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Official Haikyuu!! Day
August 19th holds the title of Official Haikyuu!! Day in Japan due to the clever play on words where "Haikyuu" can be interpreted as 8.1.9. A frustrated Haikyuu fan can only wonder: will there be some good news for us?
Haikyuu is undoubtedly one of the most popular sports manga of all time. It has remained in the Top 20 Best-Selling Manga in 2022 despite ending in 2020, and its online presence has continued to thrive since 2014. The series has seen a multitude of adaptations, such as the ever-popular Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu which has secured a renewed run, as well as the four seasons of its anime adaptation.
Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyuu!! Itadaki no Keshiki (2016) featuring
Kenta Suga as Shoyo Hinata and Tatsunari Kimura as Tobio Kageyama.
Fans have been waiting for years for new anime announcements. There was a huge gap between the third season and the fourth season, with the latter suffering from some animation hiccups due to the effects of the pandemic. Since the manga already ended, there were doubts about the possibility of a new Haikyuu anime. Fortunately, it was announced last year that there will be a sequel to the fourth season: there will be two movies, and it will be called Haikyuu!! Final.
Needless to say, there was confusion over the news. Of course, we’ll get a fifth season and two movies, right? Right?
The official illustration for Haikyuu!! FINAL.
But no. Much to our dismay, we were all let down by the news. There is no Season 5. There are only two movies, which are approximately less than two hours each. And the catch? They have to fit more than a hundred manga chapters in those two movies.
Will they be able to finish the entirety of Shoyo Hinata’s story in less than four hours?
The Story So Far
From the moment Shoyo Hinata caught a glimpse of the Little Giant, a volleyball player who seemed to defy gravity on television, his life took an irrevocable turn. This spectacle ignited his passion for volleyball, leading him to his first rival during middle school: Tobio Kageyama, a prodigious setter notorious as the King of the Court. Upon entering Karasuno High School, Hinata aspired to enhance his skills in anticipation of a rematch with Kageyama—a twist of fate that ultimately aligned them as teammates on the same side of the court.
Kageyama sees Hinata’s potential in their first match in middle school.
Hinata and Kageyama got the nickname "freak duo" owing to their remarkable technique, which included Hinata performing powerful spikes off Kageyama's lightning-fast sets even with his eyes closed. Following a pivotal defeat in the first season, the Karasuno team recognized the need for growth to elevate their performance. After defeating Aoba Johsai in the semifinals, Karasuno also defeated Shiratorizawa in the finals, which earned them a spot at Nationals. In its fourth season, Karasuno faced the powerful Inarizaki team at Nationals, navigating the challenges posed by the skilled Miya twins.
Kageyama and Hinata, as seen at the end of the Inarizaki match.
Future Manga Arcs
Following Karasuno's decisive victory against Inarizaki, their next challenge awaits in the iconic Battle at the Garbage Dump against Nekoma. During their practice matches at the joint training camp, Karasuno and Nekoma have repeatedly clashed, and Nekoma's incredible ability to keep the ball from touching the ground has proven to be a big challenge for Karasuno.
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The fated Battle at the Garbage Dump.
Karasuno also gets to challenge Kamomedai, a powerhouse team that has always been a mainstay at Nationals. However, misfortunes befall Karasuno one after another, which led to their untimely exit from Nationals.
The first meeting of Hinata and Kamomedai’s Kourai Hoshiumi in Season 4.
After graduation, the team members venture down their own different paths. While some opt to retire from volleyball after high school, others, like Kageyama, continue their journey as professional athletes. In contrast, Hinata went on a completely different route, traveling all the way to Brazil to hone his skills in beach volleyball. There are only two people needed in beach volleyball, and a player needs to serve, block, spike and set all by themselves, which he thinks would be helpful once he transitioned back to indoor volleyball. Upon his return to Japan, he emerges as an entirely transformed player, setting the stage for an epic showdown between his team and Kageyama's team.
How will the remaining arcs be adapted?
Needless to say, over a hundred chapters of the manga means that there are still a lot of arcs that are waiting to be animated. Season 4 has already suffered from a lot of cuts due to time restrictions, and the match between Nekoma and Fukurodani, with both teams boasting devoted fan followings, had to be cut off from the rest of the season and were adapted as a two episode OVA instead. And since the match, which wasn’t even short in the manga, had to compressed in two episodes, we got an arc full of cuts with a ridiculously fast pacing.
The Land vs. Air OVA, featuring the match between Nekoma and Fukurodani.
Now take the fast pacing of the Nekoma vs. Fukurodani OVA, and make it even faster, since we have 110 chapters of manga to animate. How will they even adapt the Nekoma and Kamomedai matches, as well as the Brazil and Timeskip arcs in less than four hours? That’s mind boggling, to say the least, considering that the third season, which has ten episodes, only consisted of a single match and it even had considerable cuts. Will the matches in the movie even have as much impact as the manga if they cut down lots of material, including the backstories of the characters?
The brilliance of Haikyuu lies in its exceptional character writing. Delving into characters' pasts has consistently been a hallmark of Furudate-sensei's storytelling, and gaining insight into the inner workings of opponents has consistently cultivated a sense of endearment even for rival teams. With two movies at its helm, they will be forced to focus solely on Karasuno.
It has already been announced that the first of the two final movies will be focused on the Battle of the Garbage Dump—the match against Nekoma. and while it is still unconfirmed, considering that the first movie focused on the Nekoma match, the second movie will most likely focus on the Kamomedai match, with a brief segue of the Brazil arc, as well as a fleeting glimpse of Hinata and Kageyama’s professional match. In fact, they have already done so in the first run of the stage play—they combined the Kamomedai, Brazil and the Timeskip arcs in one show that they ended up glossing over the arcs after the Kamomedai match. Such a thing will be a missed opportunity for more sales though, since the Timeskip arc opens possibilities for more merchandise. Of course, if they just glossed over the much awaited final arc, fans will definitely get angry, considering just how well-received the ending was.
Hinata in Brazil.
The most ideal adaptation will be this: have a two-cour fifth season, as well as two movies. The first movie can deal with Hinata’s journey in Brazil, while the second movie will be about Hinata and Kageyama’s match as professionals. However, the producers seem to be hell-bent on taking the movie route instead of producing another season for the anime, given the success of anime movies for series like Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and most recently, Slam Dunk. If this is the case, then they should have decided on three movies instead. In fact, despite all the cuts, having three movies will be perfect if they really want it to be in movie format—the first movie and second movies will be about the Nekoma and Kamomedai matches, and the third movie will focus on Brazil and the Timeskip arc. Seeing the final match in theaters will truly be a satisfying experience for the fans who have been waiting for it to be animated for years.
There are also speculations that they might take the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train route by releasing it first as a movie, then making a new season with the movie, in addition to the new scenes that were cut from the manga. Others have also said that Haikyuu might just pull off an Attack on Titan, where the finale season was cut into several parts. We still have no idea if Haikyuu will go through the same fate, but hopefully it will get the adaptation that it rightfully deserves.
Hinata and Kageyama’s reunion at the court as professional volleyball players.
The Haikyuu fandom is still in denial about the adaptation. While there are some that have accepted it and are just happy to have more Haikyuu, the fandom remains in unison that the rest of the Nationals and the final arc deserve a full adaptation. After all, if Toho can do it for Yowamushi Pedal and Production I.G. can do it for Kuroko no Basket, why can’t they do it for Haikyuu? Considering the number of merchandise being produced for the series every month as well as the manga sales still being on top despite the manga ending for years, Haikyuu fans surely have the capacity to spend for it.
As of this writing, only two movies have been confirmed, with the first movie focusing on the Nekoma match. It still hasn’t been announced if there will be a third movie, but there’s still some hope—a miracle might happen and they might announce something at the Haikyuu Send-Off Party in September. Keep your fingers crossed, fellow Haikyuu fans! And while waiting, make sure to read the manga and buy some Haikyuu merch on ZenPlus.
What do you think?
What will happen to Karasuno at the end of Nationals?
Who will win in the first professional showdown of Hinata and Kageyama?
Will a miracle even happen and they’ll end up announcing a fifth season or a third final movie in the future?
Let us know in the comments or drop us a line on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook)! We’d love to hear from you!
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You can watch Haikyuu!! on Amazon Prime, Crunchyroll, Bilibili and Netflix.
About the Writer
Cristy is a freelance artist and writer who has been obsessed with anime and manga since childhood. Her love for these imaginative worlds fuels her creative endeavors, and she shows no signs of stopping anytime soon.
