Haikyuu!! Manga: The meaning behind the series' name, explored

Haikyuu!! manga is one of the most popular sports manga. The series has sizable popularity, with more than 55 million copies in circulation as of August 2022. Additionally, once Studio Production I.G released the Haikyuu!! anime, the series shot to the top of the charts and received a tonne of favorable reviews from reviewers. The popularity of the series can also be attributed to its captivating plot and its well-written characters.

The manga Haikyu!! by Haruichi Furudate tells the narrative of Shoyo Hinata, a young boy determined to become a famous volleyball player despite his diminutive height. Not only that, but the story also features competitive events, and with Kageyama's assistance—another key character—they attempt to recover their long-lost glory as a team deserving of competing at the Nationals.

However, as every other manga has both a Japanese name and an English translation, many people are curious about the meaning behind Haikyuu!!.

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Other than volleyball, Haikyuu!! includes additional meaning

It is first necessary to comprehend how the Japanese language's Kanji characters function in order to comprehend the meaning of this term. Kanji, which are logographic characters, are the Chinese characters used to write Japanese. Further, together with the later-derived syllabic scripts of hiragana and katakana, the Kanji was eventually included in Japanese writing.

In addition, it's important to keep in mind that most characters have two pronunciations, one based on the Chinese sound and the other on the Japanese pronunciation, which is essential in understanding the meaning of any word.

Now, Haikyū!! or Haikyuu!! is the Japanese name for volleyball. The Japanese, however, appear to have used the original Japanese name Haikyū!! instead of the English term Volleyball. The original word Haikyū!! is spelt like ハイキュー!! but in Kanji it is spelt, 排球.

Now if we assess the meaning of both Haikyū!! characters, which are in Kanji then, the first character, 排 denotes rejection, expel, or refusal, while the second character 球 denotes a sphere, ball, or another comparable item.

As a result, the word Haikyū!! or Haikyuu!! means to reject a ball, in addition to volleyball. Therefore, while we watch the program and read the manga, or as its producers dubbed it Haikyū!!, its Kanji name exactly matches the sport depicted in the show, volleyball, which includes two teams using their hands to knock an inflatable ball over a high net and refuse it to strike in their allocated region.

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More about the Haikyuu!! series

The Japanese manga series Haikyuu!! is written and drawn by Haruichi Furudate. The manga was initially serialized in Shueisha's Shonen manga magazine Weekly Shonen Jump in February 2012, and it ran through July 2020. Its chapters were collected in 45 tankobon volumes for a total of 402 chapters.

Eventually, Production I.G. created an anime television series based on the manga. The anime's first season (chapters 1-71) aired on television from April 6 to September 21, 2014. As a result of its success, the show was revived for a second season (from chapters 72-149) that ran from October 4, 2015, to March 27, 2016, and a third season (from chapters 150-207, excluding chapters 191-206 from the original manga series), which ran from October 8 to December 10, 2016.

Finally, the fourth season (from chapters 207 to 292) premiered on January 11, 2020, and lasted 25 episodes spread over two cours. With the exception of the third, every season of the anime has 25 episodes. Also, given there are now remaining chapters, it was stated at a 2022 event to conclude the grand volleyball saga that the movie titled, Haikyuu!! Final will be released in two parts instead of any season further. The remaining chapters from 294 to 402 will be covered in the two films.

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Stay tuned for more anime and manga updates as 2023 progresses.