Does the genre need to be over-the-top all the time?
Summary:
Fans feel that Haikyuu!! is the only realistic sports anime right now.
That’s only true if you only take into account anime with multiple seasons.
Realism isn’t always needed in sports anime — many great series were over-the-top.
Sports anime is somewhat of a niche genre. The most popular sports series are very popular, yes, but most of them actually go unnoticed — at least in the West.
The definite most popular anime of the genre is Haikyuu!!. Its popularity is completely understandable — volleyball is a dynamic sport that is very easy to understand even if you aren't familiar with it prior to watching the anime.
However, some argue that another reason that makes Haikyuu!! the most famous sports series right now is how realistic it is — and how most sports anime actually aren’t.
Haikyuu!! is the only realistic mainstream sports series
To be fair, it’s understandable why people think so. If you look at the contemporaries for Haikyuu!!, you see many sports anime that are… not exactly realistic. Blue Lock, while definitely entertaining, is a borderline battle royale anime, except no one really dies. Its premise is really over-the-top, and it can’t really count as realistic.
Another very popular (at least among experienced otaku) sports anime that is getting new content is Uma Musume: Pretty Derby. It’s self-explanatory that horse girls racing each other and also singing as idols is not a realistic premise at all.
That said, there are many realistic sports anime, with multiple coming out every year. Just in the past few years, we’ve had Re-Main, an original anime about water polo by MAPPA, and Run with the Wind (Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru), which many said was as good — if not better — than Haikyuu!!.
However, most of these series don’t get multiple seasons, leaving Haikyuu!! as the only modern sports anime that is actually realistic.
We’ve had realistic sports anime before
It’s not like sports anime need to be realistic to be popular, though. Uma Musume and Blue Lock, which were already mentioned above, are going very strong without being realistic.
Years ago, Kuroko’s Basketball (Kuroko no Basuke) was as popular as Haikyuu!!, and that anime had basically superpowers in an otherwise normal setting! Realism is appreciated, but it’s not obligatory for an anime to be good.
There have also been many realistic sports anime over the years. Major and Cross Game are some of the most popular baseball anime out there, and they are pretty grounded. Slam Dunk is perhaps the most iconic series in the genre, and it actually got a new movie in 2022 — hardly a “modern” anime, but still a relevant one.
We might get more realistic sports anime in the future
We have multiple sports anime coming out this year, though fans can’t really tell right now which one is going to be realistic. Currently, they have hopes for Oblivion Battery (Boukyaku Battery), Rinkai! and Ooi! Tonbo — anime about baseball, cycling and golf, respectively.
Does the genre need to be over-the-top all the time?
Summary:
Fans feel that Haikyuu!! is the only realistic sports anime right now.
That’s only true if you only take into account anime with multiple seasons.
Realism isn’t always needed in sports anime — many great series were over-the-top.
Sports anime is somewhat of a niche genre. The most popular sports series are very popular, yes, but most of them actually go unnoticed — at least in the West.
The definite most popular anime of the genre is Haikyuu!!. Its popularity is completely understandable — volleyball is a dynamic sport that is very easy to understand even if you aren't familiar with it prior to watching the anime.
However, some argue that another reason that makes Haikyuu!! the most famous sports series right now is how realistic it is — and how most sports anime actually aren’t.
Haikyuu!! is the only realistic mainstream sports series
To be fair, it’s understandable why people think so. If you look at the contemporaries for Haikyuu!!, you see many sports anime that are… not exactly realistic. Blue Lock, while definitely entertaining, is a borderline battle royale anime, except no one really dies. Its premise is really over-the-top, and it can’t really count as realistic.
Another very popular (at least among experienced otaku) sports anime that is getting new content is Uma Musume: Pretty Derby. It’s self-explanatory that horse girls racing each other and also singing as idols is not a realistic premise at all.
That said, there are many realistic sports anime, with multiple coming out every year. Just in the past few years, we’ve had Re-Main, an original anime about water polo by MAPPA, and Run with the Wind (Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru), which many said was as good — if not better — than Haikyuu!!.
However, most of these series don’t get multiple seasons, leaving Haikyuu!! as the only modern sports anime that is actually realistic.
We’ve had realistic sports anime before
It’s not like sports anime need to be realistic to be popular, though. Uma Musume and Blue Lock, which were already mentioned above, are going very strong without being realistic.
Years ago, Kuroko’s Basketball (Kuroko no Basuke) was as popular as Haikyuu!!, and that anime had basically superpowers in an otherwise normal setting! Realism is appreciated, but it’s not obligatory for an anime to be good.
There have also been many realistic sports anime over the years. Major and Cross Game are some of the most popular baseball anime out there, and they are pretty grounded. Slam Dunk is perhaps the most iconic series in the genre, and it actually got a new movie in 2022 — hardly a “modern” anime, but still a relevant one.
We might get more realistic sports anime in the future
We have multiple sports anime coming out this year, though fans can’t really tell right now which one is going to be realistic. Currently, they have hopes for Oblivion Battery (Boukyaku Battery), Rinkai! and Ooi! Tonbo — anime about baseball, cycling and golf, respectively.
