In recent years, China's performance market has been riding a powerful wave of "2D"-inspired stage plays. More and more "2.5D stage plays" adapted from well-known anime and manga IPs have crossed the seas and won the hearts of countless Chinese audiences with their faithful recreation of the original works and innovative stage presentation. Amid this boom, another masterpiece — the stage play Haikyu!! — has officially announced the start of its China tour. According to reports, this is the series' first tour of the Chinese mainland, and also the largest overseas production ever staged by its publisher, manga giant Shueisha's Weekly Shonen JUMP.
Reporters learned that since its premiere in 2015, the Haikyu!! stage play series has produced 11 productions in Japan, fully telling the inspiring story of the Karasuno High School volleyball club — from a fallen powerhouse mocked as "crows that can't fly" to a finely honed, strongest team returning to the national stage. The production chosen for this China tour is where the series' dream began: a newly upgraded version based on the 2015 premiere and the 2016 revival "The View from the Summit." This means Chinese audiences will witness with their own eyes the starting point where Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama first meet and the "fallen powerhouse" Karasuno takes flight again, reliving the emotion of the original work.
Notably, to recreate the ever-changing sense of speed and power of a 2D volleyball match on a 3D stage, the creative team developed a unique staging technique called "HYPER PROJECTION" (hyper projection). At its core, the system deeply integrates the actors' live performance with precisely choreographed multimedia projections, lighting and music. When the "revolving turntable" stage beloved by fans begins to rotate, together with the actors' explosively dynamic, dance-like choreography, the back-and-forth of the match unfolds before your eyes like flowing water.
Even more stunning, the manga's panel layouts, speed lines, and even onomatopoeia like "BAM!" and "WHOOSH!" appear in real time through HD projections on the backdrop and floor, seamlessly synced with the actors' movements to create the visual spectacle of a "manga leaping off the page." Over the full 150 minutes (including intermission), audiences will take away not only the satisfaction of a faithful "ultimate recreation" of the classic story, but an immersive audiovisual feast that engages every sense.
According to reports, starting August 16, the China tour has officially raised its curtain, playing in the six cities of Shanghai, Changsha, Wuhan, Chengdu, Shenzhen and Beijing in turn, for a total of 39 performances.
