those things. Goshiki got annoyed, but Tendou quickly stepped in and complimented him, cutting the conversation off.
The match soon began and Shiratorizawa scored point after point. Shirabu avoided quick strikes and other moves that Kageyama performed, instead choosing to stay with simple high tosses. However, Karasuno soon picked up momentum and Ushijima started seeing them as a real threat. With a serious expression, he commanded Shirabu to send his next toss to him, surprising Shirabu. Shirabu listened and tossed to him, and he scored easily.
Initially, Shirabu played calmly, confident that his team would win. Kageyama started playing more aggressively by using unpredictable moves to throw off Tendou and Shirabu began to get annoyed. During a timeout[7], he was called over by Eita Semi who told him to think of how to utilize Ushijima. Already knowing what to do, Shirabu brushed the third year off and went back onto the court.
Near the end of the second set, Shirabu pulled off a dump shot, bringing Shiratorizawa to match point. He thought coldly that his job isn't to only rely on the ace. Soon afterwards, Kageyama performed a dump of his own in retaliation, annoying Shirabu. The two exchanged challenging looks (an angered glare, in Shirabu's case). Since then, Shirabu only got more frustrated, losing sight of his opponents–Tsukishima especially. Impatiently, he tossed to Ushijima, only to accidentally create an opening which Tsukishima took advantage of to block Ushijima[8].
Shiratorizawa lost that set and both teams had a break. Tendou tried to cheer Shirabu up, but he recovered quickly by himself by slapping his own cheeks; all of his anger from earlier disappeared in an instant. Shiratorizawa then went on to easily win the third set.
Statistics
| High School Statistics | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Power | 2/5 | ||
| Jumping | 3/5 | ||
| Stamina | 4/5 | ||
| Game Sense | 4/5 | ||
| Technique | 4/5 | ||
| Speed | 3/5 | ||
Several people in Shiratorizawa have stated that Shirabu gives off a good sense of security and is a stable setter. He's been said to have quite the solid hands. When the receives are bit off, he'll give a high set that utilizes the wing spiker's strength.
Relationships
Wakatoshi Ushijima
Shirabu has been seen with Ushijima the most out of all the other players. Shirabu would point things out about the opponents to Ushijima, though he would usually reply "it doesn't matter". Shirabu greatly admires Ushijima, having enrolled in Shiratorizawa just because he wanted to play with the third year. At an unspecified date prior to the Shiratorizawa match, he promised to toss to Ushijima no matter what, at Ushijima's request. Ushijima brings it up again during the match to remind Shirabu. When Shirabu brings it up himself, remarking that it only applies to Ushijima as long as he's useful, Ushijima smiles and acknowledges it.
Tsutomu Goshiki
Shirabu doesn't get along with him well. Whenever Goshiki gets overly excited, he insults him. However, they get along quite well in court in a unique sense. Shirabu trusts the ball to Goshiki, if Ushijima wasn't the one to get it. He sets it to him with zero hesitation, and trusts him to score a point. Shirabu does insult Goshiki off court, however in court, he actually compliments Goshiki like the others ("Nice receive!").
Trivia
- Favorite Food: shirasu (whitebait).
- Current Concern: Wants to be taller.
- He and Kawatabi of Wakutani South used to be teammates in middle school.[9]
- During the Interhigh, Shirabu had the number 11[10]. However, in the anime, he's shown with number 10 throughout the two tournaments.
- His star sign is Taurus.
- Nomenclature
- Kenjiro (賢二郎) - Intelligent second son
- Shirabu (白布) - white cloth
- Nomenclature
Quotes
- "Who cares if it's accurate or not. You can all eat shit." (Chapter 164)
- "My job isn't to only rely on Ushijima-senpai but it isn't to demonstrate my own strength and pride either. It is to portray the strongest ace in the country in the best light." (Chapter 160)
- "I will be the most brilliant, yet reserved, setter ever." (Chapter 165)