Most of us are used to more realistic depictions of sports in animes. Fortunately and unfortunately, sports anime nowadays commit to a different kind of bit. When Blue Lock premiered in 2022, its audience was drawn because of the excellent marriage of coming-of-age and action. However, it is far from being the first sports anime to go in such a direction.
Hundreds of anime focused on sports have demonstrated what would happen if the games and sports were played with enhanced abilities instead of regular, plain old sports and ordinary people.
However, the genre remains to be in style. It has never vanished. This means many anime fans still want a fantastical Shonen anime.
Baki
In a real fight, people would bet, like how PBA odds are a thing. Bak is an anime that centers on MMA. The series follows Baki Hanma. At this point, he gets weakened and on the verge of death. However, his friend, Retsu, brings him to China. There, Baki competes in the tournament as a martial artist so that he can be healed of his sickness. However, he must encounter his powerful father, the strongest creature on earth. In Baki’s second season, he encounters the eccentric but strong Mohammad Alai Jr.
Kuroko No Basuke
Tadatoshi Fujimaki penned this iconic manga. Meanwhile, Production I.G. helmed the anime adaptation of the fantastical basketball series. The series sees Tetsuya Kuroko help Seirin High School become one of the strongest teams in the country. Kuroko once played for the strongest team in Japan during his middle school years at Teiko, and now he helps his team member Taiga Kagami become the best player in Japan. The on-court action feels closer to Dragon Ball Z fights than an NBA game, with ludicrous moves and an intense soundtrack.
Based on Tadatoshi Fujimaki’s manga of the same name, the anime version of Kuroko’s Basketball was made by Production I.G., a studio with plenty of experience making over-the-top action. The series follows Tetsuya Kuroko, a basketball player who helped the Teikou Middle School team become one of the most dominant in the country.
Once the members of that team graduate and go their separate ways, Kuroko joins the Seirin High School basketball team and, after forming a unique partnership with team member Taiga Kagami, aims to take his new group to the top. What makes Kuroko’s Basketball so memorable is its on-court action. All the main characters pull off ludicrous moves, and thanks to the anime’s unique visual style and intense soundtrack, most of the matches feel closer to Dragon Ball Z fights than an NBA game.
Birdie Wing
Birdie Wing is a sleeper hit from 2022. Word of mouth helped propel the series to fame. The anime is about Eve, who hustles people in an unregulated golf game. Aoi Amawashi, a golfing prodigy, beats her. After the defeat, Eve becomes intent on tracking and defeating her in a proper golf match. However, the journey to defeating Aoi will be riffed with the mafia and other problems.
The story and animation are over the top, but that charm becomes the strength of the anime.
Birdie Wing is inherently ludicrous, but that is part of its charm, as the show embraces its weirdness and takes it as far as humanly possible. The characters are all over the top, coming across more like professional wrestlers than golfers. Plus, all the golf scenes are amazing, packed with intense gambits, over-the-top shots, and special moves. This is all capped off by the show’s stunning animation, which helps push the action to a new level of ludicrous brilliance.
Number 24
Lastly, Number 24 focuses on Natsusa Yuzuki, who aspires to be an ace in the rugby team. Due to other circumstances, I cannot play rugby anymore. With some friends and colorful personalities, they compete in the rugby league of Kansai University.
Wrapping Up
We’ve rounded up the iconic sports anime of the 2020s. With the premiere of the Slam Dunk reboot movie, we’re excited to see what’s coming. The charm of such series is that they lean into the ridiculousness of everything.