Tanaka has a shaved head with a widow's peak and sharp blue-grey eyes (golden brown in the manga colored illustrations) which led many to mistake him as a delinquent. Back in his first year at Karasuno, Tanaka had short fuzzy hair dyed in a light color (blond in the anime). He is average in height and has a lean, but strong build. He tends to make intimidating faces to try to scare others, which Daichi scolds him for as he claims they make him look foolish instead of scary.