Review of Haikyu!! Movie: The Dumpster Battle

This movie was honestly great. The only downfall was the short run time and if it was 2-3 hours it would have been a 10 honestly. The movie did an amazing job adapting the manga material, the director and writers definitely understood the content and understood the main points that needed to be emphasized upon in this match. There were some important moments that were cut out however it didn’t overly hurt the movie for me. (However, because I came in with context from the manga I was extremely disappointed by the arcs that were cut out, because they felt very necessary to the charactersand team dynamic. But I acknowledge that these cuts were made out of necessity due to screen time and it did not impact my enjoyment whatsoever.)

This movie felt like a love letter to Haikyuu with how much care was put into it. The movie felt very high stakes high tension the entire time, and I liked how much emphasis there was on Nekoma, especially Kenma, as he was the protagonist of this match. However, I do wish we got more insight from other characters and a bit more time to flesh out the sets, they went by so fast due to the material that had to be cut and due to the run time. (please make the 2nd movie 5 hours i’m begging) Despite the movie’s limitations due to screen time, every scene put in felt and was intentional. The director and writers did a good job with picking and choosing what to include, and the movie felt cohesive and not overly clunky. This movie understood the NekoKara match at its very core and adapted it very well with what they could.

What completely made it for me was the animation HOLY MOLY. Guys the amount of crazy turnarounds there were that were on model and smooth. As an animation student I was tweaking in my seat the entire time. The end of the movie was beautiful, the lines and frame were so energetic, the perspective and short focal lengths of the shots were so dynamic and unique. They took some very unique visual storytelling techniques with this movie that really pushed the boundaries and I’m completely FLOORED. As a manga reader, art wise, THIS is the animation that Haikyuu deserves. I watched this movie with my brother who plays VB in high school and chatted with my friend who plays VB for fun and they both said that the movie felt extremely realistic to what it feels like to play volleyball. From the first POV shots, the court banter, the on-court-communication, and the shots that imply motion and impact perfectly, and the subtle nuances of the animation, they recreated the feeling and energy of an actual volleyball match.

I definitely recommend this movie, it was such a fun and emotional watch. I’ve watched it around three times now and I would watch it twenty times more. I wished it was longer, and I 100% urge anime watchers to READ THE MANGA. It has the material that was missing from the movie and it’s so good. This movie understood and adapted the source material well despite it’s limitations.