Haikyu: The Dumpster Battle | Review by: Stefano Bove

 Haikyu is one of the most beloved sports anime and manga stories which spans 4 seasons and 45 manga volumes. Fans have been eagerly awaiting its return since the fourth season ended in 2020 and it was announced that the show would be continued into a feature-film. The movie continues the story and the relationships established in the series but makes it very easy for a casual viewer to catch up.

The movie follows Shoyo Hinata who joins the Karasuno High School volleyball team to beat his rival Kenma and the Karasuno volleyball team.  The film centres around both these teams as they compete in a three-set match in a regional tournament. Both teams put everything they have into the battle in order to settle this rivalry and push each other to be the best they can at the sport they all love. 

The film wastes no time jumping right into the match and surprisingly, it is the majority of the film's run-time but it gives you enough exposition on many players throughout the film but its short run-time does not leave enough time to give each player a moment, only a few key players on each team. There are some pacing issues as well as high-intensity moments in the match are halted to give us back story but the backstory is definitely needed in order to connect us with the characters.

The sound and visuals are definitely stand out moments in the film and I especially enjoyed many of the POV shots that are extremely different from any anime I have ever watched as it focused on specific character sets. These moments really connected   I do wish the movie could have been a bit longer and explored more character relationships pre-match in order to build more tension instead of breaking up the match 

This may not be a world ending scenario like many other anime out there but no need for any of that because Haikyu Dumpster Battle is an emotional character-driven story about friendship, rivalry and determination. No superpowers to keep this match going, only your own drive and the motivation from your teammates to keep you going. 

Haikyu: The Dumpster Battle is on theatres now across North America

3.5/5

Review by: Stefano Bove