Basketball Anime is one of the most underrated genre of the Japanese entertainment industry. Overflowing with heroism, team-spirit, adventure, comedy and legendary friendships, anime basketball is simply amazing!!
If you are a fan of Basketball like me, you will understand that a court is no less than a battlefield. A station where the Power of Will and Strategy dominates everything else. Japan did a really wonderful job of displaying the core values of this sport in both Anime and Manga. From masterpieces like Slam Dunk to Underrated GEMS like Ahiru No Sora, Basketball Anime specializes in taking the audience by surprise.
So without any further ado, let’s get right into our list!
You Will Know About:
- 1 Basketball Anime and Manga – Top 6 List:
- 1.1 1. SLAM DUNK (An anime basketball):
- 1.2 2. KUROKO NO BASUKE:
- 1.3 3. AHIRU NO SORA (New Basketball Anime):
- 1.4 4. BASQUASH! :
- 1.5 5. DEAR BOYS (HOOP DAYS):
- 1.6 6. RO-KYU-BU!:
- 1.7 7. BUZZER BEATER:
- 1.8 Final List of Best Basketball Anime:
- 1.9 Mitsu x Mitsu Drops (Honey x Honey Drops)- Honourable Mention:
- 1.10 Conclusion:
- 1.11 You May Also Like:
Basketball Anime and Manga – Top 6 List:
1. SLAM DUNK (An anime basketball):
“Rebellious & Comedic”
MAL Rating:8.53/10
Being No.1 in our list, you can surely guess that Slam Dunk is an absolute Masterpiece. A tall, hyperactive but angry teenager named Hanamichi Sakuragi has zero luck with girls. After getting his feelings turned down 50 times in his previous school, He is simply fed up!
Now Some incidents make him realize two things:
-Firstly, He just completely dislikes Basketball
-Secondly, He is too desperate for a Kanojo (Girlfriend)
With ember Red hair and muscular physique, he thinks his chances of finding someone are slim. However, one fine afternoon, A girl called Haruko Akagi comes to him and asks him if he loves basketball. He just nods in confusion. Then he tries to show off by pulling a Slam Dunk (A Basketball Move) in the gym but hits the wall instead.
Ashamed, he gets flustered.
Akagi on the other hand, notices his potential and informs the High School’s Team Captain about him.
Will Sakuragi’s bad luck finally change? By the way, the art style of this anime basketball is very unique and interesting and a bit dark too. You’ll be sure to enjoy it throughout!
“It’s spring on the outside, but my Heart is in the middle of Winter” -Sakuragi Hanamichi
| Anime | 5 seasons (101 episodes) | Oct. 16, 1993 - Mar. 23, 1996 |
| Manga | 31 volumes | Oct 1, 1990 – June 17, 1996 |
| 4 Anime Movies | 30 minutes 45 minutes 40 minutes 40 minutes | March 12, 1994 July 20, 1994 March 12, 1995 July 15, 1995 |
2. KUROKO NO BASUKE:
“Bold, Heroic and Amazing”
MAL Rating:8.22/10
The Generation of Miracles was a name given to five legendary Players of Teikou Junior High’s Basketball team. As they get into High School, they all grow apart and now see each other only as Rivals or Enemies. The 6th member of Teikou Junior High team was Tetsuya Kuroko, whose only skill was to pass the ball to his teammates.
The Story sets in Seirin High School, where Taiga Kagami and Tetsuya Kuroko join the basketball team and display extraordinary talent. Taiga is a student returning from USA while Kuroko is from Japan. As the plot thickens, Seirin High School’s team battles in the Inter-High Basketball competition. A place where Kuroko will meet his Old mates again.
Absolutely determined to defeat their much-talented Rivals, Taiga and Kuroko band together with their team in exhausting matches! This basketball manga has a unique art style too!
The anime has certainly extraordinary visuals like the anime Overlord.
“Crying doesn’t mean you are weak, It means you have been strong for too long” -Kuroko No Basuke
| Anime | 3 seasons (75 episodes) | April 7, 2012 – June 30, 2015 |
| Manga | 30 volumes | Dec 8, 2008 – Sept 1, 2014 |
| 1 Anime Movie | 90 minutes | March 18, 2017 |
3. AHIRU NO SORA (New Basketball Anime):
“A lovely tale of Friendships forged in the battlefield”
MAL Rating:7.34/10
Height is a key element in Basketball. Rejected everywhere due to his short stature Sora Kurumatani just couldn’t give up his passion for the sport.
His mother wanted him to become a High School Basketball Legend, To fulfill her wishes, Sora enters the team at Kuzuryuu High School. He is immensely disappointed to learn that the team he joined consists of punks with no love for basketball. People who are just using the place for their leisure activities.
Therefore, he tries to teach them all a lesson by challenging them to a match. Sora’s training helps him as his fast moves are simply too fast for those boys. Now Faced in a heated match, the boys find their dead spirits re-ignited by Sora’s Passion.
The dawn of a life-Changing decision is overdue…..
This anime follows the same pattern as Bungo Stray Dogs
“Even if they have wings, Birds can never fly without a sky”- Chiaki(Ahiru no Sora)
| Anime | 50 Episodes (40 Episodes have aired so far) | October 2, 2019 to Present |
| Manga | 51 Volumes and 300 Chapters | 17 May 2004 – Present |
4. BASQUASH! :
MAL Rating:7.27/10
In the future, technology has advanced to great degrees. Planet Earthdash is inhabited by two different groups. Technologically elevated members of the Lunar Society and people who live on EarthDash surface. Mechas called Big Foots are common and people use them to play Basketball in huge stadiums.
JD Dan is a young boy who finds his way into Big Foot Basketball. What adventures await him, Find in this light-hearted comedic show!
“Don’t Listen anymore when people tell you what to do!” -BASQUASH!
| Anime | 26 Episodes | April 3, 2009 – October 1, 2009 |
| Manga | 3 Volumes in Total | January 26, 2009 – September 26, 2009 |
5. DEAR BOYS (HOOP DAYS):
“This Basketball Manga is simply Beauty-personified”
MAL Rating:6.88/10
Basketball Team of Mizuho High School is a total flop case. Newly Joining, Aikawa Kazuhiko is shocked at the pitiful state of the team. Determined to make his team the Best, he uses his infectious enthusiasm to heat things up.
The goal now is the national tournament. Therefore, he must break all rules to instill passion in his teammates.
On the other hand, in a world full of legends, they don’t even stand a single chance! A story in the face of Destiny herself, Hoop Days is a tale of Romance, Passion and Hard Work. I would really recommend you to read the basketball Manga. It is simply enriched with wonder!
“If you give up, It wasn’t your passion in the first place!”
| Anime | 26 Episodes | 8 April 2003 – 29 September 2003 |
| Manga | 78 Volumes in Total | 16 December 1989 - January 6, 2017 |
6. RO-KYU-BU!:
” Finally a Basketball Anime Girl”
MAL Rating: 6.88-7.33/10
The First season of this Kawaii anime may not attract you, but if you stick around, you’ll find something really moe and fluffy. Subaru Hasegawa has the passion to become a Basketball champion, but his club’s disbanding makes him leave the sport. By threads of fate, he ends up training a team made up of cute elementary school Girls.
As he takes his Aunty’s offer , he doesn’t know what changes will come into his personality. This show is a story of 5 Six-Graders and their eccentric Coach as they shoot for the stars!
One of the few sports anime to showcase a Basketball Anime Girl, Ro Kyu Bu! is good for your heart! It is a new basketball anime and Minato Tomoka is an anime girl basketball player with deep passions for both Tofu and Hasegawa.
“Elementary Schoolers are Definitely the BEST!” -Subaru Hasegawa.
| Anime | 2 Seasons (24 Episodes) plus OVAs | July 1, 2011 – September 24, 2011 July 5, 2013 – September 27, 2013 |
| Manga | 10 Volumes in Total | October 2010 – present |
| Light Novel | 15 Volumes | February 10, 2009 – July 10, 2015 |
| Game | 3 Games | October 27, 2011 to March 27, 2014 |
7. BUZZER BEATER:
“The joyous adventure of a sports genius”
MAL Ratings: 6.58/10
In the alleys of New York, lives a homeless boy named Hideyoshi. Hideyoshi makes his survival by defeating the local kids in basketball matches and getting wager money from them. One day he is scouted and discovered and thus he is selected to take part in Space League of Basketball.
Humans used to dominate basketball but that all ended when stronger aliens defeated humans in the game. Thus, an all-Human team which includes Hideyoshi is chosen to win the championship and bring the trophy home. Join this genius on his strange but athletic adventure.
“If you are going to lose to those guys, it is the end of Team Earth”.
Final List of Best Basketball Anime:
- Slam Dunk (An anime basketball)
- Kuroko No Basuke (Best Basketball Anime)
- Ahiru No Sora (New Basketball Anime)
- Basquash!
- Dear Boys (Hoop Days)
- Ro-Kyu-Bu!
- Buzzer Beater
Mitsu x Mitsu Drops (Honey x Honey Drops)- Honourable Mention:
“Shoujo & Basketball? What could possibly go wrong?”
MAL Ratings: 6.18/10
In Hojou academy, there are two different courses, A normal course and a Kuge course which is exclusively for rich brats and their honeys. To become a honey, someone in Kuge course has to sponsor that person and in return the “Honey” must accept the sponsor as their master.
Kai Renge is a rich guy who sponsors Hagino Yuzuru into the course. Sadly, she immediately regrets it for Kai is impulsive and dominating. Yuzuru wants to get out of this arrangement before she ends up doing something regrettable, but will the school kick her out?
Honey X Honey Drops is a Shoujo Basketball Anime and is not for everyone to see unless they like shoujo already. The character profiling is very cliche and lame too.
Conclusion:
In this underrated genre of Japanese Basketball Anime, we need wide breaths of freshness. Ahiru No Sora is trying its best, but let’s be frank! We need something as great as Slam Drunk again as a new basketball anime. I hope some great studio takes up this cause and works for us fans to produce the best anime about Basketball!!
I hope you liked the list! Check out our list about Dark Anime too…. Until next time, Sayonara!
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