Haikyu!!!, created by Haruichi Furudate, is undoubtedly one of the most beloved and recognized spokons today. In the year 2022, we received the news that, instead of the fifth season that fans expected, we would have only two movies to animate the rest of the story. The first movie was to be titled Haikyu! The Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump (Gekijôban Haikyu!! Gomi Suteba no Kessen) and would hit theaters in Japan on February 16, 2024.
The long-awaited Haikyu!!! movie arrives in Japanese theaters
This decision brought mixed opinions, as some people were unhappy and asked for more seasons instead, while others were happy to have these beloved characters back. Despite the difference of opinions, the film was definitely one of the most anticipated and that was reflected in the results the movie had at the box office, only on its opening day.
Through X (formerly known as Twitter), the eigarankingnews account informed us that the Haikyu!!! movie managed to gross $5.92 million at the box office, making it the fourth highest grossing movie on its opening day in theaters. This was somewhat of a surprise, not because the anime wasn’t already popular, but rather that the film came out on a weekday, on a work week, and yet the theaters were packed. In addition to the appreciation and anticipation of Haikyu!!! fans for the franchise, there were several factors that made it noticeable that the film was about to be released, thus increasing the excitement of the fans.
An example of this is that, prior to its release, it was given a lot of promotion in different media such as magazines, where we could find exclusive material of the film such as new art, interviews with the seiyus, directors of the film and interesting facts about the story and characters provided directly by Haruichi Furudate. Likewise, you could find in stores like Loft, Animate and Family Mart, collaborations with Haikyu!!!, so there was a huge amount of merchandise related to the anime.
Cover of the 33.5 volume distributed in movie theaters for the debut of the Haikyu!! movie.
On the other hand, on the day of the premiere in the movie theaters, the attendees were being given a volume of the manga with an exclusive story written by the mangaka for the release of the film. This volume would be a limited edition of which only 2 million copies had been printed to be distributed throughout Japan. So for Haikyu!!! fans, it was a huge incentive and something they had to get at all costs.
In Haikyu! The Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump (Gekijôban Haikyu!!! Gomi Suteba no Kessen), we have the long awaited match known within this universe as “The Battle at the Garbage Dump”. Where Karasuno High School faces their eternal rivals, Tokyo Metropolitan High School Nekoma, but this time not only in a practice match, but now it will be on the Spring Tournament court, in a match where there will be no second chances and where it’s all over for the loser.
Unfortunately, the movie is only available in Japan and there is no news of international dates yet. However, let’s hope that the great success the film is having in its country of origin will be a contributing factor so that we can enjoy it in our countries sooner than expected.
©古舘春一／集英社・「ハイキュー!!」製作委員会