Haikyuu!! FINAL two-part movie adaptation will either make or break the series

Haikyuu!! fans were in for a big surprise as the mysterious countdown on the official Twitter page of the series concluded with the announcement of a two-part sequel movie adaptation called Haikyuu!! FINAL, along with a key visual and video teaser. The teaser seems to imply that the series will be wrapped up with these two movies, and this has elicited mixed responses from viewers.

While some fans are glad to be getting more animated content after a year and a half of waiting, others are skeptical regarding how the studio plans to adapt two years’ worth of content for the two movies. With that in mind, this article explores the pros and cons of this adaptation.

This article contains major spoilers for the Haikyuu!! manga.

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Is Haikyuu!! FINAL setting itself up for failure?

The usual pacing of Haikyuu!! seasons

Since Season 1, the anime has allotted several episodes to every significant match, starting with Karasuno vs. Aoba Johsai during the Interhigh Tournament, which spanned six episodes and ended with Karasuno’s defeat. This pattern remains consistent throughout every season of the anime. For instance, Karasuno’s second match against Aoba Johsai in Season 2 lasts five episodes.

Moreover, the entirety of Season 3 focuses on Karasuno vs. Shiratorizawa, spanning ten episodes, and the last major match takes place in Season 4, pitting Inarizaki against Karasuno at Nationals of the Spring Interhigh. This one lasts a total of 11 episodes, with two showing glimpses of Nekoma vs. Sarukawa Tech in the middle as an interlude.

Since every episode has an average runtime of 22 minutes, all major matches in the show have lasted upwards of 130 minutes or 2.2 hours.

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What fans have been expecting

Considering that the Nekoma vs. Karasuno match has been hyped up from the very first season of the anime, Haikyuu!! fans have been expecting an entire season to be dedicated to it, similar to the Shiratorizawa match.

Nekoma and Karasuno share an interesting history, and their rivalry is even nicknamed “Battle of the Garbage Dump,” referencing their mascot animals and each team’s playing style.

Much of the Haikyuu!! series’ appeal comes not just from the fluid animation and precise technical commentary but also the underlying drama and the players’ emotions as they struggle to score another point and remain the last one standing on the court.

It is highly probable that it would require a minimum of eight episodes, or about three hours, to animate the entire Karasuno vs. Nekoma match properly. If the studio intends to make two movies, this match could easily cover three-quarters of the total runtime.

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How far has the manga been adapted?

The Haikyuu!! manga has a total of 401 chapters, with 290 chapters having been adapted in the last four seasons. The teaser for the upcoming movie adaptation includes manga panels from not only the Nekoma vs. Karasuno match but also the fateful encounter against Kamomedai. It goes on to show Hinata in Rio and even gives fans a glimpse of Kageyama and him on opposite sides of the court during the Schweiden Adlers vs. MSBY Black Jackals match.

This entire section constitutes a total of 102 chapters and includes two important matches. Adapting the rest of the manga within the runtime of the two films seems virtually impossible, even if major chunks of the story are excluded.

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Trying to fit the contents of the remaining 102 chapters into just two movies is definitely a very risky move and might ruin one of the most anticipated matches in the Haikyuu!! series. Ideally, another full season, if not two, would have been appropriate for properly adapting the manga.

There has been no news of a change in the animation studio, so the possible reasons for why such a well-received anime is being rushed can be reasonably narrowed down. Production I.G. has major upcoming projects like Aoashi and FLCL: Shoegaze lined up, which might be why they are trying to wrap up an older series faster.

All that is left to do is wait with fingers crossed and hope that the movies do justice to the Battle of the Garbage Dump and to Hinata’s journey.