What the New Collab Visual Shows
The third annual Haikyu!! x Volleyball Nations League collaboration is officially underway, and Production I.G (Ghost in the Shell, Haikyu!!) drew a brand-new visual to mark the occasion. The illustration captures Shōyō Hinata and Kōrai Hoshiumi in full flight, both mid-attack with the tagline "Now, to the highest point" — a fitting motto for two characters defined by their refusal to let height limit their game.
It's a smart character pairing. Hinata and Hoshiumi share the same fundamental drive — undersized players who turned vertical leap and raw instinct into elite-level weapons. Putting them side by side in an official volleyball promotion feels earned rather than forced, especially given how central their rivalry became in the manga's final arc.
Comic Natalie reported that this marks the third collaboration between Haruichi Furudate's anime and the international volleyball tournament.
Anime Meets Real Volleyball
The collab goes beyond a poster this year. Starting mid-June, a series of crossover videos will pair iconic plays from the Haikyu!! anime with real match footage from Japan's national volleyball team. The videos will draw direct visual parallels between animated sequences and actual plays executed by Japanese national team athletes in competition.
It's the kind of cross-promotion that works because Haikyu!! has always grounded its action in real volleyball fundamentals. The manga and anime earned a reputation for technical accuracy, and linking those animated moments to real gameplay underscores that connection.
Also launching today, June 4 at noon, is a "Volleyball Position Personality Quiz" — a diagnostic tool that matches your personality to a volleyball position type. It's lighter fare alongside the visual and video content, but it's exactly the kind of interactive tie-in that tends to go viral in anime fan communities.
Looking Ahead
The Volleyball Nations League 2026 Japan Round broadcasts on TBS starting July 8, 2026. The crossover videos with Japanese national team players will roll out sequentially from mid-June, giving fans a steady drip of content leading into the broadcast.
For international fans, the VNL itself streams globally through Volleyball World's own platforms, though the Haikyu!! collaboration content — the visual, videos, and position quiz — has so far only been announced for the Japanese market. No international streaming partner has been confirmed for the collab-specific materials.
The Haikyu!! anime franchise wrapped its theatrical run with Haikyu!! The Dumpster Battle in 2024, which adapted the manga's Nekoma vs. Karasuno "Battle of the Garbage Dump" match. While no new anime production has been announced, collaborations like the VNL partnership keep the franchise active and visible. All four seasons plus the theatrical films are available on Crunchyroll for international viewers, and Furudate's original manga is published in English by Viz Media.