Haikyuu!! releases a special official PV to commemorate Kageyama's birthday

December 22 is widely known in the Haikyuu!! fandom as Kageyama-day. It is the winter solstice and also the deuteragonist Tobio Kageyama’s birthday. Given that this year is the 10th anniversary of the manga’s serialization, publisher Shueisha has been commemorating the occasion by announcing several projects.

To this effect, they had released a special promotional video about protagonist Shoyo Hinata on his birthday, July 21, consisting of animated manga panels. Today, they released another official PV of the same nature regarding Kageyama at 12 am JST.

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Haikyuu!! officials release an animated PV on Kageyama’s birthday as part of 10th-anniversary celebrations

The video chronicles Kageyama’s journey accompanied by a variation of Kageyama’s theme from the Haikyuu!! anime. The video begins with Tobio and Shoyo at the famous match against Argentina during the Tokyo Olympics, both sporting national jerseys and fist-bumping each other.

It then returns to his disastrous middle school years and moves onward through his healing experience at Karasuno, to his early years at the V-League as a player of the Schweiden Adlers, to finally when he faces off against Hinata once more as a player of Ali Roma.

Oikawa, Suga, and Atsumu (Image via Haruichi Furudate/Shueisha)

Throughout the video, many characters appear who have influenced Kageyama, namely the players from his middle school, high school, and professional teams, and his grandfather.

The three characters who merit special mention are Koushi Sugawara, Toru Oikawa, and Atsumu Miya. These are the three setters who have shaped Kageyama into the player he is today, with the former being his Senpai and the latter two remaining as his rivals throughout his playing career.

Hinata and Kageyama in the National Team (Image via Haruichi Furudate/Shueisha)

However, no one is as prominently portrayed in Kageyama’s PV as Hinata. Shueisha released a similar video for Hinata on his birthday, i.e., July 21. In it, Kageyama was also featured centrally. The theme of both videos reaffirms that Hinata and Kageyama, while being eternal rivals with their different professional teams, are also teammates and friends due to their long history and membership of the Japanese National team.

Shueisha has also released a combined video where both of these PVs are played side by side. From the background score to the sequence of panels both complement each other and create a complete story when played together.

Moreover, both videos end during their Asas Sao Paolo vs Ali Roma match, where Hinata says that “Today as well, I will win”, and Kageyama echoes “Today, it will be my win.” This is also the final page of the Haikyuu!! manga.

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Final thoughts

This year’s Jump Festa was very disappointing for Haikyuu!! fans since no new information was revealed during the program. The announcement of a two-part movie instead of a fifth season also disappointed fans.

While mangaka Haruichi Furudate wrote a One-Shot to celebrate Haikyuu!!’s 10th anniversary, it was not enough to placate the fans. However, this PV on Kageyama’s birthday soothes some of the ruffled feathers and makes everyone hope for more.