From Zero to Hero, These 10 Sports-themed Anime Teach Us Never Give Up and Are Very Motivating

 There are lots of anime that you can watch in various themes, one of which is sports-themed anime that can motivate you. Yes, sports-themed shows are always selling well in the market. Although as is known, anime is known as fantasy anime which is sometimes excessive.

But actually that's what makes most people more enthusiastic, because they can see new things that are not usually seen in the real world. Well, for those of you who like a motivating spectacle, you can also watch some sports-themed anime.

In this article, we will give you a list of sports-themed anime in which there is a spirit from hero to zero that can be an inspiration for all of us. Yes, because even a champion must have experienced failure first.

1. SLAM DUNK

SLAM DUNK is a basketball anime with a total of 101 episodes that aired from October 16, 1993 to March 23, 1996. This sports-themed anime is based on the manga of the same name, which is included in the list of best-selling manga of all time. For sports lovers, especially basketball, this anime must be familiar to the ears, because of its legendary popularity.

This sports-themed anime tells the story of a thug in a high school named Hanamichi Sakuragi. In matters of fighting, no one can beat him, but in matters of love and education, he is very poor. And the story starts to get interesting when he meets a beautiful girl named Haruko Akagi who is the manager of his high school basketball team.

Sakuragi fell in love at first sight when he met Haruko. At first, he lied to Haruko that he could basketball and tried to show off his skills, but failed miserably. Even so, Haruko saw that there was a talent in Sakuragi that no one else had, namely his posture to his high jumping power and also his explosive spirit.

From there, Sakuragi joins his school's basketball team and meets an eternal rival named Kaede Rukawa who is a basketball genius. Worse, Haruko turns out to like Rukawa, which makes Sakuragi jealous and even more passionate about learning basketball, starting from scratch. The result? Sakuragi has succeeded in becoming the backbone and also the hero who brought his school team far in the national high school basketball competition.

2. YOWAMUSHI PEDAL

Lots of basketball or soccer-themed anime have sprung up, but not bicycles. YOWAMUSHI PEDAL is the only anime with the theme of cycling in Japan. This sports-themed anime is fairly new, airing from October 8, 2013 to July 1, 2014 for 38 episodes.

This anime is about an otaku, aka an anime maniac named Sakamichi Onoda. He is a man who is very antisocial and always locks himself in his room because he is busy in his own world. When he started school, he tried to join the anime club there. Unfortunately, the club disbanded.

Onoda then had a resolution to revive his club by inviting other people to join. Because of his intention, he was willing to go to Akihabara (a paradise for otaku) to look for members. And uniquely, he went there using his mother's very old pedal bicycle. Even though the distance is 90km!

Onoda cycles to Akibahara on a regular basis, which makes him unwittingly have a very great cycling talent. His talent was discovered by a friend who then invited Onoda to join the club and take part in official competitions between schools. Of course Onoda became the backbone of his team.

3. HAJIME NO IPPO

Continue to the boxing anime (boxing) with the title HAJIME NO IPPO airing for 75 episodes. This anime is arguably one of the best boxing anime out there, when viewed from the animation to the storyline which is a mixture of sports and drama.

HAJIME NO IPPO tells the story of a figure named Makunouchi Ippo who as a child was always bullied by his friends. He used to be a weak figure and had no confidence in himself. But one day, his life began to change when he met a boxer named Takamura Mamoru.

Ippo has a strong desire to turn into a stronger person. Initially, he learned boxing just to defend himself. But who would have thought that apart from his hard work in training, Ippo also has another talent, namely super-fast punches. From there, Ippo took part in various championships, winning and earning the nickname 'The Wind God' because of his speed.

4. WHISTLE!

When it comes to soccer anime, there must be a lot that comes to your mind, such as Captain Tsubasa. But we will not discuss the anime, but WHISTLE! . This anime aired for 39 episodes, from May 6, 2002 to February 3, 2003.

WHISTLE! tells the story of a student named Kazamatsuri Shou who has a dream to become a professional footballer. But unfortunately, he has absolutely no talent in this field. Even so, he still enrolls in a school that has a strong soccer team, namely Musashi no Mori in the hope of learning and growing.

In fact, Shou never even got a chance to play at all and was underestimated by many people. In the end, he chose to transfer to high school with a mediocre soccer club. And from there, he met good friends who were willing to teach him from scratch. With his efforts and hard work, Shou was finally able to talk a lot as a soccer athlete.

5. HAIKYUU!!

After basketball, football, boxing and also bicycle racing, this time we move on to volleyball. The sports-themed anime, based on the manga of the same name, aired for 25 episodes, from April 6 to September 21, 2014.

HAIKYUU!! tells the story of a man named Shouyou Hinata who has a small stature, but is inspired to become a famous volleyball after being inspired by a genius volleyball player who uses the nickname 'Little Giant'. From there, Hinata then tries to revive the volleyball club in her junior high school and joins a championship.

Unfortunately, in the first match they had been defeated horribly by the 'King of the Court' named Tobio Kageyama. From there, Hinata promised to enter a prestigious high school to beat Kageyama.

And uniquely, when he entered a high school called Karasuno, it turned out that his eternal rival, Kageyama also enrolled there. So the two rivals finally work together to be able to bring their school to be the best in Japan.

6. AO ASHI

AO ASHI is a sports-themed anime that will also air in 2022. The AO ASHI anime is planned to be released on April 9, 2022. The voice actors for this anime include Kouki Oosuzu, Chikahiro Kobayashi, Yuuichirou Umehara, Maki Kawase and so on.

In addition, this anime is about Ashito Aoi, who aspires to become a talented soccer player by joining the favorite soccer club in his city. He met a coach named Tatsuya Fukuda who saw great potential in Ashito Aoi.

Ashito was then invited by the coach to see the trial practice of his training club. You can watch the AO ASHI anime by waiting for the official release schedule. And become one of the sports-themed anime that you don't want to miss.

7. CAPTAIN TSUBASA

Who doesn't know the very popular CAPTAIN TSUBASA anime. Even the popularity of the CAPTAIN TSUBASA anime is also known among non-anime fans. The first time the CAPTAIN TSUBASA anime was released in 1983 ago with an interesting story in the world of soccer.

Where the CAPTAIN TSUBASA anime focuses on the main character, Tsubasa Ozora who dreams of becoming the best soccer player. Tsubasa joins the soccer club at his new school with a captain named Ishizaki.

However, Tsubasa and the team compete with another soccer club led by Genzo Wakabayashi with a certain agreement. Tsubasa's cool actions in getting the ball into the net were seen in the match against Genzo Wakabayashi's team. This is where Tsubasa Ozora's journey begins as the best soccer player.

8. FUTSAL BOYS!!!

FUTSAL BOYS!!! became a recommendation for the following sports-themed anime that just aired in 2022. This latest sports anime has been released since the beginning of 2022 with a total of 12 episodes. The plan is FUTSAL BOYS!!! It will end on March 27, 2022.

Anime FUTSAL BOYS!!! It tells the story of the world of futsal with the main character, Haru Yamato. Haru Yamato joins as a futsal player at Kyoto Academy. The reason is that he actually idolizes Tokinari Tennoji, who is a talented futsal player and has represented Japan in the U-18 World Cup.

At the futsal club, Haru Yamato meets a number of colleagues with different characters, namely Seiichiro Sakaki and Toi Tsukioka. Can Haru Yamato's dream come true like the idol? Until now the anime FUTSAL BOYS!!! And aired with the 11th episode on March 20, 2022.

9. RE-PLAY

Furthermore, there is RE-MAIN which is one of the recommendations for sports-themed anime. This sports-themed anime can be said to be one of the best and most popular anime in the period from 2021 to early 2022.

The story that is raised in this anime is a story with the theme of water polo. You will be made to laugh while watching it because there are many interesting scenes wrapped in comedy. The character in this anime is Minato Kiyomizu, a water polo star.

When he was in the 3rd grade of middle school, he had an accident and was in a coma for 203 days. The accident resulted in him losing his memory in the last 3 years of his life. Practically, he also lost skills. However, he kept practicing until his abilities slowly returned.

10. DIAMOND NO ACE

DIAMOND NO ACE is one of the other sports-themed anime recommendations. Yes, this anime has indeed become one of the sports anime that is a pity for you to miss. This anime tells the story of a new pitcher entering an elite school.

He can also play with great players in it. His only goal is to become the best in the national baseball championship in Japan. The story in it is full of hard work.

So, do you like some of the sports-themed anime recommendations above? What's your favourite? Don't miss it, KLovers.