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 of 2025 sports anime is formed by this point, and it is overall pretty decent. Sure, soccer and baseball stories are very common, but the world could use another golf or figure skating series. Heck, the world could use a single bowling anime.
With Fall 2025 just around the corner, the likelihood of any new upcoming sports anime being announced is unlikely, at least for this year. That said, the 2026 calendar has already started to take shape, with Medalist Season 2, Ao Ashi 2nd Season, and Diamond no Ace: Act II Second Season already confirmed for the year.
Updated on September 10, 2025, by Mark Sammut: At this point, the sports anime 2025 calendar should be complete, as Summer 2025 is almost finished and Fall 2025 will get going in a couple of weeks. The current season was not great for the genre, but the upcoming quartr should be awesome.
Winter 2025 Sports Anime
Medalist
Medalist
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- January 5, 2025
WHERE TO WATCH
- Studio
- ENGI
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Tsurumaikada
- Number of Episodes
- 13
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
By far the best sports anime of Winter 2025, Medalist is 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.
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Medalist hit 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.
Sorairo Utility
Sorairo Utility
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2025 - 2025-00-00
- Studio
- Yostar Pictures
- Number of Episodes
- 12
- Streaming Service(s)
- HIDIVE
Initially starting as a 2021 special, Sorairo Utility returned 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 Utility is an original anime, so its direction was slightly harder to predict at first. Ultimately, the show proved to be part of the cute 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, but Sorairo Utility is more of a slice-of-life sports anime than a competitive one.
Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc Season 2
Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2025-00-00
WHERE TO WATCH
Season 2 Release Date: January 12, 2025
- Japanese Title
- Kinnikuman: Kanpeki Chоujin Shiso-hen
- Studio
- Production I.G
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Yudetamago
- Streaming Service(s)
- Netflix
A continuation of the Summer 2024 season, Kinnikuman: Perfect Origin Arc is more battle shonen than 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 since Muscleman has been around for so long by this point.
SK8 the Infinity OVA: Extra Part
Sk8 the Infinity
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2021 - 2020
Extra Part Release Date: March 19, 2025
- Studio
- Bones
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
SK8 the Infinity has already confirmed that a full sequel is in the works, although a release year has yet to be confirmed. In the meantime, fans of the skating 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.
Spring 2025 Sports Anime
Catch Me at the Ballpark!
Catch Me at the Ballpark!
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- April 1, 2025
- Japanese Title
- Ballpark de Tsukamaete!
- Studio
- EMT Squared
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator
- Tatsurō Suga
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
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.
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Catch Me at the Ballpark takes 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 fun slice-of-life comedy twist 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 describe Catch Me at the Ballpark as one of 2025's best sports anime, it is one of the year's better slice of life shows.
Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray
Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- April 6, 2025
- Studio
- CygamesPictures
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator(s)
- Masafumi Sugiura
- Streaming Service(s)
- Amazon Prime Video
Who could have predicted that a franchise about racing horse girls would have such staying power? Uma Musume Pretty Derby has 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 that Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray represents a high point for the franchise.
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Based on a well-regarded manga, Cinderella Gray pushes 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 with Uma Musume. The characters are lovable, the humor is great and used intelligently, and the animation is top-notch.
Summer 2025 Sports Anime
Turkey! Time To Strike
Turkey! Time to Strike
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 8, 2025
- Studio
- Bakken Record
- Director
- Susumu Kudou
- Streaming Service(s)
- Crunchyroll
OK, here is definitely the weirdest 2025 sports anime, and I'm not quite sure if I can recommend Turkey to fans of the genre.
The first episode should be experienced blind, so it might be best to stop reading and just give it a watch if you are remotely interested.
So, what is Turkey? Well, as implied by the name, this is a bowling anime...kind of. Things start that way, with a high school club that is on the verge of breaking apart as its members get into frequent fights. However, one day, they stumble into a time warp and end up in Sengoku Japan. Yes, this might be the only sports anime to involve time travel (but do not quote me on that).
Turkey is difficult to recommend, as it does not excel in any real area. If you are looking for a sports story or are just interested in bowling, the anime barely focuses on that stuff, even if the girls occasionally get strikes. As a time-travel samurai series, Turkey is quite repetitive and struggles to pick up serious momentum, with the first half of the season being particularly frustrating since the protagonists are constantly talking about how they cannot change anything (while constantly changing stuff).
I guess it works as a cute girls doing cute things show, although Summer 2025 has far better alternatives than Turkey.
100 Meters (Movie)
100 Meters
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- September 19, 2025
WHERE TO WATCH
- Director
- Kenji Iwaisawa
- Studio
- Rock 'n' Roll Mountain
- Based On
- Manga by Uoto
The only sports anime movie announced for 2025 so far, Hyakuemu is 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.
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Focusing on short-distance running, Hyakuemu revolves 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.
Fall 2025 Sports Anime
Don't Touch Kotesashi
Don't Touch Kotesashi
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- October 6, 2025
- Japanese Title
- Sawaranaide Kotesashi-kun
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator(s)
- Takuya Shinjo
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 Kotesashi is 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 biggest 2025 sports anime, its (potentially) risqué nature could attract some attention, assuming it lands on a Western streaming platform.
Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray Part 2
- Start Date: October 5, 2025
When all is said and done, Uma Musume: Cinderella Gray will likely be remembered as the best sports anime of 2025. Frankly, part 1 presented a strong enough case for the crown on its own, and its continuation should just cement that position. With great animation, fantastic characters, and captivating history-based drama, Cinderella Gray is about as close to perfection as a sports show will ever get.
Even if you have never watched a single episode of the main Uma Musume series, or are not familiar with the games, you should still go out of your way to watch Cinderella Gray. Do not be put off by the horse girl aspect, as it sounds stranger on paper than it is in execution.
Wandance
Wandance
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- October 8, 2025
- Studio
- Madhouse, Cyclone Graphics
- Based On
- Manga
- Creator(s)
- Coffee
Going by a few different titles, Wandance is 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.
Wandance could 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. Madhouse is handling the adaptation, and the studio really does not need any introduction by this point. If Wandance comes remotely close to matching Frieren and Orb, two of Madhouse's recent projects, it will be a masterpiece.
Upcoming 2025 Sports Anime With No Release Season
Nappeungyejibae (Movie)
- Release Date: 2025
- Genres: Sports, Drama, Comedy
- Studio: Big Pine Animation Studio
Seemingly a sequel to 1988's Dallyeola Hani and Cheonbangjichuk Hani, this running anime is being produced as a celebration of the two original shows' 35th anniversary. Hani might 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.
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