Keishin Ukai

Keishin Ukai runs a small convenience store and seems entirely uninterested in volleyball when Karasuno's students track him down. Gruff, sharp-tongued, and quick with a cigarette, he brushes off the idea of coaching at first — until he actually watches the team play and something in him shifts.

Tanaka's voice work gives Ukai a lazy, unbothered drawl that cracks just enough when volleyball comes up to hint at more underneath. The show uses his reluctance as a slow-burn reveal, letting his competence and history surface gradually rather than all at once, which makes his eventual investment in the team feel earned rather than convenient.