Throughout history, one of the most popular genres of anime has been sports shows, which take the natural drama of competition between athletes and turn it into a story with broad appeal. While the standard goal of most sports anime is to attract Japanese fans participating in (or fans of) the sport in question, they can offer an interesting window into Japan that all of us can get excited about, too. Let’s look at the background of sports anime…
- First came the “golden age” of sports shows like Giants no Hoshi (baseball) and Ashita no Joe (boxing). Many shows like Captain Tsubasa (soccer) were widely shown internationally.
- As with all anime, what shows you watched during your formative years comes to define what generation you feel most connected to. My wife grew up watching Attack No. 1 (volleyball) and Aim for the Ace! (a popular tennis anime, which Aim for the Top! Gunbuster is a huge extended parody of).
- I myself learned Japanese from Touch [short video link with sound], the classic baseball anime about two twins, Kazuya and Tatsuya, who both love their childhood friend Minami. When Kazuku dies in a car accident, Tatsuya must step up to the pitcher’s mound and take his school to the Koshien baseball championship.
- Sometimes sports anime can bring the world closer together. The baseball manga Slam Dunk! was a huge hit all throughout Asia, and if you visit the famous train crossing in Kamakura, you’ll see dozens of tourists from China, Taiwan and other countries communing with the holy shrine.
- Anime can be inspiring. My son liked Yowamushi Pedal so much he joined his university cycling club and traveled all around Japan with them. Hopefully everyone has an anime that has inspired them to try harder, to not give up.
- Recently sports anime have really been exploding in popularity, and Chihayafuru (karuta card battle), Haikyu!! (volleyball) and Kuroko no Basket (basketball) have won fans all over the world.
- Sports anime can open new doors, too. Yuri on Ice!! was a worldwide success, which (spoilers) showed that the world was ready for more gay romantic themes. It was during this time that our friends over at JAST USA began talks to bring the Nitroplus + Chiral visuals novels to English. (Follow the JAST Blue Twitter for more info.)
While the drama of competition is always exciting to see, sometimes there are other enticements to sports anime, like…anime butts. You can see plenty of these in the currently airing Harukana Receive, which has really made an impression on fans for reasons. In addition to offering some enjoyable “backstory” Harukana Receive has a fun plot that I’m enjoying.
What your favorite sports anime, with or without anime butts? Tell us on Twitter!
J-List carries all the best anime magazines, which are loaded with free posters and other cool stuff for fans. Recently we posted all the new ones for the month, with everything from Megami Magazine to Dengeki Moeoh to Animedia all in stock. Browse them during our automatic $10 Labor Day/End of Summer coupon!
