Kick the post-FIFA World Cup 2022 blues away with these soccer-focused sports anime.
Soccer is one of those sports that has spawned many manga and anime series. These series often analyze the sport and its players through a variety of different lenses. Whether fans call it soccer or football, there is a renewed interest in the sport after the climactic end of the 2022 FIFA World Cup Finals.
New and seasoned fans of the sport can enjoy quality storytelling about the world's most popular sport. Whether it is through over-the-top action, focusing on the teammate relationships, or focusing on the more technical, strategic elements of the game, anime fans have a number of series to choose from.
Blue Lock was one of 2022's most anticipated anime adaptations for a good reason. The series takes the sport to its extreme. A group of Japan's best high school soccer players is brought into an intense training camp meant to put their skills to the ultimate test.
The goal is to draw out their true potential and discover the most battle-hardened, self-confident soccer player within the group. Only the top striker will be given the opportunity to play with the national team on the world stage.
This season has been a big one for soccer anime. The anime adaptations of Aoashi and Blue Lock were released this year, and they both gained a following. Although both series are sports series based on soccer, they have very different tones. Aoashi focuses on interpersonal drama, teammate relationships, and a story rooted in a more grounded depiction of the sport.
It follows the journey of soccer ace Ashito Aoi. When he is recruited from middle school to join coach Tatsuya Fukudahe's team, he must navigate building relationships with his new teammates and finding success on the field.
Captain Tsubasa might be the most influential soccer anime. The original animated series was adapted in 1983 from the manga series of the same name. It would go on to leave a giant legacy and inspire real-life players to join the sport, as well as directly influence similar sports anime that would come after it. In total, the series has seen 279 television episodes, 14 OVAs, and four films.
Captain Tsubasa chronicles the growth and development of 11-year-old soccer player Tsubasa Ozora. A compelling aspect of this series is seeing Tsubasa grow from elementary school to middle school and eventually spend time playing professional soccer as a teenager and young adult. Few anime allow this kind of growth in their protagonist. The 2018 adaptation is a condensed version that captures the essence of the original while avoiding some of the original's issues with pacing.
Farewell, My Dear Cramer is a sequel to the manga Sayonara Football, which explores soccer star Nozomi Onda's experience playing for her school's middle school boy's soccer team because they don't have a girls' team. Farewell, My Dear Cramer follows its protagonist to the Warabi Seinan High School's girls' soccer team, which Nozomi Onda has decided to attend.
She is joined by Sumire Suou and Midori Soshizaki, two rival freshmen who have agreed to join forces on the same soccer team in high school. This series sports an exceptional ensemble cast, with each of its leads portrayed with their own goals, pasts, histories, challenges, and motivations. It's also an excellent anime for lovers of the sport, as it contains many references to actual teams, strategies, moves, and soccer history.
Days charts the budding teammate relationship between Tsukishi and Jin. While Jin is a prodigy with a lot of talent and hype, Tsukishi's defining trait is that he is overwhelmingly bad.
When Jin invites Tsukishi to play a pick-up game, he is inspired by Tsukishi's determination and love for the game. The contrast between the two characters is similar to Shoyo Hinata and Tobio Kageyama in Haikyuu: the talented Jim serves as a challenge to live up to for Tsukishi. At the same time, the spirited Tsukishi pushes Jin to revisit his dedication to training and improvement.
Inazuma Eleven is based on the video game series of the same name. Endou Mamoru is a talented goalkeeper whose club is on the verge of disbanding. He must pull together enough members to keep the Raimon soccer club alive and lead his team of rag-tag, eclectic characters to victory.
Much like the video game, the series delivers over-the-top action shots, signature moves that defy reality, and exaggerated animation. The original series ran for 127 episodes and prompted the sequel series Inazuma Eleven GO and Inazuma Eleven: Ares and Inazuma Eleven: Orion no Kokuin, which offer an alternative timeline set after the first season of the original. The Inazuma Eleven franchise tallies over 300 episodes and a plethora of content for fans.
The follow-up to Inazuma Eleven, Inazuma Eleven GO is a sequel series set 10 years after the ending of Inazuma Eleven. Matsukaze Tenma tries out for the Raimon soccer team, but he soon learns that a dark force called Fifth Sector is in control of soccer in Japan.
Smaller schools without strong programs are shut down, matches are thrown, and teams are more focused on marketing and gaining fans than the art of the sport. With the help of Endou Mamoru, who now is serving as the coach of the Raimon soccer team, he and his team must start a revolution to return soccer to the way it should be played.
Whistle! is an excellent choice for those looking for a manageable series without too much of a time commitment. The 2002 anime consists of 39 episodes with great pacing.
Whistle! centers around Sho Kazamatsuri, a transfer student from Musashinomori School to Sakura Josui Junior High School. Sho never got a chance to play on his old team because of his small stature, but he is determined to improve, gain playing time, and win the respect of his new teammates. Whistle!’s focus on grounded storytelling and Sho’s underdog personality make it a compelling watch for fans of realism in sports anime.
Giant Killing is a series focusing on East Tokyo United, a struggling soccer club in one of Japan's toughest leagues. It's up to their new coach, Tatsumi Takeshi, to try and get the team back to its former glory.
Tatsumi works with each player on the fallen soccer team to coax out their hidden talents and utilize their true potential. Using his unorthodox methods and his knack for "Giant Killing," Tatsumi is here to prove his team's skill against a host of division rivals with more capital and larger budgets.
Hungry Heart: Wild Striker is a great mid-length anime series for those looking for a substantial episode list without having to fight through an anime with hundreds of episodes. It centers around Kano Kyosuke, a transfer student to Jyoyo Orange High School.
Kyosuke is the younger brother of the extremely famous football player Kano Seisuke, who has recently moved from Japan to play for A.C. Milan in Italy. Fighting comparisons to his older brother, Kyosuke must rekindle his love for the game and prove his worth with his own playing style.
10 Best Soccer Anime To Watch After The World Cup – CBR – Comic Book Resources
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