What are the best anime about sports? In this summer period of European and World championships, let’s explore the top ten anime about sports, discover them in this new episode of Anime Breakfast
In this new episode of Anime Breakfast we let ourselves be caught up in the sporting wind that characterized this summer, with the World Championships in swimming, athletics, basketball and the European men’s and women’s volleyball championships, among other things taking place in Italy. And what better way to celebrate these sporting events than with an Anime Breakfast Top? An episode that will explore with you the ten best anime about sports ever. The necessary premise is that it will not be a ranking, as it would be very difficult to draw up. Even though we all have a favorite anyway, over the years there have been many sports anime that have marked that kind of generation in some way and therefore deserve to be seen. After the enthralling Anime Breakfast a few weeks ago in which we explored the world of VS or Goku VS Vegeta, here we begin a new challenge, this time a sporting one.
Top Ten Sports Anime | Slam dunk
This is not a ranking, but we have to start with a respectable animated series and which in this 2023 is back in the limelight thanks to a dedicated film broadcast in cinemas. We are talking about Slam Dunk, an anime dedicated to the world of basketball with protagonists of teenagers who with difficulty manage to stay within social conventions. However, they all find themselves on the basketball court playing the school championship, with a particular focus around the protagonist Hanamichi who takes us inside the narrative and who, more than anyone else, is a violent and listless teenager. Slam dunk. it is suitable for an adolescent and adult audience, has an overwhelming, rather cynical comedy and intense characters, ready to sacrifice themselves on the field for a common goal.
Top Ten Sports Anime | Mila and Shiro
As we had already written in an episode of our Anime Breakfast Mila and Shiro – Two hearts in volleyball is an anime that, although dated, has marked two generations bringing many professional volleyball players to approach this sport. Mila dreams of becoming a professional volleyball player and playing for the national team, she trains hard and meets playmates with whom she shares this dream, among them Kaori, a skilled setter, Nami, a very good defender. This anime does not lack the love ingredient and therefore Mila’s meeting with Shiro, also an aspiring volleyball player.
Top Ten Sports Anime | Holly and Benji
We remain in the same years, or in the early 80s, when parallel to volleyball there is another anime that makes you fall in love with a sport, in this case football and it is Holly and Benji. So loved by that generation that in recent years it has also become a new reboot series, Captain Tsubasa, from 2018 which, unlike the original animated series, takes up the original Japanese names of the characters and dusts off the story with more dynamic, current and colorful graphics the more you live. This anime is known for its infinite playtimes, hilly soccer field as players run, ball that turns oval when kicked, and action capable of lasting two full episodes. But this is precisely what made this anime one of a kind.
Top Ten Sports Anime | Blue Lock
Also in the field of football for the current generation, however different from that of the 80s, there is an anime that has received great public success: Blue Lock. One of the most popular anime on the Crunchyroll platform is current because it refers precisely to when Japan is eliminated from the 2018 World Cup and to the Federation’s need to create a program that trains the best players and also the most competitive and selfish. Thus a kind of prison is created, in which 300 promising players start this training. We are far from the values that found the anime of the 80s on sport and for this reason it is an interesting anime to keep an eye on.
Top Ten Sports Anime | Prince of tennis
An anime about tennis could not be missing and moreover very successful, it is Prince of tennis, from 1999 which respects the classic canons of Japanese animated narration. We have a protagonist, Ryoma, a promising tennis star who after winning many tournaments in the United States returns to train in Japan, inside a school. An anime made up of many episodes, focused on sports action, on tennis shots and alternated with a good dose of comedy.
Top Ten Sports Anime | Rocky Joe
Here the curtain opens for a cult anime about sport and boxing in particular, we’re talking about Rocky Joe who marked an entire generation, even outside the anime-loving public. The anime was produced in the 70s, taken from the manga of the late 60s and focuses precisely on Joe, a boy from the suburbs, who wanders through the slums who, due to a chance encounter, begins to be trained to become a great boxer. Rocky Joe is a no-nonsense anime, rather direct on what is the real situation of the protagonist who has a long road ahead of him to free himself from the ghosts of his past. Rocky Joe is a cult not to be missed!
Top Ten Sports Anime | Re-Main
Another very interesting anime is Re-Mai, recent because it’s from 2021 and also available on demand on Prime Video for all subscribers. An interesting part of this anime is also the fact that it focuses on the world of water polo, following the story of the protagonist Minato. Minato is the victim of an accident that led him to remain in a coma for six months and wake up losing his memory of recent years. Therefore, relationships, friendships and so also his relationship with water polo must be rebuilt, considering whether to continue his competitive career or not. An anime, which mixes drama with sports action of a sport never faced before in this area.
Top Ten Sports Anime | Kuroko Basketball
Let’s go back to the Basketball field, with a more recent anime than Slam Dunk and which is therefore current in terms of graphics and storytelling style. An anime that fails to surpass the previous one that we have already mentioned, but which has nevertheless had good success since its distribution in 2012. Kuroko’s Basketball can be found on Netflix and follows the story of a protagonist, Kuroko, who has a outsider, therefore different from the classic sports champion we are used to. In fact, his being a “shadow” and invisible to others is what made him famous in school championships because he was used to distract his opponents.
Top Ten Sports Anime | Ping Pong the Animation
One must-see gem that can be found on Crunchyroll is Ping Pong The Animation. That’s right, an anime about ping pong, which could not be missing from the range of Japanese sports and which is quite interesting precisely because it is different from what we are used to seeing. The protagonists are Tsukimoto and Hoshino, two childhood friends, both passionate about ping pong and very different in character. The first is withdrawn and introverted, the second is the sports hero typical of Japanese anime. The greatness of this anime lies in the fact that it is very psychological and not only focused on the sporting act, but uses it as a pretext to get to the heart of the youth dynamics and psychology of the protagonists.
Top Ten Anime About Sports | Haikyu
We close this list with a recent anime, from 2014 focused on the world of men’s volleyball that can create a good parallel for comparison with the historical anime we’ve already looked at, Mila and Shiro. Haikyu!! stars Shoyo Hinata who, after attending a high school volleyball game, is determined to become a champion in the sport. An anime that is not only about sports action, but takes the time to get into the psychology of the characters.
Our top ten, compiled with great difficulty, ends here, let us know what you think and if there are other sports anime that deserve to be on this special list. Obviously, we had to sacrifice some of them, but that doesn’t mean they’re still great quality sports anime.
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