This Week in Anime Picks the Sports Anime With No Rivals
The column reframes the sports anime conversation around single-representative series, giving overdue attention to niche titles that stand alone in their sport.
Reporting from 1 source: Anime News Network.
In the latest This Week in Anime column, Chris and Lucas round up sports anime that are the only examples of their sport in the medium. The list spans Eyeshield 21 for American football, soccer's absence noted, and offbeat picks like Climbing Girls, Keijo!!!!!!!!, Burning Kabaddi, and Stars Align.
Chris and Lucas use the lull before the NFL season to survey sports anime that have no competition in their chosen sport. American football has exactly one representative in Eyeshield 21, which forces the column to widen its scope.
The pair land on a set of series that each stand alone, from climbing in Climbing Girls to the butt-based combat of Keijo!!!!!!!!. The result is a tour of sports anime that rarely share the spotlight with bigger franchises.
- Eyeshield 21: the only American football anime
- Climbing Girls: sport climbing
- Keijo!!!!!!!!: butt-based combat sport
- Burning Kabaddi: kabaddi
- Stars Align: soft tennis
- Pride of Orange: ice hockey
- Young Ladies Don't Play Fighting Games: fighting games
- Hanayamata: yosakoi dance
- Turkey: bowling
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.
Sources
- Anime News Network This Week in Anime The Wild Wild World of Sports