#sports anime

[the-mother-of-lions]

@animeolympics2024 day 1 - reunion ↳ generation of miracles (kuroko no basket)

[xmsmarvel18]

The parallels we didn’t know we needed😭

Rin & Isagi in S2 Vs Yukimiya & Isagi in S3

I know their purpose is a bit different but their rivalry looks similar.

[asaedw]

I’m writing PINKLOCK and I want to add YOUR OC in my story! Here are the characters so far. (3 spots left)

For details to join and rules, visit my PINKLOCK post. Here are the characters so far! I will be releasing a prologue/chapter zero along with an important note soon as I’m currently working on character sketches and backstories. (9 spots left as below)

TEAM V (complete)

Player 01: Kobayashi Mei

Player 02: Hoshino Sora

Player 03: Natsumi Arai

Player 04: Akana Rin

Player 05: Shinihara Haruko

Player 06: Hideyama Maki @kiyy0mei

Player 07: Fukuyama Rina

Player 08: Akuta Sora

Player 09: Todo Kiyemi @asaedw

Player 10: Sangonomiya Cyrene @innvmorati

Player 11: Iseri Mika @minlahzz

TEAM W (complete)

Player 01: Yoshida Minmei @feliwnni

Player 02: Narito Tsuyuri @alexiaray

Player 03: Kirishima Souta

Player 04: Fujiwara Arata

Player 05: Harukawa Celine @kacchans-waifu

Player 06: Takasugi Yuna

Player 07: Hoshino Nao

Player 08: Harukaki Manado

Player 09: Ishikawa Ruka @jwmiooa

Player 10: Ichihara Daiki

Player 11: Shimura Kaito

TEAM X (3/4)

Player 01:

Player 02:

Player 03: Koizumi Kanon / Aeri @alexiaray

Player 04:

Player 05:

Player 06:

Player 07: Hatana Kuroe @pinkymangacaps

Player 08:

Player 09: Fujiwara Shinoa @innvmorati

Player 10:

Player 11:

TEAM Y (2/4)

Player 01:

Player 02:

Player 03:

Player 04:

Player 05:

Player 06: Minatozaki Audrey @cafem3wcuryy

Player 07:

Player 08:

Player 09:

Player 10:

Player 11: Zariana Iza @prettyluvvs-ichi

TEAM Z (complete)

Player 01: Kagurazaka Yui

Player 02: Tsunasa Aogi

Player 03: Kurosawa Riri

Player 04: Moriyama Hoa

Player 05: Enomoto Mai

Player 06: Kanazaki Meimei

Player 07: Tanaka Eriko @plutoplue

Player 08: Tominaga Ren

Player 09: Tori Hoshino @minlahzz

Player 10: Mizuno Asa @asaedw

Player 11: Hiori Mashi @winter-arc-angel

[tatakaeeren]

Kuroo Tetsurou | Haikyuu!! The Dumpster battle movie

[cepheusgalaxy]

*has a thought at 1am* magical girl anime is to yuri what sports anime is to yaoi

[nathvods]

score!

[frozenjaegert]

I was under the impression that this show would be about soccer but alright

[apparently-artless]

HAIKYUU!! MOVIE: GOMISUTEBA NO KESSEN (2024) dir by Mitsunaka Susumu

[bearofohu]

haruka nanase will always be the funniest sports anime protagonist in my eyes bc the crux of the show and the driving force of the cast is his magical autism. his connection to water is literally just his stim. in the show haru never gives a reason for his love of water beyond “i like how it feels”

he doesnt even give a shit about the actual sport and only chooses to give a shit bc of his separate love for his 17 boyfriends. and those 17 boyfriends will fight to the ends of the earth to explain why haru’s swimming will bring world peace end world hunger and it makes everybody horny immediately

rin matsuoka who has had ambitions to be an olynpic swimmer since before he knew his ABCs literally saw some kid stimming and without knowing anything abt him first was like “omg that guys going to be my consort at tje top of the world” and haru responds with “i hope your bike falls into the river with you in it”

[sebfreak]

Nekoma

[untangling-my-headphones]

to ME free! is about having to grow up too fast and make decisions too early, it's about wishing the summer and school days could last a little longer, it's about wanting to put your all, your whole self into your dreams and aspirations, to lose yourself in your passions but life and expectations and responsibilities keep pulling you back to reality, it's about being thrown into a capitalistic society and told your hobbies are only worth something if you can monetise them or be the best at them, it's about being told to grow up and move on and be realistic when that's the last thing you want to do, it's about wanting to be young and eternal and splashing in the water with your friends forever, it's about all of that being impossible and yet there is still light at the end of the tunnel, hope is not lost

but it's not really about all that (it is) because it's a sports anime about swimming

[jay-birds-fly]

Happy seventh birthday to the anime episode that altered my brain chemistry and has not left mind since it was first released

[irishwonders]

BACHIRA TIME — The monster is back! 💛💛💛

[metalandmagi]

Underrated Sports Anime Recommendations!

In honor of the summer Olympics, I wanted to make a rec list for some underappreciated sports anime. Obviously we all know the popular stuff: Blue Lock, Kuroko, Hajime no Ippo, Ace of Diamond, Slam Dunk, Haikyuu, Free, Yuri On Ice, Yowamushi Pedal, Skate the Infinity etc. But there are lots of great sports anime out there that go completely unnoticed. And who knows, you might find a new sport to get into. Just FYI, these are all on the newer side, since most of the older sports anime I’ve seen are the popular ones.

I think a big reason that a lot of these have largely gone ignored is because they focus more on interpersonal drama between characters and what is going on in their home lives, as opposed to a bigger focus on the technicalities of the sport itself. Food for thought. Anyway, let's get started:

Stars Align (Hoshiai no Sora): Stars Align is about a boys high school soft tennis team (not to be confused with regular tennis) who are constantly getting out performed by their girls team. Desperate to get people to take the boys team seriously and get results, team captain Touma tries to get a new transfer student Maki Katsuragi to join. Maki eventually agrees ... .on the condition that Touma pays him and covers any club expenses. From there we discover the messy family drama going on in each boy’s life, and I just love all of them okay? They’re my precious angel babies, and sure I had some problems with the show’s pacing at the end, but I still love them and I want another season!!!! 😭

Oblivion Battery (Boukyaku Battery): There are a myriad of baseball animes out there, but this one made an impression on me. Catcher Kaname Kei and pitcher Kiyomine Haruka are a badass, ace duo who dominated the field and made a fearsome reputation for themselves all throughout middle school. They seemed to be completely unstoppable…until Kaname (the brains behind the operation) lost his memory, became a total goofball, and the two ended up going to a no name high school with no real baseball team. So of course, we end up getting a rag-tag team together full of ex-baseball players with dramatic backstories who all help train Kaname up again. I love Kaname and Haru’s friendship, and the cast was very well rounded, each with their own interesting attributes to add to the team.

Re: Main: If I had a nickel for every sports anime where the main character used to be an unstoppable badass until he lost his memory, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird that it happened twice. Yeah, it’s exactly the same as Oblivion Battery, but with water polo and the main character isn’t as much of a goofball. I liked the characters, but I wished we focused a little more on the water polo side of things, since it’s not exactly a dime a dozen sport for an anime.

Mou Ippon: A girls high school judo anime from 2023 that nobody fucking watched! When former judo enthusiast Michi Sonoda enters high school, she wants to put judo behind her so she can focus on finding a boyfriend and enjoying her school life. However, after Michi suffers a particularly humiliating defeat in a match against the prodigy Towa Hiura, the two end up going to the same high school together. Naturally, Michi can’t just quit now that her rival is going to the same school! Cue the judo team shenanigans. This show is so down to earth and realistic. It’s 100% not a “cute girls doing cute things” anime where the girls are all blobs of moe that talk in annoying voices. They have different body types, different motivations, and different styles of combat. It didn’t blow me out of the water, but I liked it way more than I thought I would.

And speaking of different body types…

Hinomaru Sumo: That’s right, it’s a high school sumo wrestling anime. AND IT’S HYPE AS FUCK! You know how in Haikyuu, Hinata is short, and it’s a big deal because middle blockers are always tall? Well this is that multiplied by a thousand, because there’s a minimum weight to sumo wrestling, and our main character Hinomaru Ushio is definitely below it. But he’s not going to let that stop him from spreading his passion for sumo and becoming the High School Yokozuna, the strongest wrestler in high school tournaments…because becoming the Yokozuna is his only chance at going pro with his small stature. It’s impossible to watch this anime without feeling fired up!

Run With The Wind (Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru): Kakeru Kurahara, a former track star, is looking for a place to live after losing his apartment deposit at a mahjong parlor. Luckily, he runs into Haiji Kiyose, a boy who goes to his university, who offers him a spot at his apartment. Little does Kakeru know, Haiji’s apartment is full of other university students who are all members of the Kansei University track team! The story follows the quietly devious Haiji as he tries to get the boys to become a nationally recognized team by running the Hakone Ekiden, an extremely long and grueling relay that none of the boys have ever trained for. This is one of my favorite sports anime ever. Don’t get it twisted, I hate running. I don’t like doing it, and I don’t like watching it in real life, but this anime had me in a chokehold. Animation? Amazing. Characters? A+. Music? Perfect. It’s hilarious. It’s relatable. It’s heartwarming. One of the absolute best sports anime out there.

Welcome To The Ballroom: It’s a motherfucking ballroom dancing anime, and if you didn’t think ballroom dancing could be hype as shit, THINK AGAIN! The animation is great, and I never realized how much actually goes into the world of ballroom dancing. There’s not really much more I can say. High school boy discovers the cutthroat world of competitive ballroom dance. Drama ensues. Just ignore everyone’s oddly long necks.

And speaking of dancing…

Dance Dance Danseur: Okay, this one isn’t quite in a sports competition setting, but I still consider it a sports anime. All his life, Junpei Murao has suppressed his interest in ballet, choosing to follow his father’s path for him in the more “manly” martial art of Jeet Kune Do instead. But when he realizes the girl he likes is a highly skilled ballerina, he hardly says no when she recruits him to train at her mom’s ballet studio. The show follows Junpei as he must balance these two worlds and become a ballet master while dealing with the divisive image of “masculinity.” My only real critique is that Junpei is kind of annoying, and I was actually much more invested in the other characters. There is a big message about the horrors of the competitive ballet world that I didn't think it would dive into.

Overtake: Another show from 2023 that was terribly overlooked. In this anime, we follow disgraced photographer Kouya Madoka, who falls in love with the fast paced world of Formula 4 racing after watching high schooler Asahina Haruka. However, Madoka failed to realize that Haruka’s racing crew, Komaki Motors, is drowning in bills and underfunded as hell. So of course when he finds out, Madoka takes it upon himself to support Komaki Motors himself and get Haruka a place on the podium. This was such a great drama! Each character is so fleshed out and completely relatable. Even the antagonists! Hell, especially the antagonists. There is a great balance of drama and humor that make this feel like it could easily be a Hollywood movie. The longer you watch, the more you root for Komaki Motors and want to see everyone succeed. Madoka is best boy!

And last but certainly not least…

Tsurune: In this anime, we follow Minato Narumiya, a former kyudo (Japanese martial art that involves archery) prodigy who wanted to quit the sport after an incident in a middle school tournament. However, after encountering a mysterious archer one day, Minato ends up joining his high school Kyudo team, despite his fear of failing at the sport again. It’s Free with archery, except there are also girls on the team! It has so many good themes about perseverance and found family and getting in your own head. And there is a massive amount of homosexual undertones. Not to mention it’s made by Kyoto Animation, so you know it’s one of the most beautifully animated shows I’ve ever seen.

I just wanted to add a few honorable mentions too…

Cheer Danshi: A university boys cheerleading anime. I had problems with the pacing, but I still had fun with it.

Ryman’s Club: An odd blend of office anime with a badminton anime. I really liked this, but it’s sort of half sports anime, half The Office. But it’s the only thing on this list that features actual working adults and not students.

Megalo Box: I don’t know if it counts as “underappreciated” but this was a fantastic show all around. It’s a gritty, down to earth, sort of sci-fi take on the fictional sport of Megalo Boxing (boxing with enhanced mechanical arms). 

Ping Pong the Animation: Look, I’m going to be honest. I didn’t really like this show very much, but apparently I’m the odd one out because this is an underground favorite of the sports anime community, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t include it. It’s one part ping pong, two parts character drama.

Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story: I couldn’t leave this out of the list. It’s the wildest golf anime you could ever imagine. There are lesbians. There are snake ladies. There are underground golfing yakuza. No amount of explanation can do it justice. Grab an age appropriate beverage and watch it.

[tatakaeeren]

Kozume Kenma | Haikyuu!! The Dumpster battle movie

[hannigramislife]

Sometimes I remember how Aomine was the one to pull Kuroko into the GoM friend group, how he yelled at Haizaki when he took food from Kuroko's plate, how he was so distraught over not being able to recieve his passes anymore, how he only uses a nickname for Kuroko, that nickname being Tetsu, how he brought him a drink since he looked tired, how he slammed a guy against the lockers for talking shit about Kuroko, how he brought a brand new pair of shoes for his rival because Kuroko asked him to, how he taught him to shoot baskets, how he understands how Kuroko functions enough to confidently tell a guy "You'll lose, because you made Tetsu mad," how he yelled encouraging words at him in a stadium full of people, how he cried during the Rakuzan game–

He is so full of love for his partner, his shadow, his best friend 😭