The Best Sports Anime Of All Time, Ranked

On just about every anime list you'll find Haikyu!! is the top sports anime. That's because it's so darn good. It has excellent art and animation, a great cast of characters, and it accurately depicts how volleyball is played.

The story centers around the Karasuno Volleyball Team and their journey to victory, but also shines plenty of light on the other teams.

Kuroko's Basketball makes basketball matches look like magical battles. You won't find realism here, but you'll find awesomeness.

Tetsuya Kuroko was once the "Phantom Sixth" in a group of high-powered middle school basketball players. In high school, he's determined to stand out without the rest of the Generation of Miracle's help. Specifically, he wants to win the Inter-High. His new friend Kagami is determined to support him. This proves difficult when his former teammates reappear.

If you're tired of sports anime where everything is solved through teamwork and friendship, you might want to check out Blue Lock. Yoichi Isagi is a soccer player who lost an important game when he decided to pass the ball to someone else. He's not too differently from a lot of the strikers in Japan, which is why the country launched the controversial Blue Lock program. 

The Blue Lock program takes kids like Yoichi from all over the country and pits them against each other in vicious competition. The single winner gets a spot with a national team, while the loser has no choice but to retire from the game for good. 

Hajime no Ippo is a well-loved sports anime that many fans would name as their favorite. 

Makunouchi Ippo has been bullied all his life. One day during a particularly brutal beat down, a boxer named Takamura Mamoru rescues him and takes him back to his boxing gym to recover. Once he wakes up, Takamura encourages him to attack a punching bag with his bully's photo on it. This not only encourages him to defend himself, it also awakens a fascination with boxing itself. 

After a recruiter notices Eijun Sawamura's atypical pitching style, he's invited to join the prestigious Seidou High School baseball team. Though his former teammates are sad to see him go, they encourage him to take the opportunity.

He soon realizes that he's a small fish in a big pond. His fellow teammates are amazing, but he doesn't want to be left behind. No matter how great the rest of the team is, he's determined to become its ace. 

Slam Dunk may not have an actual ending, but it's still worth watching because the rest of the series is so good.

With his quick temper, massive height and bright red hair, Hanamichi Sakuragi has a reputation that he doesn't want. Though his height would help with basketball, he can't stand the sport. That changes when a girl named Haruko Akagi tries to recruit him to the school's basketball team. He might not like basketball, but he does like Haruko. Ultimately, he comes to love the sport - and his team - for its own sake.