In the manga and anime industry, there are quite a few hit sports series for the fans to enjoy. When it comes to football, there are ongoing major hits, such as Blue Lock, or iconic franchises like Captain Tsubasa to enjoy. But when it comes to volleyball, there's only one series that has always ranked on top and that is Haikyu.
Haikyu, by Haruichi Furudate, began its run in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump Issue #12 on February 20, 2012, and has since dominated. It became not only one of the most popular sports series, but one of the most popular and recognizable manga in the whole world. Sadly, Haikyu’s manga ended in 2020 with chapter 402 on July 20. With the Haikyu manga series having left Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, most fans looked eagerly for a new volleyball manga to turn to. Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon magazine has delivered just that, and finally, a new volleyball replacement series is here, with tremendous potential to succeed Haikyu. This new manga, Dig It, is a brand new volleyball series that fans of Haikyu! will surely come to love.
The Immense Impact Of Haruichi Furudate’s Haikyu As A Beloved Volleyball Manga All Over The World
The Haikyu manga first began its serialization in 2012 in Weekly Shonen Jump, and since then, it has undoubtedly become one of the most successful sports series of all time for the magazine. Through its run of 8 years, this manga has managed to become one of the highest-selling series of all time, with 75 million total sales over just 45 volumes. Taking into account all the numbers, Haikyu averages 1.6 million sales per volume, which is an extremely impressive number. The Haikyu manga reached its end in 2020, and while the franchise received a short sequel manga, fans do miss the original series.
Meanwhile, the Haikyu anime, at the moment, has four anime TV seasons, as well as 3 new movies. The latest Haikyu movie dropped in 2024, and whatever remains of the Haikyu manga is set to be adapted into more movies starting 2027. Based on the current pace of adaptation, the Haikyu anime should come to an end in the next five years. It's definitely unfortunate to see one of the most popular Shonen Sports series come to an end, but with Dig It, fans have a new story to turn toward, and one that could be even more complex and serious than Haikyu, given that it's actually a Seinen manga.
Dig It Stands As Japan's New Hit Seinen Volleyball Manga in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon Magazine
It's no secret that there are quite a few popular sports manga and anime series out there. However, when it comes to volleyball, the scope isn't as diverse as the rest. Haikyu is, for now, the only truly popular volleyball series. However, Japan has a new volleyball series with the potential to become a major hit, just like Haikyu, known as Dig It. Created by Yoshidamaru, Dig It is a brand new manga series which debuted in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon Magazine as a Seinen story on April 24, 2025. Despite a year under its belt, Dig It is still rather recent, having only 3 volumes out at the moment, but it is showing great potential. With just 3 volumes, the Dig It series has reached over 300,000 sales. For a manga series with no anime, 100k per volume is extremely impressive and shows immense promise.
Fans of Haikyu should definitely give Dig It a shot, but also keep in mind that Dig It and Haikyu are still completely different series. While Haikyu focuses on the story of Hinata and the Karasuno team, Dig It instead follows Shishiya Gaku. Gaku has one major goal — to surpass his father at volleyball. Gaku’s father was a former player for the national Volleyball team of Japan, so his goal will not be an easy task to accomplish. Dig It is also a Seinen story, so it is more on the serious side, featuring deeper elements, and in some instances, a richer plot. Even without a lot of content out, the reception in Japan for this series has been amazing, with fans especially praising the art and the quality of writing.
Who’s That Character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Dig It's 2026 Award Nominations Prove It Is Ready To Succeed Haikyu As Anime Adaptation Becomes A Possibility
At the moment, Dig It is still a rather new series with not much manga content for the fans to read. This story is barely over a year old at the moment and clearly has a long way to go. For it to actually become a true replacement for Haikyu, it's required for the series to get an anime adaptation. If it is picked up by a studio and animated, its popularity could someday become comparable to Haikyu. Of course, for that to happen Dig It must maintain its popularity and show overall good sales for its volumes. Thankfully, based on the current sales record, the series is doing amazing and it is only a matter of time before it gets its own anime.
Furthermore, Dig It has also already received quite a few major nominations in Japan. In Takarajimasha’s Kono Manga ga Sugoi! list for the best manga for male readers in 2026, this series took the 11th spot, which is incredibly impressive. It was also put forward as the fourth best series in the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics, and took third place in 2026’s Sanyodo Bookstore Comic Awards.
With its great start and reception in Japan, it can be said that Dig It is safe from the axe and only growing bigger. The first year for manga series is the most dangerous, and it has passed with flying colors, which means fans will get to see more of Gaku’s story. In the next 2-3 years, Yoshidamaru’s Dig It could very well go on to receive its own anime adaptation. By then, the series will also have gone on to become even bigger, with more sales under its belt.
What Dig It Needs To Do To Become The Next Haikyu
While volleyball is the heart of Haikyu, what fans truly grew to adore about this series is its lovable cast of characters. Haikyu would definitely not be where it is without the Karasuno cast, and even the captivating side characters from various other teams. For Dig It to match up to it, it needs more than just Gaku to be exciting and compelling characters.
For now, the signs for Dig It to go on and succeed Haikyu are looking good. It is the best new volleyball manga out there that's still ongoing and showing great signs while at it. All that the author needs to do is maintain this quality and hope more fans check out the story.
All chapters of Dig It are available to read on K Manga.
Haikyu!!
- Release Date
- 2014 - 2020-00-00
- Studio
- Production I.G
- Creator
- Haruichi Furudate
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
