Haikyu has had a big year in 2024. Releasing the first of its two final films in Haikyu: The Dumpster Battle, one of the biggest sports anime in existence has planted its flag in the sand to earn its place in the anime world. On the flip side, Godzilla has also had one of its biggest years as the release of Legendary’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire shattered records at the box office and Toho’s Godzilla Minus One took home an Academy Award. Now, the two very different franchises are teaming up for an official collaboration that many might not have seen coming.
For the Haikyu/Godzilla crossover, it doesn’t just include the larger-than-life kaiju that fans have come to know and love, but it also includes the king of the monsters’ chibi counterpart, Chibi Godzilla. The cuter iteration of the lizard king doesn’t destroy nearly as much as his “brother”, injecting much more humor into the kaiju world. Most recently, the anime series Chibi Godzilla Raids Again released thirty-six episodes that highlighted the adorable adventures of these new beasts. While this new crossover won’t see an official anime series pitting Godzilla against Shoyo Hinata on the volleyball court, it will give anime fans some big surprises.
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Haikyu Meets Godzilla
Here’s how Toho breaks down the upcoming crossover on their official website, “A collaboration between “Chibi Godzilla Strikes Back” and the anime “Haikyu!!” has been confirmed! The collaboration visual released today shows Chibi Godzilla and the main character of “Haikyu!!“, Hinata Shoyo, posing adorable in Karasuno High School uniforms aiming to spike the ball. In the future, we plan to release collaboration visuals of various chibi monsters and characters from “Haikyu!!” Please look forward to it! *Products using the character collaboration illustrations will be sold at Godzilla Store.”
Haikyu’s Final Film
Haikyu: The Dumpster Battle became one of the biggest anime films of all time in Japan, proving that the sports anime has become a big part of the medium. At present, there has been next to no official word on the final film that will bring Shoyo’s journey to a close though it’s sure to be a successful entry its predecessor’s run is any indication. More than likely, Production I.G. will return to finalize the sports anime.
Ironically enough, Production I.G. has also had its fair share of experience with kaiju alongside volleyball players. Earlier this year, the production house released the anime adaptation of Kaiju No. 8, the major shonen series that took the world by storm and became one of 2024’s biggest anime arrivals.
Godzilla’s Monstrous Future
Following the success of Legendary’s MonsterVerse, Godzilla has been confirmed to return in several ways in the future. A third entry in the Godzilla x Kong crossover series has been confirmed, a second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is in the works, an Apple TV+ is also working on a spin-off series to the MonsterVerse.
Unfortunately, there has been no word on Godzilla Minus One receiving a sequel, despite its Academy Award win. Director Takashi Yamazaki has stated in the past that is all on board for revisiting his kaiju universe, so the seeds have been planted for this new take on the king of the monsters to return.
Want to follow along with this wild new anime crossover? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for all things related to both Haikyu and Godzilla and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.
