The Haikyuu Season 5 release date may be over the horizon and the Haikyuu!! manga’s ending is already in our faces, but new Haikyuu!! episodes are coming up way faster than some anime fans might have expected.
Already being billed as Haikyuu!! To The Top: Season 2/Part 2, Production I.G. has officially announced that the popular volleyball anime will be returning in 2020.
Despite there being a full seasonal break between airing new episodes, Haikyuu!! To The Top Season 2 will not be considered to be Haikyuu Season 5 since it’s a continuation of the fourth season.
That’s because Haikyuu!! To The Top Episode 14 will be released as the second part of a split-cour anime. What’s a “cour,” you might ask?
For those unfamiliar with the lingo, a “cour” is a three-month block of TV broadcasting based on the physical seasons usually composed of 10 to 13 episodes. A “split-cour” is where a single anime season takes a multi-month break before resuming TV broadcasting.
However, there are exceptions to this rule, since Overlord Season 2 and 3 were officially labeled as separate seasons despite being released less than a year apart (see our article on the Overlord Season 4 anime).
Unfortunately, the bad news is that the Haikyuu Season 4 Episode 14 release date was delayed by the SARS-COV-2 coronavirus pandemic. The anime production committee made the call out of concern for the safety of the production staff at anime studio Production I.G.
The Haikyuu!! To The Top anime will have 25 episodes in total. The finale for Part 1, Haikyuu!! To The Top Episode 13 released in April 2020.
The official announcement of the Haikyuu!! To The Top Part 2 release date came from a July 2020 issue of Weekly Shonen Jump. The second cour (Part 2) will be streaming October 2, 2020, the fall 2020 anime season. Presumably, Haikyuu!! To The Top Episode 25 will then air in December 2020.
(Please see the new story for the Haikyuu!! Season 4 Part 2 trailer.)
Thankfully, the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic didn’t spike these plans to the ground by worsening in Japan. Due the virus’ first wave, many anime studios delayed episodes, and Black Clover, Pokemon Journeys: The Series, The Promised Neverland Season 2, My Teen Romantic Comedy SNAFU Season 3, The Quintessential Quintuplets Season 2, Re: ZERO Season 2, Sword Art Online: Alicization Final Season, and No Guns Life Part 2 were all pushed back to later dates.
The Haikyuu!! To The Top anime is being produced by anime studio Production I.G., which is known for popular anime like Fate/Grand Order, Psycho-Pass: First Inspector, and Netflix’s Ultraman anime.
Production I.G. uses a title naming convention where seasons are named after the story arcs. For example, Haikyuu Season 3 was billed as Haikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou vs. Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou, while Haikyuu Season 4 was called Haikyu!! To The Top.
Similarly, it’s expected that Haikyuu!! Season 5 will have a similar title.
The Haikyuu!! To The Top opening (OP) theme song music was “Phoenix” as performed by Burnout Syndromes, while the Haikyuu S4 ending (ED) theme song music was “Spirit of Decisive Battle (Kessen Spirit)” as performed by CHiCO with HoneyWorks.
The Haikyuu!! Season 4 Part 2 opening was “Breach” by SUPER BEAVER, while the ending was “One Day” by SPYAIR.
The Haikyuu!! Season 5 opening (OP) and ending (ED) have not yet been announced.
The number of episodes for the Haikyuu!! Season 5 anime has not yet been announced. However, assuming that the fifth season finishes the Tokyo Nationals story arc, that would mean Haikyuu!! Season 5 will be two cours again with 24 or 25 episodes.
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Updated August 17, 2020: Exact Haikyuu!! Season 4 Part release date confirmed! Added OP/ED info.
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Updated July 9, 2020: Haikyuu!! To The Top Part 2 release date time frame confirmed. Haikyuu!! manga ending with Chapter 402.
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Updated July 6, 2020: Added Haikyuu!! To The Top Part 2 visual and delay update. Manga enters the climax of final story arc.
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Updated May 22, 2020: Added the delay for Haikyuu!! To The Top.
This article provides everything that is known about Haikyuu Season 5 and all related news. As such, this article will be updated over time with news, rumors, and analysis. Meanwhile, let’s delve down into what is known for certain.
Haikyuu!! manga compared to the Haikyuu!! To The Top anime
The story for the volleyball anime is based on the Haikyuu!! manga series by writer and artist Haruichi Furudate. Serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump since 2012, the Haikyuu manga series (which is sometimes spelled as “Haikyu”) will be at Haikyuu Chapter 400 by mid-2020.
The series has been published in Japan in the tankobon hardcover format in 42 volumes as of March 4, 2020.
Licensed by North American publisher VIZ Media, the Haikyuu manga’s English translation is up to Volume 38 as of May 2020. Volume 39 is scheduled for July 2020.
Season 1 was a two-cour anime with 25 episodes, and it adapted up through Chapter 71 of the manga, which was the ending of Haikyuu Volume 8. Season 2 was the same number of episodes and adapted slightly more chapters, ending with Chapter 149.
Haikyuu!! Season 3 ended with only 10 episodes because the anime was catching up to the manga. The third season adapted the Karasuno High versus Shiratorizawa High story arc up until Chapter 190, the ending of Haikyuu Volume 21.
However, the scene where Hinata and Kageyama competed in a jumping contest was pulled out of order from Chapter 207 of Volume 24.
The opening of Haikyuu!! Season 4 (To The Top) skipped some manga chapters since Episode 1: Self-Introduction was named after Chapter 209 of Volume 28.
However, the gap in the story was bridged by two Haikyuu!! OVA episodes called “Land vs. Air” and “The Path of the Ball,” which released on Crunchyroll for streaming in early 2020.
Considering that the chapter to episode ratio has been roughly 3-to-1 for most of the series, that means the 25 episodes of Haikyuu!! To The Top probably won’t catch up with the manga.
The fourth season kept the same pacing since Haikyuu!! S4 Episode 9 was named after Chapter 230 of Volume 26: Warfront.
All in all, it’s expected that Haikyuu!! To The Top Season 2 will find an ending in the middle of the long Tokyo Nationals story arc.
The best stopping point is Chapter 292 since that chapter sets the stage for the Haikyuu!! Season 5 anime adapting the upcoming Nekoma vs. Karasuno match.
English-only manga readers who wish to read ahead of the anime series can jump to the English Volume 33: Monster’s Banquet.
Based on the way that the manga’s plot is arranged, it’s expected that Haikyuu!! Season 5 will adapt the ending of the Tokyo Nationals story arc, which ended with Chapter 368.
However, the fifth season’s ending will likely tease Haikyuu!! Season 6 by finishing with the beginning of the final story arc.
Will the Haikyuu!! Season 6 anime adapt the final story arc and the Haikyuu!! manga’s ending?
Fans of the Haikyuu!! series were shocked when the final story arc of the manga series was announced by Weekly Shonen Jump in October 2019. Mangaka Haruichi Furudate not only introduced a time skip of five years, but he also moved the plot to the other side of the Earth!
Warning: The following paragraph contains major spoilers for the final story arc of the Haikyuu!! manga series.
The story even shifts its focus from indoor volleyball to beach volleyball! That’s why the final story arc has Shoyo Hinata moving all the way from Japan to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Ever since then, the plot began now moving toward a definite goal or end game.
If you want more spoilers, please check out this story, which details the beginning of the Haikyuu!! manga’s ending.
The manga creator did not specify a certain number of volumes/chapters in advance, but in July 2020 a climax to the series was declared. Weekly Shonen Jump issues 32 and 33 will include extra-length Haikyuu!! chapters for the climax. The Haikyu!! manga’s ending was eventually confirmed to be contained in Chapter 402 in Issue 33.
With 402 manga chapters published, there is now more than enough source material for the Haikyuu!! Season 6 anime to be at least one cour with 11 episodes. That means the anime series will not need a Haikyuu!! Season 7 to cap off the series.
Haikyuu!! Season 5 release date
As of the last update, Production I.G., Weekly Shonen Jump, or any company related to the production of the anime has not officially confirmed the Haikyuu!! Season 5 release date.
Nor has the production of an animated Haikyuu!! sequel been announced.
Once the news is officially confirmed, this article will be updated with the relevant information. In the meantime, it’s possible to speculate about when, or if, the Haikyuu!! Season 5 premiere date will occur in the future.
Since the manga’s story is so far ahead of the anime adaptation the biggest factor is the availability of the anime staff at studio Production I.G.
In fact, anime experts speculated that the production of the fourth season was waiting on certain key staff, including the director, to be finished with other projects.
In the best-case scenario, Production I.G. could aim for releasing Haikyuu!! Season 5 in 2021. The biggest unknown is how the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the anime industry over the long term.
Haikyuu!! Season 5 spoilers (plot summary/synopsis)
Note: This article was initially published before Haikyuu!! Season 4 Episode 25 released in Japan. Spoilers for Haikyuu!! Season 5 will be added after the fourth season’s finale airs in Japan.
Here is the official plot summary for Haikyuu!! Volume 33:
“Shoyo Hinata is out to prove that in volleyball you don’t need to be tall to fly!
Ever since he saw the legendary player known as “the Little Giant” compete at the national volleyball finals, Shoyo Hinata has been aiming to be the best volleyball player ever! Who says you need to be tall to play volleyball when you can jump higher than anyone else?
The final points between Karasuno and Inarizaki are tossed back and forth as both teams struggle to finish the other off and declare victory. But with time running out, will Karasuno be able to win the final set, or will Inarizaki send them packing?”
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