Sports Anime! I'll get to three sports anime movies this month if I'm lucky, with one of those being a film that I should have - and would have - discussed last July. But let's start this month with Haikyu! The Dumpster Battle, the first of a planned two-parter set to conclude four seasons of anime based on Haruichi Furudate's volleyball manga.
The film opens with series protagonist Shoyo Hinata meeting one of his major rivals, Kenma Kozume. A few seasons later, Shoyo and Kenma's schools, Karasuno High and Nekoma High, finally meet on the volleyball court. This is the titular "Dumpster Battle," a name which isn't properly explained here, but might have something to do with their schools' junkyard-dwelling namesakes (Karasuno - Crow; Nekoma - Cat). Whatever happens, both schools have agreed to no rematch. The film's 86-minutes pretty much revolve around this decisive battle.
It sounds like I'm leaving stuff out, but so does the film. It already expects you to know the story thus far; we get Shoyo meeting Kenma, and it goes straight into the start of the Dumpster Battle. It expects you to be familiar with the supporting characters watching the game (a few players have sisters leading their schools' cheerleaders). It expects you to be invested in the culmination of two teams' longstanding rivalry. All of this will surely resonate with long time devotees of the franchise. Everyone else, like me, might greet allusions to past events with an "um, OK."
Shoyo might be the series' MVP, but it's Kenma who gets the spotlight here. The film delves into his jaded personality, as well as his friendship with his team's captain, Tetsuro Kuroo. We see the keen strategist of the present match contrasted with the lazy gamer he used to be. He uses some impressive visual metaphors in his strategies; the funniest being for his defense against Shoyo. It's quite engaging to see Tetsuro spur Kenma into taking up volleyball in the first place. At least newcomers have these flashbacks for much-needed context to the franchise. Kenma's ultimate takeaway when all is said and done - volleyball isn't a life-or-death battle, but it's still fun - is a decent assessment of this film.
Anything else? You won't be disappointed if you came here just for volleyball. The Dumpster Battle gets it done. You'll have some fun as the guys strategize, execute team attacks and even taunt each other with "advice." Besides the metaphors, the film's most spectacular scene is a first-person POV shot in the finale. Its large cast is likable even if you have no idea who they are. A few names not lost in the shuffle include Karasuno's former coach, Ikkei Ukai, and Satori Tendo, a loopy guy whose team once played against Karasuno. There's also a strong score by Yuki Hayashi and Asami Tachibana to accentuate the action on and off the court.
So, what do I think of Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle? It's mostly harmless. It's decently entertaining for anyone who just wants some good anime volleyball action. But as the culmination of its long story, it's best to catch up with the manga and anime. Do that, and you might be caught up in time for the second movie, whose release date is currently unknown. But it might be soon considering that this is currently the second highest-grossing film at the Japanese box office. I'll just prepare for this month's movies in the meantime.
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