| Ever since I joined the anime community I've gotten into shows from genres that a typical guy in his early twenties would except for one, Sports. Being an American, I've played the popular sports such as football baseball, and basketball competitively all my life and have always been a fan of watching professional teams play, even in sports I don't play such as soccer, hockey, and rugby. I figured this love of sports would transfer over into my love for anime but no matter how hard i try to get into a new sports anime series i find myself extremely disinterested from the start. Does anyone else have this same problem? or just have any thoughts? |
| I guess many are put off by how unrealistic anime usually portray sports, but it never really bothered me. As for what the main draw of the genre is, I'd say it's undoubtedly the excitement that it carries along. Just recently watching the conclusion of the last Haikyuu match was the definition of hype-inducing. |
| 5 main aspects I base my ratings on: 1. Did DramaEnthusiast make a thread about it? 2. Is it better than Breaking Bad? 3. Did MellowJello recommend the shit out of it? 4. Has it caused a (very entertaining) shitstorm on MAL? 5. Is it actually good? Scratch the fifth point, it's not very relevant... |
| I think one of the appeals is the hot guys. If you're not into that then I can see why you wouldn't like it. Sports anime is more like sol anime than it is like watching sports on TV (at least from what I've heard of it). |
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| @ OP Well, it's hard for us to pinpoint what your problem might be without more detail. What sports anime did you try? What kind of experience were you expecting? zombie_pegasus said: Sports anime is more like sol anime than it is like watching sports on TV (at least from what I've heard of it). Eh, I think most popular sports anime are match/tourney oriented. They tend to have more in common with battle-shonen's training & battle format rather than the episodic slice-of-life. |
| Same, I'm a swimmer and tried to find swimming anime but every bit of Free! anime was kind of insulting but hilarious in a sense Maybe because The usual audience of sport anime are mostly female who are into bishounen I think young girls are the authors' target market Thus, the exaggeration of flipping hair, dropping of sweat and shit like that I liked Ping Pong The Animation though. And maybe One Outs as well. Slam Dunk a little bit |
Ckan said: Either way they're not much like sports on TV. Power of friendship plays a big role I believe.@ OP Well, it's hard for us to pinpoint what your problem might be without more detail. What sports anime did you try? What kind of experience were you expecting? zombie_pegasus said: Sports anime is more like sol anime than it is like watching sports on TV (at least from what I've heard of it). Eh, I think most popular sports anime are match/tourney oriented. They tend to have more in common with battle-shonen's training & battle format rather than the episodic slice-of-life. I haven't seen any battle shounen either so I don't really know what I'm talking about in this regard. |
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| It's reasonable. If you simply treat it as a Shounen, with powerups and super cool moves and all the hype, you might like it. But if you try to enjoy it for the sports, probably not. My guess is the unreal aspects and moves that really turn you off. So a sports anime that is relatively realistic might appeal to you. For instance Haikyuu doesn't have any crazy moves like in Kuroko and Prince of Tennis so you can give that a try. Otherwise your perspective is perfectly reasonable. Two things you love may not always go well together, such as ice cream and burgers. |
| I love sports anime. One of the reasons I even watch anime in the first place is because you can't find good sports related shows otherwise. I'd kill for an HBO baseball series. |
| Try to enjoy the sports anime for the characters and comedy/story, not for the sport itself. When you can't emphasize with the teams/characters it will be pretty hard to like the anime. I'd also recommend haikyuu because I'm guessing you haven't played much volleyball yet. It also has a nice cast of characters. Maybe try Hajime no Ippo (boxing, a bit older). There are not that many sports anime out there, theoretically you could go through each one and just test-watch the first couple of episodes until you find one that seems interesting to you, or conclude that it is indeed a genre that you don't enjoy that much. |
| I don't like sports at all so I'm not really into it. I kind of like Free but that's entirely for the wet, shirtless men. XD Princess Nine does actually look good though. |
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| A lot of sport animes often exaggerate how the sport is played but some of them do actually respect the history and the culture of the sport. Hajime no Ippo has a pretty accurate depiction of how training and getting into the scene is like, but the matches are very dramatic and very slow-paced compared to an actual boxing match. As long you suspend your expectation of an anime being a 1:1 realistic representation of the subject matter, you can respect whatever ratio of realism:fantasy it depicts. Spoiler up to the end of Hajime no Ippo. DON'T WATCH IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT WATCHING HnI: |
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| I guess I never thought about my expectations in regards to how realistic it is compared to actually just watching a game. I like the idea of drama and character development mixed in with the actual sport but I think I failed to realize it's a story using sports as a plot point and not focusing on the sport itself like when i watch it in real life. lol |
| I'm not into boxing, but I enjoyed every season of Hajime No Ippo. I'm not a fan of volleyball, although I do play it casually, I enjoyed both seasons of Haikyuu! I'm not much of a drift racing fan, but I loved all seasons of Initial D. It's not all about the sport being portrayed. It's about the characters and the story for me. If the characters and the story are great, I think most anime will work for me, no matter what the setting. I was hesitant at first too, but after a few episodes in I started to enjoy it and realized I had been missing out on a great genre. Same goes for any other genre. Unless you try a few of them out, you can't really say that you dislike the entire genre. Just remember - every sports anime is different. |
Something witty that makes you think I'm funny Defeating a sandwich only makes it tastier |
| Because they're often gay and the gayer an anime is the better |
 Nico- said: Conversations with people pinging/quoting me to argue about some old post I wrote years ago will not be entertained@Comic_Sans oh no y arnt ppl dieing i need more ppl dieing rly gud plot avansement jus liek tokyo ghoul if erbudy dies amirite |
| The character development. The team work and friendship. The variety of characters. And the hype of every match! |
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| Yes, as others have said, too unrealistic, But more importantly, most are not "Down To Earth", and this is not just sports anime, a lot of anime lack this, as they are too focused on appealing to the otaku audience (in general sense). if you haven't tried them, try : Slam Dunk, Major, there are few more, these are just from top of my head. |
| It's almost impossible to tell without more detail on your expectations. If you've competed against the best in the world (as I have), then any sense of 'realism' in an anime depiction is obviously going to clash with your personal experiences and knowledge. If, however, you're of the mindset of viewing the sport as a tool/setting for character work, you might be more receptive to the genre - enter Ping Pong. |
| i think those kind of show are only focusing on the boys or "Manservice". those kind of shows targeted most to the girl too btw, so i think it's explainable to why you disinterested of it. Haikyuu might interest you btw m8 even tho i haven't watched it. |
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Tevens said: i think those kind of show are only focusing on the boys or "Manservice". those kind of shows targeted most to the girl too btw, so i think it's explainable to why you disinterested of it. Haikyuu might interest you btw m8 even tho i haven't watched it. The only sportshows that strike me as specifically targeted towards girls are Free! and Prince of Stride, the rest usually just amassed a fujoshi following through doujins. Maybe I forgot a bunch of them but many don't even have a all bishounen cast. |
| Some sports are better in anime form, volleyball is definitely one sport that's far better in anime than in irl. Ro-Kyu-Bu definitely made basketball a tad bit better in anime form. Also, tennis is great in anime form but not in most modern anime, I hope you can take a more dated artstyle otherwise you'll be disappointed if you try the offerings from 2010 and beyond. |
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| I guess some people just find it interesting and find anime characters playing sports fun to watch. I've never really cared for sports in real life or in anime so I don't watch much sports anime, the only sport anime I watch is Initial-D because the cars and the music are cool. |
| I don't know about any other sports anime but Baby Steps was outstanding. I thought it was realistic enough to actually teach me how to play the sport. I just finished the series and I want to pick it up as a hobby because they make Tennis seem like something anyone can do with it's simple rules but high ceiling curve. |
  Rarity is Best Pony! |
| I would say it's the narrative. It makes watching a sport that I find super boring like baseball interesting (though it still boring in anime as well :/) When I'm watching a sports anime I'm looking for likeable characters, sense of growth, a tad of drama, hype and accomplishment. Try watching Haikyuu? it's the best sports anime imo. |
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| Teamwork and camaraderie Character development Character's passion for the sport |
| I think the key for success to sports anime are the characters. You start off with a base, but since we're dealing with 'teams' the characters support one-another and grow further more as a more well-rounded character. The characters get so intense about the games too you start to fall in line with them and their hype. Like many others have said, Haikyuu! is a fantastic sports anime and I'm going to throw Ookiku Furikabutte in there as well. They're both very similar, and yet very different. I've never really understood the whole hype behind sports anime up until I watched those two. |
Touch me, you filthy casual~ |
| Sports anime is simply a different medium. It isn't going to show you a 48-minute game, but rather a 5-15+ minutes' worth of monologue and some slice-of-life experience while ending their match in 5 minutes or so. The dialogue/monologue is what hypes up the viewer (if successful) and that is what I think the appeal is. It gets you entertained or excited about what's going to happen next. There's also the training parts. Shows needs a lot of development and they'll be needing to convince you by showing their hard work on and off the court. You also get to understand the players' feelings which doesn't really happen in real-time. Well, there are some cases where, a free throw could take an episode or two before the ball even touches or misses the net. Oh and there's manservice |
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| Idk I recently marathoned both seasons of haikyu(u?) and thought it was fan fucking tastic. I don't normally like sports animes but there are a few good ones. I just like the bond between the two dudes.. working their asses off together. The team spirit. Something about the male camaraderie. Like the MC was really short but was spiking on kids 10 inches taller than him. He made up for his height with his speed, power, and jump. The passion was real. I don't really watch sports but I wrestled in high school and there is nothing more magical then having a group of guys who have your back through thick and thin and are cheering you on win or loss working to help you get better. For real. |
| I can somewhat relate to OP, as an anime fan, I can't really bring myself to like some sport anime masterpiece like Free, Kuroko, Haikyuu for the fact that these have some monologue drama while in-game, friendship bullcrap, gay-ass superpowers and other predictable outcome which is the reason for me to prefer real sports more in which any outcome can happen meaning more entertainment and suspense for me. |
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| I thought I wouldn't enjoy sports anime, but I do. Sports anime aren't really about the sport. They're more about the nature of competition. Many of them are more character-driven. The setting is always the same anyway. Stella's Women Academy and Ping Pong are good examples of this. |
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wolfslice said: This and you actually get to know the athletes unlike in just watching a game on tv.I love sports anime. One of the reasons I even watch anime in the first place is because you can't find good sports related shows otherwise. I'd kill for an HBO baseball series. |
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| I was quite surprised of how much I actually liked Free! It's nothing complex nor sophisticated stuff, but it was the light heart attitude about friendship and camaraderie that got me really hooked. Next stop will be Kuroko no Baske, when feeling the need of something more trivial. Just to relax. |
| I can't really pick any one thing for why I like them, because it's a multitude of things that make me like an anime (not just the sports genre) but what I like about the one's I've seen is primarily the characters and the action/sports scenes. For example, I really liked the basketball scenes in cork's Basketball. I know some people don't like it because it isn't "realistic" (although most of their powers are possible to a certain degree just exaggerated) but I liked the super power like basketball scenes. They were epic and extremely well animated. This is coming from someone who's favorite sport is basketball too. |
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