What You Need to Know:
- There's something pretty special about sports anime. They make you want to get up out of your seat and either pursue some new form of exercise, or just cheer on the characters for their efforts.
- But which sports anime is the fan favourite in Japan at the moment? To find out, Akiba Souken held a poll from October 7 to 21, receiving 2384 votes in total.
- With plenty of new sports anime around this year, did any of the newbies beat the classics? Let's get to the results and find out - and don't forget to check out our very own top ten recommendations linked at the end of this article!
Top 10 - Top 6
10. ALL OUT! / 83 votes
ALL OUT!!- Fall 2016 & Winter 2017
9. Prince of Tennis / 102 votes
8. DAYS / 105 votes
DAYS - Anime Summer 2016
7. Yowamushi Pedal / 144 votes
6. Over Drive / 164 votes
Top 5 - Top 1
5. Free!
- Episodes: 12
- Aired: July 2013 to September 2015
Synopsis
The story revolves around Haruka Nanase, a boy who has always loved to be immersed in water, and to swim in it. Before graduating from elementary school, he participated in a swimming tournament along with his fellow swimming club members, Makoto Tachibana, Nagisa Hazuki, and Rin Matsuoka. After achieving victory, each of the boys went their separate ways.
Time passed, and in the middle of their uneventful high school lives Rin appears and challenges Haruka to a match, showing Haruka his overwhelming power. Not wanting it to end like this, Haruka, gathers together Makoto and Nagisa once again and brings a new member named Rei Ryugazaki to create the Iwatobi High School Swimming Club in order to defeat Rin.
(Source: ANN)
4. Prince of Stride: Alternative
- Episodes: 12
- Aired: January 2016 to March 2016
Prince of Stride: Alternative - Anime Winter 2016
3. Diamond no Ace
- Episodes: 75
- Aired: October 2013 to March 2015
Synopsis
With a stray pitch that completely missed the batter, Eijun Sawamura loses his final middle school baseball game. Frustrated by this defeat, Eijun and his teammates vow to reach the national tournament once they are in high school. But everything changes when a scout unexpectedly invites him to Tokyo's prestigious Seidou High School after seeing the potential in his unusual pitching style. Encouraged by his teammates, Eijun accepts the offer, ready to improve his skills and play at a much more competitive level of baseball.
However, now surrounded by a large number of skilled players, Eijun struggles to find his place on the team. He declares that he will one day become the team's ace, but that's only if fellow first year Satoru Furuya doesn't take the title first, with his breakneck fastballs that earn him a coveted spot on the starting roster. With the addition of these talented new players to an already powerful lineup, the Seidou baseball team aims to become the best in Japan, facing off against a number of formidable foes that stand in their way.
(Source: MAL Rewrite)
2. Kuroko no Basket
- Episodes: 25
- Aired: April 2012 to September 2012
Synopsis
Teikou Junior High School's basketball team is crowned champion three years in a row thanks to five outstanding players who, with their breathtaking and unique skills, leave opponents in despair and fans in admiration. However, after graduating, these teammates, known as "The Generation of Miracles," go their separate ways and now consider each other as rivals.
At Seirin High School, two newly recruited freshmen prove that they are not ordinary basketball players: Taiga Kagami, a promising player returning from the US, and Tetsuya Kuroko, a seemingly ordinary student whose lack of presence allows him to move around unnoticed. Although Kuroko is neither athletic nor able to score any points, he was a member of Teikou's basketball team, where he played as the "Phantom Sixth Man," who easily passed the ball and assisted his teammates.
Kuroko no Basket follows the journey of Seirin's players as they attempt to become the best Japanese high school team by winning the Interhigh Championship. To reach their goal, they have to cross pathways with several powerful teams, some of which have one of the five players with godlike abilities, whom Kuroko and Taiga make a pact to defeat.
(Source: MAL Rewrite)
1. Haikyuu!!
- Episodes: 25
- Aired: April 2014 to September 2014
Synopsis
Inspired after watching a volleyball ace nicknamed "Little Giant" in action, small-statured Shouyou Hinata revives the volleyball club at his middle school. The newly-formed team even makes it to a tournament; however, their first match turns out to be their last when they are brutally squashed by the "King of the Court," Tobio Kageyama. Hinata vows to surpass Kageyama, and so after graduating from middle school, he joins Karasuno High School's volleyball team—only to find that his sworn rival, Kageyama, is now his teammate.
Thanks to his short height, Hinata struggles to find his role on the team, even with his superior jumping power. Surprisingly, Kageyama has his own problems that only Hinata can help with, and learning to work together appears to be the only way for the team to be successful. Based on Haruichi Furudate's popular shounen manga of the same name, Haikyuu!! is an exhilarating and emotional sports comedy following two determined athletes as they attempt to patch a heated rivalry in order to make their high school volleyball team the best in Japan.
(Source: MAL Rewrite)
Haikyuu!! 3rd Season - Fall 2016 Anime
Source: Akiba-Souken
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