Anime NYC 2024: The Haikyu!! Dumpster Battle Team Talks With Anime Herald

Note: Due to the time-sensitive nature of our coverage, this article will debut on the main Anime Herald site on October 28. We apologize for the inconvenience.

• Interviewer: Seth Burn

• Editor: Samantha Ferreira

Manga Mavericks: How did working on the Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle differ from the TV production?

Keiko Matsushita: The challenge and the rewarding thing about doing a film is that it is all one continuous story. In the TV series, there is always next week. If we can’t fit something in the episode, we can put a hold on it and place it later. In the film, we have to say everything we want to say in the 85 minutes we have. That’s the hard, and rewarding thing, and the biggest difference.

Anime Herald: What do you feel makes Haikyu!! so special that it resonates with audiences worldwide?

Shoichiro Taguchi: In terms of the whole series, the understanding of what makes us human is really deep. A story about a club sport in Japan wouldn’t just spread across the world. But, the passion for sports is universal. The growth of a person is relatable. These are universal themes that are packed into the series. I believe that is why it has caught on so much.

Keiko Matsushita: I think the dialogue is amazing. The lines the characters say are proverbs for life.

On top of that, there is something that might be called “The aesthetics of losing.” Losing is the beginning of everything. Only a few people can be winners. A lot of us have experienced being losers. But you grow as a person and gain a lot of experience from losing. That is the relatable experience for all of us and a major theme in the series. I believe that’s probably why it resonates for people.

Shoichiro Taguchi: Going back to how wonderful the dialogue is, Furudate-sensei is very focused on which character says a line, and in what kind of situation. It’s not just the words the characters are saying. It’s the context of why that line is said. When it is translated, it’s based so much on context and feeling and why the line was said. When translated, it becomes relatable and resonates with people.

Keiko Matsushita: Making anime based on those lines, when the voice actors are recording the lines, for example (Shōyō) Hinata calls himself Ore. “Ore” can be written in kanji, hiragana, or katakana. We make sure that, in the script, “ore” is written in hiragana because that is how Hinata sees himself. It’s a little thing, but we give that information to the voice actor so they can catch on and reflect it in their voice.

Shoichiro Taguchi: Even if you don’t know volleyball at all, everyone can enjoy it because it is a story of challengers.

The understanding of humanity, the characters are very deep in the series. That’s why the amazing lines of dialogue resonate beyond culture, gender, and language. It resonates deeply with our humanity.

Unknown outlet: [In Haikyu!!] The Dumpster Battle, what creative choices did you make to ensure the match lived up to the emotional and narrative significance it holds in the series?

Keiko Matsushita: Going in, we saw this film as the culmination of their youthful days. When Hinata starts out, no one is giving him a toss. He wants to be friends with this guy. He joins the club. He grows as a person. This game is the culmination of his journey. Anything like this event toward the end, is going to be sad, but at the same time, you have this sense of achievement. The feeling of the days of youth, the memories, and what he achieved, is what mattered and what we wanted to express in the film.

Shoichiro Taguchi: In terms of the script, it was a Kenma-focused story. He’s very focused on how to beat Karasuno. In the manga, it’s more about Karasuno and Nekoma as teams. There are many different characters and many different stories happening. In the anime we focused on Hinata and Kenma. We showed a clip in the panel. It’s a scene where there’s an exchange of their inner monologues. By focusing on stuff like that, it was a creative trick to keep the flow going.

Nerds and Beyond: Haikyu!! has an incredible way of making audiences feel invested in all of the teams that we meet throughout the series. Do either of you have a team or player, outside of The Dumpster Battle, that you enjoy watching, and why?

Shoichiro Taguchi: We get that question all of the time, so I am used to it.

I choose (Ryūnosuke) Tanaka. In season 4, episode 16, he has a line “I am an ordinary player.” That line connected for me. I think it’s relatable to a lot of us.

Keiko Matsushita: This is not my personal story, but the sound director, Kikuta-san, he’s in charge of dubbing, VA casting, sound, music, etc. He likes (Shinsuke) Kita. He has a line, “Do it properly.” That’s kind of his motto, and why Kikuta-san likes him.

Chiba-san, the chief animator, likes Tanaka as well, for the same line that Taguchi-san liked.

All of the staff have their own personal favorites. I personally like Yachi.

Shoichiro Taguchi: As an editor, the mangaka is the genius, and I am an ordinary person working with a genius. Maybe my existence can help this genius produce amazing work. That validates my life as well. That’s why I like that scene.

Unknown Outlet: What has been the most memorable part of producing the Haikyu!! movie for you?

Shoichiro Taguchi: Speaking on the production side, the director Mitsunaka-san, and the studio, created such an amazing film. My task was how to distribute it so that it reaches as many people as possible.

Since it is a theatrical release, instead of a TV show, it is harder to promote. We did a special program before the launch. About 16,000 people came to see it. Since they created such a great film, we did our best to hype up the audience. We poured our best efforts to make that happen. It has borne fruit globally. It was a success. That makes me happy.

The process was very long, so there are many memories. After the script meetings, of which there were many, the director and I would go to dinner together. It was casual. We talked a lot about the film. He would tell us about what he wanted to do with the film. His face was so youthful, almost like Hinata’s face when the toss came up. Seeing his visions come true was the most memorable.

Keiko Matsushita: What I remember the most is that the director had a vision. My job was to understand his vision and disseminate it to all of the staff, and make sure that it happens. That was very challenging. Some of the staff moved away from Haikyu!!, and then came back. Trying to remember what it was like and reproduce it. But the director also leveled up. His requests leveled up. Trying to catch-up to his high-level requests was very hard. That’s what I remember the most.

Manga Mavericks: How did you all get involved in working on Haikyu!!?

Riki Azuma: I joined Shueisha and was assigned to the (Weekly Shonen) Jump editorial team. I was told I was going to work with Furudate-sensei. That’s how it works. It’s a company. That started in October of 2018. Six months before, I had just been a college student. There were no previous editors to work with. There were just two of us. That’s how I got involved.

Shoichiro Taguchi: It was kind of similar. I joined TOHO in 2019. Season 1 through the middle of season 4 were produced by producer (Wakana) Okamura. I took over after her.

Keiko Matsushita: I encountered the series when volume three was published. I heard that Shueisha was looking for someone to adapt it into an anime. Whether or not I raise my hand depends on whether or not I have a good idea for which creative team can make this happen. 

Director Mitsunaka came to mind because to me he has the same kind of energy as Hinata. Just like Hinata says, you can’t play volleyball alone. Director Mitsunaka can’t make this alone. He needs a powerful setter like Kageyama. That was (character designer Takahiro) Kishida-san for me. This is a shonen anime. It can’t be too serious. They needed somebody playful enough, kind of like Tanaka. That’s why I picked (Taku) Kishimoto-san as a script writer. Those three were the team I came up with. I suggested them to Shueisha, and they said “That looks good.” They approved it, and that’s how I got to produce season one.

Anime Herald: What were the anime and manga that inspired you to join the industry?

Riki Azuma: Probably my favorite manga is Dokaben. It’s a baseball story. I like sports manga.

Going back to when I was in preschool, to graduate from preschool they made a videotape. Apparently, I said my dream was to become a mangaka. I don’t remember it, but apparently that’s where it started. Then, when I was in middle school, Bakuman came out. That’s when I learned about the occupation of manga editor. Previously, I hadn’t known that existed. I continued to read Jump. When I was in high school, Haikyu!! started. I was reading it and thought, “Oh, if I could work on this, that would be great.” When I was in college I tried out for Shueisha and was accepted. But I never imagined that I would actually be working on Haikyu!!.

Keiko Matsushita: It’s a long story. My first introduction to anime was when I was in preschool. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. I watched it on VHS tape. When I was in elementary school, I read Nakayoshi, a girls shonen manga weekly. Sailor Moon was on the front cover. That’s how I got into manga. 

When I was a youth, I didn’t really read manga or watch anime. I was more into music. That led to me creating music videos. I was into using CG (computer graphics animation). That’s kind of how I got my first job. That company was using CG animation, as well. I learned how the animator in that company was trying to recreate the manga Tiger Mask. There was this kick where the perspective was crazy. The ankle was very thin, but the soles of the feet were huge. I realized the animator’s mind was incredible. I wanted to delve in the animator’s mind. Where did this amazing perspective come from? Then I came across Cowboy Bebop. The music was amazing! The animation was amazing! That told me I needed to go into animation. I applied to an animation company. I got a job.

Shoichiro Taguchi: I watched a lot of Street Fighter, Doraemon, and Ghibli. (Neon Genesis) Evangelion got me into anime. But that was just a hobby. I was a working professional in a different industry. Then, I watched Gurren Lagann. Kamina’s line, “Do what you want to do.” I thought, “that’s what I need to do.” I quit my job at the furniture company and applied to Studio Trigger. That’s how I entered the industry.