Japan Women's NT 2024

    Manabe has not produced a single player that can be considered a promising talent on a global scale. Koga is not considered a global talent and if you have to ask then you're not paying attention. Mayu is currently the NT's best bet and all Manabe has done so far is hold her back. Meanwhile on the men's side they keep introducing hotter college phenoms that keep volleyballworld and their youtubers at the edge of their seats.


    VBW didn't even announce when the women's roster dropped but they put out an IG story about Santiago and Valdes lol. Yes I am aware that their social media manager is a Filipino it's common knowledge by now but still.

    Sportiva: I think you were on the bench for last year's Japan team, weren't you?


    Mayu: Yes, I did. Until now, I have not always been on the court because of my role in the team. But now that I have spent the season in Italy, I want to "show what I have done as much as possible in the Japan national team. Because of my experience here, I have a strong feeling of 'I'm going to do it.




    This is too vague. I wish she would have elaborated on what her role is. She also never mentioned any injuries as some of you suspected.


    Mayu is the type to take everything seriously and it sounds like the failures of the NT really sucked the fun out of playing for her. Yuki isn't this austere but he has better control over members and who he can count on. I don't know how it is for Mayu since she kept it vague.

    notice how her answer to every question is about her as an individual and is detached from the national team. as in I WILL PROVE TO EVERYONE THAT I CAN DO THIS. perhaps it's the way the questions were asked so her tone sounds like she was alienated or something but basically everything in that interview is centered on the things she needs to prove.


    could she not have done that last year? is it because inoue went to france even though she showed no significant growth but the fact that she played in france gave her the upperhand over mayu?

    Mayu also said ``There are times when I make a mistake and go, ``Ah...'', but I've learned to switch things up. Furthermore, when I score a goal, the people around me celebrate, and I've learned to be aggressive. I wasn't able to experience that in Japan.''


    This part didn't make sense to me but I realized she found joy in celebrating aggressively rather than just smiling all the time?

    Quote from Playmaker

    Mayu also said ``There are times when I make a mistake and go, ``Ah...'', but I've learned to switch things up. Furthermore, when I score a goal, the people around me celebrate, and I've learned to be aggressive. I wasn't able to experience that in Japan.''


    This part didn't make sense to me but I realized she found joy in celebrating aggressively rather than just smiling all the time?

    Initially I thought she was talking about the crowd as in the loud cheers from the crowd which is no longer a thing in vleague but now that you brought it up it's probably the rowdiness and excitement when they get a kill whereas in vleague most teams just smile and huddle. remember when kobata got hate for jumping around every time they scored?

    Quote from skorost

    notice how her answer to every question is about her as an individual and is detached from the national team. as in I WILL PROVE TO EVERYONE THAT I CAN DO THIS. perhaps it's the way the questions were asked so her tone sounds like she was alienated or something but basically everything in that interview is centered on the things she needs to prove.


    could she not have done that last year? is it because inoue went to france even though she showed no significant growth but the fact that she played in france gave her the upperhand over mayu?

    japan will get absolutely nowhere with inoue as a starter and even worse if kurogo comes back as opp. inoue is old, cant receive and she was never a key player for the nt until now and look where that got them. inoue is good as someone's sub she can do her best when someone else is doing better but not as someone who has to lead the offense.

    Quote from voly

    Initially I thought she was talking about the crowd as in the loud cheers from the crowd which is no longer a thing in vleague but now that you brought it up it's probably the rowdiness and excitement when they get a kill whereas in vleague most teams just smile and huddle. remember when kobata got hate for jumping around every time they scored?

    mayu isnt like energetic aggressive or crackhead aggressive but i feel like she wants to be able to express herself whenever she gets things done. she's really not about the whole smiling fanservice and old men more concerned with taking photos of the players than actually watching the game lmao

    The men's team has a Cuban player in their roster Alain De Armas. There was news of him marrying earlier this year or late last year but I can't say I know him at all. The men's side are evolving, the women's side are ....stuck. Manabe is so behind on everything you can't tell me otherwise.

    Quote from gkv

    The men's team has a Cuban player in their roster Alain De Armas. There was news of him marrying earlier this year or late last year but I can't say I know him at all. The men's side are evolving, the women's side are ....stuck. Manabe is so behind on everything you can't tell me otherwise.

    he was so busy with that american with a hundred versions of her name. but the nail in the coffin is getting kurogo fuck that shit what the hell is she gonna do that valdes can't do better and with 75% more efficiency

    Quote from sean1

    I just saw the men's roster. Where'd that Cuban player come from? how long has he been in Japan? Valdes has been playing since her HS days but her naturalization process is so slow

    No idea but he probably got everyone's attention when Suntory won the men's club championship. De Armas was placed in a top team while Valdes is in a bottom no direction team. The odds have always been against her.


    was otomo's daughter considered a trainee when they got her last year? i dont think ive heard of getting "trainees" in the nt before so the addition of valdes and santiago seems like it was prompted by jva and not because manabe was considering them.


    i was just thinking with kurogo, inoue and yoshino sato's addition that this team is doomed. but sato is his only popular with the locals new blood without a backbone while kurogo is most likely there for the buzz idk why inoue is even there at all. once he does use kurogo or bench mayu for inoue that way i can confirm that manabe has already given up.

    Quote from Raf

    was otomo's daughter considered a trainee when they got her last year? i dont think ive heard of getting "trainees" in the nt before so the addition of valdes and santiago seems like it was prompted by jva and not because manabe was considering them.


    i was just thinking with kurogo, inoue and yoshino sato's addition that this team is doomed. but sato is his only popular with the locals new blood without a backbone while kurogo is most likely there for the buzz idk why inoue is even there at all. once he does use kurogo or bench mayu for inoue that way i can confirm that manabe has already given up.

    No Otomo's daughter was officially in the wide roster. The only one who was sneaked in was Hitachi's Nonaka but she did not participate in any of Manabe's camps so to get unofficial "trainees" this close to the Olympics and likely his last term working with the NT is as bizarre as it gets

    I don't think we'll be getting any news, aside from Manabe's interview on volleyball channel which none of us have access to, until Mayu returns to Japan. Koga had an interview recently where she said she's excited to show the culmination of the team's efforts something like that. I didn't really read it just the caption. It sounds like she's still in NEC mode and the realization of qualifying hasn't kicked in yet. At least her pipe has improved a lot. I'm looking forward to seeing her in her best shape.

    Quote from sean1

    I just saw the men's roster. Where'd that Cuban player come from? how long has he been in Japan? Valdes has been playing since her HS days but her naturalization process is so slow

    Alain from the Men’s side also graduated in High School in Japan. He got his Japanese citizenship just last month as announced by his club.


    He graduated from a Japanese high school in March 2020. Melissa graduated 2021. No idea when they applied.

    Quote from volleyb

    Alain from the Men’s side also graduated in High School in Japan. He got his Japanese citizenship just last month as announced by his club.


    He graduated from a Japanese high school in March 2020. Melissa graduated 2021. No idea when they applied.

    Is this his first time in the NT or was he already in the NT prior to this year?