Review of Haikyu!! Movie: The Dumpster Battle

At this point in the series, much as I've loved the hype matches (and yes, I know more are coming), this is the one I waited to see chiefly for the character moments. Over the course of this series, Karasuno has been the MC team of the series, but if there was a secondary team, it's Nekoma. We know the players on both teams well at this point, and more importantly, the players know each other well. This isn't just a rivalry between two characters or one of these teams proving themselves against a powerhouse opponent. I'm very fond of those as well, but theyrely on big moments and action set-pieces to thrive.

This movie is a different story. These teams played multiple times over the course of the series (mainly in scrimmages), creating strong ties between multiple characters on both sides. There is also a long-running history of these two engaging in this kind of match on the national stage. But it's less about these broader elements and more about the personal ones. These guys devolve into laughter over the course of the match multiple times, finding a joy in this that went beyond just the drive to succeed. It's telling that the final point scored doesn't even register as the ending because they're (or maybe just Hinata's) focused more on the next step than watching the scoreboard.

But, at base, this is the culmination of a character journey from Nekoma's Kenma. He's not the only character in this series who starts with a lack of drive and develops it, but his desperation to hold onto each moment later in the match is particularly striking. I never thought one of the scenes I'd best remember was just a slow pan from his perspective around a frozen moment from a previous scrimmage.

This isn't my favorite Haikyuu entry. It's got some excellent animation in certain scenes, but there's less hype to this one and less of a focus on big moments, particularly as we get later into the game. The character moments cover for much of that, and I still loved the experience in the end, despite it leaving out some of the better character moments from the manga.