| For decades now, MMA has been big in japan. In fact the rise of MMA itself is largely thanks to PRIDE FC, the japanese MMA organisation of the late 90s til it became defunct in the mid 2000s. Many fighters from around the world come to compete in successful japanese mma organisations every year. For example, current organisations include rizin, deep, shooto and pancrase, and from the past - pride FC, dream, vale tudo japan, inoki bombaye etc. However, despite the clear popularity, very few have taken the opportunity to convert this into the form of manga/anime. This does not make sense to me as theres many reasons why an mma manga would be able to find success - mma is becoming huge both in japan and rest of world so its not like the target audience is obviously gonna be sizeable, character growth both in terms of skill and personality is easy to portray in combat sports, there are many different starting points and also routes you can take, youre able to flesh out side characters easily especially considering multiple weightclasses exist so you can create and develop charcters that can find their own success and arent fated to lose to the mc, and if all this isnt enough encouragement, boxing has shown to be very compatible with these formats and many boxing manga have succeeded. In comparison mma has many more avenues it could explore with its different fight styles etc, as well as the fact that mma is growing at a much more rapid rate than boxing. Just to add, as many sports anime and manga have shown, you dont need to be a fan of the sport to enjoy an anime of it. The main drawback is that it's difficult to portray complex fighting sequences and to explain advanced techniques to newcomers however as ippo has shown this is definitely possible if enough thought and preparation is given. When considering any existing mma anime/manga, i dont include the likes of kengan ashura due to the fact that it really isnt mma and out of the very small list of genuine mma manga+anime out there, the only one which stood out to me was star: strike it rich, which has its own flaws, and more notably solely focusses on women's mma. I could go on and on, in fact i could probably make a whole essay out of this but I have to stop at some point. So to end with, there must be numerous factors causing the absence of mma in manga/anime, in which case i ask to you guys - why do you think mma in the medium of manga/anime isnt more popular and do you think things will change in the future? |
| because wrestling and boxing anime already exist and fulfill practically the same purpose and they're way more flashy and over the top. The only anime close to mma i can think of is cestus. https://myanimelist.net/manga/17233/Kentou_Ankokuden_Cestvs https://myanimelist.net/manga/47296/Kendo_Shitouden_Cestvs https://myanimelist.net/anime/43763/Cestvs__The_Roman_Fighter |
| Lack? There are 670 martial arts anime right now, lol. |
*kappa* |
Reply to Zarutaku
Lack? There are 670 martial arts anime right now, lol.
| @Zarutaku In that case naruto counts as mma cos it has the 'martial arts tag'? i dont see sasuke knocking out people in the octagon to become undisputed world champ. I'm talking about genuine mma anime/manga, not anything with a martial arts tag |
Reply to tchitchouan
because wrestling and boxing anime already exist and fulfill practically the same purpose and they're way more flashy and over the top.
The only anime close to mma i can think of is cestus.
https://myanimelist.net/manga/17233/Kentou_Ankokuden_Cestvs
https://myanimelist.net/manga/47296/Kendo_Shitouden_Cestvs
https://myanimelist.net/anime/43763/Cestvs__The_Roman_Fighter
The only anime close to mma i can think of is cestus.
https://myanimelist.net/manga/17233/Kentou_Ankokuden_Cestvs
https://myanimelist.net/manga/47296/Kendo_Shitouden_Cestvs
https://myanimelist.net/anime/43763/Cestvs__The_Roman_Fighter
| @tchitchouan But just cos they exist doesnt mean theres no need for anime of a completely different sport that can provide so many fresh ideas and interactions. i disagree with the over the top statement, mma has a much wider scope to be flashy than both the others. i also dont understand how boxing and wrestling fulfil the same purpose as mma, wrestling strictly prohibits striking and submissions while boxing only involves punching, mma is the full package which is one of the main reasons why most people opt to watch it ahead of the other 2 aforementioned combat sports. |
| It's not like there are a ton of Hollywood movies explicitly about MMA, either. Warrior, I guess? And the Road House remake, kind of? I think it's only a matter of time. Live-action movies have been incorporating MMA moves into action choreography for a long time now, so it's bound to happen soon. You already mentioned STAR: Strike It Rich, and that only started in 2023. And as you say, it must be a huge pain in the butt to draw and animate, so the creator would have to be knowledgeable, passionate AND talented at drawing. |
| I remember this manga I read called Teppuu, which was about women in MMA. It has a lot of insight into the industry and really interesting characters. |
 |
| It would be nice to see more MMA featured titles? Isekai is still the trope since a lot of people are into it but it's saturation needs more originality. What about Manhwas? I am familliar with two great MMA head liners: King of the Octagon and possibly Kalli the Champion |
Casual Manga/Manhwa/Manhua Reader |
| Car culture is very developed in Japan too but there's also not that many works focusing on that topic. It all boils down to lack of people in the industry skilled enough or knowledgeable enough on the topic to portray it both well and also in an appealing way, along with having the audience overlap and trends to consider. Recently there was Asumi Kakeru which while having rather well done and accurate fights, simply didn't manage to get enough popularity and ended up being axed. Balancing the accuracy and wider appeal of your work in the current overly saturated market is quite the tough balancing act. And out of curiosity, even in the small selection of MMA manga out there, what stood out to you in Strike it Rich compared to say, Teppuu, All Rounder Meguru, Asumi Kakeru or Red Blue? |
| You're absolutely right—MMA has been a huge deal in Japan, with legendary organizations like PRIDE FC paving the way. But where's all the MMA love in anime and manga, right? It seems baffling considering how popular and influential MMA is. Part of the reason is that traditional Japanese martial arts like Samurai swords, ninjitsu, kendo, judo, karate akido etc and superpower shounen battles fighting styles tend to dominate anime. Creators prefer the more dramatic and visually spectacular shounen battle over over the raw, gritty reality of MMA. |
| Here you go: https://www.anime-planet.com/manga/tags/mma |
  |
| I guess such anime was trendy in the 70s and the 80s, but not anymore. The japanese teens don't care about such things? Not to mention for making a decent product it would be difficult to animate those hand to hand battles. |
| Kengan Ashura is the closest I can think of but I fully support getting MMA anime |
| Can I Still Go To Heaven If I Kill Myself? |
| try Baki the grappler, ashita no joe or hajime no ippo its not mma but its close with the combat sports as to why there is not much of mma anime?....not enough demand or popularity with the current gen maybe? i for one would not mind to see an mma anime it would be refreshing |
| I remember the MMA practitioners in Holyland being a welcome addition. |
I don't feel the need of two sweaty half-naked dudes twisting around each other.  |
SgtBateManJan 3, 9:30 AM
Help! I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know I need someone. Helpppppp!  |
| @Furyslasher hey look... found one that *might* fit the bill of what you're looking for...check it out see what you think https://myanimelist.net/anime/58717/Garouden__The_Way_of_the_Lone_Wolf hell, i might even give this a watch myself... looks decent |
ItachiDeltaForceJan 9, 2:28 PM
| The nearest anime i can think of is https://myanimelist.net/anime/33589/ViVid_Strike?q=vivid%20strike&cat=anime |
| I know your PTW list is bigger than your completed list. |
FurySlasher said: why do you think mma in the medium of manga/anime isnt more popular and do you think things will change in the future? I don't care to see it. It's just another type of sports/ganbatte anime and I can't stand those. Winning some lame competition really is not as exciting as roaming through a fantasy world doing whatever. But in sports and ganbatte shows the goal is always to win something or be the best or whatever and it's just a really boring concept overall. SgtBateMan said: I don't feel the need of two sweaty half-naked dudes twisting around each other. Yeah, watching two dudes touching each other is very close to being gay, which is the opposite of entertaining as far as I am concerned. |
Reply to TransferUser
FurySlasher said:
why do you think mma in the medium of manga/anime isnt more popular and do you think things will change in the future?
why do you think mma in the medium of manga/anime isnt more popular and do you think things will change in the future?
I don't care to see it. It's just another type of sports/ganbatte anime and I can't stand those. Winning some lame competition really is not as exciting as roaming through a fantasy world doing whatever. But in sports and ganbatte shows the goal is always to win something or be the best or whatever and it's just a really boring concept overall.
SgtBateMan said:
I don't feel the need of two sweaty half-naked dudes twisting around each other.
I don't feel the need of two sweaty half-naked dudes twisting around each other.
Yeah, watching two dudes touching each other is very close to being gay, which is the opposite of entertaining as far as I am concerned.
| @TransferUser spoken like a true soy drinking beta-cuck |
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