Top Sports Anime Recommendations

Haikyuu!!

Also known as HAIKYU!!.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

Inspired after watching a volleyball ace nicknamed "Little Giant" in action, small-statured Shouyou Hinata revives the volleyball club at his middle school. The newly-formed team even makes it to a tournament; however, their first match turns out to be their last when they are brutally squashed by the "King of the Court," Tobio Kageyama. Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama, and so after graduating from middle school, he joins Karasuno High School's volleyball team—only to find that his sworn rival, Kageyama, is now his teammate.

Thanks to his short height, Hinata struggles to find his role on the team, even with his superior jumping power. Surprisingly, Kageyama has his own problems that only Hinata can help with, and learning to work together appears to be the only way for the team to be successful. Based on Haruichi Furudate's popular shounen manga of the same name, Haikyuu!! is an exhilarating and emotional sports comedy following two determined athletes as they attempt to patch a heated rivalry in order to make their high school volleyball team the best in Japan.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Volleyball , School Club , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Fitness , School , Coming of Age , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Kuudere

Haikyuu!! 2nd Season

Also known as HAIKYU!! 2nd Season.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

Following their participation at the Inter-High, the Karasuno High School volleyball team attempts to refocus their efforts, aiming to conquer the Spring tournament instead.

When they receive an invitation from long-standing rival Nekoma High, Karasuno agrees to take part in a large training camp alongside many notable volleyball teams in Tokyo and even some national level players. By playing with some of the toughest teams in Japan, they hope not only to sharpen their skills, but also come up with new attacks that would strengthen them. Moreover, Hinata and Kageyama attempt to devise a more powerful weapon, one that could possibly break the sturdiest of blocks.

Facing what may be their last chance at victory before the senior players graduate, the members of Karasuno's volleyball team must learn to settle their differences and train harder than ever if they hope to overcome formidable opponents old and new—including their archrival Aoba Jousai and its world-class setter Tooru Oikawa.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Volleyball , School Club , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Coming of Age , School , Tomboy

Haikyuu!!: Karasuno Koukou VS Shiratorizawa Gakuen Koukou

Also known as HAIKYU!! 3rd Season.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

After the victory against Aoba Jousai High, Karasuno High School, once called “a fallen powerhouse, a crow that can’t fly,” has finally reached the climax of the heated Spring tournament. Now, to advance to nationals, the Karasuno team has to defeat the powerhouse Shiratorizawa Academy. Karasuno’s greatest hurdle is their adversary’s ace, Wakatoshi Ushijima, the number one player in the Miyagi Prefecture, and one of the country’s top three aces.

Only the strongest team will make it to the national tournament. Since this match is the third-year players’ last chance to qualify for nationals, Karasuno has to use everything they learned during the training camp and prior matches to attain victory. Filled with restlessness and excitement, both teams are determined to come out on top in the third season of Haikyuu!!.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Volleyball , School Club , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , School , Coming of Age

Haikyuu!! TO THE TOP

Also known as HAIKYU!! TO THE TOP.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

The fourth season of Haikyuu!!

The Karasuno High School Volleyball Club finally won their way into the nationals after an intense battle for the Miyagi Prefecture Spring Tournament qualifiers. As they were preparing for the nationals, Kageyama is invited to go to All-Japan Youth Training Camp. At the same time, Tsukishima is invited to go to a special rookie select training camp for first-years in Miyagi Prefecture. Hinata feels panic that he’s being left behind as one of the first-years and then decides to show up at the Miyagi Prefecture rookie select training camp anyway...



Tags: Volleyball , Male Protagonist , Shounen , School Club , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , School , Coming of Age , Primarily Teen Cast , Twins , Tomboy

Blue Lock

Also known as BLUE LOCK.

Studio: 8-bit
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

Japan’s desire for World Cup glory leads the Japanese Football Association to launch a new rigorous training program to find the national team’s next striker. Three hundred high school players are pitted against each other for the position, but only one will come out on top. Who among them will be the striker to usher in a new era of Japanese soccer?



Tags: Football , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Athletics , Primarily Male Cast , Battle Royale , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Revenge , Augmented Reality , CGI , Super Power , Boys' Love , Tragedy , Language Barrier , Acting

Kuroko no Basket

Also known as Kuroko's Basketball.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sports

Teikou Junior High School's basketball team is crowned champion three years in a row thanks to five outstanding players who, with their breathtaking and unique skills, leave opponents in despair and fans in admiration. However, after graduating, these teammates, known as "The Generation of Miracles", go their separate ways and now consider each other as rivals.

At Seirin High School, two newly recruited freshmen prove that they are not ordinary basketball players: Taiga Kagami, a promising player returning from the US, and Tetsuya Kuroko, a seemingly ordinary student whose lack of presence allows him to move around unnoticed. Although Kuroko is neither athletic nor able to score any points, he was a member of Teikou's basketball team, where he played as the "Phantom Sixth Man," who easily passed the ball and assisted his teammates.

Kuroko no Basket follows the journey of Seirin's players as they attempt to become the best Japanese high school team by winning the Interhigh Championship. To reach their goal, they have to cross pathways with several powerful teams, some of which have one of the five players with godlike abilities, whom Kuroko and Taiga make a pact to defeat.



Tags: Basketball , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Primarily Male Cast , School Club , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Super Power , Tomboy , Tanned Skin

Haikyuu!! TO THE TOP 2

Also known as HAIKYU‼ TO THE TOP Part 2.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

The second half of Haikyuu!! 4th season kicks-off where the first part ended. Karasuno High won their first match of The Spring Nationals against Tsubakihara Academy. Karasuno High is excited to be back in the Spring Nationals after many years of not making it, so can they handle the pressure of playing against the best teams in Japan? Will they make it to the top?

Tags: Volleyball , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Shounen , Coming of Age , Twins , Philosophy , Tomboy

SK∞

Also known as SK8 the Infinity.

Studio: bones
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sports

Reki, a high school sophomore and skater, is addicted to “S,” a highly secret and dangerous downhill skateboarding race that takes place in an abandoned mine. The skaters are especially wild about the “beefs,” or heated battles that erupt in the races.

Reki takes Langa, a transfer student returning to Japan after studying abroad, to the mine where the races are held. Langa, who has no skateboarding experience, finds himself pulled into the world of “S”...



Note: On March 13, 2021 a recap episode (9.5) went on air, postponing the broadcast of the regular episodes by one week.

Tags: Skateboarding , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Ensemble Cast , Parkour , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Slapstick , Urban , Found Family , LGBTQ+ Themes , Boys' Love , School , Artificial Intelligence , Butler , Gambling , Motorcycles , Restaurant

Yuuri!!! on ICE

Also known as Yuri!!! on ICE.

Studio: MAPPA
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

Yuri Katsuki makes his way to the Grand Prix ice skating competition as Japan’s top representative with his eyes on the prize. However, instead of celebrating, Yuri walks away defeated and ready to retire for good. But a run-in with champion Viktor Nikiforov and rising star Yuri Plisetsky ignites a new fire within him. With the two of them close by his side, Yuri will take to the ice once more.



Tags: Ice Skating , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , LGBTQ+ Themes , Foreign , Boys' Love , Bisexual , Primarily Adult Cast , Rotoscoping , Coming of Age , CGI , Asexual , Tsundere , Tanned Skin

Grand Blue

Also known as Grand Blue Dreaming.

Studio: Zero-G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life , Sports

A new life begins for Kitahara Iori as he begins his college career near the ocean in Izu city, full of excitement for his new life. He will be moving into his Uncle's diving store "Grand Blue." There he finds the beautiful ocean, beautiful women, and men that love diving and alcohol. Will Iori be able to live his dream college life?

Tags: School Club , Slapstick , Coastal , College , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Nudity , Male Protagonist , Surreal Comedy , Scuba Diving , Ensemble Cast , Episodic , Outdoor Activities , Tsundere , Otaku Culture , Crossdressing , Educational , Yandere , Cosplay , Bar , Idol , Tennis

Free!

Also known as Free! -Iwatobi Swim Club-.

Studio: Kyoto Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Slice of Life , Sports

The story revolves around Haruka Nanase, a boy who has always loved to be immersed in water, and to swim in it. Before graduating from elementary school, he participated in a swimming tournament along with his fellow swimming club members, Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki, and Rin Matsuoka. After achieving victory, each of the boys went their separate ways.

Time passed, and in the middle of their uneventful high school lives Rin appears and challenges Haruka to a match, showing Haruka his overwhelming power. Not wanting it to end like this, Haruka, gathers together Makoto and Nagisa once again and brings a new member named Rei Ryugazaki to create the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club in order to defeat Rin.



Tags: Swimming , School Club , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , Coming of Age , Cute Boys Doing Cute Things , Primarily Teen Cast , School , Bisexual

Kuroko no Basket 2nd SEASON

Also known as Kuroko's Basketball 2.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sports

With the Interhigh Championship finally over, Seirin's basketball team refocuses their efforts, training harder than ever to get the chance to participate in the Winter Cup. Both Kuroko and Kagami see old friends walk back into their lives, providing a challenge both on and off the court.

As new skills are developed and new alliances created, enemies from various teams—giants of high school basketball such as Yousen, Shuutoku and Touou—stand in the way of Seirin's steadfast attempts to get to the top. All of these schools prove to be formidable foes whose abilities progress exponentially, while Kuroko struggles to find a balance between his resolve to play as part of a team and his desire to win.

With old wounds reopening, new challenges to face on the court, and a new set of foes—the "Uncrowned Kings"—vowing to defeat the new hopefuls, will Seirin ever be able to achieve their dream of beating the Generation of Miracles?



Tags: Basketball , Primarily Teen Cast , Shounen , School Club , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Coming of Age , Ensemble Cast , Kuudere , School , Dissociative Identities , Tanned Skin , Super Power , Found Family , Tomboy , Nudity , Love Triangle , CGI

Kuroko no Basket 3rd SEASON

Also known as Kuroko's Basketball 3.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Sports

Following their triumph against Yousen High, Seirin's basketball team has reached the semifinals of the Winter Cup along with Kaijou, Rakuzan, and Shuutoku. Each of these teams possesses a member of the Generation of Miracles, and Seirin prepares to face the largest obstacles on their path to winning the Winter Cup.

In the final season of Kuroko no Basket, Kuroko goes head-to-head with his old teammates once more as he attempts to show them that individual skill is not the only way to play basketball. His firm belief that his form of basketball, team play, is the right way to play the sport will clash with the talents of a perfect copy and an absolute authority.

While Kuroko tries to prove that his basketball is "right," he and the rest of Seirin High ultimately have one goal: to win the Winter Cup and overcome the strength of the Generation of Miracles, who have long dominated the scene of middle and high school basketball.



Tags: Basketball , Ensemble Cast , School Club , Male Protagonist , Shounen , Primarily Teen Cast , Dissociative Identities , Primarily Male Cast , School , Tomboy , Super Power , Disability , Found Family , Tanned Skin , Tragedy

Megalo Box

Also known as Megalobox.

Studio: TMS Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Sci-Fi , Sports

"To be quiet and do as you're told, that's the cowardly choice." These are the words of Junk Dog, an underground fighter of Megalo Box, an evolution of boxing that utilizes mechanical limbs known as Gear to enhance the speed and power of its users. Despite the young man's brimming potential as a boxer, the illegal nature of his participation forces him to make a living off of throwing matches as dictated by his boss Gansaku Nanbu. However, this all changes when the Megalo Box champion Yuuri enters his shabby ring under the guise of just another challenger. Taken out in a single round, Junk Dog is left with a challenge: "If you're serious about fighting me again, then fight your way up to me and my ring."

Filled with overwhelming excitement and backed by the criminal syndicate responsible for his thrown matches, Junk Dog enters Megalonia: a world-spanning tournament that will decide the strongest Megalo Boxer of them all. Having no name of his own, he takes on the moniker of "Joe" as he begins his climb from the very bottom of the ranked list of fighters. With only three months left to qualify, Joe must face off against opponents the likes of which he has never fought in order to meet the challenge of his rival.



Tags: Boxing , Martial Arts , Male Protagonist , Athletics , Primarily Male Cast , Revenge , Primarily Adult Cast , Cyberpunk , Disability , Dystopian , Yakuza , Artificial Intelligence , Tanned Skin , Delinquents , Time Skip , Motorcycles , Drugs

Baki

Also known as BAKI.

Studio: TMS Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Sports

The protagonist, Baki Hanma, trains with an intense focus to become strong enough to surpass his father, Yujiro Hanma, the strongest fighter in the world. Five of the world's most violent and brutal death row inmates are gathering to face Baki. Their objective is to taste defeat -- their unmatched strength and skill have led them to grow bored of life itself, and they now seek out Baki in the hopes that he can overwhelm and utterly crush them. In this crisis, other underground martial art warriors gather to fight by Baki's side: Kaoru Hanayama, Gouki Shibukawa, Retsu Kaioh, and Doppo Orochi. An epic showdown between violent death row inmates and Baki and his friends begins!



Tags: Martial Arts , Fugitive , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Adult Cast , Shounen , Gore , Delinquents , Revenge , Crime , Judo , CGI , Surreal Comedy , Prison , Boxing , Nudity , Foreign , Guns , Super Power , Crossdressing , Circus

Hajime no Ippo: THE FIGHTING!

Also known as Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting!.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

Makunouchi Ippo has been bullied his entire life. Constantly running errands and being beaten up by his classmates, Ippo has always dreamed of changing himself, but never has the passion to act upon it. One day, in the midst of yet another bullying, Ippo is saved by Takamura Mamoru, who happens to be a boxer. Ippo faints from his injuries and is brought to the Kamogawa boxing gym to recover. As he regains consciousness, he is awed and amazed at his new surroundings in the gym, though lacks confidence to attempt anything. Takamura places a photo of Ippo's classmate on a punching bag and forces him to punch it. It is only then that Ippo feels something stir inside him and eventually asks Takamura to train him in boxing. Thinking that Ippo does not have what it takes, Takamura gives him a task deemed impossible and gives him a one week time limit. With a sudden desire to get stronger, for himself and his hard working mother, Ippo trains relentlessly to accomplish the task within the time limit. Thus Ippo's journey to the top of the boxing world begins.



Tags: Boxing , Male Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast , Shounen , Martial Arts , Coming of Age , Fitness , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Delinquents , Bullying

Haikyuu!! Riku VS Kuu

Also known as HAIKYU!! LAND VS. AIR.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama , Sports

First exhibited at Jump Festa 2020.

In the Miyagi Prefecture qualifiers for the Spring Tournament, Karasuno High School Volleyball Team manages to defeat Shiratorizawa Academy in an intense battle and secures their spot in the national tournament. Meanwhile in the Tokyo qualifiers, Nekoma High School, Fukurodani High School, Nohebi Academy, and Itachiyama Academy fight for the 3 slots to go to nationals.

Will Nekoma High School be able to secure their spot in the tournament? Will we able to see a rematch of Nekoma and Karasuno's Battle of the Garbage Dump on a national level? The Tokyo qualifiers are about to begin!!



Tags: Volleyball , Ensemble Cast , School Club , Shounen , Primarily Male Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Male Protagonist

Dumbbell Nan Kilo Moteru?

Also known as How Heavy Are the Dumbbells You Lift?.

Studio: Doga Kobo
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Ecchi , Slice of Life , Sports

Hibiki enjoys the finer things in life, and when it comes to food, she's downright indulgent. When it becomes clear she's getting chubby, she decides to better herself by joining a gym. In her attempt to find a casual gym, she meets Akemi - a comrade-in-arms. Little does Hibiki know, Akemi has an ulterior motive. What will this wonderful world of fitness have in store for Hibiki?

Tags: Fitness , Educational , Athletics , Female Protagonist , Urban , Primarily Female Cast , Episodic , Tomboy , Bar , Tanned Skin , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things , Boxing , Gyaru , Meta , Parody , Shounen , Large Breasts , Food , Teacher , Nudity , Cosplay , School

Chihayafuru

Also known as Chihayafuru.

Studio: MADHOUSE
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life , Sports

Chihaya Ayase is a girl who has spent most of her life simply supporting her sister in her model career. That changes when she meets a boy named Arata Wataya, a talented karuta player who recognizes Chihaya's potential to become a great player herself. As Chihaya takes on a new dream of becoming Japan's best karuta player, she is soon separated from her karuta playing friends, Taichi Mashima and Arata Wataya, as they grow up. Now in high school, Chihaya still continues to play karuta in the hope that she will one day meet her friends again.



Tags: Karuta , Female Protagonist , School Club , Coming of Age , Love Triangle , Josei , School , Heterosexual , Ensemble Cast , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Athletics , Bullying , Slapstick , Tomboy , CGI

Ping Pong THE ANIMATION

Also known as Ping Pong the Animation.

Studio: Tatsunoko Production
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Psychological , Sports

Tsukimoto Makoto (nicknamed Smile) is a quiet high-schooler who's been friends with the loud and energetic Hoshino Yukata (nicknamed Peko). They're both in the table tennis club and are very good at it, though Smile's personality prevents him from winning against Peko. The club teacher however notices Smile's talent and tries to make him gain some sportive tenacity.



Tags: Coming of Age , Table Tennis , Primarily Male Cast , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Philosophy , School Club , Primarily Teen Cast , Ensemble Cast , Rotoscoping , School , Teacher , Language Barrier , CGI , Bullying , Anti-Hero , Time Skip , Delinquents , Coastal , Suicide