Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle ignores two of the franchise’s best characters

While Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle successfully revitalizes the hype left by the anime, it ignores two of the story’s best characters.

Calling Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle one of the best anime movies in 2024 wouldn’t be much of a stretch. After doing wonders at the Japanese box office, the film is now taking the whole world by storm after its global release. (Check out our Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle review for more!)

The grand reception of the anime movie is a proof of how sports anime is finally having its moment. Despite not being a battle shonen, the new Haikyuu!! movie has audiences screaming “chance ball” along with the boys onscreen.

I was one of them, hollering “mou ippon” at the screen as the boys scored points. But to say I was completely floored by the sports anime movie would be an exaggeration, because no matter how anticipated this was, it still noticeably ignored Kageyama and Kuroo, two very significant characters.

The much-awaited match between Karasuno and Nekoma finally begins

Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle is set during the much-anticipated match between Karasuno and Nekoma. It’s a match everyone has been waiting for. While the characters have been itching to go against each other on the national level, fans have been eager to see their wish come true for the four years between Season 4 and this movie.

After being rivals for generations, looking forward to competing on the national level for years, it’s Hinata and Kenma’s respective teams who make it to the orange court. Members from both teams have their individual rival facing them; Nishinoya has Yaku, Tsukishima has Kuroo, and our protagonist Hinata has managed to snag three rivals for himself. 

However, Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle doesn’t take long to make it clear that the game belongs to Hinata and Kenma. In fact, it’s too insistent on the matter, so much so that it’s ready to sacrifice other characters to give them as much of the spotlight as possible.

To be fair, there’s nothing entirely wrong with that. The Dumpster Battle was always supposed to be Kenma’s time to shine; it’s the match that helps him find excitement in the sport he’s been playing since childhood. However, this could’ve been done without overlooking Kageyama and Kuroo, as the manga has already demonstrated.

In its determination to focus on Kenma and Hinata, the movie fails to reflect what’s made the franchise so different from many other sports anime. Haikyuu!! is not just about glorifying its protagonist, it’s about characters developing together through the sport they love.

The film, however, doesn’t take the time to give every character standing on the court the proper opportunity to shine, something so vastly different from the manga. While some cases are understandable, given the limited duration of the movie, ignoring Kageyama and Kuroo’s important scenes seems like a gross misjudgement from the creative team.

Kuroo’s leadership is lost in The Dumpster Battle

Haruichi Furudate/Shueisha

One thing Haikyuu!! makes clear from the very beginning is that Hinata and Kageyama are the main characters of the series. While Hinata is our protagonist, trying to overcome his disadvantage of short height, Kageyama has a different adversary. And we tag along on this journey with both of them.

Kuroo, on the other hand, is not as necessary to the story as Kageyama is. But he’s an indispensable character, particularly in The Dumpster Battle. As the captain of Nekoma, Kenma’s best friend, and Tsukishima’s sort-of mentor, he has an immense impact on the story.

While the Haikyuu!! movie does Kuroo justice in two of those three areas, it fails to properly show Kuroo’s prowess as a captain. Don’t get me wrong, it does have one scene where the rooster-head is shown talking up his teammates, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg.

In the manga, Kuroo’s leadership can be seen in subtle moments. His constant vigilance over his teammates, recognizing the threats of each play, and not to mention, rising to the occasion when they need to score; these all speak highly of his captaincy. But the movie hardly spares two minutes to show such little yet impactful moments.

The movie also disregards one crucial element of Kuroo and Kenma’s friendship, despite giving their flashback ample screen time. In the film, the boys are shown to have met as neighbors during their childhood, which leads to their years-long friendship. 

But how the two start to bond isn’t shown. It’s not just being neighbors that had them become friends, but their mutual social anxiety as well. Like Kenma, Kuroo was also an introvert as a child, but unlike the pudding-head, he grew out of it over the years.

Given the bigger picture, this can be overlooked. What cannot be is the movie failing to show Kuroo’s volleyball chops. Towards the beginning of the film, there is one statement about him being an all-rounder player, not just a middle-blocker, but not enough scenes to support that claim.

The Haikyuu!! manga, however, excels in this. Throughout the match, Kuroo has many moments where his spikes, receives, and serves, along with his read blocking, have given the crows a run for their money. There is one particular scene in Chapter 297 where Kuroo’s successful spike has the commentators praising his all-rounder skills.

Kageyama’s best scenes are missing from the movie

Haruichi Furudate/Shueisha

It’s even worse for Kageyama, because unlike Kuroo, his skills are too good to be ignored. He’s the setter of Karasuno, thus, the control tower of the team. And he’sthe most talented player on that court between both teams combined. 

Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle seems to have forgotten that altogether. It’s as if the filmmakers chose not to show Kageyama’s skills to highlight Kenma’s strategizing more. They ignore each and every impactful moment of the Karasuno setter, from how dangerous his serves are to the opponent to how brilliant of a setter he is.

Instead, he’s shown as a background character and a plot device for Hinata’s shining moment. During the movie’s best scene, Hinata is shown to be caged by Kenma after the Nekoma setter manages to prevent him from running altogether. 

However, what the film overlooks is that in the manga, Kageyama is caged too. If Hinata fails to run and fly, then Kageyama can’t use his strongest weapon. It’s as devastating to him as it is to Hinata. 

The movie instead shows him using the four-point set to give Hinata the time to gain momentum. While doing so, the film clearly shows the brilliance of Hinata as he breaks free of the cage, but doesn’t give the setter his proper due.

Haruichi Furudate/Shueisha

It’s even worse in the first part. In Chapter 299, after Yamaguchi’s jump floaters are stopped, things start to get tense for Karasuno as Nekoma’s digging becomes more and more persistent. In one crucial moment, Kageyama shows off his genius as he perfectly sets a badly received ball and has Hinata score a flashy point.

This brilliant moment is followed by Kuroo admitting that they agree with Coach Nekomata’s comment about Kageyama being the biggest monster of Karasuno, the worst one to look out for. The movie never shows this scene, failing to impart the importance of Kageyama in that match.

Similarly, his fearsome jump serve and precise sets in Chapter 300 are overlooked in favor of showing Kenma beginning to plan. By doing so, the film is unsuccessful in reminding the audience that Kenma doesn’t have it easy. He’s playing against a setter better than him and a spiker who’s relentless in his energy. 

It’s not just Hinata who serves as Kenma’s biggest adversary, it’s the weird duo. Hinata and Kageyama come as a package, given that Hinata is completely reliant on his setter. So, the decision to ignore the genius setter really has me wondering if the primary aim of the movie was to cater to new viewers, instead of satisfying longtime fans who know the characters pretty well by now.

Whatever it may have been, it doesn’t change the fact that the movie isn’t as good as it could’ve been. I, for one, ended up being disappointed and a little bitter about being deprived from some of the best scenes from the match. After four years of waiting, I couldn’t help but wonder if this was worth it.

Hopefully Haikyuu movie 2 will be more faithful to the manga than the first movie. The Kamomedai match is where everything is at stake and I’d hate to see important characters put in the backburner again.

If you loved the movie, don’t forget to check out our explanation on Haikyuu!! Movie: The Dumpster Battle ending or if Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle has post-credit scenes. And if you haven’t, find out how to watch Haikyuu!! Movie: The Dumpster Battle.