The Best Tennis Anime Of All Time

What It's About: Ryoma Echizen is a tennis prodigy who moves back to Japan after some time in America in order to dominate the Japanese tennis scene. He quickly joins the Seishun Boys' Tennis Team, one of the best middle school teams in the country. Because he's just a first-year student, the rest of the team is reluctant to accept him at first, but they soon change their minds once they see what he's capable of.

Why It’s Worth Watching: When most people think of tennis anime, the first and possibly only series that comes to mind is The Prince of Tennis. That means if you care about tennis anime, it's kind of a must-watch. But it's also of interest to anyone who enjoys sports anime in general. It features a motivated protagonist, complex team relationships, and a realistic approach to the sport. If you like shows like Haikyuu!!, Kuroko's Basketball, and Yowamushi Pedal, you'll probably also like this series - which, by the way, predates all of them.

What It's About: Eiichiro Maruo doesn't join the Southern Tennis Club because he's interested in tennis. He joins because he realizes that his study-focused life could damage his health, and he needs to start exercising. But when he gives tennis a chance, he realizes that he actually loves it more than he's ever loved studying. Now that he's doing something he finds joyful, his life is quite different than it used to be.

Why It’s Worth Watching: The protagonist's studious nature makes him the perfect conduit for in-depth tennis analysis. He not only plays the game, but he also thinks hard about strategy. This means that watching the series will give you a pretty thorough understanding of the sport. Despite the detailed approach, it isn't boring. The character development is on point, and the actual games are exciting and well-animated.

What It's About: Hoping to prevent the boys' soft tennis club from being disbanded, Toma Shinjo seeks to recruit new members. He fixates on Maki Katsuragi, a transfer student with incredible reflexes. Maki doesn't want to join any clubs, and eventually agrees to do so only if Toma pays him. His involvement sparks controversy among the team, but it also encourages them to improve - and to confront some of the personal problems that are preventing them from doing their best.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Stars Align is different from most sports anime in that it takes on serious and controversial topics that others won't touch. For example, Maki's father is physically, emotionally, and financially abusive to him and his mother. The series also approaches gender identity in an accurate and respectful way. One of the characters is non-binary, and the show isn't weird about it at all. It also portrays soft tennis is a realistic manner, making it relatable for those who have actually played the sport. The only major problem with the series is that it ends abruptly and hasn't continued since its first season in 2019.

What It's About: On her first day at Nishi High School, 15-year-old Hiromi Oka is inspired to play tennis by the school's top player, Reika "Ochofujin" Ryuzaki. This turns out to be much harder than it seems, but Hiromi manages to endure the harsh training and is chosen to become part of the school's team. From there, she'll have to prove that she deserves her hard-won spot. This involves more than just her tennis skills; she must also handle peer pressure and other challenges from her teammates.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Aim for the Ace! came out in the '70s. While a lot of the art and animation from this era is on the rough side, this series is among the best in the decade. Stylistically, it resembles shows like Dear Brother, but with a greater focus on tennis rather than girls trying to destroy each other's lives. That said, it still has plenty of drama. It has also had a major influence on both the anime world and the sports world - Shuzo Matsuoka, one of Japan's most noteworthy tennis players, said that he first got into the sport because of how much he loved this anime. Watching it might not make you a tennis star, but it will certainly give you a good grounding in sports anime history.

What It's About: Usakame is a spin-off of Teekyu that features one of the rival tennis teams. While it's just as silly as Teekyu, this series operates at a much slower pace.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Just like in Teekyu, there's only one character who actually cares about tennis. If you're a tennis fan, you can commiserate with her. If you’re in it for the high school hijinks, the rest of the series will deliver just that. It's not as random and hard to follow as Teekyu, so if you find that series a bit too high-strung, you might like this one a bit more.

What It's About: Technically, the protagonists of Teekyu belong to their school's tennis club. That said, only one member actually knows how to play. The other three are much more interested in goofing off, using everything from excess wealth to the magical ability to ignore the laws of physics. Tennis is played, but only when there's enough room for it amidst all of the comedic chaos that the show revolves around.

Why It’s Worth Watching: Teekyu isn't necessarily the best choice if you really care about tennis; otherwise, you'll find yourself just as frustrated as Yuri Oshimoto, the only character who can actually play. That said, it's a great choice if you're looking for bite-sized episodes that will have you rolling on the floor laughing.