Haikyuu!! is the most popular sports anime, and it often feels like the only one discussed.
Sports isn’t a very popular genre, but even there you have way more popular anime — just look a bit further.
In the end, there’s always going to be the most popular series of any genre.
When new anime fans ask for sports anime recommendations, the overwhelming majority recommends Haikyuu!!. It more than deserves that praise and recommendation — it’s a great anime with highly developed cast and very fun matches — but it often feels to some otaku that it’s the only sports anime that is ever mentioned.
Yes, sometimes another series reaches popularity and gets some traction, like Blue Lockrecently — yet it quickly falls off the radar once it’s done airing. Why is the modern sports anime discourse so centered around Haikyuu!!, and should we do something about it?
Sports isn’t actually a popular genre
Let’s face the reality: sports isn’t a very popular genre of anime. Yes, it can be exciting to watch, but to many, it feels alienating if they’re not into the sport themselves, as the rules may feel confusing if the anime doesn’t explain it properly. As such, most sports anime — outside of shounen manga adaptations — usually don’t do very well with most otaku.
Even Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, the second and third seasons of which were praised by those who watched it for both character development and animation, feels alienating to many because of its premise. Volleyball is one of the most popular sports out there with rules that are quite easy to understand — and Haikyuu!! is a spectacle to watch.
Just look below the surface
Despite that, the notion that it’s the only sports anime that gets talked about isn’t entirely correct. The series has been running for a while and has amassed quite a following, yes — but there are many other sports series worth mentioning. Kuroko’s Basketball used to be almost as popular — but unlike Haikyuu, it already ended, and so the hype slowly died out.
Blue Lock is very different from other works of its genre, and people seem to like it. Kyoto Animation productions, like Free! and Tsurune, have quite a lot of fans as well. Yes, Haikyuu!! is popular, but it’s hardly the only popular sports show — one just needs to look below the first couple of mentions and recommendations.
There’s nothing wrong
In the end, though, Haikyuu’s popularity isn’t anything bad. If anything, it attracts more people to the genre, which is always a good thing. There’s always going to be the most popular anime of any given genre at any given time, and here, the fact can be attributed to Haikyuu!! being a widely accessible series in an otherwise semi-ignored genre. And right now, with the sequel coming up, the fans are active once again — which may give birth to the illusion of it being the only one discussed.
Actually, it’s not, but it often feels like it.
Summary:
Haikyuu!! is the most popular sports anime, and it often feels like the only one discussed.
Sports isn’t a very popular genre, but even there you have way more popular anime — just look a bit further.
In the end, there’s always going to be the most popular series of any genre.
When new anime fans ask for sports anime recommendations, the overwhelming majority recommends Haikyuu!!. It more than deserves that praise and recommendation — it’s a great anime with highly developed cast and very fun matches — but it often feels to some otaku that it’s the only sports anime that is ever mentioned.
Yes, sometimes another series reaches popularity and gets some traction, like Blue Lockrecently — yet it quickly falls off the radar once it’s done airing. Why is the modern sports anime discourse so centered around Haikyuu!!, and should we do something about it?
Sports isn’t actually a popular genre
Let’s face the reality: sports isn’t a very popular genre of anime. Yes, it can be exciting to watch, but to many, it feels alienating if they’re not into the sport themselves, as the rules may feel confusing if the anime doesn’t explain it properly. As such, most sports anime — outside of shounen manga adaptations — usually don’t do very well with most otaku.
Even Uma Musume: Pretty Derby, the second and third seasons of which were praised by those who watched it for both character development and animation, feels alienating to many because of its premise. Volleyball is one of the most popular sports out there with rules that are quite easy to understand — and Haikyuu!! is a spectacle to watch.
Just look below the surface
Despite that, the notion that it’s the only sports anime that gets talked about isn’t entirely correct. The series has been running for a while and has amassed quite a following, yes — but there are many other sports series worth mentioning. Kuroko’s Basketball used to be almost as popular — but unlike Haikyuu, it already ended, and so the hype slowly died out.
Blue Lock is very different from other works of its genre, and people seem to like it. Kyoto Animation productions, like Free! and Tsurune, have quite a lot of fans as well. Yes, Haikyuu!! is popular, but it’s hardly the only popular sports show — one just needs to look below the first couple of mentions and recommendations.
There’s nothing wrong
In the end, though, Haikyuu’s popularity isn’t anything bad. If anything, it attracts more people to the genre, which is always a good thing. There’s always going to be the most popular anime of any given genre at any given time, and here, the fact can be attributed to Haikyuu!! being a widely accessible series in an otherwise semi-ignored genre. And right now, with the sequel coming up, the fans are active once again — which may give birth to the illusion of it being the only one discussed.
