Quick Links
While not as common as isekai or romance, sports are a fixture of every anime season, even if it is just two or three shows. The lineup of2025 sports animeis about halfway formed, and the current year is and will continue to highlight a few unusual activities. Sure, soccer andbaseball storiesare very common, but the world could use another golf or figure skating series. Heck, the world could use a single bowling anime.
As the months roll by, moreupcoming sports animemight be revealed, while announced shows should confirm their release quarters. While the lineup is far from complete, quite a few shows have already debuted or are announced for upcoming seasons, and they will all compete to see which of them deserves to be described as the genre’s best series of the year. Let’s go through all of 2025’s sports anime.
Updated on July 21, 2025 by Mark Sammut:Spring 2025 is almost over, so now it is time to look ahead and seewhat Summer 2025 has in store. Sports stories are not a big part of the equation, but the lineup has one series that fits the genre.
By far thebest sports anime of Winter 2025,Medalistis just straight-up fantastic and an easy recommendation for anyone remotely interested in the genre. Do not be put off by the focus on figure skating, as with most of these types of shows, an interest in the central activity is not required. The anime does more than a good job of showcasing Inori’s desire, drive, and determination to excel in the field, and the young girl is both likable and sympathetic. Her coach, Tsukasa, is an endearing ball of energy who is also dealing with insecurities stemming from his past career.
Medalisthit the ground running with great opening episodes that quickly established Inori and Tsukasa’s backstories, goals, and challenges. They build a quick rapport too, bringing out the best in each other in the process. While Inori is the anime’s best character, the supporting players are also fantastic in their own right, particularly rivals like Ryouka, Riou, and Hikaru.
Initially starting as a 2021 special,Sorairo Utilityreturned for a full 12-episode series. Minami is a teenage girl who is struggling to find her calling, but something clicks when she sees a high school student named Haruka at a golf range. Instantly, she shows an interest in trying out the sport, and Haruka is more than ready to give the young girl a helping hand.
Sorairo Utilityis an original anime, so its direction was slightly harder to predict at first. Ultimately, the show proved to be part of thecute girls doing cute things genre, with episodes focusing on the three main characters' fairly easy-going daily golfing sessions. That’s not to say the girls do not take practice seriously, butSorairo Utilityis more of a slice-of-life sports anime than a competitive one.
Season 2 Release Date: July 24, 2025
A continuation of the Summer 2024 season,Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arcis morebattle shonenthan traditional sports, but it can satisfy people craving either type of series. The franchise has been around for decades and is quite well-respected, even if it is not extremely well-known outside of Japan.
There are not all that many wrestling anime out there, and that goes triple for over-the-top action-fests with galactic-level scope. The 2025 season probably did not attract too many new viewers sinceMusclemanhas been around for so long by this point.
Extra Part Release Date: July 04, 2025
SK8 the Infinityhas already confirmed that a full sequel is in the works, although a release year has yet to be confirmed. In the meantime, fans of theskating anime can look forward to a one-episode OVA, which already has a confirmed release date. This release contains four short episodes that seem to highlight different characters, including the main duo (Reki and Langa) and Miya. While hard to say how substantial or compulsory it will be, this OVA should be a fun return to this universe, which has mostly been dormant since 2021.
Sports stories almost exclusively focus on the athletes chasing their dreams, highlighting their everyday efforts to become the best of the best. Some opt for high drama, while others emphasize slice-of-life or comedy elements; either way, the priority is on the people actively taking part in the core exercise. Except as minor supporting characters, sports anime largely reduce spectators to faceless masses who serve as background noise.
Catch Me at the Ballparktakes a different approach by shining a light on Koutarou Murata, a guy who turns to baseball as an escape from the daily grind. More importantly, he meets Ruriko, a vendor girl who takes a strange interest in him. The seinen manga has been around since 2020 and offers a funslice-of-life comedytwist on the sports genre; fortunately, the anime is mostly the same. While the “sports” aspect feels like an afterthought at times, the show is just a relaxing watch that captures the challenges of working at a stadium while also demonstrating why so many love to go to these events. While I cannot describeCatch Me at the Ballparkas one of 2025’s best sports anime, it is one of the year’s better slice of life shows.
Who could have predicted that a franchise about racing horse girls would have such staying power?Uma Musume Pretty Derbyhas produced games, manga, and anime, and it is showing no signs of slowing down. The anime has three seasons, a spin-off, and a movie under its belt, and they range from “pretty good” to “great.” I am excited to say thatUma Musume: Cinderella Grayrepresents a high point for the franchise.
Based on a well-regarded manga,Cinderella Graypushes Oguri Cap to the forefront, chronicling her training, drive, and trials as she aims to be the best of the best. The story is surprisingly mature and even heavy at times, all the while still delivering intense races that have become synonymous withUma Musume. The characters are lovable, the humor is great and used intelligently, and the animation is top-notch.
Yes, this is it: The bowling anime. An original series,Turkey!follows a group of girls who love nothing more than to bowl, and they are (seemingly) part of a team. At the moment, little information about the show has been revealed, although the trailer did highlight the voice actors who will be handling the main characters.
Although too early to say,Turkey!might be another Cute Girls Doing Cute Things sports anime, at least going by the promotional material. That said, they are shown wearing a uniform, so they will likely be competing against other teams. While a fairly young studio, Bakken Record was behind 2023’s"Ippon" again!, a pretty decent judo anime.
The only sports anime movie announced for 2025 so far,Hyakuemuis based on a complete manga that lasted for less than a year before coming to an end in 2019. While that might appear short, that means the anime has a full story to adapt, and a feature production makes the most sense for a manga with only 40 chapters.
Focusing on short-distance running,Hyakuemurevolves around a rivalry between Akane Taketsugu and Yuuki Katayama, both of whom are prodigies to an extent. The former helped the latter fine-tune his skills, and they are now competing against each other.
Now, here is a very different type of sports anime. As he is training to become a sports doctor, Kouyou joins a high school and accepts a role as a dormitory’s caretaker, with one of his responsibilities being to massage the female athletes who live there. Yes,Don’t Touch Kotesashiis a straight-up harem ecchi sports anime, a combination of genres that have rarely been combined. While this series will almost certainly not be among the biggest2025 sports anime, its (potentially) risqué nature could attract some attention, assuming it lands on a Western streaming platform.
Going by a few different titles,Wandanceis all about freestyle dancing and the freedom it can provide. Self-conscious due to a stutter, Kaboku tends to prefer to hide in the background; however, he becomes inspired to join his high school’s dance club after he sees a girl named Hikari in action. Although he proves to have a talent for moving with the beat, Kaboku has a long way to go before he feels confident in himself.
Wandancecould be great, at least the source material is already on that level. Coffee’s manga has a striking visual style and two very strong protagonists, with Kaboku and Hikari being great as individuals and as a unit.
Upcoming 2025 Sports Anime With No Release Season
Nappeungyejibae (Movie)
Seemingly a sequel to 1988’sDallyeola HaniandCheonbangjichuk Hani, this running anime is being produced as a celebration of the two original shows' 35th anniversary.Hanimight be quite well known in Korea, but it does not have that strong of an international presence. Consequently, this sequel movie might not receive a Western release, at least not theatrically. Still, worth keeping an eye on.
