With a duo of movies adapting the last of Haikyuu’s manga story, the end is near for this monumental sports anime. However, for some people, when a series is ending, that is the absolute best time to get into it.
No wondering if they will adapt the manga story or veer off into something original. No white-knuckling for months hoping a good anime gets another season. Only one long stretch of content to enjoy and an actual ending to chew on.
Haikyuu had a far reach when it came to collecting fans with its impassioned story about – of all things – volleyball. And we all know what happens to popular things – they get a lot of fluff stuffed in there.
For Haikyuu, it usually stuffs its fluff into the OVAs and movies, but with the unfortunate side effect of also hosting some manga canon events in there too. It can makes the Haikyuu watch order more frustrating for fans that want to stick closer to the manga canon as well as for new fans that just don’t want to fuss with non-related stuff or stuff they have already seen.
Full Haikyuu Watch Order
This Haikyuu watch order is everything. It runs down everything Haikyuu that you can watch, marked on if you need to watch it. The list is also in chronological order.
- Haikyuu!! (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Lev’s Arrival! (OVA) (Optional, but Recommended)
- Haikyuu!! Movie 1: The End and the Beginning (Movie) (Compilation Movie, Optional)
- Haikyuu!! Movie 2: The Winner and the Loser (Movie) (Compilation Movie, Optional)
- Haikyuu!! Second Season (TV)
- Haikyuu!! vs. Failing Grades (OVA) (Optional)
- Haikyuu!! Movie 3: Talent and Sense (Movie) (Compilation Movie, Optional)
- Haikyuu!! Third Season: Karasuno High vs. Shiratorizawa Academy (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Special Feature! Betting on the Spring High Volleyball (OVA) (Optional)
- Haikyuu!! Movie 4: Battle of Concepts (Movie) (Compilation Movie, Optional)
- Haikyuu!! Path of Ball (OVA)
- Haikyuu!! To The Top (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Land vs. Air (OVA)
- Haikyuu!! To The Top Part 2 (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Movie: Battle of the Garbage Dump (Movie)
- Haikyuu!! Final (Movie) (Unreleased, Upcoming End Movie to The Series)
Canon Haikyuu Watch Order Without Filler
If you are not interested in the fluff – at all – then this is the Haikyuu watch order for you. It has only the canon entries that you NEED to watch to understand the full story.
- Haikyuu!! (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Second Season (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Third Season: Karasuno High vs. Shiratorizawa Academy (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Path of Ball (OVA)
- Haikyuu!! To The Top (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Land vs. Air (OVA)
- Haikyuu!! To The Top Part 2 (TV)
- Haikyuu!! Movie: Battle of the Garbage Dump (Movie)
- Haikyuu!! Final (Movie) (Unreleased, Upcoming End Movie to The Series)
Do The Compilation Movies Add Additional Scenes?
If there is one single reason to watch the compilation movies for Haikyuu, it is because the movies do all add in small additional scenes from the manga that didn’t make it into the anime. This can help flesh out characters and understand them better, but ultimately – like any anime compilation movie with a theatrical release – it is just a way of selling you a story you’ve already seen with a few crumbs to justify it.
If you love Haikyuu, the movies are cinematic and do provide extra content, but also they don’t add anything that greatly adds or changes the story, meaning you could have just been watching the next season.
What Makes Lev’s Arrival Optional, But Recommended?
The Haikyuu OVAs, except for the OVAs for the fourth season, are all non-canon fluff. However, while fun, the extra story injected in there does help you understand the characters a little better.
For Lev’s Arrival in particular, the extra scenes on Seijoh and Shiratorizawa go a long way to expand some of the characters. That said, it helps expand some characters, making their development later smoother, but adds little to the story. Thus, it is completely optional.
In a similar vein, Haikyuu vs. Failing Grades can make the vice principal’s development in season three less jarring, but again, it also adds little to the story.
Land vs. Air and Path of Ball are the only two OVAs that are actual adaptation of manga chapters. They are important to the story and you definitely should watch them.
