The Karasuno boys’ volleyball team is finally back in action — though instead of a new season of beloved sports anime Haikyu!!, we’re getting a movie highlighting one of the most anticipated manga moments: the legendary Dumpster Battle.
The show follows spunky Hinata, who like many sports anime protagonists is determined to become the best volleyball player. He joins his high school team — only to find out that he must work with his middle school rival Kageyama. Haikyu!! takes sports anime conventions and really dives into them, emphasizing some of the more complicated emotions about winning, losing, and everything in between.
The latest arc of the show had the Karasuno team at nationals, up against some of the best teams they’ve ever faced. The movie will pick up right where the most recent season left off, as the team faces their most high-stakes match yet.
The Karasuno team is up against rival school Nekoma. The two teams enjoy a friendly competition, and the Nekoma characters are some of the series’ most beloved. Matches between the two teams are often called “Dumpster Battles,” since their respective mascots (crows and cats) are animals found at garbage dumps.
The most recent season of Haikyu!! came out in early 2020, and wrapped up the second half late rin the year. So it’s been some four years since we last saw the Karasuno boys’ volleyball team. Luckily we won’t need to wait for much longer, beacuse the movie hits North American theaters on May 31.
All four seasons of Haikyu!! are available to stream on Crunchyroll.
