Special Feature on Olympic Games in Animation
The 2024 Paris Olympics, many of you must have admired the sight of Olympians in action and become interested in their respective sports! Therefore, we would like to introduce a collection of anime based on sports.
Soccer：”BLUELOCK”
©Muneyuki Kaneshiro, Yusuke Nomura, Kodansha / “Blue Rock” Production Committee
Official website: “Blue Rock” Anime Portal Site (bluelock-pr.com)
Features: The story of high school students who gather at “Blue Rock,” a project to develop the world’s best striker that will change the world of soccer in Japan, and use their egoism as a weapon as they grow through fierce survival.
Voice Cast: Kazuki Ura / Tasuku Kaito / Yuki Ono / Soma Saito / Masatomo Nakazawa / Yoshitsugu Matsuoka / Shoya Chiba / Hiroshi Kamiya / Takahiro Sakurai / Bin Shimada / Shinichiro Kamio / Daisuke Takahashi / Wataru Komada / Robert Waterman / Aoi Ichikawa / Shuichi Uchida / Sho Fujisawa / Hiromichi Tezuka / Akihiro Shinohara / Saori Hayami / Yui Horie / Sayumi Suzushiro / Serika Hiromatsu / Misa Ishii / Misaki Watada / Miho Okasaki / Yuko Kaida
Tennis: “The New Prince of Tennis”
© Tsuyoshi Kuhi / SHUEISHA, NAS, Prince of Tennis Project
Official website: The New Prince of Tennis official website (tenipuri.jp)
Characteristics: A popular series depicting the growth and matches of junior high school tennis players. Characterized by superhuman skills.
Voice Cast: Junko Minagawa / Ryotaro Okiayu / Takayuki Kondo / Yuki Kaida / Kenjiro Tsuda / Hidenobu Kiuchi / Toshiyuki Kusuda / Eiji Takemoto / Shotaro Morikubo / Daisuke Ono / Hiroki Takahashi / Katsuyuki Konishi / Yoshimasa Hosoya / Toshiki Masuda / Kaito Ishikawa / Yuma Uchida / Yuichi Nakamura / Kenichi Suzumura / Satoshi Hino / Jun Fukuyama
Athletics: “Run with the Wind”
© Shion Miura, Shinchosha / Kansei University Track & Field Supporters’ Association
Official website: TV anime “Run with the Wind” official website (kazetsuyo-anime.com)
Work features: A coming-of-age sports anime about a college relay race. It depicts 10 runners with rich personalities who aim to win the Hakone Ekiden.
Voice Cast: Takeo Otsuka / Toyonaga Toshiyuki / Koki Uchiyama / Miyu Irino / Junya Enoki / Satoshi Hino / Kengo Kawanishi
Swimming Race: “Free!”
© Oji Koji/Kyoto Animation/Iwatobi High School Swimming Club
Official website: TV anime “Free!” official website (iwatobi-sc.com)
Features: A sports anime depicting friendship and growth of high school swimmers. It features beautiful drawings and swimming scenes.
Voice Cast: Nobunaga Shimazaki / Tatsuhisa Suzuki / Mamoru Miyano / Koki Uchiyama / Yoshimasa Hosoya / Toshiyuki Toyonaga / Ryohei Kimura / Tsubasa Yonaga / Daisuke Hirakawa / Koki Miyata / Kenichi Suzumura / Kenji Nojima / Satoshi Hino / Chihiro Suzuki / Daisuke Ono / Takeshi Kusao / Hidenobu Kiuchi / JEFF MANNING
Boxing: “MEGALO BOX”
© Asao Takamori, Tetsuya Chiba / Kodansha / Megalobox 2 Project
Official website: Anime “NOMAD Megalobox 2” official website (megalobox.com)
Work features: SF sports anime based on the boxing “megalobox” of the future. It features a profound world view.
Voice cast: Yoshimasa Hosoya / Hiroki Yasumoto / Shiro Saito / Nanako Mori / Michiyo Murase / Hiroyuki Kinoshita / Tatsuhisa Suzuki / Makoto Tamura / Yohei Tadano
Volleyball: “Haikyu!!”
©Haruichi Furudate/Shueisha, “HIQUE‼” Production Committee, MBS
Official website: Anime “HIQYU! Official website (haikyu.jp)
Characteristics: A popular work about high school men’s volleyball. The growth of the characters and the heated competitions are appealing.
Voice Cast: Ayumu Murase / Kaito Ishikawa / Satoshi Hino / Miyu Irino / Kaori Nazuka / Yoshimasa Hosoya / Nobuhiko Okamoto / Yu Hayashi / Koki Uchiyama / Sumire Morohoshi / Kazunari Tanaka / Hiroshi Kamiya / Daisuke Namikawa / Hiroyuki Yoshino / Isamu Yusen / Toru Sakurai / Kengo Kawanishi / Lansbury Arthur / Shunsuke Takeuchi / Makoto Furukawa / Atsushi Tamaru
Basketball: “Kuroko’s Basketball”
© Tadatoshi Fujimaki/Shueisha/Kuroko no Basketball Production Committee
Official website: Kuroko no Basketball Anime Official Website (kurobas.com)
Work features: A sports anime about high school basketball. Unique techniques and strategies are the highlights.
Voice Cast: Kensho Ono / Yuki Ono / Chiwa Saito / Yoshimasa Hosoya / Hirofumi Nojima / Kenji Hamada / Takuya Eguchi / Go Inoue / Ryohei Kimura / Soichiro Hoshi / Daisuke Ono / Hiroshi Kamiya / Yu Hayashi / Kosuke Toriumi / Shinichiro Miki / Tasuku Hatanaka / Hiroki Yasumoto / Jun Fukushima / Toshiki Masuda / Katsuyuki Konishi
Bicycle/Road: “Yowamushi Pedal”
© Wataru Watanabe (Weekly Shonen Champion) / Weak-Mushi Pedal 05 Production Committee
Official website: TV anime “Weak Pedal LIMIT BREAK” official website (yowapeda.com)
Work features: A sports anime about high school cycling competition. The tactics and strategies of road racing are appealing.
Voice Cast: Daiki Yamashita / Kosuke Toriumi / Jun Fukushima / Hiroki Yasumoto / Shotaro Morikubo / Kentaro Ito / Tsubasa Yonaga / Atsushi Abe / Kenji Nojima / Mamoru Miyano / Daisuke Ono / Yuma Uchida / Tomoaki Maeno / Hiroyuki Yoshino / Tetsuya Kakihara / Satoshi Hino / Koji Yusa / Jun Fukuyama / Kenichi Suzumura / Toshiki Masuda
Table Tennis: “Ping Pong the Animation “
©Taiyo Matsumoto/Shogakukan ©Taiyo Matsumoto, Shogakukan/Anime “Ping Pong” Production Committee
Official website: TV anime “Ping Pong” official website (pingpong-anime.tv)
Characteristics: A coming-of-age drama depicted through table tennis. It is characterized by its unique drawing and direction.
Voice Cast: Fukujuro Katayama / Koki Uchiyama / Shunsuke Sakuya / Subaru Kimura / Yosei Bun / Masako Nozawa / Yusaku Yara / Shinji Ogawa / Ayako Kawasumi / Teiha / Akihiko Ishizumi / Shohei Shimada / Takanori Hoshino / Kenjiro Tsuda / Una Sahara / Takuya Masumoto / Kenichi Hoshino
Judo: ““Ippon” again! “
©Yu Muraoka (Akita Shoten) / Mou Ippon! Production Committee
Official website: TV anime “Moi Ippon! Official website (ipponagain.com)
Characteristic of the work: Yu Muraoka, who himself has judo experience and has created judo manga such as “Muneatsu” and “Uchikomi! and other judo manga, and depicts high school girls putting their adolescence into judo.
Voice Cast: Ayasa Ito / Yukari Anzai / Chiyuki Miura / Nene Hieda / Anna Nagase / Yumi Uchiyama / Aoi Koga / Maria Naganawa / Konomi Kohara / Minori Suzuki
Badminton: “LOVE ALL PLAY”
© Mami Kosegi, Poplar Publishing / Yokohama Minato High School Badminton Club
Official website: Love All Play [TV anime] (love-all-play.com)
Work features: A coming-of-age sports anime featuring high school badminton players. It carefully depicts badminton techniques and strategies, and the growth of the players.
Voice Cast: Natsuki Hanae / Kisho Taniyama / Yohei Azakami / Kensho Ono / Tetsuya Kakihara / Makoto Furukawa / Yuki Kaji / Hiroki Takahashi
Rugby: “ALL OUT!” *The Paris Olympics is a seven-man team.
© Amase Shiori, Kodansha/Kami High School Rugby Club
Official website: TV anime “ALL OUT! ALL OUT!” program website (mbs.jp)
Work features: A youth sports anime about high school rugby. It depicts the appeal of rugby and the friendship and growth of the players.
Voice Cast: Shoya Chiba / Atsushi Abe / Yoshimasa Hosoya / Yuma Uchida / Hayato Adachi / Kensho Ono / Daisuke Ono / Aimi Tanaka / Daiki Yamashita / Toshiki Masuda / Yuto Uemura / Hinata Tadokoro / Yusuke Kobayashi / Jun Fukuyama / Satoshi Hino
Archery: “Tsurune -Kazemai High School Kyudo Club-” *The anime is about Kyudo.
©Kotoko Ayano/Kyoto Animation/Tsurune Production Committee
Official website: TV anime “Tsurune -Kazamai High School Kyudo Club-” official website (tsurune.com)
Work features: A youthful sports anime set in a high school Japanese archery club. The spirituality and technique of Kyudo and the growth of the club members are depicted with beautiful drawings. Although archery is an Olympic sport, we have chosen to feature it because it is a sport that uses the same bow.
Voice Cast: Yuto Uemura / Aoi Ichikawa / Ryota Suzuki / Shogo Yano / Kaito Ishikawa / Shintaro Asanuma / Kensho Ono
Golf: “BIRDIE WING Golf Girls’ Story”
©BNP/BIRDIE WING Golf Club
Official website: TV anime “BIRDIE WING -Golf Girls’ Story-” official website (birdie-wing.net)
Characteristics: The world’s first original animation series based on the theme of women’s golf.
Voice Cast: Akari Kito / Asami Seto / Ami Shimizu / Akiyoshi Sekine / Toru Furuya / Shuichi Ikeda / Authentic Yamamoto / Aimi Tanaka / Saki Fujita / Yuichi Nakamura / Ryohei Kimura / Kensho Ono / Rena Ueda / Minami Takahashi / Satoshi Hino / Hiroki Yamashita
Sport Climbing: “Iwakakeru! -Sports climbing Girls”
© Ishizaka Ryudai, Saikomi / Hanamiya Girls Climbing Club Support Group
Official website: TV anime “Iwakakeru!- Sport Climbing Girls-” official website (iwakakeru-anime.com)
Work features: An anime about high school girls’ sport climbing. It depicts the charms and techniques of climbing and the growth of the athletes.
Voice Cast: Sumire Uesaka / Yui Ishikawa / Aina Suzuki / Miyu Tomita / Mikako Komatsu / Sachi Kokuryu / Yumiri Hanamori / Chihiro Ueda / Daria Midou / Machico / Yuka Terasaki / Akane Fujita / Yukari Tamura / Karin Isobe / Sachika Misawa / Takehito Koyasu / Saya Harada / Ami Koshiimizu
Surfing：”WAVE! ～Surfing Yappe! ~” (Japanese only)
©MAGES.／Anime WAVE! Production Committee
Official website: Anime “WAVE! Official website (wave-anime.com)
Characteristics: A coming-of-age anime about surfing. It depicts the appeal and technique of surfing, as well as the growth and friendship of the main characters.
Voice Cast: Tomoaki Maeno / Jin Ogasawara / Yoshiki Nakajima / Takuya Sato / Yusuke Shirai / Shunichi Toki / Nobuhiko Okamoto / Shotaro Morikubo
Skateboarding: “SK∞”
©BONDS, Hiroko Utsumi/Project SK∞
Official website: TV anime “SK∞ Esk8” official website (sk8-project.com)
Work features: An original anime about skateboarding. It depicts the appeal and skill of skateboarding and the interaction between unique characters.
Voice Cast: Tasuku Hatanaka / Chiaki Kobayashi / Takuma Nagatsuka / Kenta Miyake / Hikaru Midorikawa / Yasunori Matsumoto / Takehito Koyasu / Kensho Ono
Shooting: “City Hunter” *Not a competition..!
© Tsukasa Hojo/Coamix, “2023 City Hunter the Movie” Production Committee
Official website: “City Hunter the Movie: Angel Dust” official website (cityhunter-movie.com)
Voice Cast: Akira Kamiya / Kazue Ikura / Tanaka Hideyuki / Harumi Ichiryusai / Tessho Genda / Mami Koyama / Keiko Toda / Rika Fukami / Chika Sakamoto / Tomokazu Seki / Subaru Kimura / Miyuki Sawashiro / Kenyu Horiuchi
Characteristics: City Hunter is the story of a skilled sweeper named Saeba Akira and his partner, Makimura Kaoru. Set in Shinjuku, they solve various cases brought to them by clients. Although the work is not a sporting event, many people compared Yusuf Dikeçu, the Turkish representative, to Kaoru’s amazing marksmanship at the Paris Olympics, and the story became a hot topic on social networking sites.
What did you think?
Some of the children who started playing soccer after watching “Captain Tsubasa” or basketball after admiring “SLAM DUNK” are now world-class athletes. You can start competing because of your Olympic aspirations! Or you may start competing after watching the cartoon! Perhaps this article will be a bridge to the birth of a superstar in the world of sports… This was a special feature on Olympic sports as seen through anime!
