Katta Oosawa

Katta Oosawa is a first-year at Johnan Public High School. He plays the position of outside hitter on the volleyball team and wears jersey #9.

Appearance
Katta is 174 centimeters tall and has a muscular build. He has lots of curly, brown hair, and brown eyes. This hair often prompts many people to call him a delinquent, although he isn't one, and to not take him seriously. He also has very strong legs as a result of years of beach volleyball on Okinawa. He is considered by a few girls on Johnan's basketball team to be cute.

Personality
Katta is rebellious, energetic, determined, headstrong, and positive, but he can be simple-minded, and gets angry when people call him "Curly" or look down on him because of his height. He enjoys proving people wrong and spiking, and is good at finding the positive side of negative situations, like when he and Akira were assigned to be Johnan's cheer squad instead of being players. He started coming up with his own cheers as he mopped the gym floor while Akira sulked angrily. Katta is very free-spirited and hates any form of restriction or rules that don't allow him to play as freely as he wants, and enjoys volleyball that makes him feel satisfied.

Katta is also very confident with and proud of his athletic and muscular body, often rolling up the sleeves on his shirts and jerseys to expose his arms and telling Sango that his legs are his pride, a result of all his years playing beach volleyball on Okinawa.

Seiryoh Tryouts Arc
Katta was originally dismissed from the tryout because he was one centimeter below the minimum height requirement, but he resisted, saying that the height requirement wasn't fair because the applicants weren't told about it before they applied and that he should be able to try out anyway. He said that he could jump higher than players who are above 180 cm tall, and proved it., although he ended up crashing into the coach. The coach finally allowed him to try out, but he had to work with Akira, which was difficult for both of the boys, who immediately disliked each other. After finally proving to Akira that he was worth playing with, Katta used his super-strong spike to score points and beat Seiryoh's huge blockers. He declined the offer to join the team, though, and was kicked out. He lead Akira to choose Johnan instead, because that was a place they believed they could play with their own free style instead of the rigid and restricted one of Seiryoh.

Johnan Volleyball Team Transformation Arc
Part of Akira's "transformation plan" was making Katta more reliable and increasing his already impressive jumping and spiking power. He made him do hundreds of squats every practice and they did extra spiking practice all the time, even using a dummy from the Home Economics classroom when none of their teammates were available to block. Katta worked really hard during this time and although he and Akira argued a lot, they were able to execute some very effective plays and continued to impress their teammates during practice.

Kanto Preliminaries Arc
In the first match of the preliminaries, Johnan played against Nanyou's team, known for being a strong team with an intimidating coach. Katta's intense attacks angered the coach and he influenced the referees and line judges to make unfair and dishonest calls, although they knew they were doing the wrong thing. Katta got discouraged after this, realizing that the opposing coach was targeting him and that it was his hits that were causing these false calls. He asked Akira to not set to him anymore, but Akira refused, since Katta was their best attacker. Finally, after some more strong spikes, the referees starting acting sensibly again and gave the point to Johnan, angering Nanyou's coach. This helped Katta get his confidence back and his attacks helped lead them to victory. Johnan won this match and their next matches, and they advanced to the next round of the preliminaries the next week.

Their next big match was against Seiryoh, the team they had been training to defeat. Some of Katta's spikes were blocked by Seiryoh's captain, Kaidou, but he kept doing his best and swinging hard. So many swings caused him to injure his right arm, and Johnan had to call a time-out to wrap a bandage around his arm and give him a little rest. His teammates, especially Akira and their manager, Sango, were worried about him, but Katta didn't lose his characteristic cocky confidence and headed right back into the game. He used his injured arm a few times, but with one set, he hit with his left hand, instead, shocking everybody. He had injured his left arm badly as a child, and hadn't hit with it since, but he realized he could still use it and shouldn't restrict himself. Johnan won the match, surprising everyone.

In the training after the match, Katta started practicing playing with his left hand more, and Akira often reminded him to do so if he reverted to his habit of swining with his right arm. This way, he would be a more adaptable and versatile player that could deal with different kinds of sets, making him overall a stronger and better player.

Akira Honda
Katta met Akira at the tryouts for the Seiryoh High Boys' Volleyball Team, and didn't like him much at first. He thought he was too prideful and too self-centered, and couldn't be a good setter because of those traits. He didn't want to work with Akira when the coach assigned them to be on the same team, but he did it anyway, so he could prove that he could play just as well as any of the taller guys. After working with him for a few points and then getting kicked out with him, though, Katta decided that Akira wasn't that terrible, and that there was a possibility that they could be friends. The two boys then attended Johnan Public High School the next year and helped revive the boys' volleyball team, and Katta and Akira developed their relationship as teammates and as friends. Katta still thinks Akira is too stuck-up, but he acknowledges his skill as a setter and is glad to be able to play on a team with him.

Sango Sakuraba
Their first encounter involved Sango flying through the air and kicking Katta in the face, resulting in them landing on the ground in a mess. Sango complained that she told Katta to get out of the way, but when she looked down at his face and realized he was a boy, she jumped up and called him a pervert. Katta replied that he wasn't a pervert or a weirdo, he was a volleyball player, and that he had to get to the gym. Sango came back later to watch the boys play, and was captivated by the intensity of the game. Later, she finds out that Katta and Akira will be boarding with her family. However, Katta and Sango end up becoming friends, because Sango likes his sweet personality and Katta likes her personality, too, and she becomes the team's manager, mainly because of him. She worries about him when his arm is injured, but cheers when Johnan wins.

Johnan Boys' Volleyball Team
Katta's relationships with the rest of his team members are positive, mainly because of his cheerful and adaptable personality, and because his skill and power helped revive the team. They respect him and look up to him as their "ace" attacker, and rely on him to score points in difficult situations. He seems to be the easiest team member to get along with (besides Sango and the three third-years) and he is quick to compliment his teammates on successful plays. He is inspiring to them, too, especially to Moriguchi, and they are motivated to work harder when they see his passion.

Trivia

 * He's good at diving, karaoke, and swimming
 * His best subjects at school are gym and music.
 * Likes the Japanese actress Aki Hoshino.
 * Favorite foods: yukimi daifuku, KFC
 * Hates shisa (sculptures of an Okinawan mythical animal), bitter gourds, and crabs.
 * He was banned from playing volleyball on Okinawa because of a violent incident that occurred during a game once.
 * He was probably born left-handed, but due to an injury to his left arm during his childhood, he uses his right hand/arm for everything.