The 10 best sports anime you should watch right now
CrunchyrollAnime, action, and sports often go hand in hand. From basketball to volleyball and table tennis, some of the best anime series ever have involved sporting activities.
Every sport imaginable has featured in an anime series. And it’s easy to see why. The intensity and drama that make watching sports such a popular past-time, also lend themselves to the best anime shows. Some of the most enduring franchises in the medium are derived from sports, such as Slam Dunk and Hajime No Ippo, and their anime movies have the great reviews and box office records to prove it!
So, from traditional team sports to the radical, anarchic skateboarding scene, these are the best sports anime you can watch right now.
What is the best sports anime?
Sports is hard to get right in TV and film, but plenty of anime series depict their chosen athletic field extremely well. They capture the buzz of the sport itself, and the humanity underneath, so here’s our ranking of the best sports anime available.
Kuroko’s Basketball
Rated as an 8.3 on IMDb, Kuroko’s Basketball is one of the most well-known and popular anime series of all time. The plot follows star basketball players Kuroko Tetsuya (Kensho Ono) and Kagami Taiga (Yuki Ono, who is of no relation) and his high school basketball team as they try to make it to the Interhigh Championship.
Based on the manga of the same name and produced by Production I.G, this popular 2012 anime spawned a movie, three video games and even a radio show.
Available to watch on: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Crunchyroll
Yuri!!! On Ice
This is one of the anime series that put MAPPA studios on the map. Yuuri!!! On Ice follows 23-year-old figure skater Yuuri Katsuki and his journey to get back on top following a disastrous Grand Prix loss. If you’ve ever experienced the world of figure skating, you’ll know just how devastating (and potentially career ending) this is.
However, his life takes an unexpected turn (no pun intended) when a viral video of him performing star skater Victor Nikiforov causes the champion to go to Japan and coach Yuuri personally. An uplifting, gorgeous LGBTQIA+ anime, it’s a heart-warming viewing experience for all.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll and Funimation
Blue Lock
After causing his team to lose a soccer (or football, if you’re British) game, former star strike Yoichi Isagi chooses an unconventional method to restore his tarnished reputation. The method? The Blue Lock training program. He risks losing his career if he fails or gaining fame and fortune if he makes it to the end, but will it be worth it?
Soccer is now one of the most popular sports in Japan. So, it’s no surprise that this 2022 anime took the world by storm and is one of the highest rated series on IMDb, with an 8.4. Even if you’ve ever competed in a sport, then you’ll relate to Isagi’s drive to be the very best.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll
Haikyu!!
Haikyuu follows the journey of high school student and less than stellar volleyball player Shouyou Hinata. Following a humiliating defeat during a middle school game by volleyball prodigy Tobio Kageyama, he vows to get revenge. However, it doesn’t work out that way, as they end up as teammates at Karasuno High.
Watch as their bitter rivalry transforms into a friendship, as they set out to become the best volleyball pair ever. They star in their own pair of movies, the first of which arrives in 2024, creating a huge climax for the story.
Available to watch on: Crunchyroll
Hajime No Ippo
Also known as Fighting Spirit, this classic anime is considered one of the best shonen series of all time. Fans of the vintage animation aesthetic from the early 2000s will especially enjoy this series, providing a charming and nostalgic adaptation of George Morikawa’s manga.
So, what’s it about? The plot is a zero-to-hero journey like no other. It follows the story of scrawny Ippo Makunouchi and his journey to reinvent himself in the world of professional boxing.
Featuring a main character that’s easy to root for, and plenty of memorable fight scenes, what’s not to like in this popular (and long-running) series.
Available to watch on: Netflix and Crunchyroll
Slam Dunk
The First Slam Dunk spurred something of a resurgence for the basketball anime, garnering positive reviews and nearly $250 million at the box office worldwide. Fitting for the capstone to Takehiko Inoue’s high school sports fable, whose ‘90s show wasn’t able to adapt his planned finale.
Now we have a complete saga, about several male students on Shohoku High School’s basketball team projecting their hopes and dreams onto winning their big regional competition. Slam Dunk is slightly more boyish than Kuruko’s Basketball, and the action on the court has a touch more realism. Watching either will have you wanting to shoot some hoops, though.
Ping Pong the Animation
A tale of two best friends, Peco and Smile, encapsulated by their resolute love of table tennis. A leftfield win from an unsuspecting opponent shatters Peco’s confidence, allowing Smile the opportunity to shine.
Before now, Smile could never beat Peco, but now he has a chance to be the star player. Taiyō Matsumoto’s manga navigates these feelings with grace, and Masaaki Yuasa’s anime accomplishes the same, with some riveting flourishes of ping pong to boot.
Taishō Baseball Girls
Fact meets fiction in Takashi Ikehata’s anime based on the popular light novels and manga. In the 1920s, women weren’t generally allowed to participate in sports. A group of teenagers decide to change that, by forming their own team and competing against the men.
The use of sports as a means of cultural hierarchy and liberation makes for a powerful narrative, and the main characters are each charming protagonists. Taishō Baseball Girls is a poetic anime that can teach you the depths of the medium.
Run With The Wind
Running can be so much more than cardio. It can be meditation, a chance for more personal listening time, or an opportunity to join a community. Run With The Wind covers all the above, as a competitive runner, Kakeru, gradually learns he doesn’t need to treat every sprint as a chance for another gold medal.
The animation is relaxed and restrained, painting a picture where everyone’s a possible hero. It’s curios and upbeat – things you need if you’re looking for finish a marathon.
SK8 the Infinity
This isn’t the best anime of the last decade, but it’s definitely one of the raddest. Essentially Fast and Furious but with skateboards, the new kid at school gets shown the local skate group’s ongoing nightly competition, where they run wild on the streets of Okinawa.
It’s bright, youthful, and loud, all the things you expect from a bunch of skateboarding rabble-rousers. As the saying goes: SK8 or die.
There you have it, those are the best sports anime ever made. If you’d like more great viewing options, check out our lists of the best body horror anime and best anime like Solo Leveling.
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