5 Sports Animes To Watch While You Can’t Watch Sports
At home with a sports-ball hole in your heart? Sick of reruns of old games? Instead, check out one of these animes to scratch that competitive itch.
It’s been a short year for sports fans as professional amateur teams alike found their seasons canceled or postponed. Even the Olympics were pushed until 2021 back in March. I think I managed to get to one hockey game and a handful of roller derby practices before the whole world was turned on its ear, and missing out on our favorite hobbies can make everything just a little more disheartening. In the meantime, though you can fill that hole in your life with one of these animes.
Free!
It’s Free! You probably know Free! Everybody’s favorite anime about competitive swimming and friendship. Pretty animation, relatable characters, and 37 episodes before OVAs and movies will keep you busy for at least a few hours. Unfortunately, the next movie has been postponed indefinitely, but seeing as it was originally scheduled to come out with the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, I’d bet they’re planning on about a one year delay.
Haikyu!!
Haikyu!! follows Hinata, a junior high school student who watches some volleyball on TV and becomes instantly smitten. Between needing to start his school’s volleyball club and being on the shorter side, he has his work cut out for him, but no sports anime would be complete without a few overcome obstacles. Have you watched a lot of volleyball in your real life? Maybe not. Will you enjoy Haikyu!! anyway? Almost definitely.
How Heavy Are The Dumbbells You Life?
This is the sort of show that I didn’t think I would like, and I ended up loving it. The main character Hibiki decides that she likes snacks a little too much and takes up weightlifting as a hobby. It turns out her classmates and one cosplaying teacher had similar ideas, and a heartwarming friendship ensues. This is a kind show about people who want to encourage each other to meet their goals with a hilariously snarky fourth wall breaking narrator and weekly real-life workout tips. There’s competition, but the real prize is the friendship they find along the way. And actual character Barnold Shortsinator who looks exactly how you’re picturing him.
Ookiku Furikabutte
Sports and confidence go hand in hand, but what happens when you’ve had all of the confidence sucked out of you? Mihashi is a pretty good pitcher whose previous school’s baseball team had terrible communication and strategy leaving him convinced that the losses were his fault. After being almost forced to join his new school’s team Mihashi finds his confidence again and learns to grow as a teammate and athlete. At 40 episodes and 2 OVAs, Ofuri isn’t too much to commit to and tells a feel-good story that everybody needs from time to time.
Prince of Tennis
Prince of Tennis isn’t quite a classic, but with a 21-year-old manga, it’s pretty close. Ryoma is a young tennis prodigy looking to prove himself against everyone including the legacy of his father. A show about hard work, friendship, and finding your own voice and style, Prince of Tennis is all of the best and most inspirational parts of sports anime with live-action adaptations, video games, and movies to boot.
What’s your favorite sports anime? Do you play or watch the sport it’s based on or do you just enjoy inspiring shows about people doing their best? Let us know in the comments!
Ja ne, adventurers!
