Top 18 Must-Watch Sports Anime

As a beloved genre among young audiences of all ages, anime holds a special place in the hearts of many. If you're on the lookout for thrilling sports anime series featuring soccer, swimming, running, badminton, basketball, and more, then this article is for you. Let's explore the top sports anime that are trending and worth watching right now.

High School Basketball Team - Kuroko no Basket 

• Duration: 3 Seasons, each Season consists of 25 episodes
• Release Year: Season 1 and Season 2: 2012 - 2015; Season 3: 2015; Kuroko no Basuke (Live-action adaptation): 2017
• Genre: Anime
• Director: Season 1, Season 2: Shunsuke Tada; Season 3: Noboru Takagi, Shunsuke Tada; Kuroko no Basuke (Movie): Shunsuke Tada

Kuroko no Basuke is a hidden gem in the sports anime genre, following the story of Kuroko Tetsuya, a former member of the powerhouse basketball team known as the 'Generation of Miracles.' Despite lacking outstanding skills, Kuroko possesses a unique ability - the vanishing drive, creating unpredictable moments for both teammates and opponents. Alongside his close friend Kagami Taiga, they join the basketball team of a high school, forming a unique combination of Kuroko's invisibility and Kagami's overwhelming power.

Top Striker - Blue Lock 

• Duration: Ongoing
• Release Year: 2022
• Genre: Sports Anime, Comedy, School
• Directors: Watanabe Tetsuaki, Ishikawa Shunsuke
• Watch on: Various online streaming platforms

A captivating sports anime about soccer, Blue Lock - Top Striker narrates the powerful resurgence of the Japanese national team following their heartbreaking defeat in the 2018 World Cup. Confronted with unexpected challenges and obstacles, the team must overcome trials to reclaim their glory. Vital questions lingered unanswered since then. What elements are they lacking to seize the championship? Along this journey, they realize that a top striker is what they truly need to dominate on the field!

Hajime no Ippo

• Duration: Season 1: 75 episodes; Season 2: 26 episodes; Season 3: 25 episodes
• Release Year: Season 1: 2000 - 2002; Season 2: 2009 - 2013; Season 3: 2013 - 2014
• Genre: Sports Anime, Comedy
• Directors: Season 1: Satoshi Nishimura; Season 2, Season 3: Jun Shishido

Hajime no Ippo is a compelling sports anime centered on Ippo Makunouchi - a once timid and weak boy who later becomes an outstanding boxer. Throughout his journey, Ippo receives support from Mamoru Takamura, a renowned boxer. Through rigorous training and challenging matches, Ippo proves his abilities and advances on the path to glory.

The Giant Tiny - Haikyuu!!

• Duration: Season 1: 25 episodes - Season 2: 25 episodes - Season 3: 10 episodes - Season 4 (Part 1): 13 episodes - Season 4 (Part 2): 12 episodes
• Release Year: Season 1, Season 2, Season 3: 2014 - 2020; Season 4: 2020
• Genre: Sports Anime, Comedy
• Directors: Season 1, Season 2: Susumu Mitsunaka; Season 3: Ryouji Fujiwara; Season 4: Masako Satou
• Watch on: Various online streaming platforms

The sports anime Haikyuu!! narrates the journey of the Karasuno High School volleyball team, as they strive to reach the pinnacle of the volleyball world. Along their journey, Karasuno must face formidable opponents and overcome various challenges. The anime focuses on young, passionate players, highlighting the spirit of teamwork within the team.

SK8 the Infinity 

• Duration: 12 episodes
• Release Year: 2021
• Genre: Sports Anime, School, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Utsumi Hiroko

The sports anime SK8 the Infinity revolves around thrilling skateboarding races at S District, known for its unique events held amidst darkness. Players are meticulously chosen, and only those with connections are invited to participate at midnight.

Langa, a transfer student from Canada, quickly develops a passion for snowboarding upon moving and is drawn to the allure of Reki, a talented skateboarder. Their fast friendship blossoms as they brave intense races in S District and uncover the secrets of the perilous skating competitions.

Yuri!!! on Ice

• Duration: 12 episodes
• Release Year: 2016
• Genre: Sports Anime, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Sayo Yamamoto
• Watch on: Various online streaming platforms

Yuri!!! on Ice follows the journey of Yuri Katsuki, a Japanese figure skater. Struggling with a series of failures, Yuri's confidence wanes. However, when his performance of a routine by renowned boxer Viktor Nikiforov goes viral, Viktor travels to Japan to propose becoming Yuri's coach. The story then focuses on the collaboration between Yuri and Viktor. Along this journey, Yuri must face formidable opponents to become a top performer.

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The Next-Gen Kickboard - Yowamushi Pedal 

• Duration: 38 episodes
• Release Year: 2013
• Genre: Sports Anime, School, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Osamu Nabeshima

The anime revolves around Onoda, a petite boy with a desire to join the anime club to make new friends. However, upon arriving at the clubroom, he discovers it has disbanded due to a lack of members. Feeling dejected, Onoda decides to go cycling to lift his spirits. Someone passing by notices him and invites Onoda to join the cycling club. From there, Onoda's new journey begins with new experiences and a passion that leads him into the world of professional cycling.

Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun - Keppeki Danshi! Aoyama-kun 

• Duration: 12 episodes
• Release Year: 2017
• Genre: Sports Anime, School, Comedy, Romance
• Studio: Studio Hibari
• Watch on: Various online streaming platforms

This is a sports anime series centered around soccer, and Aoyama-kun holds its own among others in the genre. The main character of the story is a guy whose personality you can immediately grasp from the title. He has the unique trait of being obsessed with cleanliness. It may sound quite unrelated to playing soccer. However, in Aoyama-kun's case, he proves that he can do both. His task is to play his best and ensure that his team's goal remains clean, never letting any ball pass through!

All-Round Basketball - Ahiru no Sora 

• Duration: 45 episodes
• Release Year: 2019
• Genre: Sports, School, Comedy, Romance
• Studio: Diomedéa
• Watch on: Various online streaming platforms

Like other sports anime, Sora, a 15-year-old boy, is inspired by his mother - a retired basketball player due to illness. Despite his modest height of only 149cm, Sora has ignited his passion for basketball since starting high school. However, this club is not a real environment for basketball passion but a place for two 'terrifying' and their cronies to skip classes. With his small stature, Sora's journey to basketball is quite challenging. Can he overcome and lead this non-professional basketball team to success?

Captain Tsubasa

• Duration: Varies by version - Original version (128 episodes), 2001 version (52 episodes); 2018 version: 52 episodes (part 1), 25 episodes (part 2)
• Release Year: Original version: 1983 - 1986
• Genre: Sports, School, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Various directors (Depending on the version)

Captain Tsubasa is an anime that follows the journey of Tsubasa Ozora - a young boy with a burning passion for soccer and dreams of becoming an outstanding player. Starting from his childhood, Tsubasa has faced many challenges. He has participated in various competitions and faced strong opponents, including Hyuga Kojiro and Wakabayashi Genzo. His journey from a young boy to Japan's top soccer star is the focus of the story.

Major - A Great Sports Anime

• Duration: Over 150 episodes for all seasons
• Release Year: 6 seasons from 2004 to 2011
• Genre: Sports, Comedy, School, Romance

Major is an anime adapted from Takuya Mitsuda's manga series. The story focuses on the journey of Goro Honda, a young boy passionate about baseball, nurturing dreams of becoming an excellent batter. The series takes the audience from Goro's childhood days, through his high school years, and finally to professional challenges. Major offers unique insights and plotlines into the world of baseball.

Splashing into Sports Anime: Free!

• Duration: Season 1: 12 episodes, Season 2: 13 episodes, Season 3: 12 episodes
• Release Year: Season 1: 2013, Season 2: 2014, Season 3: 2018
• Genre: Sports, School, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Season 1: Hiroko Utsumi; Season 2 and Season 3: Eisaku Kawanami

Free! is an engaging sports anime that tells the story of the passion for swimming and the special bond between four childhood friends: Haruka Nanase, Rin Matsuoka, Makoto Tachibana, and Nagisa Hazuki. They have shared many joyful memories since their high school days. Every summer, they often spend time at the swimming pool, where they experience the joy of their favorite sport - swimming.

Ping Pong the Animation

• Duration: 11 episodes
• Release Year: 2014
• Genre: Sports, School, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Masaaki Yuasa

Ping Pong the Animation is the story of the journey of two talented table tennis players, Peco and Smile. Peco is always confident and exceptionally talented. In contrast, Smile is a gifted player but lacks confidence and passion. The backdrop of this sports anime focuses on the challenges that these two friends must overcome. Ping Pong the Animation is not just an anime about sports but also a journey of personal development, seeking the meaning of life through passion for table tennis.

Days

• Duration: 24 episodes
• Release Year: 2016
• Genre: Sports, School, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Kônosuke Uda

Days is an anime series that follows Tsukushi Tsukamoto - an ordinary and lacking-in-confidence high school student who receives a special invitation to join the school's soccer team. Despite having little experience in soccer and facing numerous challenges to catch up with talented teammates, Tsukushi never gives up and continually strives to become an outstanding player.

Anime Hanebado!

• Duration: 13 episodes
• Release Year: 2018
• Genre: Sports Anime, School, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Shinpei Ezaki

Hanebado! is a story about badminton and the complex relationships between the main characters. In this journey, Ayano Hanesaki - a brilliant talent in badminton, and Nagisa Aragaki - a childhood friend, must face many challenges and formidable opponents when participating in badminton tournaments.

Run with the Wind

• Duration: 23 episodes
• Release Year: 2018 - 2019
• Genre: Sports Anime, School, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Kazuya Nomura
• Watch the Anime on: Various online streaming platforms

Run with the Wind tells the story of a group of initially unrelated individuals who later form a marathon running team. The team starts with just a few members, but they later recruit many passionate marathon runners. The plot focuses on the development of each member, their running skills, and personal lives. Their journey to the national marathon competition is a challenging yet rewarding path full of opportunities for self-discovery.

Giant Killing

• Duration: 26 episodes
• Release Year: 2010
• Genre: Sports Anime, Comedy, Romance, School
• Director: Yuu Kou

The anime series Giant Killing focuses on Tatsumi Takeshi, a British football coach who decides to lead the local football team East Tokyo United (ETU) in Japan. The team is going through a tough phase and showing poor performances in matches. Tatsumi, experienced and visionary, aims to develop the team. He is not only a coach but also a former official player of ETU. The story revolves around Tatsumi's efforts to overcome challenges, improve performance, and face strong opponents in the tournament.

Baby Steps

• Duration: Season 2: 25 episodes, Season 1: 25 episodes
• Release Year: Season 1: 2014, Season 2: 2015
• Genre: Sports Anime, Comedy, Romance
• Director: Masahiko Murata

Baby Steps is an exciting and captivating sports anime with multiple seasons. The series focuses on the character Eiichirou Maruo, a high school student leading a relatively ordinary academic and athletic life. He decides to take up tennis with the belief that it's a great sport to train both the body and mind. Despite lacking prior experience in tennis, Maruo quickly develops his skills under the dedicated guidance of a professional tennis player.

Here is a compilation of some great sports anime covering themes such as soccer, swimming, running, cycling, and undercover sports anime. Hopefully, this article will help you find more options for your moments of relaxation and leisure.