Title of First Haikyuu Film Revealed

It’s been ages since we got any news about the conclusion of the Haikyuu!! anime. As you might remember, it was announced last August that instead of having a season 5, the globally popular series would end instead with two films. Ever since then, we’ve heard precious little. But earlier today, the official Twitter (not calling it X, fight me) revealed the title for the first film: Gekijōban Haikyu!! Gomi Suteba no Kessen (Haikyu!! the Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump).

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劇場版FINALシリーズ第1作目
劇場版ハイキュー!!
ゴミ捨て場の決戦
══════════════
春高3回戦
烏野高校VS音駒高校
因縁の対決がついに実現!

映画館でしか体感できない
最高の試合にご期待ください!https://t.co/0hT1P4Bsk3#ハイキュー #hq_anime pic.twitter.com/0hwaMjItkg

— 劇場版「ハイキュー!! FINAL」 (@animehaikyu_com) August 19, 2023

Fans of the franchise will be able to tell from the title that the first film centers around the fabled match between Karasuno and Nekoma, referred to throughout the series as “The Battle at the Garbage Dump”. The two teams were long-time rivals due to their coaches’ friendship, but drifted apart prior to the beginning of the story. They reunite for training camps and practice matches, but have never played a match that has actual consequences – until Karasuno makes it to Nationals for the first time in years.

This title announcement fully confirms that the anime will not be returning for season 5, as there was some debate over translation when the news first dropped last year.

I’m still scratching my head over this decision a year later. When reading the manga chapters for the match, it seemed endless. There is a lot of material to cover, not just with the Nekoma match but with further chapters, and I feel that going the film route instead of giving the series at least one more season doesn’t make much narrative sense. As I said in my post about the decision last August, this will surely make for a thrilling theatrical experience, but I fear too much will be cut out for it to be a fulfilling adaptation.

There are 110 chapters left to be adapted, which is impossible to do with only two films. That means that we’re likely not going to get to see the end of the series animated. Unless, of course, they skip the rest of Nationals and instead go for the stuff post time-skip.

Anyway, even though the news doesn’t get less disappointing with time, I am happy to see some movement on the final films. It’s been way too long since I’ve seen my volleyball boys.

Author: Jamie Sugah

Jamie has a BA in English with a focus in creative writing from The Ohio State University. She self-published her first novel, The Perils of Long Hair on a Windy Day, which is available through Amazon. She is currently an archivist and lives in New York City with her demon ninja vampire cat. She covers television, books, movies, anime, and conventions in the NYC area.

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