Haikyu!!: VS "Failing Marks"

ハイキュー!! VS"赤点" (Haikyuu!! vs. "Akaten")

9.0(1)

Otaku Den

7.8(53,294)

MAL Score

Ranked #1227

Popularity #2369

Sports
School
Team Sports

Episodes: 1
Duration: 21 min
Aired: May 2, 2016
Status: Finished Airing

Synopsis

Just as Karasuno’s volleyball club is about to leave for a training camp in Tokyo, Shouyou Hinata and Tobio Kageyama flunk their finals. With make-up exams scheduled right when the team is set to depart, their frantic appeal to the vice principal goes nowhere.

Now two key players are stuck behind with their studies on the line, and the rest of the club scrambles to support them however they can. Between practice plans and textbooks, everyone looks for a way to help Hinata and Kageyama pass in time to catch up with the team.

Otaku Consensus

Susumu Mitsunaka’s brisk direction and Taku Kishimoto’s comedy-forward script turn a small piece of connective manga material into an entertaining showcase for Karasuno’s ensemble chemistry. Production I.G preserves the television series’ expressive timing and adaptation quality, though the episode’s limited scope—and its overlap with moments already glimpsed in the second season—makes it rewarding supplementary material rather than essential viewing.

Why You Should Watch

Watch VS “Failing Marks” if you want Haikyu!!’s competitive energy redirected into character comedy without losing the team-first philosophy that powers its matches. The episode gives Hinata and Kageyama room to be spectacularly fallible away from the court, while Karasuno’s supporting cast supplies teasing, encouragement, and practical help in ways that sharpen the club’s relationships. It is especially worthwhile for viewers who value the quieter connective tissue between major arcs: the material expands events only briefly represented in the second season and makes the Tokyo training-camp transition feel more complete. Production I.G applies the same elastic reactions and precise comic timing used in the main adaptation, so the special feels integrated rather than disposable. Think of it as Haikyu!! in school-club sitcom mode—compact, affectionate, and focused on teamwork outside volleyball.

Key Characters

S
Shouyou Hinata(VA: Ayumu Murase)
Hinata’s boundless athletic drive becomes especially funny when applied to a challenge that cannot be overcome through jumping, instinct, or sheer physical momentum.
T
Tobio Kageyama(VA: Kaito Ishikawa)
Kageyama remains intensely competitive even outside volleyball, exposing the awkward limitations beneath his formidable on-court precision.

What Makes It Stand Out

1
Rather than staging a volleyball match, the OVA translates Haikyu!!’s familiar training-and-improvement structure into academic comedy, making study sessions function like a miniature team exercise.
2
Production I.G maintains the parent series’ visual language through exaggerated facial acting, sharp reaction cuts, and character-specific body language instead of treating the special as a visually reduced side project.
3
The episode expands connective manga material that the second television season represented only in part, giving the transition into the Tokyo training-camp material additional context.
4
Taku Kishimoto’s script draws humor from established personality clashes and club dynamics, allowing the larger Karasuno ensemble to contribute without introducing a separate dramatic conflict.
5
Its 7.78 MyAnimeList score from 53,294 votes and 77/100 AniList score indicate unusually strong reception for a single-episode supplementary release.

Fun Facts & Trivia

Fun fact 1: VS “Failing Marks” aired on May 2, 2016, as a finished single-episode special produced by Production I.G.
Fun fact 2: Series director Susumu Mitsunaka returned to direct, with manga creator Haruichi Furudate credited for the original work and Taku Kishimoto handling the script.
Fun fact 3: The production retained major visual staff from the Haikyu!! adaptation, including character designer Takahiro Kishida and chief animation director Takahiro Chiba.
Fun fact 4: Hiromi Kikuta served as sound director, while Shunsuke Suzuki handled background art and Miyako Yatsu and Mayumi Nakamura contributed key animation.
Fun fact 5: Viewer reviews repeatedly identify the OVA as a fleshed-out version of manga material that was compressed or partially shown in the second season, explaining why portions may feel familiar to returning viewers.