Yes, there are two exclamation marks in the official English title of the recent Haikyuu movie - Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle. I thought that was quite cute until I double checked and realised that the original anime already had two exclamation marks - Haikyuu!! (sigh, I’m a joke… How did I not notice this earlier?!)
I also cannot believe that it has been five years since I watched the first season of Haikyuu on Netflix in 2019. Time flies, huh? Somewhere in the past 2 years, my fiancé also became a fan of Haikyuu. He loved the anime so much that he read the manga after finishing the anime. I think he’s more of a fan than I am. He has finished reading the manga btw.
There are a total of 4 seasons with the 4th season released in 2020. Following that, we received news that there wouldn’t be a 5th season. Instead, the anime would conclude with 2 movies. After 4 years, we have the first out of the two movies - Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle. I tried to catch the movie when I was in Japan, but they didn’t have English subtitles, so I waited till I was back in Singapore to watch the movie.
The movie is a direct sequel to season 4 which means that fans of Haikyuu who are looking forward to finding out what happens next will definitely be watching the movie. Karasuno defeated Inarizaki High (the team with the twins) and proceeded to the third round of the Spring Tournament to face off against Nekoma High. It is the first time that they have an official match together.
The entire movie featured this important match from the unique perspective of Kenma (the setter with the blond hair and black roots). I thought that this was interesting because we had never viewed the interactions with Hinata or his team from an outsider’s pov before. There were occasional slight deviations in the past to share background information of non-Karasuno members, but they usually link back to an impact on the character development of the Karasuno members themselves. However, in this movie, we now follow Kenma on his volleyball journey from start to present. The writers did a fantastic job in weaving the past and the present scenes into the timeline. Tbh, I’m not that interested in Kenma, but I enjoyed watching the transitioning of his attitude towards volleyball with the help of Kuroo (his childhood friend) and Hinata. I love how infectious Hinata’s personality and passion is to others.
My favourite part of the movie was the intense last few points during the match viewed directly from the eyes of Kenma. It gives viewers the chance to experience the match from the shoes of an experienced player - how fast the ball travels or what players visually track with their eyes etc. Everything is happening so quickly and you’re even hearing Kenma’s breathing. If watching the anime has given you sweaty armpits and moments when you’re holding your breath, this particular scene in the movie will be exhilarating.
As an athlete who has played in sports competitions before, I really appreciate the way that passion, perseverance and teamwork were presented in this anime/movie. I strongly recommend everyone to start watching Haikyuu if you haven’t already and go catch the movie!!
#Haikyuu #TheDumpsterBattle #Karasuno #Nekoma #Hinata #Kenma #Volleyball #Anime #Movie #VolleyballAnime #SportsAnime #Review
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