An announcement from the official Haikyu!! Twitter account has confirmed that the series will end on July 20th. Haikyu!!, which began in 2012, told the story of Shoto Hinata and his journey to become a professional volleyball player, along with his rivalry and partnership with fellow teammate, Tobio Kageyama.
Though not the first sports manga to become popular in Japan and the US, Haikyu!! has been a beloved series fixture throughout the years, with numerous amounts of merchandising and other media tie-ins befitting one of the shonen greats. And, in great shonen style, this last chapter will go out with a bang, including a final color spread.
However, with the ending of Haikyu!!, Shonen Jump will no longer have any sports manga as part of their current serializations. Season four of the anime will still continue in October of this year, and the series itself will surely continue to be a fan favorite, though it’ll be interesting to see if Shonen Jump will pick up another sports manga to take its place, or if Haikyu!! was the last great series of a dying genre as consumers move toward other, more popular genres that tend to overshadow the humble sports manga. While sports manga are largely overlooked, they often carry the same stakes and emotional weight as any action or drama series.
However, the procedural nature of sports, in general, may not be enough to engage readers in between the moments of action and human connection. Some series managed to find that key mix, such as Yuri on Ice!, and Free!-Iwatomi Swim Club, but those are outliers, with Yuri on Ice!’s manga coming after the anime, and Free!-Iwatobi Swim Club based on a light novel.
While sports mangas may not be a go-to genre currently, I have no doubt that they’ll make a resurgence in time, like all things do. Until then, we say goodbye to yet another staple series not only for Shonen Jump but for fans everywhere.
