Sports anime can make you care about volleyball, boxing or a card game you’ve never played. These are the ten I’d recommend first.
Top 10 sports anime of all time
Ten sports anime that make you care about the game, from Haikyu!! and Hajime no Ippo to Ping Pong and Blue Lock.
HAIKYU!!
Hinata is short but desperate to be a volleyball ace, and he ends up on a team with his biggest rival, the genius setter Kageyama. Every match feels huge, and the whole team grows with them.
Watch it if you want the sports anime almost everyone loves.
CrunchyrollAmazon Prime VideoNetflixAvailability varies by region.
Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting!
Ippo is a bullied teenager until he discovers boxing. It's a long series, and the fights and his growth make every episode count.
Watch it if you like training arcs and hard-earned wins.
CrunchyrollNetflixRetroCrushAvailability varies by region.
Ping Pong the Animation
Two childhood friends with very different talents grow up through table tennis. It's short, strikingly drawn and more about the people than the scoreboard.
Watch it if you want something artistic and emotional.
CrunchyrollBilibili TVAvailability varies by region.
Slam Dunk
Delinquent Hanamichi Sakuragi joins the basketball team to impress a girl and slowly falls in love with the game. It's a classic that inspired a generation of sports stories.
Watch it if you like comedy, heart and classic basketball.
CrunchyrolliQBilibili TVAvailability varies by region.
Run with the Wind
Ten students living in a run-down college dorm try to qualify for the Hakone Ekiden, one of Japan's biggest relay races, even though most of them have never run seriously.
Watch it if you like team stories and quiet determination.
CrunchyrollNetflixBilibili TVAvailability varies by region.
Initial D 1st Stage
Takumi delivers tofu every morning down a mountain road and doesn't realize that makes him one of the best street racers around. The races are pure adrenaline.
Watch it if you like cars, racing and eurobeat.
HuluCrunchyrollYouTubeAvailability varies by region.
Kuroko's Basketball
Kuroko is almost invisible on the court, and he uses that to become the perfect passer. His team takes on rivals with near-superhuman skills.
Watch it if you like flashy, superpowered sports battles.
CrunchyrollNetflixBilibili TVAvailability varies by region.
Aoashi
Ashito Aoi is a raw, talented striker who joins a top youth soccer academy and learns how much he doesn't know. It's one of the most tactical soccer anime around.
Watch it if you like learning how the game really works.
CrunchyrollDisney PlusAvailability varies by region.
Chihayafuru
Chihaya discovers competitive karuta, a fast card game built on classical poetry, and wants to be the best in the world. It's as much about friendship as the matches.
Watch it if you like a sport you've never heard of done brilliantly.
CrunchyrollBilibili TVAvailability varies by region.
BLUE LOCK
Japan gathers 300 young strikers in a training facility to create the world's most selfish goal scorer. It's intense, competitive and very different from a friendly team story.
Watch it if you like cutthroat competition.
CrunchyrollYouTubeBilibili TVAvailability varies by region.
