The best Sports Anime and Manga

The Sports genre has always thrived when it comes to both anime and manga. There are plenty of titles to choose from, and all of them have their distinct styles in showing us what a Sports story is like and what it can be.

This post is about such titles, “the best sports Anime and Manga.”

We’ll talk about what makes each title so exceptional, and then we’ll also talk about whether or not you should go with the anime version of that title or the manga.

1 - Haikyuu

Whether we are talking about the Haikyuu anime or the manga, it goes without saying that Haikyuu stands at the top of the sports genre.

It’s a story that revolves around Volleyball, and together with a strong emphasis on the personalities of the characters as well as their overall synergy, it adds color to the sports genre.

It all begins when Shoyo Hinata stops by on his way and looks at the television in front of him. There he sees a relatively short boy dominating the court by scoring points after points at the Nationals stage.

This was Hinata’s aha moment, right then, at that very moment, he gets hooked on volleyball. He wants to play volleyball and wants to go play matches, he wants to be in a team, he wants to have a real practical experience of what it’s like to play volleyball.

However, soon enough, he learns how it isn’t that simple, and how only those who win get to stand on the court. Be that as it may, this wasn’t enough to lit out the flame that had already started to bloom.

Sure enough, Hinata feel genuinely frustrated.

But this was still just the beginning!

You see, Haikyuu is a story about passion. It embodies what it’s like to love a sport. But this isn’t all there is to it, where Haikyuu truly shines is its wide range of characters with their own respective colorful personalities. And it executes that in a diligent yet wholesome manner.

I’d say, if you want to get into this genre. Haikyuu is the best bet. You should start with the anime and then move onto the manga if you want more. Though, even if you aren’t a manga reader, the anime still has four seasons worth of content for you to consume.

2 - Slam Dunk

Slam Dunk is the highest rated sports manga of all time. Despite the fact that it ended back in 1996, Slam Dunk is still an undisputed king when it comes to sports manga, or even if we are talking about manga in general, Slam Dunk is among the highest rated of them all.

It is a sports classic that has not only stood the test of time but has also managed to make a strong impression on every generation of manga fans since the early 90s. A masterpiece in every sense of the word!

However, the Slam Dunk anime wasn’t able to bring out the full potential of the manga unlike the Haikyuu anime. And because of that it was never able to reach mainstream success.

That’s why, if you are consider yourself a manga reader, this sports manga is a must read.

The story begins with a relatively tall boy named Hanamichi Sakuragi, who possesses unconventional physical strength, and most importantly, he has the height to make it as a basketball player. But he is not interested in that, at least not for now, what he really wants to do is to end his streak of getting rejected by 50 girls.

To put this into perspective, his favorite statements are, “I hate basketball,” and “I need a girlfriend.”

Fortunately for him, fate played its hand and sooner than later, he was approached by a girl who asked him if he was interested in playing Basketball?

That became the beginning of the ever-appreciated manga called, “Slam Dunk.”

3 - Kuroko No Basket

Talking about basketball… there is another title that achieved mainstream success in the recent years. At one point, it even rivaled Haikyuu in terms of popularity.

The anime is brilliantly executed with jaw dropping animation and equally epic soundtracks, combine that with the action-packed story, and you get a sports anime that is just as much an action anime as it is a sports anime.

The story is quite straight forward, there are five mutant prodigies who stand at the very top of the high school basketball world.

Their skills are so high tier that it’s impossible for them to lose unless they face each other that is.

These five, including a phantom sixth member are hailed as the generation of miracles, and the fact that they all used to be on the same team in middle school made them unbeatable. They were terrifying foes. Nobody could even put up a decent fight against them.

But that was back in middle school, now that they have all gone to different schools, it’s only a matter of time before they face off against each other and become the center of attention.

As for the phantom sixth member, he goes to a different school too, there he meets allies whom he could rely on, and after becoming a part of this new team. He decides to take down all five of the Generation of miracles’ prodigies. 

I’d say, this sports story can be better enjoyed as an anime because of the over abundance of crispy clean action, and epic power scaling.

So if you are looking for an epic basketball anime to binge watch, this is it.

4 - Real

Another work by the author of Slam Dunk, Inoue Takehiko.

While this one doesn’t have an anime adaption, and despite the fact that it has been ongoing for well over two decades. It was a long time on Hiatus, but Inoue Takehiko has started working slowly on it again.

One thing stays the same, Real is a manga that always manage to stay refreshing.

It doesn’t indulge in usual tropes, it is mature, it is deep, and most importantly, Real is a manga that can be enjoyed by all kind of manga readers. It is a lot more than just a Sports manga.

A former captain of a school’s not so usual basketball team ends up dropping out.

The reason is the guilt he felt when he accidently ruined a young girl’s life because of a traffic accident. Now he has free time, so he starts by helping the now disabled girl, and little by little, he comes across others who happen to be in similar physical or mental situations.

Real never reached the same level of popularity as any of the other titles on this list, but for a mature and caring enough audience, this manga is a masterpiece!

5 - One Outs

Yes, sports stories are about teamwork and passion, but they aren’t limited to just these kind of core elements.

What One Outs does is that it takes a more discrete approach, and if you are its right audience, you might even prefer this one over all of the other titles I mentioned.

The protagonist is a genius when it comes to playing mind games.

He holds an undisputed record of 499 wins and 0 losses in a sport called One Outs: It is basically a simplified version of Baseball, and it only constitutes of the batter and the pitcher.

Meaning, it is an individual sport.

You can already see why this one is different. It isn’t about passion or teamwork or sportsman ship.

The main character dominates the mind of the opponent before the game has even begun.

It is a genuinely remarkable blend of both the sports and the psychological genre, and if the plot interested you in the slightest, this is something you should definitely read or watch.

The manga is exceptional, but the anime is also well executed.

There you go folks, these are the best sports manga and anime.

If you are looking for recommendations, you won’t go wrong with these.

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