Sports anime remains a big business in the anime industry. In 2023, the highest-selling manga series in Japan was Blue Lock, the soccer-themed anime franchise that took the world by surprise when it first debuted. When it comes to long-running anime franchises, Haikyu was recently able to make some big waves with the release of its first film, Haikyu: The Dumpster Battle, in both Japanese and North American theaters. To capitalize on the growing genre, Crunchyroll is offering anime fans with the perfect opportunity to catch up on some of the biggest sports anime entirely for free.
Anime’s history has been a varied one, not just covering fantasy worlds and earth-ending battles, but also taking the opportunity to display real-life events through a new lens. Sports anime series such as Slam Dunk, Haikyu, Blue Lock, Hajime no Ippo, and Ping Pong The Animation don’t have supernatural elements though that doesn’t stop them from displaying some amazing action in their respective stories. With Blue Lock for example, the soccer series managed to cross over into the real world in a surprising way as the football players were able to influence the Olympics thanks to Japan’s Olympic team modeling their uniforms after the anime series.
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Crunchyroll’s Free Sports Deal
For a limited time, Crunchyroll is offering some of their biggest anime series for free for those who don’t have a current subscription to the streaming service. Beginning on July 16th, anime fans have until August 15th to watch some of the major sports anime with advertisements. Some of the biggest anime that are a part of this promotion include Haikyu, Blue Lock, Run with the Wind, Tsurune, Kuroko’s Basketball, Re-Main, and Ping Pong the Animation.
Sports anime will continue to have a major place in the anime world in the foreseeable future. Later this year, Blue Lock will make a major comeback with the release of its second season while Haikyu has one more movie in the tank before it brings its anime adaptation to a close. As anime continues to grow, it appears as though sports and the animated medium will only continue to cross over.
Want to stay up to date on the world of sports anime? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook on all the latest updates on sports series including Haikyu, Blue Lock, Hajime no Ippo, and more.
