Theatrical follow-up to Haikyuu!! TO THE TOP 2. The first film of Haikyuu!! FINAL.
The Spring Nationals tournament continues on, with Karasuno High matched against rivals Nekoma High,
the fated battle between cats versus crows, also known as the highly anticipated “Dumpster Battle”.
This match is the long awaited ultimate showdown between two opposing underdog teams.
(Source: Crunchyroll, edited)
I am writing this review after 5 hours of finishing the movie in the cinema and I felt it was great and not that great at the same time. I finished the anime about 3 months ago and I'm used to the 8-12 episodes tournament style of story telling. They'll normally spend 2-3 episodes doing flashbacks and hyping the audience up for the finale. However, since this movie was only around 2 hours long, they don't have the luxury to include all characters' back stories, how their parents died, how volleyball was their way of life, their revenge arc etc. (That was obviously a joke). It does some comedic relief at the start of the movie, it felt like getting the audience warmed up for the story. In between these comedic skits there would be sudden pauses and the whole mood would get serious but it's back to comedy again. In the later half of the movie shit hits the fan and they get serious... yet they don't. In previous matches Karasuno has played. It felt like a kill or get killed situation. The vibe was very tense, the mood was very sharp and the players were out for the taste of victory. But in this match (Karasuno vs Nekomata) it felt like a match to settle their long rivalry, and not as tense as the previous matches. Maybe this is because it's been a while since I finished the anime and my mind has overhyped the previous matches or whatnot but that's how I felt after I've calmed down and gathered my thoughts. I can't elaborate the details of what happened but for those who have watched the movie and would like to know my shit takes, I'll include a spoiler section very down below. Putting that aside, by no means am I saying this was not a hype movie. The cinema does the anime justice with it's godly sound system, a lot of times I found myself in tears (not crying) because of how loud the sound of the volleyball hitting the ground is, it felt like I was really watching a volleyball match at the front row. Other than that, the animation quality also went up. Instead of wide shots (shots where the viewers can see the whole court and where the ball is going), they included more "follow the ball" shots, basically instead of showing a zoomed out view of the court, they zoomed into it and also tracked the ball to make the vibe more intense. I don't know if they used CGI or not but as far as I can see, it was all hand drawn. I couldn't notice any CGI being used. OH and also they included a first person POV shot of what it feels like to play on court, damn that was epic. To conclude this review, the ending of the movie really caught me off guard. "That's it?" was what was left in my mind when I saw the ending and sat partly through the credits, letting the whole movie sink in. Maybe that's exactly what the director wanted it to be, a not so tense friendly match of long rivals as opposed to a hardcore game of call of duty. Whatever the case may be, I didn't like it that much. Feel free to DM me anything. Though I'm not active on this site. === Spoiler section === ~!The reason why I said it wasn't as hyped is because in the previous matches they were literally fighting to fight Nekomata. So they had to qualify in order to fight it, they're basically putting their dream on the line on every match and betting it all to win. The movie however, everyone was smiling. Even when Nekomata lost they still smiled, there was no one that was crying... actually there was but the whole mood was too positive for me to feel like it was a life or death situation. Typing this I realise I'm a too pessimistic person.!~
# ~~~___It's a worthwhile Dumpster Battle___~~~ ~~~Before diving into the movie, Haikyuu on the whole deserves to be entitled to the best sports anime of the decade. It’s been a decade since Haikyuu was aired on screen and after coming so far, it’s undoubtedly come out on top with incredible popularity, not just in the ACGN community, but newbies are attracted to it as well. At this point, what’s so special about this anime that it should be the best sports anime? --- youtube(https://youtu.be/Wb-EeKm497o?si=IA1KGY3ERF-rQVEp) --- Well, in my opinion, the reason lies in the plot's setting, which avoids exaggerating the sports or the characters' capabilities with insane supernatural elements often found in other sports anime. Instead of relying on superpowers, Haikyuu focuses on a team of underdogs that is about to rise. As a typical and deep-seated shounen anime, everything begins from the bottom, and Haikyuu showcases many iconic moments along the way. In this case, the concept behind these iconic moments is likewise not exaggerated. Haikyuu consistently emphasizes the characters' growth and resilience in overcoming adversity. Some flashbacks, interactions, or conversations may seem casual, but they serve as crucial foreshadowing, building up to iconic scenes for particular characters step by step. Besides, the references designed for the teams have made each match significant and have stimulated the plot. For example, the main team is alluded to as crows due to its name, 'Karasuno' (烏野), and the team's quick, synchronized attacking playstyle that imitates crows. Not gonna lie, these references make the volleyball battles look impressive but not absurd. In the movie, this was exemplified by 'the dumpster battle' between the crows (Karasuno) and the cats (Nekoma), who have always been fated and historical rivals. img(https://lostinanime.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Haikyuu-12-3.jpg) The movie begins with a flashback of Kenma and Hinata, highlighting their battle as one of the key focuses. Flashbacks are common yet crucial tools that can enhance the depth of the plot; however, they can have the opposite effect if misused. The dumpster battle includes flashbacks that are particularly convincing. These flashbacks are necessary for a better understanding of the characters, especially for Nekoma's members like Kuro and Kenma. Every flashback featuring Kenma reminiscing during the match builds up to his gratitude towards his teammate Kuro, culminating in Kenma's renewed passion for volleyball by the end of the match. Additionally, flashbacks of players from both teams from previous seasons emphasize the bond between Karasuno and Nekoma, significantly intensifying the match's emotional impact. Though the movie's pace was consistently maintained and optimized with flashbacks to draw the audience's attention back from the intense match, I still can't help but wish for a better adaptation, as it’s challenging to fit everything into 1 hour and 30 minutes. Additionally, the match's ending felt abrupt and lacked the excitement of previous matches. However, this was just a minor flaw in the overall experience. The movie certainly deserves to be watched on the big screen, as it offers new and exciting elements throughout. Notably, the visual representation of Kenma’s point of view on the court was impressive. Kenma also exhibited a hint of sadism as he trapped and pressured Hinata during the match. Despite Kenma's cunning tactics, it was fascinating to see Karasuno adapt and counterattack effectively. Karasuno delivered many surprises, especially with Hinata, who continued to show significant improvement in this match. img(https://images4.alphacoders.com/117/thumb-1920-1177553.jpg) To sum it up, the experience of watching on the big screen was truly enjoyable, with impressive animation and sound effects. Although I expected a more dramatic ending to the match, the overall performance was decent and satisfying, making it worth the ticket. Haikyuu remains the best sports anime in recent years. With only one movie left to conclude the story, I hope for a finale that lives up to the high standards set by the series. As someone who hasn't read the manga, I look forward to a fitting end to this outstanding anime. ~~~ ~!Next vs Kamomedai !!!!~
aight. i've been thinking about a review, especially about this movie and i wanted to share my opinions and thoughts. so i'm gonna go for i!!. it's my first one though, so bear with me!! (>▽<) soo, the dumpster battle, an awaited anime movie, i would say. at least, one i was waiting for. and, i was pleasantly shocked - and sadly, a bit disappointed. **first**, one of the most disappointing things right off the bat is that so many chapters were shoved into this movie. i feel like a lot of the negative things i am about to address could have been prevented if this factor was not a thing. many small/important/fun details were excluded, and it was so sad!! **second**, i feel like it was very centered on hinata and kenma. don't get me wrong, i love the idea of focusing on those two. they're fucking adorable and i love their friendship. however, i feel like it was too much. especially on kenma's end. i would have liked to see a lot more of the characters more frequently. ex: ukai, takeda, tsukki's bro, store owners/yams coach, goshiki, tendou, yachi, bokuto, akaashi, the rest of karasuno/nekoma, coach nekomata, ikkei ukai, etc. **third**, i felt it was a little more chill because of how much it was focused on friendship, and comparing it to a video game. this may also because we didn't get a lot of side characters who really hyped up this match, and kept the tension in the manga. (ppl in the stands/on tv.) the start and ending was not as dramatic, and i would have hoped at the very end where kenma's hand slipped would be more, you know, ***it***. the moment. **fourth**, is a positive and something i wanted to point out. i dont watch a lot of anime in theaters, or really at all. the feel, and the excitment of watching in a theater was awesome!! the sounds really made it feel real and that was one of the best factors, and it was epic. **fifth**, is a rivalry i would've liked to see more even though we got a bit of it - well, a few. kuroo and tsukki, yaku and noya, and of course: coach ukai and coach nekomata. since they trained together, tsukki and kuroo's little deal would have been nice to see more of. we've gotten some backstory on them, and the part in the manga was awesome. yaku and noya - the battle between two of the best liberos - was almost completely eliminated as a thought in the movie. we got a bit towards the end, but that was it. it was disappointing. and of course, keishin ukai and nekomata. even though it was really ikkei's battle, keishin was living it out for him - and so were the team. and it wasn't shown often! we only got a few scenes of our coaches!! overall, there is a lot of good to talk about and a lot of bad. i know i listed a lot of negative BUT IM A NEGATIVE PERSON!! anyways, thank you for listening to me rant and i hope you enjoyed reading this nonsense shit!!!!!
Today, I had the pleasure of watching the continuation of one of my favourite pieces of media, let alone anime, in cinemas today with some friends, and my experience was so great I felt compelled to write a review on it. This movie was so good, so immersive, such high quality, that it made me wanna play volleyball and get my vert up immediately after. I may have gotten a stern look in the eye from an employee after trying (and succeeding) to touching a high ledge lmao. This will be a mix of both the movie and some elements of just why I like Haikyuu in general, with the top paragraph being a non-spoiler TLDR/intro and everything below being spoilers for the movie. img(https://i.imgur.com/in4E5M5.png) Haikyuu is, in my humble opinion, __the best sports animanga released to date.__ It has a deeply vast collection of characters each with their own personalities, aspirations, strengths and struggles, and the show does an excellent job at showing off the characters individually and giving you time to get to know and love all of them. This aspect I feel is what sets it apart from other sport animanga and a lot of other animanga in general as we watch not only the main team develop and get better, but also get extremely impactful insight to the opposition team’s personalities and stories, no matter how big or small they are. Combine this with extremely entertaining action scenes, inspiring determination, an amazing soundtrack and actually good comedy and this is why I and many others love Haikyuu so much to this day. The movie is no exception to this, continuing on the greatness that the prequel seasons brought, however it is not without it’s flaws like any story. I just hope they don’t kill the series as it gets to its supposed best bits. - - - Before we get into those flaws however, allow me to tell about what compelled me to write this review today: everything else. Like I said earlier Haikyuu does a great job of giving you a large and diverse cast and giving them all enough moments and development to make them all likeable. This movie was no exception, with us having a match between arguably the two teams we have gotten to know best throughout the series: our main pack of crows and their tenacious rival band of cunning cats. The best part about having this matchup is that it made everything very familiar, we already knew both teams quite well which meant we needed less in the way of introductory flashbacks. I’ve seen others complain about this, but I like how in this match both teams know each other and as such the game seems like a casual rival match, with both teams throwing fun banter and complements to the other constantly despite being position rivals. At least, that is how it begins. As we progress and things get more and more intense, we see both teams begin to take advantage of how well they know the other. During this time we are introduced to the BEST ANTAGONIST KARASUNO HAVE (and I think ever will tbh) FACE IN THIS SERIES. KOZUMANE KENMA. When I tell you this boy’s sinister plots had me on the edge of my seat, the way he sees and analyses the game around him is extremely satisfying to watch, but most of all he genuinely scared me in this match. Img(https://i.imgur.com/uMT0e9T.png) ###No man who has this look on his face is ever good news, and I was already wary of his since he has experience stopping the Karasuno first year duo and is incredibly smart. Once he made that play at the end of the first set to position the ball perfectly to throw the setting up Karasuno unaware, I should have known we were in for trouble and boy did he deliver. This movie the main character was him, not Hinata. Seeing his backstory and how he grew to love volleyball and it would be the only thing he left his room for or show any interest in outside of video games was so sweet and it only made me like him even more, but he was a genuinely terrifying threat during the whole game. And his development in this movie alone was phenomenal. From someone who played volleyball as a means to an end; didn’t care about a win or loss; and never really kept any of his teammates close, to someone who was willing to throw himself around ragged to win; make jokes with his teammates; and ultimately admit volleyball is fun. When he slumped over and his only thought was how much fun he was having and how he didn’t want it to end, I knew this match was his Tsukishima S3 moment equivalent. But again, his genius and plotting are what really drew me into the game. One of the scenes that will stick with me is when Karasuno score in the middle of the first set after a rally, and the music suddenly cuts and Kenma says “Stay interesting” with that CREEPY ASS SMILE ON HIS FACE, LITERAL GOOSEBUMPS. Img(https://i.imgur.com/qwqXQNl.png) This scene was also pretty scary. I love Hinata for his endless positivity and energy, which personally inspires me to emulate that for myself in my life. So seeing Hinata not only caged, but desperate and frustrated hit me way more than it needed to. Nobody likes when the loud ray of sunshine goes silent, and this was no exception. But one of the main themes of this show is that personal strength is cool, but the strongest plays are those made in tandem with others. So when Kageyama was there to uplift Hinata and give him a way to continue attacking, despite Kenma’s effective plan, with a new style of set for him to utilise something he had been working on. I WAS HYPEDDD Img(https://i.imgur.com/8q4sHy6.png) Seeing the blurred lines could only mean one thing. Something amazing was about to happen, Hinata was about to break free. AND BREAK FREE HE DID Img(https://i.imgur.com/SPmDA9T.png) This isn’t the actual image of the boom jump BUT WHEN I SAW IT IN CINEMAS I WAS SO EXCITED. HE HIT THAT BALL OVER THE MF THREE MAN BLOCK. THE TWINKLE IN HIS EYES WHEN HE SAW THE CHANCE AND KNEW WHAT HE HAD TO DO, THE RETURN OF HIS USUAL CHEERY COMPETITIVE SELF WAS SO REFRESHING. He even welcomed the challenge of Inuoka being put in the game, ready to handle whatever was thrown at him. His determination was very enjoyable to me. The rest of the game is nothing to scoff at either, the action in this one was some of the best I think we have ever seen from Haikyuu. It was the perfect blend of fast paced to keep intensity most times but also occasionally slow enough to catch all the special moves or unique plays each side implemented to try and one up their opponent. This was also aided by the SUPERB animation, A1 does not disappoint (when they animate their own stuff and don’t outsource it lmao). The use of moving backgrounds, the audience, motion lines and varying thickness when needed really made the show feel alive. Underrated moment was when Kenma falls over and you can see his sweat on the floor with the different perspectives of his reflection, showing how hard he was trying for this match which was so against his usual character but showed how much his rivalry with Hinata meant to him and how It pushed him. We started off the game with an extremely fast paced and intense first point which displayed the prowess of both Karasuno and Nekoma in an awesomely animated opening sequence, and the quality continues all the way up until the final point. The first person perspective of Kenma reminiscing on the golden week training camp back in S2 was SO SO SO AMAZING. Another one of Haikyuu’s strengths is its comedy. It genuinely has to be one of the funniest shows I have ever had the grace of watching and they manage the comedy aspects perfectly, it never interferes with a serious scene and it’s a great way at getting us more comfortable with the cast. Even in a movie they still managed to give us some great bits, some of my favourites are: Lev’s confidence, Kuroo’s sarcasm, both teams’ banter and Tanaka and Yamamoto's alliance. But my favourite of all is just any time Fukunaga is on screen. Both his design and anything he says are hilarious to me, maybe coz I say the same brainless stuff idk. Either way, if anyone asks me who I am from Haikyuu he is my answer from now on, and I shall say it proudly. Img(https://i.imgur.com/CKg1UCY.jpeg) ####Top tier quote from the movie haha The different moods of the game were also complemented greatly by the usual brilliant work of Asami Tachibana and Yuki Hayashi. Another feature I feel nobody has mentioned is the fact that we got three new tracks, and EXTENDED VERSIONS OF SOME OF THE BEST EXISTING OSTS. I love the Haikyuu soundtrack so much that the two composers are my only favourited musicians lmao, and the new tracks were a very welcome addition. Now we wait for them to get uploaded to streaming platforms smh. Now while I have just gone on about how much I adore this series and this watching experience, it was not without flaws. I have two, one with the movie and one long term. While the movie was more than excellent, I felt the focus dropped on Hinata and Kenma’s rivalry so much that nobody else really got any substantial screentime. Yamaguchi literally got three serves and two lines. THAT’S IT. Suga’s time on the pitch was barely even a thing tbh coz instead we see Hinata freaking out about being stopped so consistently. Daichi barely got any time despite being the team captain and arguably most crucial member of the team. The strength of seeing such a fun and impactful rivalry came at the cost of everyone around them, and whilst the rivalry was still amazing to watch don’t get me wrong I would have liked to see a bit more from everyone else. My second flaw is coming from the entire formatting of this conclusion tbh. Two movies for 100+ chapters was never ever gonna be the move lets be honest, and it is already showing here. I didn’t feel like this game was rushed per se but it was missing some of its character inclusion charm as I said before. The fast pace was amazing but I felt like a lot of the match simply…disappeared. I know there is often points scored in the background but this game felt like entire halves would go by where we don’t see any of it. Idk I just feel like with how well received S4 was there was no apparent need to rush these last few games and chapters. If you made it this far, thank you for reading me geek out about something I genuinely love with all my heart, and I hope it has either reminded you of the greatness of this series and why the film was still great, or convinced you to go watch it in cinemas before it leaves.
>No matter who loses or wins, no one is going to die. No one will come back to life either. Evil won’t flourish across the land. The world won’t be destroyed. C’mon, world. Let’s play sports together. ~~~__You may take everything that I say here with a grain of salt. This was the very first time I got to experience an anime movie (subbed even) in cinema, so I'm still somewhat riding on a little high here.__~~~ There WILL be spoilers here, obviously, but hey, if you've made it here you probably already have either watched the movie or read the manga yourself and already know the conclusion anyway. ______ While I kinda needed a little to get used to watching with german subs (lol, I got asked by the cashier at the start if I was aware that it's the subbed version, and I was like "yeah, I wouldn't be here otherwise, duh." xD)(apparently, though, opening night yesterday in german dub did better here...), experiencing an anime movie, and especially one as intense a series as Haikyuu is, is absolutely *insane*. Given that I live in a pretty rural area here (honestly was surprised they even *showed* the movie in sub), we were only 8 people in total in the whole screening room, but you could just feel every single one of us strangers be anime fans through and through, and it was such a fun time to be there for these 1 1/2 hours. As for the actual anime, this entire arc is basically a love-letter to both Kenma's character and the rivalries going on between the members of Karasuno and Nekoma (and seriously, literally *every* single character has a rival on the opposite side) and the game was already one of my absolute favorites back when I read the manga - btw I started reading from start to end the day it released its final chapter - and so, having it all told in the perspective of Kenma himself is a choice that I have always been incredibly fond of, and the same applies here, too. This movie feels like 50% intense game and 50% lovely backstory of our precious cinnamon roll of a cat, and it makes it work in great balance with each other, not little because of some awesome transitions between past and present that surprisingly don't interrupt the flow of the game in any way. There is quite a little bit of your usual exposition talking about how they play the game and change their strategy and stuff, like usual, but most of the time the movie lets the game speak for itself and show its intensity, making you *feel* it as if you were down on the court yourself, ESPECIALLY IN THAT THIRD SET. WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ABSOLUTE FIRE AMAZINGNESS!? It feels like EVERYTHING, from art and animation to intensity to the stakes to emotional impact to character writing down to even the voice acting and background music *massively* stepped up their game in this game-deciding set that I actually went out of it bathed in my own sweat, even though it was actually pretty cold in the theatre itself (and thank god for that, it's like 30°C outside, I almost DIED[<--exxageration] leaving the cinema to go to my car again). That was one of the most intense things I've experienced this year in the medium, capping off *beautifully* in a complete first-person-perspective shot for the final rally as if we ourselves had become Kenma. But before I get to how it concluded, I want to highlight and talk about a few other things first: - the art and animation, while having some noticeable hick-ups here and there like some background shots or one time the camera panning over REALLY fucking up the frame-rate (that was probably our cinemas fault, though), is honestly really amazing, especially in some of the key moments and at the end of the final rally (the directing for that was *insane*) - I talked about the rivalries between the team members earlier, and that was really fun - especially Shoyo and Kenma or Kuroo and Tsukki - but this also served as a long-time coming resolution to the rivalry between the coaches of each team, Nekomata and Ukai(old), and what a beautiful conclusion it was (I teared up.) - Yuuki Hayashi and Asami Tachibana absolutely DELIVERED on the music, made this even more intense than it already was. Same with the sound design at one point cutting off ALL the sounds except for muffled voices and Kenma's panting because *that* was all he could hear and feel in the moment. - It was GREAT hearing SpyAir again, I'm so glad they brought them back for another song! - There is some AMAZING imagery in this movie using the symbolism of this battle at the garbage dump and the cats trapping the crows to its full advantage, like ~!img(https://i.imgur.com/qwqXQNl.png) sorry for the bad quality, I ripped this out of one of the other reviews on this site here xD!~ - Hitoka Yachi jumping up and down, getting hyped, getting frustrated, getting intense, is literally me watching this entire movie. Damn I should've put *her* on my list earlier too.... Being unfortunately contained into movie format like this, like I said there had to be made some cuts, and while you do notice it in the movie's overall pacing a little bit - at least compared to the previous seasons - I personally don't think it was a detriment to the story. This honestly felt JUST RIGHT. I will re-check this arc in the manga again after this to see what exactly was all cut out and stuff, but this was surprisingly well-paced considering I had very big concerns about them rushing the arc when it got announced. Admittedly the second set, with the exception of a small particular moment (more to that later), flew by (he he) pretty fast, but the third set more than made up for that again. ______ and now, on to my personal highlights of the movie: there are 3, and for my own safety I'll put them under a spoiler tag here: Number 1: ~!He flew. That one particular moment in the second set I mentioned earlier, definitely the best Shoyo-scene of the movie, was Kageyama's sky-high set so that Shoyo could fly and spike the ball higher over the defense than anyone else, leaving everyone in the stadium - and the cinema for that matter - speechless. I could practically HEAR "*Tobe flyyy, hiigghhh*" in my head even though it wasn't playing in the background. And my god, did it make me cry. Granted, I honestly have a feeling I was probably the only one in the cinema who actually teared up or cried seeing the reactions from the 7 strangers with me, but it was one of the biggest moments this show, and the National Tournament Arc, has been building up to. It honestly gave me a feeling similar to the "He swung the bat" scene in FLCL, and I cannot explain why, but that just resonated with me so much, I couldn't help but get emotional.!~ Number 2: ~!Speaking of *__things this show has been building up to__*, the moment Kenma was lying on the ground, exhausted, Kuroo asking him if he's still alive and them making their death in volleyball jokes, and Kenma just going "this is so much fun" , I am not ashamed to admit that I CHEERED JUST AS HARD AND LOUD AS SHOYO! (at least I did in my head, can't quite embarass myself like that in front of all these strangers....) Seeing Kenma *finally* having fun, seeing EVERYONE on the court regardless of the outcome of the game just HAVE FUN. I had fun. An insane amount of fun.!~ which leads me into my next and final highlight at number 3, and with it, the conclusion to the entire movie/arc: ~!The final point rally. The final point rally was, from Kageyama's serve at the beginning to *that* at the end, shot in an impressive display of a first-person-shot from Kenma's perspective. Blending out all sound, blending out ANYTHING that doesn't matter, only focusing on the game in front of you, in front of a sweating, broken, *exhausted* you, images getting blurrier and blurrier as it went on, not properly noticing what is happening around you more and more until - suddenly - the intense back-and-forth between these two rival teams comes to an abrupt end as the ball - full of the sweat, tears and PASSION of both teams - slips out of your hand ending the game in a win for our beloved crows we have now been following for more than 4 seasons already. And much like the characters on the playing field, it is only when Kageyama says it that you truely realize *it's over. We won.* This, quite honestly, might've been my favorite scene of the entire franchise (in anime form, the manga has a few one upcoming that could be contenders) so far with how they presented it.!~ ______ This was not a game about who wins or who loses. This was a game about the connections the characters on both teams formed with each other, and it reflected in each and every one of their reactions after the game was over. No pain, no tears, no hard feelings, just a group of kids *having fun*. You all know the expression>Treat practice like it's the real game, and treat the real game like it's practice and I think this movie and arc perfectly showcases this. ~~~__Haikyuu: Battle at the Garbage Dump: 9/10__~~~ >No matter who loses or wins, no one is going to die. No one will come back to life either. Evil won’t flourish across the land. The world won’t be destroyed. C’mon, world. Let’s play sports together. Is it a perfect, flawless adaptation of the manga counterpart? No, but it serves just right in what it wants to include and what it doesn't, and makes for an intense, emotional, and first and foremost *FUN* experience that I can only wholeheartedly recommend to any fan of the show. ______ There were a few hints about an upcoming development after this match and it honestly just made me think ~!WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO MY POOR HEART!?!~ Those who know will know.
Big thanks to my 5th grade class president, the pandemic and the internet for introducing me to this anime! During the lockdown, I was the average kind of haikyuu fan. Think of anything in character with Haikyuu fans during that period of time. That's me. Except for the simping for Oikawa's ear. But honestly, I was really, _really_ into this anime and the fandom in 2020-2021 to the point I was basically obsesssed with it. I had a Karasuno no. 10 and no. 2 jersey, a Haikyuu themed calender, and two hoodies of Karasuno. But, as time passes, my interest to this show falls out, and I started liking other shows, other things, and almost forgot about this show altogether. I treated this phase as a cringe phase that I never wanted to talk about, never wanted to look back and reminisce what it was like to be a fan back then. Until the announcement for the movie came out and suddenly, I'm on twitter looking up Haikyuu related things and giggling over the characters again. After seeing the trailer and overall what the movie was about, I felt this hype, the same hype I felt years and years ago as I watched every single episode of Haikyuu. I, eventually, somehow, got my friend to watch Haikyuu with me and may or may not dragged her into liking Haikyuu and volleyball as a whole. The movie gave me so much flashbacks, distant memories of when I was a mere tween watching some high school guys play and romanticize volleyball. I was giggling, pointing out things to my friend and giving her references of past episodes. I just hoped I didn't disturb anyone else in the cinema (I probably did.) But, there were two things in the movie that disappointed me. __1; Lots of chapters skipped__ Despite being an anime watcher, I've gotten some spoilers and one of them being what happened to Hinata and Kenma during the match. I won't necessarily spoil it, but it made me cry for like 10 minutes straight when I found out. I was hoping that the scene would be animated because the manga panels alone had me crying, imagine that combined with voice acting, animations, music and the overall vibe of watching it in the cinema. To see the scene getting skipped was disappointing, to say the least. __2; Seems more laidback__ When I finished season 4, I imagined the Dumpster Battle to be something so legendary and amazing. Two rivalling schools going up against each other again in the nationals just sounds cool! But as it turns out, the Dumpster Battle focused more on the relationships of the characters as schools from opposing sides/rivalling schools. They basically shit on each other throughout the match while also knowing that they've learn a lot from their opponent and appreciates them, though not through the match. Despite so, I still think this was a great movie. I wasn't so disappointed with how relaxed Karasuno VS Nekoma was compared to the specific scene in the manga that didn't get animated, but I still enjoyed the movie. Though, I still wished we got a season instead of a movie.
This review contains movie spoilers after the first section, but I have __not__ read the manga. Im waiting to read it after the anime adaptation is completed. This is mostly a response to the common impressions shared in other reviews on this site, in particular about the tone and ending of the movie. --- __Nonspoiler Thoughts__ As many fans feared upon the announcement of the two final movies, the first movie was extremely condensed and cut a lot of content out. This is heartbreaking (can't even begin to imagine how manga readers felt seeing stuff left out), but I think centering Hinata and Kenma to frame the Karasuno and Nekoma rivalry match was a smart way to use the given time effectively. This film was full of life and crafted with a lot of love, with both the visuals and sound settling extra deep into your bones when watched in theaters. The OST is a great mix of nostalgic old tracks and moving new ones. The only notable production flaws that irked me were the handful of messed up subtitles and Kuroo+Kenma speaking in their adult voices a few times in their flashbacks as children. Out of all my re/watches, I found the second or third watch to be the most moving. The first watch you're hit with the hype (and humor), while the second is all about the characters. --- [SPOILERS AHEAD] #__Intentionally Anti-climactic Ending__ Kenma's amazing first-person POV shot at the end is cut short when he attempts to set the ball but it slips on the accumulated sweat. The match ends so promptly that even Hinata isn't aware the game is over at first. Many reviews seem to dislike this and some are unsure if it was intentional or not. It's definitely intentional, but I hope to convince a few fans that this ending was both fitting and executed beautifully. To start, unlike many of the past matches, I don't think Kenma's final miss was meant to be a devastating/hype __"it"__ moment. This moment is not the climax of the movie, and the delivery reflects how absorbed both teams became. The points are rarely mentioned or emphasized, and all three sets end abruptly. The most ingenious detail for me was how they didn't focus Karasuno's score on the board leading up to the last rally. Just as Kenma's POV scene begins, there is a shot with the scoreboard in the background with Nekoma's points displayed and Karasuno's half blocked. After they lose, this is paralleled by a shot showing only Karasuno's half of the scoreboard with 25 points. Up until now, the movie continuously pans to the scoreboard to show progression & the previous two match points were shown on the board. Here, there is no zoom in on the board displaying both scores, and none of the characters explicitly mention this rally being match point for Karasuno either because viewers are meant to be distracted from the score. One of Haikyuu's greatest strengths is how realistic and relatable its cast of characters and diverse experiences are. Character growth is slow, filled with setbacks, and "success" looks very different for each character (ex: Yamaguchi or Kinoshita). I would hate for the movie to have played up the miss simply because it would sell better than the intended emotions this match hoped to convey. #__The Actual Climax: Hinata & Kenma Rivalry__ Many didn't enjoy Hinata and Kenma taking so much of the spotlight- which is understandable, the inner monologues and perspectives of side characters are another of Haikyuu's standout strengths- but I still found it extremely moving because their rivalry is so unique. Typical shounen rivalries often stick to the tropes of "they want to be stronger than the other" or "they're competitive and bicker constantly." Meanwhile, Hinata and Kenma's rivalry is not focused on winning or on their opposite personalities. Each of them have their own motivations outside of simply beating the other team: Hinata wants to make Kenma be invested and have fun, and Kenma wants to be surprised by Hinata's creativity and for the match to continue on. Kenma stays uninterested in winning or losing the match/nationals from start to finish. Hinata celebrates when Kenma says "this is so much fun" rather than when they win. In fact, Kenma's admission and Hinata's wholehearted cheer (props to the sheer emotion delivered by his VA) _are_ the climax of the movie/match without a doubt. Similarly, the "low" of the movie was not about either team panicking about losing, but about Hinata feeling frustrated & trapped upon seeing Kenma's disinterest and disappointment after his plan began working. All the parallels and Kenma's POVs of past interactions between them are also incredibly sweet. --- All this is to say, I think the execution of the match, including the ending, was done with an exceptional amount of intention and respect for the source material. Coach Nekomata sums up the film with two simple comments in the movie. >"Curiosity and awe instead of fear..." > "The 'joy from doing' should be what's important, first and foremost."
Before I start this I would like to say a few things: First, I love Haikyuu, I've never read the manga, I'm strictly an anime only, but it's one of my favorite sports anime of all time, only being beaten out by Ippo in my books. Secondly, this my first review I've attempted. Despite seeing hundreds of anime, coming up on 600 soon, I haven't found the need to make a review before now, which speaks more words then I can. This movie on a production level is, without a doubt, top level. The direction, animation, sound design, score, and so on are really quite good, and I can see the passion put into this film. It's a shame then that I simply couldn't enjoy it as much as I could any previous season of the show, for one very specific reason: Run time. This movie ultimately feels like they attempted to fit too much within an hour and twenty minute run time, which results in many issues, from insanely fast pacing, to the lack of context around several key moments, to the random cuts in actions and sets, and what seems like an inability to explore any characters perspective outside of one. In the previous seasons, each point of a match was given significant weight and feel, you could feel the flow of the match on a point to point bases. The movie opts to jump around to more "important" parts of the match, only showing us the bare essentials. We will go from the first point scored in one scene, and the next we will suddenly be 7 in 7 for both times. This really removes the flow in a match, and removes almost all the tension present in every other match of the show. No longer am I worried about the next point, who's going to score it, how, or what impact that will have on the overall match, but instead I see it happen, then move on. This also leads to a very break-neck pacing, nothing is given time to breath in this match at all. It all feels lightening fast, and it's all the worse for it. I wasn't given anytime to properly take in characters reactions to anything happening in the match. We would see an amazing moment, then get presented with the shortest possible reaction, then move on. Just as we don't get to see their reactions for very long, we also don't get to hear their thoughts much at all. Unlike matches past, where almost every character would get their moment, and some good insight into why that moment was important to them, we instead skip past that in favor of showing more of the match. Now to be fair of the movie, it didn't remove this entirely, we get a few moments, a high-jump from Hinata, and a good serve play from Yamaguchi both come to mind, but they aren't given the same attention they would have been given in a full series, and aren't as emotional for it. Really, the only true glimpse we get into this aspect of Haikyuu with this movie is with Kenma, which is truly the only character that gets explored in this movie. One final note about the pacing, Nekoma, as a team, is meant to be very defensive and sluggish to play against, or at least they were presented as such. This pacing really under minds that, This match feels quick, and over with before you know it, so it feels odd that the characters are tried and exhausted at the end, I can't be sure this is a movie thing, in-fact, I can't be sure that anything I said is specific to the movie, though I highly expect that it is, especially based on the chapters a minute this movie covers. All of that being said, you maybe questioning how I could give the movie a 45/100 despite liking its production, the simple answer is this: the movie stole from me. I'm never going to be able to watch this match for the first time ever again, and we aren't likely to ever get a more proper on screen adaption, to this, or whats covered in the upcoming movie.. and that sucks. While watching this, I had one thing come to mind that I think really sums up how I feel about this movie, it felt like I was watching a highly edited highlight reel of an amazing game. On paper, that may sound great, its only the "best" parts, but in reality, the best parts simply don't hit the same highs outside the context of the rest of a game.