manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is used in Japan to refer to both comics ...
series written and illustrated by Haruichi Furudate. It was serialized in
Shueisha
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...
Weekly Shōnen Jump
is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...
'' from February 2012 to July 2020, with its chapters collected in 45 volumes. The story follows Shoyo Hinata, a boy determined to become a great
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
player despite his small stature.
An
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series adaptation produced by Production I.G, aired on
MBS
MBS may refer for:
People
* Mohammed Ben Sulayem (born 1961), president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
* Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia
* Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepales ...
from April to September 2014, with 25 episodes. A second season aired from October 2015 to March 2016, with 25 episodes. A third season aired from October to December 2016, with 10 episodes. A fourth season was released in two split cours from January to December 2020, with 25 episodes. The anime film series titled ''Haikyu!! Final'' will be released in two parts, which serves as the finale of the series; the first part titled '' Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle'', was released in February 2024, and the second and final part titled ''Haikyu!! vs. The Little Giant'' has been announced.
In North America, the manga has been licensed by
Viz Media
Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
, while the anime series has been licensed for digital and home release by
Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks, LLC (or simply Sentai) is an American entertainment company. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is Sentai Studios.
The ...
.
Both the manga and anime have been met with positive responses. In 2016, ''Haikyu!!'' won the 61st
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...
for the category. By December 2024, the manga had over 70 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time.
Plot
Junior high school student, Shoyo Hinata, becomes obsessed with volleyball after catching a glimpse of Karasuno High School playing in the Nationals on TV. Of short stature himself, Hinata is inspired by a player the commentators nickname 'The Little Giant', Karasuno's short but talented wing spiker. Though inexperienced, Hinata is athletic and has an impressive vertical jump. He joins his school's volleyball club—only to find he is its sole member, forcing him to spend the next two years trying to convince other students to help him practice.
In the third and final year of junior high, some of Hinata's friends agree to join the club so he can compete in a tournament. In his first official game ever, they suffer a crushing defeat to the team favored to win the tournament—that included third-year Tobio Kageyama, a prodigy setter nicknamed 'The King of the Court' for both his skill and his brutal play style. The two spark a short rivalry, and after the game, Hinata vows to defeat Kageyama in high school.
Hinata studies and is accepted to Karasuno, the same high school the "Little Giant" played for, but is shocked to discover that Kageyama has also chosen to attend Karasuno. Karasuno is revealed to have lost its reputation as a powerhouse school following the era of the Little Giant, often being referred to as 'The Wingless Crows' by other local teams. However, by combining Kageyama's genius setting skills with Hinata's remarkable athleticism, the duo create an explosive new volleyball tactic and develop an unexpected but powerful setter-spiker partnership.
Along the way, Hinata and Kageyama push each other into reaching their full potential, and Hinata develops relationships with his first real team, thus beginning Karasuno's journey of redemption to restore their reputation and make it to the Nationals.
Both Hinata and Kageyama aspire to be professional volleyball players, and make a promise to one another after they graduate from high school that no matter what, they will both play on the same court again. They have a remarkable bond and devote their lives to each other and the sport of volleyball.
Shueisha
is a Japanese publishing company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. Shueisha is the largest publishing company in Japan. It was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The ...
's seasonal '' Jump Next!'' on January 8, 2011. A second one-shot was published in the manga magazine ''
Weekly Shōnen Jump
is a weekly Shōnen manga, ''shōnen'' manga anthology published in Japan by Shueisha under the ''Jump (magazine line), Jump'' line of magazines. The manga series within the magazine consist of many Action (fiction), action scenes and a fair ...
'' on April 25, 2011. ''Haikyu!!'' started its serialization in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' on February 20, 2012. The series finished on July 20, 2020. Shueisha collected its chapters in 45 volumes, released from June 4, 2012, to November 4, 2020.
At their panel at
New York Comic Con
The New York Comic Con is an annual New York City fan convention dedicated to comics, Western comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, cosplay, toys, Film, movies, and television. It was first held in 2006. With an attendance of 200,00 ...
, North American publisher
Viz Media
Viz Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series.
The company was founded in 1986 as Viz, ...
announced their license of the manga and released the series in 2016. Shueisha began to simulpublish the series in English on the website and app ''
Manga Plus
''Manga Plus'' (stylized as ''MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA'') is an online manga platform and smartphone app owned by Shueisha that was launched on January 28, 2019. It is available worldwide except in Japan, China, and South Korea which already hav ...
'' in January 2019.
A spin-off titled , illustrated by Kyōhei Miyajima, was released in Shueisha's '' Shonen Jump+'' website from May 13, 2019, to March 24, 2025. Its first volume was released on November 1, 2019. As of December 4, 2024, 13 volumes have been released.
A 16-page special one-shot chapter written and illustrated by Furudate, centered on Karasuno High vs. Nekoma High showdown in different angle, was published in ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' on February 5, 2024. A book from the original manga, titled ''Haikyu!! Volume 33.5'', which includes a 16-page manga, character illustrations, the storyboard for chapter 322, and a Q&A with Furudate, was given to the ''Haikyu!! the Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump'' theatergoers on February 16, 2024. The book had a limited print run of 2 million theatergoers.
Radio drama
A
radio drama
Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...
for the series was broadcast in November 2012 on
TV Tokyo
JOTX-DTV (channel 7), branded as is a Japanese television station that serves as the flagship of the TX Network.Sakiyomi Jum-Bang!'' program, with multiple
voice actors
Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...
providing voice samples for the characters. It was later distributed in December 2012 via Shueisha's ''Vomic'' website.
Anime
An
anime
is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...
television series produced by Production I.G aired from April 6 to September 21, 2014 on
MBS
MBS may refer for:
People
* Mohammed Ben Sulayem (born 1961), president of the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile
* Mohammed bin Salman (born 1985), crown prince and prime minister of Saudi Arabia
* Mohan Bikram Singh (born 1935), Nepales ...
, other JNN stations, and with English subtitles on
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...
. From episodes 1-13, the opening
theme song
Theme music is a musical composition which is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at ...
is "Imagination" by Spyair, while the ending theme song is "Tenchi Gaeshi" by Nico Touches the Walls. For episodes 14 through 25, the opening is "Ah Yeah" by
Sukima Switch
is a Japanese rock/jazz fusion duo consisting of core members , born May 9, 1978, and , born February 25, 1978, formed in 1999. Formerly with BMG Japan (bought by SMEJ in early 2009), they signed with Sony Music Japan's Ariola Japan label in ...
, and the ending is "LEO" by Tacica. "Ah Yeah" is also used as the ending for episode 14, which has no opening. The anime has been licensed for digital and home video release by
Sentai Filmworks
Sentai Filmworks, LLC (or simply Sentai) is an American entertainment company. Located in Houston, the company specializes in the dubbing and distribution of Japanese animation and Asian cinema. Its post-production arm is Sentai Studios.
The ...
.
A second season aired from October 4, 2015, to March 27, 2016. For episodes 1 through 13, the opening theme song is "I'm a Believer" by Spyair, while the ending theme song is "Climber" by
Galileo Galilei
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de' Galilei (15 February 1564 – 8 January 1642), commonly referred to as Galileo Galilei ( , , ) or mononymously as Galileo, was an Italian astronomer, physicist and engineer, sometimes described as a poly ...
. For episodes 14 through 25, the opening theme song is "FLY HIGH" by Burnout Syndromes, while the ending theme song is by Tacica.
A third season, titled , aired from October 8 to December 10, 2016. The opening theme song is "Hikariare" by Burnout Syndromes, while the ending theme song is "Mashi Mashi" by Nico Touches the Walls. Sentai Filmworks has also licensed the third season.
A fourth season, titled , was announced at the Jump Festa '19 event, with a "kickoff event" for the new series being held on September 22, 2019. The fourth season premiered on January 11, 2020 on the Super Animeism block. The opening theme is "Phoenix" by Burnout Syndromes and the ending theme is "Kessen Spirit" by CHiCO with HoneyWorks. It ran for 25 episodes, with the first cour running weekly from January 11, 2020 to April 4, 2020; the second cour was supposed to air in July 2020 but was delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. The second cour aired from October 3 to December 19, 2020. The opening theme is "Toppakō" by Super Beaver and the ending theme is "One Day" by Spyair. Crunchyroll simulcasted the fourth season.
Original video animations
Four original video animations (OVA) episodes have been released. The first, "The Arrival of Haiba Lev", premiered at the Jump Festa on November 9, 2014, and was released on March 4, 2015, in a limited-edition
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
release of the anime ''Haikyu!!'', along with the 15th edition of the manga, while the second, "VS Failing Grades", premiered at the Jump Festa on November 3, 2015, and was released on May 2, 2016, in a limited-edition DVD release of ''Haikyu!!'', along with the 21st edition of the manga. Two more OVA episodes, "Land vs. Sky" and "The Path of the Ball", adapting the Tokyo Nationals qualifiers story arc from the manga series, were released on January 22, 2020.
Compilation films
Supplementary compilation films have been released following the airing of the anime. After the first season and before the second season was aired in 2015, two compilation films were released. The first movie, , was released on July 3, 2015 and the second movie, , premiered on September 18, 2015. Two more compilation films were announced after the third season, in March 2017. Both films were released in September: the first film, , on the 15th and the second film, , on the 29th.
Anime films
On August 13, 2022, two ''Haikyu!! Final'' anime films were announced, serving as the finale of the series. The first film, '' Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle'', was released on February 16, 2024. In April 2024, Crunchyroll announced that they had acquired the North American and select international theatrical rights to the film. The film was released in the United States and Canada on May 31. The second film, ''Haikyu!! vs. The Little Giant'', was announced along with the anime short ''Haikyu!! Where Monsters Go'' on March 2, 2025.
Video games
''Haikyu!! Tsunage! Itadaki no Keshiki'' was released on the
Nintendo 3DS
The is a foldable dual-screen handheld game console produced by Nintendo. Announced in March 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS, the console was released originally on February 26, 2011 and went through various revisions in its lifetime, ...
in Japan on September 25, 2014. ''Haikyu!! Cross Team Match'' was released on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan on March 3, 2016. Shoyo appears as a support character in the ''Jump'' crossover fighting game '' J-Stars Victory VS'' for
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE). It is the successor to the PlayStation 2, and both are part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. The PS3 was first released on ...
,
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
, and
PlayStation Vita
The PlayStation Vita (PS Vita) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 17, 2011, then in other international territories on February 22, 2012, and was produced ...
Shogakukan Manga Award
The is one of Japan's major manga
are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long history in earlier Japanese art. The term is ...
for the category in 2016. Additionally, the series ranked fourth out of a total of fifteen comics recommended in Honya Club's ''Zenkoku Shoten'in ga Eranda Osusume Comic 2013'' ranking. In November 2014, readers of '' Da Vinci'' magazine voted ''Haikyu!!'' the eighteenth ''Weekly Shōnen Jump''s greatest manga series of all time. ''Haikyu!!'' ranked fourth on the 2014 "Book of the Year" list by ''Da Vinci'' magazine; it ranked sixth in 2015; ninth in 2016; fourth in 2018; thirteenth in 2019, along with '' Space Brothers''; tenth in 2020; and eighteenth in 2021. On
TV Asahi
JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as , and better known as , is a Japanese television station serving the Kanto region as the flagship station of the All-Nippon News Network. It is owned-and-operated by the a subsidiary of , itself controlled by ...
's Manga Sōsenkyo 2021 poll, in which 150,000 people voted for their top 100 manga series, ''Haikyu!!'' ranked eighth.
By December 2016, the manga had over 20 million copies in circulation; it had over 28 million copies in circulation by January 2018; over 33 million copies in circulation by December 2018; over 35 million copies in circulation by December 2019; over 38 million copies in circulation by May 2020; over 40 million copies in circulation by August 2020; over 50 million copies in circulation by November 2020; over 55 million copies in circulation by August 2022; over 60 million copies in circulation by September 2023; and over 70 million copies in circulation by December 2024.
In Japan, ''Haikyu!!'' was the sixth best-selling manga in 2015, and eighth in 2019. It was the fourth best-selling manga series in 2020, with 7,212,099 copies sold. The first volume ranked 22nd on the Tohan charts between June 4 and 10, 2012. The second volume ranked eighteenth on the charts between August 6 and 12, 2012, and the third volume was also ranked eighteenth between October 8 and 14, 2012. In December 2016, the 24th volume topped
Oricon
, established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
's Top 10 Weekly Sales chart, selling 282,363 copies in its first three days. During the week of May 11–17, 2020, ''Haikyu!!'' was the second best-selling manga on Oricon's Top 10 Weekly Chart, selling 473,858 copies in a week and ranking only below '' Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba''.
Leroy Douresseaux of ''Comic Book Bin'' praised the story for its in-depth examination of personal and mental struggles in addition to athletic struggles, noting its prominent focus on character drama and team dynamics outside of volleyball.
Anime
In November 2019, ''
Polygon
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain.
The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
'' named ''Haikyu!!'' one of the best anime of the 2010s, and
Crunchyroll
Crunchyroll is an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service owned by Sony, Sony Group Corporation. The service primarily distributes fi ...
listed it in their "Top 100 best anime of the 2010s".
IGN
''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...
also listed ''Haikyu!!'' among the best anime series of the 2010s. According to ''Crunchyroll'', ''Haikyu!!'' was one of the top 10 streamed anime in the UK, Canada, Oceania, Mexico, and Brazil on their streaming service during the winter 2020 anime season.
The anime won Sports Series of the Decade at the
Funimation
Funimation was an American Video on demand#Subscription models, subscription video on-demand Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service. Launched in 2016, the service was one of the leading distributors of anime ...
's Decade of Anime poll, where the fans voted for their favorite anime across multiple categories. On
Tumblr
Tumblr (pronounced "tumbler") is a microblogging and Social networking service, social networking website founded by David Karp in 2007 and is owned by American company Automattic. The service allows users to post multimedia and other content ...
's Year in Review, which highlights the largest communities,
fandom
A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...
s, and trends on the platform throughout the year, ''Haikyu!!'' ranked second behind ''
My Hero Academia
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from July 2014 to August 2024, with its chapters collected in 42 volumes. Set in a wor ...
'' on the Top Anime & Manga Shows category in 2020; it ranked third in 2021. At the
5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards
The 5th Crunchyroll Anime Awards were held on February 19, 2021, honoring excellence in anime from 2020 in anime, 2020. Crunchyroll announced the list of categories as well as the judges on December 16, 2020. They noted that the categories used i ...
Best Boy
In a film crew, there are two kinds of best boy: best boy electric (also known as the assistant chief lighting technician) and best boy grip (also known as the 2nd company grip). They are assistants to their department heads, the gaffer (in ch ...
" while he was nominated for " Best Protagonist". The fourth season's opening theme, "Phoenix" by Burnout Syndromes, was nominated for "Best Opening Sequence".
Kim Yeon-kyoung, captain of the South Korean National Women's Volleyball team, reacted to and analyzed Karasuno's final rally against Aoba Johsai in season 2, expressing that while a few moments were exaggerated and impossible to do in real life, she was pleasantly surprised by its portrayal of high-level volleyball and thought it was "fun to watch". She noted that the creator "is a person with a high level of volleyball knowledge".
Melina Dargis of ''The Fandom Post'' praised its development of a team mentality with multiple characters rather than individuals, serving to emphasize that volleyball "... is not an individual event, but a team sport". Noelle Ogawa of Crunchyroll praised it for its portrayal of personal growth, emphasizing its dependence on having the "right people and the right environment to bloom in." Rebecca Silverman of ''
Anime News Network
Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and ot ...
'' commented on the development of non-players like Karasuno's team manager, Kiyoko, stating that "her triumphant jump as she brings Hinata his lost sneakers is a beautiful statement of the fact that she's just as much a part of the team as any of the boys". Silverman also comments on the anime's attention to detail, noting the inclusion of deep breaths in, the movement of muscles in player's legs, and point of view shots that follow the ball during rallies. Isaac Ackers applauded the anime for its creation of intensity without having to use the speed of real-life sports, noting that it " ightensits focus on individual moments, making each point a peak and each second leading up to those peaks essential. Instead of speeding up, it slows down. It hangs on specific plays, stretches out the time the volleyball is in the air, emphasizes the moments in between. It's simple, but it's sublimely effective."
Rafael Motamayor of
Slash Film
''/Film'', also spelled ''SlashFilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. The site's reviews appear on Rotten Tomatoes, and as of 2024, two of its leading film cr ...
commended the anime, stating that "the best part of Haikyu!! is the way the show integrates relationships and character stories into the actual sport", noting that "what may look like a simple toss suddenly turns into a vital lesson in building trust with your teammates, and the planning and staging of a spike also means addressing and confronting years of self-hatred and doubts". He also complimented the combination of Production I.G's fluid animation and Yuki Hayashi's soundtrack, which " levatea simple game into an operatic duel of fates", with "visual metaphors that urnevery pass into a battle". Guillermo Kurten of ''
Comic Book Resources
''CBR'', formerly ''Comic Book Resources'', is a news website primarily covering comic book news, comic book reviews, and comic book–related topics involving movies, television, anime, and video games. It is owned by Valnet, parent of publicat ...
'' praised ''Haikyu!!'' for its outstanding characterization and for its execution of an entertaining story, even for those who do not enjoy sports or have no volleyball knowledge. K. Thor Jensen of ''
Mashable
Mashable is a Online newspaper, news website, digital media platform and entertainment company founded by Pete Cashmore in 2005.
History
Mashable was founded by Pete Cashmore while living in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 2004. Early iterations o ...
'' listed it on his list of the best sports anime.