It is fair to say that Haikyu!! is the standard for sports anime. It is tonally consistent, thoroughly engaging from beginning to end, and profoundly moving. On the spectrum of light and cheery to dark and depressing, Haikyu!! is firmly on the more hopeful and aspirational side. The long-running series always amps up the tension with each new challenge for Team Karasuno, while rewarding us with well-drawn characters and impressive animation.
That being said, Haikyu!! is one of many excellent anime centred around sports available to watch right now on Crunchyroll. As they explore different sports, they also differ in tone and style, creating a subgenre that is constantly evolving and compelling.
Here are five we recommend you check out as soon as you can! Note, this list barely scratches the surface.
Blue Lock
Don’t get it twisted, Blue Lock is nowhere near being as overly sentimental, endearing and hopeful as Haikyu!!. Blue Lock can be best described as the tonal opposite of the beloved volleyball series, which makes this football-centric series look damn near dystopian. Blue Lock follows Yoichi Isagi, a high school football player who joins an ultra-competitive program designed to assemble the fiercest football team. The Blue Lock program is not for the faint of heart. The series is filled with crackling action, engaging characters, thrilling stakes and the right amount of absurdity to lighten the mood.
SK8 the Infinity
Sk8 the Infinity is a comedy series about impassioned skateboarders who take the art of skateboarding to a whole new level, complete with dramatic costumes, secret skateboard races and pimped out boards. The story follows Reki, a high schooler obsessed with skateboarding, who befriends transfer student Langa, a former professional snowboarder. The two guide the audience into the world of skateboarding, and along for the ride is a plethora of wacky characters. The series is vibrant, unpredictable, and thoroughly engaging.
Yuri On Ice
The world of skating has always been admired by people all around the world. The elegant sport has been a fixture in culture for a very long time, so when Yuri On Ice premiered, it was a sure-fire hit amongst fans of the sport and fans of yaoi. Even if you weren’t a fan of figure skating, the highly romanticized and charming series easily captivated your heart. The show follows Yuri, a Japanese figure skater and his relationship with his idol and coach, Russian skater Victor.
Turkey! Time to Strike
Turkey! Time to Strike is definitely going to catch some people off guard, as it is a series about 10-pin bowling and time travel. The series follows a high school bowling club that gets transported to the Sengoku period. Super random, but that’s the joy of anime. Genres are not set in stone, and a story about bowling can take you anywhere. It is a new series, so there is no consensus from anime fans just yet, that being said, it’s intriguing and different!
Free!
Free stands tall amongst the sports anime available to watch for being a compelling series about competitive swimming, and for its heightened emotions and visuals. Like many anime in this genre, it is deeply passionate about the sport it depicts, and we love it for that. The series follows a young, gifted swimmer who, along with his friends, brings back their high school’s swim team.
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