Haikyu Live-Action Play Releases New Cast Photo

It seems like every month a new live-action play is hitting the stages of Japan, and it looks like another popular anime is getting the live treatment. The popular volleyball anime Haikyu!! will be taking the new stage in the new adaptation titled, Hyper-Projection Engeki Haikyu!! "Shinka no Natsu" (Hyper-Projection Stage Play Haikyu!! "Summer of Evolution"). The new play released its first visual featuring the cast in uniform yesterday, and it looks pretty authentic.

The official site revealed that the play will feature characters from multiple schools and teams such as Karasuno High School, Nekoma High School, and Fukurōdani Academy in the story. It was also announced that the upcoming play will feature alumni characters, coaches, and managers of Karasuno High School's team.

There is a schedule for the play which includes multiple cities and runs which can be seen below:

• Tokyo from September 8-10
• Osaka from September 15-18
• Hyogo from September 22-24
• Miyagi from September 29 to October 1
• Fukuoka from October 14-15
• Tokyo from October 20-29

This is the fourth Haikyu!! stage play and "Worry Kinoshita" is returning from the other play adaptations to direct and write the script. According to the official website, the play's story will feature Karasuno High as it grows as a team while preparing for the upcoming Spring High Preliminary at a big training camp in Tokyo. The new play uses new technology and is called a "hyper-projection play," which features video projections that allow for manga-styled speech bubbles, as well as views of the stage floor, and a revolving stage.

The Haikyu!! anime series first premiered in 2014, and since has had three complete seasons. If you are unfamiliar with the story behind the hit sports anime series, Crunchyroll describes it below:

Based off of the original Weekly Shonen Jump manga series from Haruichi Furudate, Haikyu!! is a slice-of-life sports anime revolving around Shoyo Hinata's love of volleyball. Inspired by a small-statured pro volleyball player, Hinata creates a volleyball team in his last year of middle school. Unfortunately the team is matched up against the "King of the Court" Tobio Kageyama's team in their first tournament and inevitably lose. After the crushing defeat, Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama After entering high school, Hinata joins the volleyball team only to find that Tobio has also joined.