Hibiki Ookawa

Ookawa carries himself with the confidence expected of a recognized high-school ace. He is accustomed to being treated as an attacking focal point and readily accepts the responsibility of finishing the opportunities Team Y creates for him.

He can also be somewhat vain. Official profile material establishes that being told he looks cool makes him happy, while being left out bothers him. His interest in appearances and recognition fits the self-assurance he displays as Team Y's apparent star.

Unlike Niko, whose influence is initially concealed, Ookawa does not disguise what he wants to do. He positions himself as the obvious scoring threat and expects to capitalize when his teammates create an opening.

Ookawa's primary value is his ability as a forward and finisher. Before Blue Lock he was already recognized as Sennou High School's ace, indicating that his scoring ability had distinguished him at the prefectural high-school level.

Team Y uses that reputation strategically. Opponents naturally concentrate on Ookawa because he appears to be the team's central threat, allowing Niko to manipulate positioning and construct attacks from behind him.

Ookawa is therefore most effective as the endpoint of an organized attacking sequence. He makes threatening runs, attacks scoring areas and provides a player capable of converting the opportunities generated by Team Y's tactical structure.

Ookawa appears during the First Selection as one of Team Y's principal players. Team Z enters their match aware of his reputation and initially treats shutting him down as the key to stopping the opposition.

The match gradually reveals that Niko, rather than Ookawa, is the true tactical center of Team Y. Niko uses Ookawa as the visible attacking threat while controlling the flow of play from behind him, forcing Yoichi Isagi to identify the hidden structure of the opposition.

Ookawa scores for Team Y against Team Z, but Team Y ultimately loses the match. He does not advance beyond the First Selection, while Niko survives as Team Y's leading scorer.

Ikki Niko is Ookawa's most important teammate during the First Selection. Ookawa functions as Team Y's obvious ace while Niko secretly orchestrates the attacks designed to put him into scoring positions.

Yoichi Isagi faces Ookawa during Team Z's match with Team Y. Isagi initially focuses on Ookawa as the opponent's main danger before realizing that Ikki Niko is controlling the team's attacking structure from behind him.