Basketball is a very popular sport in America and other parts of the world. The sport has still not reached the same level in Japan. However, the country has produced some of the best and most influential sports anime of all time. Although there are plenty of genre classics focused on basketball, the typical high school stories are not as widespread as they are for more popular sports like football and baseball. Many of the basketball anime take a unique approach to the game and tell different stories. In this article, we will tell you about some classic and greatest anime based on basketball, which you should definitely watch.
#10 Breakers
Breakers stands out from all sports anime due to its focus on para-athletes. The series features four different sports, one of which is wheelchair basketball. In the story, four athletes encounter a scientist named Ren Narita, who helps them discover their potential as players. Each episode runs around just eight minutes , the entire series can be a great watch as it highlights the section of the sports world that rarely gets the light.
#9 Buzzer Beater
Buzzer Beater was initially started as a webcomic and soon got serialized in monthly shonen jump before getting a two-season anime adaptation in the mid-2000s. The story revolves around a 15-year-old boy named Hideyoshi Tanaka, who is struggling to survive as a street urchin. Tanaka makes his way by beating adults at basketball with his incredible and seemingly inhuman speed. Eventually, he gets recruited to the Earth All-Star team to compete in an intergalactic basketball league. This anime is a unique take on a genre that often remains more grassroots than the other shonen genres.
#8 Dear Boys
In this anime, the Mizuho High School basketball team struggles with a problem, which is that their club does not have enough players to compete in official games. Luckily, Kazuhiko Aikawa, a boy with an unwavering passion for basketball, moves into the club and helps gather enough players to participate in the games. The team faces an uphill battle with only five players, but as the story moves forward, it shows the development in its main cast. Dear Boys is an amazing anime because of the time it takes to develop not only the protagonist and his team but various rival teams as well.
#7 Dash Kappei
Dash Kappei is an old-school classic whose underpinnings can be felt in some of the biggest sports series today. In the anime, Kappei Sakamoto is an athletic genius who wants to prove his strength in basketball. The only weakness he has is that he is short in height. The series is humorous and a classic shonen story that contains elements that evolved to create some of the best modern sports anime.
#6 I’ll / Crazy Kouzu Basketball Club
Originally a manga, I’ll / CKBC is a high school sports story that was adapted into a two-episode OVA. Although it follows standard game shonen formulas on the surface, the show delves deeper into discussions of loyalty and the pressures of high school life. The show also questions a player’s willingness to sacrifice for his team and the basic motivation behind his dream of winning a championship. It is an engaging story that is worth watching.
#5 Ro-Kyu-Bu!
The one thing that makes this anime a “must watch” is the cute girls playing the sport. In Ro-Kyu-Bu!, when a coach’s own high school team gets into trouble and they cannot compete, the freshman Subaru Hasegawa is sent to coach the elementary school girls’ team. As the show goes on, Subaru helps the girls improve their skills, which helps him rediscover his passion for the sport as well. The story has had a wide range of adaptations, starting as a light novel before getting a manga, many video games, and a two-season anime.
#4 Basquash
This is a unique one that takes the shonen genre to a different level. The anime tells the story of a strange future world where the most popular sport is a version of basketball played with giant robotic cars called “BigFoot”. The anime has one season, which consists of 26 episodes. Not only an anime, but a game is also developed by a group called Underdogs and the game is also known as Basquash.
#3 Ahiru No Sora
Ahiru no Sora started in 2003 and is the longest running basketball manga. It also has a 50 episode anime. The protagonist of the anime is Sora Kurumatani, who makes a promise to his mother that he will dominate his first high school tournament. But it gets difficult for him because he moves to Kuzuryuu High School. The basketball club there is home to a bunch of delinquents who have no interest in the sport. In the story, you will see Sora’s skill and passion to turn the group into a real basketball team.
#2 Kuroko’s Basketball
In the series, Teiko Middle School is the most feared basketball team and is known as the Miracle Generation. Rumors always persisted that the team’s success depended on a secret member of the Sixth Miracle Generation who never made a name for himself. Completely unrelated, Tetsuya Kuroko enters high school with the goal of using his secret talent to defeat each member of the Miraculous Generation. His specialty is that Kuroko can become completely invisible on the court and show off his extraordinary passing ability. This anime is an entertaining and engaging ride right from the start, and no single episode is boring.
#1 Slam Dunk
Slam Dunk is often called the greatest sports anime of all time. It remains a classic to this day. The story revolves around a delinquent named Hanamichi Sakuragi, who is feared for his strength but has no interest in sports at all–that is, until he meets the girl of his dreams. Haruko Akagi has a talent for spotting athletic potential, and at her urging, Sakuragi explores the world of basketball. Although he has a lot of natural talent, Sakuragi has a lot to learn from his senpai, Takenori Akagi, who is also Haruko’s brother.
Also Read:- Must Watch Basketball movies of all time
