The most popular sports anime shows include sports like basketball and volleyball. Animated series in the sports genre doesn’t have many action scenes.

The best thing about sports anime is we can witness characters’ passion and resilience. In sports anime shows, characters take part in different sports like badminton, volleyball, football, and basketball. There are many shows where couples steal the show with their performances in sports. Let’s see the most popular sports anime series of all time.

12 Popular Sports Anime Shows 

1. Haikyu

• Genre – Coming of Age, Sports 
• Episodes – 85

Haikyu is an inspirational story of Shoyo Hinata, a high school student. Shoyo is a boy with big dreams, but he doesn’t have the resources to progress. The story follows how he is inspired by the performance of the volleyball team of Karasuno High School in the nationals and completes his dream. Shoyo Hinata is the only player from his school who wishes to achieve big in volleyball and he persuades others to join the club, and wins tournaments. The performances of Shoyo Hinata and his partner Kageyama in Haikyu remain classic.

2. Blue Lock 

• Genre – Sports, Thriller
• Episodes – 24(running)

Blue Lock is an award-winning manga series that created history in sales as well. The animated series is written by Taku Kishimoto and it features Yoichi Isagi and Meguru Bachira. Blue Lock is a story about football and it showcases how the main characters help the national team of Japan to win championships. Yoichi’s performance is one of the best in anime shows and he is the best striker of his team.

3. Yuri On Ice

• Genre – Sports 
• Episodes – 12

Yuri on Ice by Sayo Yamamoto is a beautiful show about Figure Skating. Yuri Katsuki and Yuri Plisetsky from Russia focus on winning the Grand Pix. Both Yuri lose finals and get trained by Victor. Yuri K becomes closer with Victory and they develop a relationship. In the end, only one Yuri wins the gold and the other gets the silver medal.

4. MAJOR 

• Genre – Sports Drama
• Episodes – 154

MAJOR is a story about the rise of a basketball player, Goro Hondo. Goro, the teenage boy has only one goal and the story showcases his journey from kindergarten to a pro player. Goro is guided by his father, Shigeharu Honda, who is an integral part of the NPB. Once Goro’s parents die, he solely focuses on his goals and joins many leagues to fulfil his dreams.

Goro Honda joins high school teams and then proceeds to Minor leagues. His dream becomes a reality as Goro manages to enter the Major League and World Cup finally. Major is an epic sports drama from Ken’ichi Kasai and Toshinori Fukushima that will make everyone cry and smile.

5. Slam Dunk

• Genre – Comedy, Sports
• Episodes – 101

Slam Dunk has been hailed as a masterpiece by fans since its launch. The sports drama from Nobutaka Nishizawa features Hanamichi Sakuragi in the titular role. Slam Dunk narrates the successful stories of basketball students from the Shōhoku High School from the Shōnan area in Japan.

Hanamichi Sakuragi wanders without goals and he is the leader of his gang. Though Sakuragi is a renowned face, he gets hate from girls and is already rejected by 50 girls. Things change when Sakuragi meets Haruko Akagi, the young girl who is impressed by Sakura’s character. Haruko persuades Sakura to  join the Shohoku basketball team and utilize his skills. Sakura develops a crush on Haruko and joins the team. In the end, Sakura loves basketball and helps his team achieve big in the nationals tournament.

6. Aoashi

• Genre – Sports 
• Episodes – 24

Aoashi is a sports anime with football as the main theme. Ashito Aoi, the school boy from Ehime City in Tokyo plays the main role. Ashito is a part of the football team and the Tokyo Esperion youth academy. The journey of Ashito is shown beautifully and how he inspires juniors after being the reason for his team’s defeat is amazing. The main reason for the success of Ashito is his coach, Tatsuya Fukuda.

7. Ping Pong the Animation

• Genre – Sports 
• Episodes – 11

With just 11 episodes, Ping Pong the Animation has been one of the best sports anime series of all time. Ping Pong the Animation has won multiple awards and it focuses on the story of table tennis players. Peco and Smile, the table tennis players from Katase High School are highly rated by their nemesis. Both Peco and Smile are a part of the club.

Smile has always been jealous of Peco’s success and fails to beat him. On the other hand, Peco is a top-tier player, but his defeat against a Chinese student hampers his progress. Peco and Smile get trained by Jo, and reach greater heights.

8. Tomorrow’s Joe

• Genre – Sports, Comedy
• Episodes – 126

Tomorrow’s Joe is set in a fictional city of Tokyo called San’ya. Joe Yabuki, the protagonist of the show, is a talented boxer, but gets jailed for fraud. Joe’s talent is recognized by former boxing trainer Danpei Tange before he is arrested. In the juvenile prison, he battles against Kanichi, the leader of hooligans. Both Joe and Kanichi get transferred to a new prison, and the life of Joe changes when he gets a chance to participate in boxing tournaments. As the story progresses, Joe gets released and wins multiple championship titles. 

In the end, Joe fights against  Mendoza with a punch-drunk. Joe’s lover tries to cancel the match, but it continues, and Joe loses it after losing his vision during the game. The climax of Tomorrow’s Joe manga series is still a controversial topic as no one knows whether Joe was alive or not.

9. Kuroko’s Basketball 

• Genre – Sports, Comedy
• Episodes – 75

A hilarious sports animated series from Shunsuke Tada featuring Tetsuya Kuroko and Taiga Kagami in the main roles. In Kuroko’s Basketball, the team from Teiko Middle School dominated the national level basketball championship and won titles every year. All players of the team are known as Generation of Miracles and there comes a twist when Tetsuya Kuroko enters as the sixth man. 

Kuruko becomes one of the best players of Seirin and he takes revenge against players from the US. Kuruko helps Seirin and makes them the top team in Japan. The Seirin Basketball team competes against many teams all over the world. This is hailed as one of the best sports manga and anime shows of all time.

10. Hajime No Ippo 

• Genre – Sports, Action 
• Episodes – 76

Hajime No Ippo is a popular animated series and it has Ippo Makunouchi in the lead role. Ippo is a naive person and he is often seen with his mother. Ippo runs a fishing business and doesn’t have friends. When Ippo is bullied, he gets an opportunity to meet a boxer. Ippo’s boxing skills impress the boxer and gym friends, and he grows a passion for it. Ippo gets a challenge and he has to catch 10 falling leaves.

When Ippo meets the boxer on the road, he impresses him by catching all 10 leaves on left hand. As the story moves, Ippo fights against members of Gym and other boxers, and trains hard to participate in the Japanese Championship matches.

11. Ace of Diamond

• Genre – Sports
• Episodes – 181 (running)

Ace of Diamond is an anime show with baseball as the main sport. It has Eijun Sawamura in the lead role. Sawamura is a high school student who loves baseball more than anything. He plays as a Pitcher and gets an opportunity from Seido High School. Sawamura joins their club and trains youngsters as well. Sawamura becomes the best player of the team and qualifies for the nationals after winning plenty of titles. Ace of Diamond is a popular anime and one of the best-selling manga series of all time.

12. The Prince of Tennis

• Genre – Sports, Coming-of-age
• Episodes – 178

It is rare to find a Tennis-based animated show. The Prince of Tennis from Takayuki Hamana is an engaging sports drama with Ryoma Echizen as the main protagonist. Ryoma is a part of the Seishun Academy and one of the best tennis players in Tokyo. The story is all about the Ryoma’s journey of winning the National Middle School Tennis Championship. 

Throughout the series Ryoma competes against many opponents including players from the Hyoutei Academy. The Prince of Tennis show also focuses on top tennis players from every school and their successful journey. The show is one of the most popular sports anime in all countries.