Sports anime/manga that inspired you to play the game?

sbyrstall said:
I was getting into triathlon and then Yowamushi came out last year and made me bike more. Yes, I do have a triathlon bike.

Mayuka said:
yowapeda got me interested in cycling!! but i didnt have a bike and i still don't :C
onoda made it super fun to travel to akihabara each day XD

also, baseball anime got me into softball.. i even tried out for my high school softball team >W<

Vivie said:
I kinda have yips now after that dead ball to the face > LOL

I still like baseball though, but I don't think I'd be able to try it again any time soon... Some say that girls mostly play softball. Had I tried that first, it might have hurt a little bit less :))

Whimsical-C said:
Same here! I steer clear of most ball sports because I'm too scared I'll get hit in the face, that and I probably lack the co-ordination to be successful.

Vivie said:


There are sports with face protection. Like football, hockey, etc... maybe you should try one someday :p

I only have problem when the ball is aimed toward me though... I can play others like tennis just fine.

Btw, I can only think of a few sports where women and men can compete as equals. It's so unfair that men are physically stronger :|

Vivie said:
I've only played beach volleyball a few times. Even though I sucked XD but it's like the most fun sport to play with friends~



There are sports with face protection. Like football, hockey, etc... maybe you should try one someday :p

I only have problem when the ball is aimed toward me though... I can play others like tennis just fine.

Btw, I can only think of a few sports where women and men can compete as equals. It's so unfair that men are physically stronger :|

sbyrstall said:
If you watch women's US softball, the helmets do have face protectors on them now.

rayeine said:
Prince of Tennis for me too! Then I realized I suck at sports.

Vivie said:

I sucked at first too and I'm not great now. But I still love it. You don't have to be really athletic to enjoy sports. I still remember the sore muscles and peeled skin before I got used to it.

rayeine said:
Prince of Tennis for me too! Then I realized I suck at sports.

rayeine said:
That's true. I probably gave up too quickly. Maybe I'll pick up badminton instead of tennis. What do you usually play?

Mayuka said:
my life lmao

i wish i started sports earlier on in my life :c
it's hard to get on a team with less than 1 year experience..

yeah, badminton is definitely much easier than tennis LOL

rayeine said:
Ahaha, or maybe even ping pong? They're all similar enough.

rayeine said:
That's true. I probably gave up too quickly. Maybe I'll pick up badminton instead of tennis. What do you usually play?

Mayuka said:
i wish i started sports earlier on in my life :c
it's hard to get on a team with less than 1 year experience..

rayeine said:
I agree! I feel like its way too late for me to do sports now. I've way passed my high school prime.

Mayuka said:
i find ping pong quite hard!! it's a really fast sport lol

Vivie said:

I've been playing tennis ever since then. It's more like working out now few times a week. Some other sports occasionally (skating, swimming, etc). Badminton is good too and easier to start with and you can practice like anywhere :)

I'd like to get back to cycling but like I said the crowded place wasn't very supporting. I enjoy beach volley ball the most when I got to play with friends. And I've always wanted to try skydiving and surfing :P


It's never too late to do sports!! :)

rayeine said:
That's a lot of sports! I always wanted to try skydiving and surfing/snorkeling but I don't live in an area that allows for them.

Where do you suggest to start for beginners? Maybe a gym membership?

Vivie said:
And I've always wanted to try skydiving and surfing :P

ibear said:
I still regret not learning to surf when I was a kid. Now I'm at the point where I'm an adult and absolutely hate the idea of royally sucking at something new.

starlabbu said:
Ginban Kaleidoscope got me seriously into skating. Won a couple of competitions back in the day.
Captain Tsubasa and Hungry Heart made me a football fan.
There were also some anime (not sure if sports anime though) which made me take up martial arts and am now a taskwondo black belt

Vivie said:

What a waste! It would be cool to have a surfer dude in our club :))

But I bet you don't mind sucking as much as people "seeing" you sucking (/ _ ; ) So I suggest you find some secluded beaches... and stop regretting!

Vivie said:

I also don't live near more open areas for such activities. The closet thing I can think of is some paragliding clubs here, but they gotta go pretty far out of the city every week to practice.

What sport do you wanna start on? A gym membership is good for working out either way of course :)

rayeine said:
I'm not sure. Perhaps badminton? I doubt I'm physically in shape enough for tennis. Other sports require a team haha.

Vivie said:

Just so you know ya don't need to be "in shape" to practice tennis ^^ There are many light rackets (<250g~ about 2 times a normal badminton racket) for beginners and even lighter balls if you'd prefer. I started in middle school (I was quite fragile too) and I've seen many younger kids play it with no problem, so I think you'll be fine :) It would take a little time to adjust for sure. Though I doubt you'd even need a gym membership. Just get some dumbbells and work out like 30mins/day and you are good with your arms, or practice swinging with your racket for grip (that was what I did :-s) And unlike badminton you can practice alone too (just go out the backyard and hit the ball toward the walls...)

I could even show you my "starter kit" if you like :P I tend to get excited when people wanna learn about things I love...

rayeine said:
You make some good points. I used to own a really professional tennis racket and man, I think I sold it when I gave up the sport.

What was your starter kit? When you said practicing swings it reminded me of the first-years strength training they talked about briefly in PoT.

ibear said:
If you want to train your grip strength my favorite way is to squeeze a tennis ball while watching tv.kinda sorta almost not totally irrelevant

Vivie said:

I think your pro racket back then must have been quite heavy and not really suitable for beginners... That's why you found it hard. If only someone pointed that out for you sooner :)

Swings practice is like the basic training method. You'd be told the same even if you took proper lessons. By "starter kit" I mean just my basic gears ^^ things that I'd take to the court with me and some training equipment for beginners. Those aren't hard to get if you really mean to learn :)

rayeine said:
What gear do you have aside from the racket & tennis balls? Do you use an expensive racket?

After talking to you I picked up Baby Steps (because I heard it's more realistic) and I really feel like starting the sport up again haha. I might want to join a club/take lessons, but I have to consider the cost.

Vivie said:
You should get a proper pair of tennis shoes if you wanna practice seriously (they focus on lateral support and stability) which is important. Some sweatbands would help tightening your wrists. Might wanna tape up your thumb and index finger where the skin tend to peel off when you first start (it should be fine after a while). My racket is not really expensive (chose it for the color mostly :P) and rather light. Ya should consider carefully before stringing your racket and get proper overgrips so you wouldn't have any problem hitting the ball to where you want. I have sweaty palms so I need a tennis glove too. (Might take a pic or something for ya later)

I think I dropped Baby Steps (didn't find it interesting enough :P) If you are already interested in the sport, ya don't need more manga/anime to tell you to get into the real game. Just go for it!! From my experience most people from the clubs, classes don't know what tennis manga/anime are :))

rayeine said:
That's a lot more gear than I thought. I never knew there was an actual point to sweatbands! I just recently bought a pair of running shoes but I think they're meant for walking only. Hmm, did you string your racket after you played for a little while? Maybe I should pick up a book or something. A picture would be nice!

Is it? I think it's alright if a bit slow. The thing is with me, I get interested in things very quickly but I lose interest just as quickly. I'm in my last semester of grad school so I probably won't be able to start playing until after I graduate. This is my way of trying to keep up the excitement.

Vivie said:
The design of running shoes supports, stabilizes and cushions your feet. When you run, you tend to go in one direction, forward. Whereas the running shoes place emphasis on cushioning, tennis shoes focus on lateral support and stability, as many of the movements executed on the tennis court are side-to-side cuts, rather than heel-to-toe running. But when you first start, you don't move a lot yet so I guess your running shoes would suffice until you get better. When you buy a new racket, the strings on it are just for show (kinda like when you buy new glasses frames) You gotta change to your new strings of choice (some places just sell bare frames with no strings).

Take your time to get ready. Though ya should stay on track after starting and try to keep it up. It might feel a bit frustrating at first for most people. Not all of us are born athletes :D But it's really fun when you get the hang of it.

rayeine said:
I cut out the photos so it won't drag the thread, but they were really useful, thank you! Under the basic stuff, is the white item, fingerless gloves? And if you don't mind me asking, what is the point of the tapes? And the small white bottle?

In addition, I didn't know there were so many differences to the types of shoes. I think I should probably look into an actual tennis sneaker than making do with the one I currently have. I read online that if you use the wrong shoe, it could damage your ankles.

And are you serious? Those strings are fake? I don't think I changed the strings from the racket I bought back in high school because I thought you could just use them as is. Does it make a difference with the impact?