Sora Tanka
As a lifelong otaku and pop culture enthusiast, I spend my time exploring underground animation, vintage cinema, and the hidden gems of streaming media.
Published: August 25, 2026 | 11 min read | Last updated: August 25, 2026
Type "Dig It anime" into Google right now and you'll hit a wall of contradictory answers. That's because the search itself is chasing something that doesn't exist yet, at least not on screen. Dig It is one of 2026's fastest rising volleyball manga, a seinen title from Kodansha that fans have already nicknamed Haikyuu's successor, but no studio has announced an anime adaptation. If you came here hoping to stream it tonight, the real answer involves a manga app, not a streaming service. Here's exactly where the series stands, where you can legally read every chapter in English, and what has to happen before Dig It ever makes it to your screen.
⚡ Quick Answer
There's no Dig It anime as of August 2026. Dig It is a manga only, written by Yoshidamaru and serialized by Kodansha since April 2025. You can legally read it in English through Kodansha's K Manga app. Given its strong volume sales and awards attention, fans widely expect an anime announcement within the next few years, but nothing is confirmed.
You might also like
What Is Dig It, and Why Is Everyone Suddenly Talking About It?
Dig It (ディグイット) is a Japanese sports manga written and illustrated by Yoshidamaru, running in Kodansha's seinen magazine Monthly Afternoon since April 2025. The story follows Gaku Shishiya, the son of a former Japanese national volleyball star, who has spent middle school as his team's ace hitter while quietly doubting whether he earned the position or was simply handed it. When his father discovers a rival talent named Noboru and decides to mold him into the next national standout instead, Gaku switches to the libero position, volleyball's most reflex-driven and least glamorous role, determined to prove his own worth on his own terms.
The title itself is a volleyball term: a "dig" is the reflex save that keeps an attacked ball from touching the court, which doubles as a pretty clean metaphor for a kid clawing his way out from under his father's shadow. Three tankōbon volumes have been released as of April 2026, and the series has already been nominated across multiple Japanese industry lists in its first year, a strong early signal for a manga that's barely out of its debut arc.
Is There a Dig It Anime? Here's the Real Status
No. As of this article's publish date, no anime studio, network, or streaming platform has announced a Dig It adaptation. The manga is barely a year and a half into serialization, and Japanese sports titles typically need several volumes and a proven sales track record before a production committee commits to funding a TV series. What has happened is that Kodansha added the series to its K Manga app as an English simulpub title in April 2026, which is usually one of the earlier steps a publisher takes when it wants to build an international fanbase ahead of a bigger announcement.
You might also like
📊 Key Stat: Dig It placed 11th on Takarajimasha's Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2026 ranking for male readers, and also landed spots on the Nationwide Bookstore Employees' Recommended Comics and Sanyodo Bookstore Comic Awards lists in its first year (GameRant).
In my experience tracking manga-to-anime pipelines for this site, that combination, an early foreign licensing deal plus multiple industry-award nods, is usually where the anime rumor mill starts churning for real, even before a studio is attached. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it's a meaningfully stronger position than most new sports manga are in after one year.
Where to Watch (or Actually Read) Dig It Right Now
Since streaming isn't an option, here's every legitimate way to follow the story today:
- Kodansha's K Manga app: the official English simulpub source, updated as new chapters release in Japan.
- Kodansha's Japanese tankōbon volumes: available through Japanese retailers and proxy shipping services for readers who want print copies or can read Japanese.
- Regional print licenses: publishers in some territories, including Brazil and Spain, have begun releasing local-language print volumes as the series' international footprint grows.
💡 Pro Tip: Reading through official apps like K Manga directly supports the sales numbers publishers use to greenlight anime adaptations, so it's the single most useful thing a fan can do to actually move Dig It closer to a screen.
Why Fans Call Dig It "Haikyuu's Successor"
Haikyu!!'s manga ended its eight-year run in 2020, leaving a genuinely large gap for volleyball-manga readers, one that other sports series hadn't quite filled. Dig It stepped into that gap with a different angle: where Haikyu!! celebrated flashy spikers and setters, Dig It centers a libero, arguably the position sports manga pays the least attention to, and pairs it with a tense, unresolved father-son dynamic instead of a straightforward underdog team story.
When I first read through the opening chapters on K Manga, what struck me wasn't the volleyball itself, it was how uncomfortable the father-son scenes are allowed to get before the sport even shows up. That's a seinen sensibility Haikyu!!, as a shonen series, never really leaned into, and it's probably the actual reason the comparison keeps circulating rather than just the shared sport.
"Gaku is the son of former Japanese national volleyball star Kei Shishiya."
Dig It Quick Facts
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Creator | Yoshidamaru |
| Publisher / Magazine | Kodansha, Monthly Afternoon |
| Genre | Seinen sports (volleyball) |
| Serialization began | April 2025 |
| Volumes so far | 3 (as of April 2026), ongoing |
| Official English release | Kodansha K Manga app |
| Anime status | Not announced (as of August 2026) |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a Dig It anime yet?
No. As of August 2026, Dig It exists only as a manga. No studio, streaming platform, or production committee has announced an anime adaptation, though the series' early awards attention has fans expecting a possible announcement in the next couple of years.
Where can I read Dig It in English?
Kodansha's K Manga app is the official English source, publishing chapters as a simulpub alongside the Japanese release. It's the only legal digital option in English right now, and reading there directly supports the series' sales numbers.
Is Dig It related to Haikyuu?
No, they're unrelated properties from different creators and publishers. The comparison comes from genre and timing: Dig It arrived as a new volleyball manga after Haikyu!!'s manga ended in 2020, and its libero-focused, seinen tone has drawn strong reader interest as a spiritual successor.
How many volumes does Dig It have?
Three tankōbon volumes had been released in Japan as of April 2026, with the series still ongoing in Monthly Afternoon. New chapters continue to be added to K Manga's English simulpub as they're published.
Will Dig It ever get an anime adaptation?
There's no confirmation either way, but the signs are favorable: strong first-year sales, multiple award-list placements, and an early English licensing deal are the same pattern several other manga followed shortly before their anime announcements.
The Bottom Line
Nobody can watch a Dig It anime yet because one doesn't exist, but that's arguably the more interesting story right now. The manga is young, award-nominated, officially licensed in English, and picking up exactly the kind of momentum that tends to precede a studio announcement. If you're a Haikyu!! fan looking for the next volleyball obsession, the smartest move is to start on K Manga now, before the anime rumors turn into an actual trailer.
