You know, in all my years of watching anime, one subgenre that I’ve never really been exposed to is sports anime. To be honest, it’s probably because I don’t care much about real-world sports – everything takes too long, and the drama of it all is a little too forced for me. But there’s one series I’ve been meaning to watch for a long time, and kept telling myself I would eventually watch, because it’s the favorite of everyone I know who’s watched it: Haiku.
I’m sorry to say that this has nothing to do with me watching Volleyball. Or, well, yeah, just not for this series. As silly as it sounds, I’m here today to tell you about Haikyu! Dumpster Wars, yes I know I’m starting at the end of the series, but hey what better way to decide if you want to check it out than through a breezy, roughly 90 minute long movie What about some stuff? Of course, there’s also the question of whether this would be enjoyable for someone who knows nothing about Volleyball, which is one of the main reasons I actually wanted to check it out, but we’ll get back to that .
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“Volleyball Boy!” ! “Trash Can Fight” picks up in Season 4 as Hinata Shoyo and the rest of the Karasuno High School volleyball team face off against their rivals, the Nekoma, at the Spring National Championships. This is the first official game between the two schools, and although they’ve played each other before, the stakes are slightly higher this time for obvious reasons (note that there’s only one game in the entire movie, so don’t expect that much downtime). At the outset, as someone who knew next to nothing about the series, the biggest surprise was who the protagonist of this movie actually was.
The petite, energetic, red-haired protagonist Hinata is sidelined in this one, with the focus on his personal rival – and friend – Kenma. The movie does offer some flashbacks to help establish the dynamic between them, making it clear that Hinata is the type of protagonist who motivates his opponents to do better, in stark contrast to someone like Kenma who acts like he doesn’t really like volleyball. The focus on Kenma definitely went a little beyond what I expected, and obviously the original manga would have done the same, but I think this perspective allowed the movie to tell some interesting stories that I imagine will have a bigger impact on fans of the series.
Kenma is a bit of an odd character, reserved but smart, and the movie is mostly about him finding his own motivation on the volleyball court, and I found that evolution fascinating. His backstory is tied into the game, letting you know how he became a volleyball player, thanks to his childhood friend and teammate Kuroo. Their relationship is especially interesting to watch and provides me with a clear example of why people are so invested in Haiku.
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There isn’t necessarily anything out of the ordinary when it comes to the animation (it is volleyball after all, how crazy can you get?), but there is some really fun directing in there as well. The camera work feels energetic and frantic, and really does make the entire game feel intense – you can feel every spike, cringe at every mistake, and back off at every catch, and the ball comes in super hot. It was picked up on me pretty quickly, which is probably one of the most important things about sports anime. If I wasn’t invested in the sport itself, why would I watch it even if I didn’t like the sport? But this movie quickly got me back in my element, and even had me thinking, “Man, do I want to watch real volleyball?”
I think this is one of the most complimenting things I had about this movie. For the most part, I have to admit that I felt lost when it came to the character relationships. There were a lot of characters to balance and several were not in the game and had zero context as to why they were important, but again, that’s more on me than the movie. However, in the end I made the decision that I wanted more of this in my life. I want to see Hai Jiu
No, I don’t think Trash Can Wars is the perfect choice if you’re watching the series for the first time, but I don’t think that’s a big deal to be honest. It mostly feels like an extended edition, and as a forerunner to a series that clearly has a lot of heart and energy, it works well. I’d say you’ve won over volleyball fans. I’d watch the volleyball anime, and I’m sure I’d have a blast.
Haikyu!! Battle of the Dumpsters will be released in UK and US cinemas on May 31, and can be watched with subtitles and dubbing.