Future Of Sports Anime: Which Manga Will be Getting Adapted Next?
The hype around Sports Anime did cool down a little after the fourth season of Haikyuu, but with the Anime Adaptations of Ao Ashi and Blue Lock, not to mention the Slam Dunk movie, the hype has returned.
It’s going great, but what can we expect from this genre in the future?
That’s what we’ll be talking about today.
By going through the Sports manga that are already scheduled for an anime adaptation and the ones that should get one, we’ll see if the Future of Sports Anime is bright or not?
Unfortunately, there are manga series like Kokou no Hito and the Summit of the Gods that may never get an anime adaptation because of the solemn and surreal, artistic nature of their work.
Just like how Vagabond and Oyasumi Punpun aren’t getting an anime adaptation, Kokou no Hito isn’t going to get one either.
We’ll skip over series like these.
Now, starting from the ones that are already scheduled for an anime release.
We have “Wu Di's Football” and “Ooi! Tonbo.”
Wu Di’s football is a Chinese ONA series coming out sometime this year, we don’t know much about the plot, but the trailer starts by showing some young boys playing football on a tropical beach, so my guess is, someone from this beach will end up joining a popular school and then we’ll have the same old regional tournaments and things like that.
And about “Ooi! Tonbo,” it is going to be an anime adaptation of a long running yet not very known manga of the same name.
The story follows a girl named Tonbo Ooi who was raised by her grandparents on the island of Kagoshima after losing her parents. On that island there were three golf courses, so she learnt how to play golf using her father’s stick.
The plot picks up when she meets a former pro who has come all the way to Kagoshima in search of work, it is coming out sometime next year (2024), and although there is little to no popularity around it right now, I do expect people to notice it when it does get released.
Recently, there has been a trend of Girls Playing Golf that has gained a lot of traction. Heck, the second season of the anime that started this, “Birdie Wing: Golf Girls” is currently ongoing.
The second season of Captain Tsubasa’s latest anime adaptation that came out in 2018 will also be coming out sometime this year, but I don’t think it’ll ever be able to override Blue Lock in terms of popularity despite being a pioneer football manga and all.
Alright onto the manga series that should get an anime adaptation in the near future.
Red Blue
In simpler words, this is the story of two distinct young individuals who make their way into the World of MMA fighting.
This is actually the author’s second sports series, the first one called “Switch” came out in 2018 and ended in 2021, it was about Basketball and I’d say it never really got considerable popularity much less an anime adaptation, but the author saw it through the end and has done a great job with this next manga so far.
The art is neat, plus the concept and execution are very well done as well.
Red Blue is still in its early stages, but it should definitely get an anime adaptation eventually. There are manga series that focus on fighting and boxing, but this is about getting into MMA fighting. An interesting take.
Uma Musume Cinderella Gray
Running is a sport and Horse racing is a sport.
How about Horse Girls running against each other?
“Uma Musume Cinderella Gray” is actually a spin-off manga series of “Uma Musume: Pretty Derby,” both are about horse girl racing.
It’s like this, famous racehorses throughout history get reincarnated as horse girls in an alternate world, and of course, they once again start their journey to become legendary racehorses.
There is even an academy and everything.
Believe it or not, this is just like a regular sports anime but with horse girls.
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby actually did get an anime adaptation back in 2018, and then a sequel in 2021, and it seems the third season is scheduled for sometime this year.
And as for the spin-off manga series, when you consider how this is already a popular franchise, it is only a matter of time before Uma Musume Cinderella Gray gets an anime adaptation as well.
It’s going to be about a horse girl named Oguri Cap and her journey of becoming a legendary horse girl.
Interesting times guys, horse girl racing anime are already here and yet hardly anyone is talking about them.
The first two seasons of the original series have gotten very good ratings on MyAnimeList, so if you think this is a noteworthy premise, do consider checking it out.
Rikudou
Alright, after horse girls we have another story about Combat Sports.
This one follows a young man named Riku Azami and let’s just say that he has had a very complicated upbringing.
His abusive father commits suicide after putting the family through hell and even now that he lives with his mother, her Yakuza boyfriend lives with them.
It was only a matter of time before things go south, and Riku is left with no choice but to kill him in self-defense.
This leads to a Yakuza member taking note of him, he used to be a former boxer so when he considers Riku’s potential, he shows him the path.
Then after years of training, at age 18, Riku sets out to earn the Prestigious Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation Belt.
This manga ultimately ended in 2019, though if a new popular combat sports anime comes out in the next few years, I can easily see it getting a green light for anime adaptation.
And the same logic applies to the next one on this list.
Be Blues! Ao ni Nare
Blue Lock and Ao Ashi have made football anime popular again.
Although different in execution and storytelling, both of them are phenomenal and deserve all the attention they are getting, but there is a third series that manga readers often mention when talking about Blue Lock and Ao Ashi, it’s “Be Blues! Ao ni Nare.”
I guess it's because the Japanese Football team plays in Blue that all of these series have the word Blue in their titles.
For the sake of context, Ao in Ao Ashi, translates to Blue.
Anyways, so Be Blues! Ao ni Nare recently ended after well over ten years of serialization. Unlike most series, even Blue Lock and Ao Ashi, it features the story of a player’s entire life.
It is a beautiful tale of a prodigy who only had high hopes for the future, but ended up suffering an unfortunate injury, however, he never gave up, and that’s what this is about.
A “Be Blues! Ao ni Nare” anime is sure to happen, the only question is when?
Ao no Hako
Ao no Hako is by far the perfect blend of Romance and Sports.
I mean think about it, how many times have you seen romance work well in Sports anime? It does happen a lot but since the main focus is sports, it is never that exemplary.
However, Ao no Haki takes it further up a notch.
There is an Elite Academy which offers its students a major sports program. Our main character is in the Badminton team but no matter how hard he tries, he is always the second one in the gym.
The first one is the girl he has a crush on, she is the rising star of the basketball club and among the most popular girls on campus.
This makes him think he has no chance but when a surprising twist of fate leads to both of them living together, something is sure to happen.
Now, the premise may make it seem like a complete romance manga, but stick around for a few chapters and you’ll see how serious both characters are about pursuing their respective sports.
It started serialization two years ago in 2021 and has gotten a lot of popularity since then.
Pretty sure, the anime announcement is just around the corner.
Maybe in the next couple of weeks when it finally releases Chapter 100?
Medalist
When is it too late to go for your dream?
This question becomes a little hard to answer when you add sports in the mix. This is what a guy named Tsukasa Akeuraji was struggling with. He wanted to do solo-skating, but because of starting too late, he ended up as an Ice dancer.
This continues on for years until one day when a fifth grader named Inori Yuisuka visits his rink with her mother and asks him for lessons, she has been told that it was too late for her to begin, but he could see it in her eyes, the fire was still there.
He sees the younger version of himself in her and realizes that he can’t let her down.
He starts coaching her with the goal of her eventually becoming a Medalist.
If I were to summarize this story in a few words then it's a work that breaks expectations.
It’ll leave you speechless.
No joke.
The manga has gained a lot of attention in the past couple of years and last month, there were leaks that it’s soon getting an anime adaptation.
And even if the leaks aren’t true, this work is too good and unique to not get an adaptation.
Yes, that’s right, Medalist could be the next big sports anime.
Overall, the Sports anime and manga scene is still drier in comparison to other genres.
And with that said, that’s all folks!
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