Haikyuu S4 News: Livestream Reveals Premiere Date, New Cast Member & OVAs

Well, at least some of our Haikyuu season 4 questions have been answered! Yesterday’s livestream event with Ayumu Murase (Hinata) and Kaito Ishikawa (Kageyama) revealed that the Tokyo qualifiers – the matches featuring Nekoma and Fukurōdani – will be an OVA and not part of season 4. We also finally have a premiere date!

In the final episode of season 3, Hinata shows his teammates a text from Kenma, in which we learn that Nekoma has made it to the qualifying matches. Rather than the traditional ED, this episode features the members of Nekoma and Fukurōdani facing off, flanked by four banners showing the names of the schools participating in the Tokyo qualifiers. These matches cover a rather huge chunk of the manga, so they couldn’t exactly leave them out, but there’s no focus at all on Karasuno, the main team of Haikyuu!!. There was some speculation as to whether these matches would be part of Haikyuu season 4 or if they would be grouped into an OVA, and we finally have our answer.

Two OVAs will cover the qualifying matches between Nekoma High School, Fukurōdani Academy, Nohebi Academy, and Itachiyama Academy to determine who represents Tokyo at the winter national volleyball tournament. “Riku VS Kū” (Land Vs. Sky) and “Ball no Michi” (The Path of the Ball) will be available on Blu-ray and DVD January 22, 2020, with advance sales happening at the Toho Animation booth at Jump Festa December 21-22.

The “Haikyu!! no Hi Zenjitsu-Sai” event also revealed that Kazuyuki Okitsu (Fruits Basket, Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru) will be voicing Nohebi captain Suguru Daishō. Without spoiling too much for anime-onlies, Suguru becomes a rather colorful side character as the manga progresses, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Okitsu does with the character.

But perhaps the biggest reveal of the weekend is that we finally have a premiere date for Haikyuu season 4! (Sort of.) I got into this series just in time for the hiatus so I’ve been anxiously waiting for news on when my favorite volleyball boys will be back. Haikyuu!! returns in January 2020, so mark your calendars now! I imagine a more precise date will be announced at the official kickoff event in September, but until then, it’s good to know that we only have to wait a few more months.

「ハイキュー!!の日前日祭」にお越し頂きました皆様、そして配信でご覧になられた皆様ありがとうございました！
2020年1月からのTVアニメ4期の放送、そして東京都代表決定戦を描くOVA「ハイキュー!! 陸 VS 空」と新シリーズも本格的に始動しますので宜しくお願いします！！#hq_anime pic.twitter.com/1Zqn36Jgnr

— アニメ「ハイキュー!!」 (@animehaikyu_com) August 18, 2019

Check out the livestream event below:

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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