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Certain types of stories are eternal, even if they might not be inescapable.Sports animeis one of those genres, with nearly every season containing at least a couple of shows that fit the descriptor. Basketball, soccer, football, baseball, figure skating, wrestling, running, tennis, and golf have been spotlighted in anime, and they have all featured in fantastic series. Occasionally, the industry throws out a show revolving around a fake sport like Keijo, so the sky is truly the limit.
The great thing about thebest sports animeis that familiarity with the core activity is not required to enjoy a show; in fact, some of my favorite sports anime center around sports that I hate watching in real life. Ultimately, this genre is all about its characters, and the joy comes from watching them fight tirelessly to chase their dreams as they climb higher and higher walls.
Over-the-top martial arts anime likeBakiandKengan Ashurawill not be included, even if they could qualify ascombat sports anime. They have more in common with battle shonen stories likeDragon Ball ZandYuYu Hakushothan traditional sports anime.
Updated August 03, 2025 by Mark Sammut:So, Summer 2025 is around and packed to the top with big shows that should be great. However, when it comes to sports anime, there isn’t all that much to latch onto. That said, one series kind of fits.
Beyond the Summer 2025 section, a Spring 2025 sports anime has been added to the full list. Catch Me at the Ballpark! is delightful.
Summer 2025 Sports Anime
After a decent enough Spring 2025,Summer 2025has arrived to blow its predecessor completely out of the water. While it is still too early to definitively say if this will be the year’s greatest quarter, it certainly seems set to achieve that status.
While most genres are well-represented,sports animeis not one of them. Summer 2025 has one of the worst lineups of the last few years; in fact, an argument could be made that it has no sports shows. On the other hand, technically, it does have one anime that kind of fits. Look, the situation is complicated, and I’m going to try and explain without diving too deep into spoiler territory.
Turkey!is best enjoyed blind, so consider skipping my write-up to ensure you avoid spoilers.
Here it is! Summer 2025’s solitary sports anime…kind of. OK, to be fair,Turkey!’s first episode sets the stage for a relatively stereotypical sports anime, with the story revolving around a group of girls who form part of a bowling club. Their “best” player struggles to get four strikes in a row, which is a very difficult standard to set for anyone. Filled with melodrama, clashing characters, and threats of dissolution,Turkey!was primed and ready to be a run-of-the-mill series that does not try anything new.
Then, the anime tried something new.
Now, here is the issue with this recommendation. After the twist happens,Turkey!goes in a direction that does not lend itself to the sports genre. At this point, the bowling aspect feels like an afterthought, and I cannot predict if it will feature prominently moving forward or not. So, should you watch this? Well, maybe, but do not go in expecting a sports anime.
While the show deserves praise for trying something different, and I am excited to see where the story goes, I am also a bit disappointed that we are not getting a proper bowling anime.
Hanebado!is probably the most famous badminton anime, but its penchant for drama and rough handling of mature themes limit its appeal. While not quite as well known,Salaryman’s Clubis far easier to recommendto the average sports fan, particularly if they want to experience a story told from an alternative perspective than the genre’s typical offerings. In a refreshing change of pace, LIDENFILMS' anime focuses on a group of working adults who spend their free time engaging in badminton, an activity they are extremely passionate about. While competitive in the heat of the moment, the characters are less concerned with winning than the traditional sports anime leads since they are motivated by personal satisfaction and enjoyment rather than success.
Salaryman’s Clubnails its badminton scenes, all of which are beautifully animated and surprisingly intense. Even though they are engaging in a hobby, the characters take things seriously, allowing the audience to do the same. The episodes dive quite a bit into their professional lives, to the extent that I would primarily describe the show as a workplace anime with sports scenes.
A slightly forgotten2000s anime,Bamboo Bladeis quite delightful, although it does require an appreciation for cute girls doing cute things-type stories. In a fun change of pace, the kendo club’s coach is presented as a protagonist rather than just someone who exists on the periphery, and he even gets the story going. Ishida Toraji, aka Kojiro, is a good but unmotivated coach, but things change when he accepts a bet that could result in him getting plenty of sushi for free. The catch? He has to put together a competitive kendo team that consists of just girls. This is easier said than done since he starts with a single student, although he fairly quickly amasses a few other members.
Bamboo Bladeis very much a product of its time, with the animation and pacing being very 2000s. If you love that look, the show has plenty of charm, largely thanks to the main characters being likable, funny, and relatable. Their progression is shown properly, so they aren’t presented as prodigies who are instantly one with the blade.Bamboo Bladeleans a bit into slice of life comedy territory at times, but it works well as a traditional sports anime as well.
For the most part,sports animestick to a formula. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but it can sometimes feel like shows are just swapping activities and mostly telling similar stories. So,Catch Me at the Ballpark!is a breath of fresh air because it opts to go with the workplace slice of life formula instead. While athletes hog the limelight, sports go well beyond just the people on the field. The crowd and stadium staff are crucial in creating these experiences, and this series pushes them to the forefront.
Set at a baseball stadium,Catch Me at the Ballpark!primarily follows a beer girl and a guy who regularly attends matches, showing their budding friendship through repeat encounters. Other workers and audience members are also highlighted, and they range from kids who are just starting to fall in love with sports to people who have been around for decades.
Sumo is not a topic that has been mined extensively by anime or manga, and this shortage adds an element of novelty to this particular series. However, push past the unusual central activity, and one will find a fairly straightforward sportsshonen animeabout a disregarded character looking to prove everyone wrong and become the best in the business.Hinomaru Sumodoes not try to reinvent the wheel; instead, it opts to rely on a well-worn but successful structure to tell an enjoyable story. The anime’s strengths lie in its likable main characters and intense fight sequences, the latter of which compare favorably to most martial arts-based stories.
Ushio loves sumo, and he has been training for years. At the start of the show, the protagonist is already a capable fighter, but he is not tall enough to meet the requirements to become a professional sumo wrestler. Consequently, he needs to prove his worth by competing in tournaments as part of a high school team, a process that sees him training and fighting alongside a range of characters who are also dealing with insecurities and challenges.Hinomaru Sumohandles its characters' development well by blending realism and hype to create an experience that is grounded but also filled with satisfying moments.
Although I enjoy the anime,Hinomaru Sumo’s manga is superior by quite a significant margin.
Spring 2024’sOblivion Batteryhad to leap over a few hurdles to make its case. Firstly, baseball anime are not in short supply and can threaten to feel overabundant at times. Secondly and more importantly, the first few episodes are off-putting, mainly due to one rather obnoxious protagonist, Kei Kaname. Trust me, he gets better as the season progresses. If a sequel is eventually produced,Oblivion Batteryshould have a strong foundation to produce something quite special.
In middle school, Kei and Haruka formed an unbeatable battery, with the former serving as the mastermind and the latter the brawn. However, an injury eradicated Kei’s memory, causing him to forget his love for and knowledge of baseball. Attending a public high school, Kei and Haruka become part of a baseball club, although the former had to be pushed into joining the team. Slowly, they welcome other members and start working towards rebuilding the ultimate battery.
So, Kei can be annoying, at least initially. Although capable of producing the occasional chuckle, when one of his jokes does not land, he tends to be rather obnoxious. Fortunately, he does mellow out slightly during the second half of the season. The story is also pretty uninteresting at first, and things only really start to gel when two new members commit to the club. Once that happens,Oblivion Batteryis a decent sports anime.
OK, I knowKeijois built on a dumb concept, but it deserves praise for fully committing to the bit. The anime revolves around afictional sportwhere women try to knock each other into a pool using only a few key body parts. Yeah, fanservice is the name of the game here, and the anime does not pretend to be anything more than it is.
While the premise might be ridiculous,Keijo’s characters are deadly serious about the sport. They strive to be the best, and their personalities are defined by their passion for the eponymous activity. For the most part,Keijohas decent animation, likable characters, and knows its way around a tournament. The show works well as both a parody and a straightforward shonen-style sports story, and it does not overstay its welcome.
Anime loves tennis, soccer, and especially baseball. Each sport has at least a couple of noteworthy shows, and they tend to frequently feature in new manga stories. Obviously, they are popular for a (profitable) reason and deserve all this attention; however, it is nice when a series comes along that highlights a more niche activity. As its name implies,The Gymnastics Samuraiis about gymnastics, making it basically the only anime that covers the subject.
Once upon a time, Joutarou was hailed as Japan’s best gymnast. While still capable in his own right, the performer is no longer in his athletic prime, and he has started to notably decline. While father time will always be undefeated, Joutarou plans to go down fighting thanks to his daughter’s encouragement and the support of Leo, a fan-turned-friend. Leaning into comedy,The Gymnastics Samuraican get pretty silly at times, although its gymnastic competitions are consistently great. All three leads are charming, and Joutarou’s struggles are not commonly explored by sports anime.
Although not as known outside of Japan as some other classics,Tiger Maskhas a long history dating back to the late ’60s. Ikki Kajiwara’s manga had a decent run, and it spawned two anime series and a couple of movies. However, the property laid dormant for a long while following 1981’sTiger Mask 2, only to resurface in 2013 as a live-action movie and then a new anime series in 2016.
Tiger Mask Wpays tribute topro wrestling, particularly NJPW, while also presenting the industry as a competitive sport, in the sense that feuds are real rather than storylines that end in predetermined outcomes. The anime plays out like a fairly by-the-numbers action-sports story, albeit one that loves a bit of over-the-top melodrama. Although not for everyone,Tiger Mask Wcan be a fun watch for wrestling fans.
If someone wants an even more absurd wrestling-themed anime,KinnikumanandUltimate Muscleare a blast.
Roughly a decade before writingThe Seven Deadly Sinsand its successor,Four Knights of the Apocalypse, Nakaba Suzuki got his manga career started by penningRising ImpactforWeekly Shonen Jump. The mangaka had to wait more than 20 years for his debut story to receive an adaptation, which finally happened courtesy of Netflix. Surprisingly, 2024 was an all-around great year for golf, with the activity taking center stage in two anime, approximately doubling its output over the last few decades. This momentum, somehow, extended into 2025 withSorairo Utility. Yeah, golf is popular right now.
WhileTonbo!is a must-watch for fans of the sport,Rising Impactwas arguably the better of the two 2024 golf anime, particularly its competition-packed second season. The show follows a kid who is essentially a prodigy who loves to whack balls into the stratosphere. Bolstered by charming humor that very much feels ripped from the late ’90s and early 2000s,Rising Impactis lighthearted fun that represents thesports animegenre at its best.
Blue Boxis a special case since “sports” is not the point. Yes, the main characters are all highly involved in clubs and take their chosen activity seriously, but it is all in service of their relationships, growth, and romance. The sports aspect is secondary to romance, and the emotional highs happen away from the court. For example, if there is a match to determine if the two main characters will go on a friendly date, the resulting event will receive way more attention than the contest. In fact, the match is barely shown.
Just to be clear,Blue Boxis fantastic. Telecom’s animation is on point, and all the characters are endearing. Taiki and Chinatsu have instant chemistry that does not feel forced, and they are both likable as individuals. Taiki’s childhood friend, Hina, has also received some attention and will almost definitely become a fan favorite.Blue Boxis a great anime rather than agreat sports anime.
