If you think sports are boring, think again because the anime I’m about to recommend will show you how incorrect you are.
All of the anime listed here will ignite your interest in a variety of sports, and it is also a wonderful method to learn about various sports and how they function.
Sports anime do not have a large fan base, but believe me when I say that if you watch any of the anime listed below, you will undoubtedly become a fan of the genre.
In this article, I’ve picked 15 of the most underrated sports anime that will make you into a sports lover.
Underrated Sports Anime
DAYS
Days tells the story of Tsukushi Tsukamoto, a shy, awkward and bullied teenager. He is saved from bullies by Jin Kazama, who scares them away with nunchucks. Tsukushi surprises Jin by turning up to a futsal match after running ten kilometres in the rain.
Fighting Spirit
Makunouchi Ippo has spent his entire life being bullied. One day he is saved by Takamura Mamoru, a boxer. Ippo trains intensely to complete the goal within the time limit. He also becomes motivated by a sudden urge to become stronger for himself and his mother. Thus starts Ippo’s journey to the top of the boxing world.
Eyeshield 21
Sena is a shy, small freshman at his new school in Japan. Hiruma, the captain of the school’s American football team, notices Sena’s talent. He enlists Sena as “team secretary,” giving him a visored helmet and the nickname “Eyeshield 21”. The Hiruma will attempt to reach the Christmas Bowl, an annual competition attended by Japan’s premier football teams.
Big Windup!
Ren Mihashi was the ace of his middle school baseball team, yet they could never win because of his awful pitching. Constant losses led to his teammates harassing him to the point that they no longer sought to win. With the assistance of the catcher Takaya Abe at his new school, he begins to have greater confidence in his own talents.
Salaryman’s Club
Ryman’s Club is situated in a badminton business group, and depicts the two contrasting parts of everyday life as a salaryman, as well as progress and disputes as a player. The anime follows Mikoto Shiratori, a prodigy badminton player who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after losing in an inter-high competition. He works as a salaryman at Sunlight Beverage and befriends Tatsuru Miyazumi, the team’s best performer and salesperson.
Ahiru no Sora
Sora Kurumatani has battled with his tiny stature since he first developed an interest in basketball. Despite this, he never let his diminutive stature limit his ability to play. He enrols in Kuzuryuu High School in order to join the basketball club and compete in competitions. Gradually influenced by his amazing skills, sheer effort, and unwavering dedication to basketball, the other guys’ passion for the game is rekindled.
Run with the Wind
Kakeru Kurahara, a former Sendai Josei High School ace runner, gets chased away from a convenience store for stealing. He runs across Haiji Kiyose, another student from his university, after shaking off his pursuer. Haiji is amazed by Kakeru’s speed and convinces him to live in his run-down apartment. The apartment is actually the Kansei University Track Club’s dormitory. Unfortunately, with the exception of Haiji and Kakeru, all of the residents are complete runners.
Stars Align
The boys’ soft tennis club, which is constantly surpassed by the girls’ club, is on the verge of disbandment due to poor skills and a lack of favorable results in matches. Toma Shinjou, in severe need of members, is eager to recruit capable players, but he is unable to scout anyone. Maki Katsuragi, a new transfer student, shows amazing reflexes when he saves a stray cat in his classroom.
Baby Steps
Eiichirou Maruo, a diligent and meticulous honour student, resolves to exercise more during his limited free time because he is concerned about his health. During his free trial at the Southern Tennis Club, he meets Natsu Takasaki, a first-year student who is driven to become a professional tennis player. Baby Steps tells the storey of a little kid who uses his hardworking and perfectionist temperament to establish his own distinct playing technique.
DIVE!!
The storey centres around the Mizuki Diving Club (MDC), which is on the verge of shutting due to financial difficulties. The club’s new coach persuades the club’s parent business to keep the club running on one condition: that one of its members participate in next year’s Olympics as part of Japan’s Olympic squad.
Tsurune
Minato Narumiya is eager to learn Kyuudo, a modern Japanese martial art based on archery. An incident during his most recent middle school tournament, however, forced him to retire from the sport.
However, the formation of a new Kyuudo club at his high school, a chance meeting with a mystery archer, and the encouragement of his childhood friends, Seiya Takehaya and Ryouhei Yamanouchi, all contributed to his success. Minato rediscovers his passion for Kyuudo with the help of old friends and new teammates.
Yowamushi Pedal
Sakamichi Onoda is a cheerful otaku ready to join his new school’s anime club and meet some new acquaintances. Onoda resolves to ride his ancient, hefty city bicycle round trip to Akihabara, a weekly 90-kilometer route he has been doing since fourth grade.
This is when he meets fellow first-year student Shunsuke Imaizumi, a dedicated cyclist who is practising on the school’s steep hill. Surprised by Onoda’s ability to ascend the hill with his special sort of bicycle, Immaizumi challenges him to a race, offering Onoda membership in the anime club if he wins.
Burning Kabaddi
Tatsuya Yoigoshi, a former national soccer player, is presently a freshman at Noukin High School. Because of his growing hatred for sports, he has abandoned his former ambitions to become a well-known internet livestreamer. Souma Azemichi, a first-year on the kabaddi team, attempts to recruit Yoigoshi one day and unexpectedly stops his broadcast.
Yoigoshi follows Souma to the school gym, where he sees second-years Kyouhei Misumi and Shinji Date participating in the primordial contact sport of kabaddi. Despite mocking the rules of the game, Yoigoshi is taken aback by the round’s intensity. He agrees to settle the prospect of his recruitment through the most exciting way: a war of kabbadi, a team sport played empty-handed, due to an enticing deal and slight coercion.
number24
Natsuza Yuzuki has been playing rugby as a left-winger ever since he was a child. After enrolling in Doushisha University, he becomes a rising star in the Kansai University League. A bad motorcycle accident leaves him with a spinal hernia, rendering him unable to play rugby again. With no other options, he accepts his new position as team manager.
Giant Killing
East Tokyo United (ETU) has struggled in Japan’s top soccer division. The team has now lost five consecutive games, resulting in dismal team morale. Reports suggest that the municipality that owns the stadium will withdraw its support. Under pressure from general manager Kousei Gotou, the board of directors hires a new coach, Takeshi Tatsumi.
Tatsumi’s job will be difficult; ETU fans have labeled him a traitor, and the team is competing against larger teams with better players. Even an underdog can defeat a goliath, and Tatsumi claims to be a monster slaughter expert.