Movie Review: Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle (Gekijôban Haikyû!! Gomi Suteba no Kessen)

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B

A very entertaining animated sports film from Japan. 

This movie takes place over the course one volleyball game. However, this game is interspliced with various flashbacks. The flashbacks follow the main character's relationships with two friends. One on his own team and one on the opposing team. This format works very well and as the film goes on, we care less about who wins and more about the characters themselves. The relationships the main character has with these two other characters are very well thought out. Though he has a friendship with each one in each friendship the dynamic is different. As we see him in these flashbacks, he is a bit of a different person than he is in the modern-day scenes. This film does a wonderful job of conveying how both of these friendships helped form who he is now. This is not conveyed in a heavy-handed or overly obvious way. Instead it comes naturally through the story and characters. This gives the film a nice slice of life feel that is unique to many sports movies. As for the volleyball game, I admit that I really don't like sports. So those who like sports will probably find it more exciting than I did. However, I did very much appreciate and enjoy the visual filmmaking here. This was excellent, especially in the ways it used animation to tell the story in ways a live action film couldn't. The scenes where we saw the game the way the player pictured it in their minds (with larger-than-life visuals) were fantastic, as was the animated POV shot as the main character was pushing himself as far as he could go. This movie also benefited from a good sense of humor, as there are some good laughs here.

This movie does have its problems though. One is that it moves at a breakneck space rarely stopping to take a break. It can be too much all at once and make certain parts seem really rushed. This movie also features wall to wall dialogue, and this just isn't necessary. It becomes distracting when we constantly hear the characters narrating what is going on. This works in smaller doses but when it used through a whole feature film, it becomes distracting. Also because of the fast pace we never get to really know any of the other characters besides the main three (I know this is adapted from a manga and TV series, but a movie should be able to stand on its own).

This may not be a perfect film but it is simply a lot of fun.