Last Updated April 22, 2024 Last Updated February 21, 2024 by Brian Aquino
Do you love playing basketball and watching animes, and wondering if there is any anime about basketball? YES! We have picked the best basketball anime shows ever to entertain you in 2024. These manga series have good storytelling, character development and intense action that depict basketball sports culture.
Indeed, basketball is one of the most popular sports in Japan and the rest of the world, along with soccer. Basketball manga shows have their own unique characteristics that distinguish them from other genres. These anime series have become increasingly popular in recent years as both new and old series keep coming out to provide viewers with engaging storylines.
Here are the top anime series that worth watching. Some fans might identify common themes such as characters competing against one another, but this isn’t always the case. Despite the genre being similar most of the time, not all basketball anime are created equal!
Slam Dunk is a Japanese manga written by Takehiko Inoue who won the 39th Shogakukan Manga Award for the shounen category in 1993. It is about a novice high school student named Hanamichi Sakuragi with 8 years of experience playing basketball. He eventually joins the Shohoku High School’s basketball team to get basketball anime girl player attention, but was unsuccessful most of the time due to his recklessness and being foul-mouthed.
Sakuragi eventually falls in love with Haruko Akagi who has one year left to play for the women’s basketball team of Shohoku High School. Moreover, Sakuragi learns about teamwork, friendship and loyalty from his teammates during practice sessions and friendly games.
Characters – 10/10
Strong and well-developed characters.
Story – 10/10
The very best kind of story with a thrilling beginning, an unexpected middle and a huge twist that leaves you amazed. I was hooked throughout the season!
Animation – 8/10
It’s not as good as it was back then, but still great for animation from 1993. It actually aged well.
Sound – 8/10
Soundtracks and voiceovers are pretty good
Enjoyment – 10/10
It is an extremely enjoyable anime show with intense basketball games and emotional moments. Highly recommended to people who love sports anime!
Kuroko no Basket is the second adaptation of the manga written by Tadatoshi Fujimaki that won the Grand Prize for the shounen category in 2012. It revolves around a high school basketball team at Seirin High School named “The miracles” led by Tetsuya Kuroko, an ex-member of Teikou Middle School’s “Generation of Miracles” along with two other freshmen. The team aims to go to the inter-high school tournament, but first, they must defeat their current rival Seihou High.
Different from other sports anime out there, Kuroko no Basket has a more realistic style of animation since it is based on real players and their skills which makes this show way better than most basketball anime series. It shows different types of plays like zone defense, man-to-man defense, screen or screen roll that are actually used in professional basketball matches.
Characters – 9/10
Interesting and well developed characters. Teamwork is visible among them even if some of them only play part-time because of their position in the team.
Story – 9/10
The story is well-paced and interesting, until you get to episode 25 which was a major cliffhanger. The second season continues from there and is very good so far.
Animation – 9/10
The animation is great especially when it comes to battles between players because of its unique style of animation for each character according to his or her skills and talents.
Sound – 8/10
Soundtracks are pretty average while voice actors did a really great job in portraying each character’s personality and feelings that make this show worth watching.
Enjoyment – 10/10
Very enjoyable and entertaining series with intense basketball matches, emotional moments and humor that makes it one of the best basketball anime shows of all time.
Dear Boys or Hoop Days is an anime series about a high school basketball team that learns to play together and work for the same goal. At first, they are 6 players playing part-time until they get 6 full-time members after winning some games against other teams. Coach Mutou used to be one of the best players in Japan until he damaged his leg and gave up on playing. He is now the teacher of the basketball team at Shohoku High School.
Yuki Akagi, known as “Gira” joins the basketball team to impress his late brother’s crush Haruko Akagi (sister of Haruko Akagi from Slam Dunk). As the plot progresses, the team goes through a lot of challenges and obstacles to reach their goal of going to the national tournament.
Animation – 9/10
The animation is awesome! It’s really shocking that this anime came out in 2002, but it doesn’t look old at all even if it has an old school style of animation with the golden age of the 2000s.
Sound – 8/10
Voice actors are great. The soundtracks are good but not really memorable.
Characters – 10/10
They are all unique with different personalities and talents which make this show both realistic and entertaining to watch.
Story – 9/10
The plot is well-paced, interesting and entertaining until the end of the series. There will always be challenges that they’ll have to face in order to reach their goal.
Enjoyment – 10/10
One of the best basketball anime shows ever! It is definitely worth watching if you like sports anime series about teamwork and bond between teammates while having great moments on the court with awesome animation.
I really recommend this anime because it features a great plot with interesting characters and basketball matches that will keep you at the edge of your seat until the end. It’s one of those anime where teamwork is essential in order to achieve your goal.
This anime is about two high school basketball players – Tadashi Karino and Makoto Hanamiya. Tadashi has the power to shoot long distance shots with almost 100% accuracy while Hanamiya has the ability to create a strong defense for opponents which makes this show more interesting to watch.
Hanamiya used to be part of F4, the most popular group of students at Seirin High School, until he got expelled for violence against other students. Watch this exciting basketball anime.
Animation – 8/10
Animation is really great! It has that feel of 2000’s anime especially with the characters’ designs and backgrounds.
Sound – 7/10
Voice actors are good but their yelling sounds silly most of the time.
Characters – 8/10
They are unique with various personalities which makes this show more interesting to watch.
Story – 7/10
The story is good, but there are some filler episodes here and there that made it dragged at some point. However, seeing Hanamiya’s violent behavior towards other people and playing basketball with Tadashi is entertaining to watch.
Enjoyment – 7/10
It is worth watching if you like the sports anime genre that has a lot of action and rival matches. It’s not as engaging as Slam Dunk, but it’s nice to watch just for the thrill of almost every game throughout the series.
Basquash is about the sport of basketball combined with sci-fi elements. It’s like soccer where players wear mechas instead of shoes to play on the court. But this game also involves punching and some kicking action like some fighting games which make this anime more entertaining to watch.
The main characters are Dan JD (a basketball player) and Coopa (a volleyball player). They were once the best team in the city until a mysterious glowing ball appeared which causes them to lose control of their mecha when they touch it. This made this anime more interesting because every time they play basketball, there is always someone who gets blown away from touching that ball.
Animation – 8/10
The animation is pretty good for a 2009 anime because even the CGI looks awesome.
Sound – 7/10
Voice actors are great, but they shout too much which makes it look silly at times. Also, the background music isn’t really memorable. But this doesn’t affect its entertainment value as you watch them play basketball on the court with mechas.
Characters – 8/10
All of the characters are unique with different personalities which make this anime both realistic and entertaining to watch.
Story – 7/10
The story is simple but it has some twist that makes this show more interesting to watch especially during the last part of the series.
Enjoyment – 7/10
One of the best basketball anime shows you’ll ever see in your lifetime! It’s worth watching if you like sports anime series involving mechas. The action and combat scenes during games are just amazing to watch.
While basketball was invented in Canada, it is a sport that is mainly played in North America and Japan. This sport has been incorporated in many TV series and movies throughout the years, and anime is no exception. Here is a list of the best basketball anime shows on Netflix in 2024.
Basketball Anime
Netflix Availability
Seasons
Episodes
Slam Dunk
Netflix Asia and USA
1
101
Ahiru No Sora
Netflix Asia
1
50
Barangay 143
Netflix Thailand
2
26
Kuroko no Basket
Netflix Asia and USA
3
75
Kuroko no Basket
Netflix Asia and USA
Movie
1
The first anime series and manga series tend to be a bit slow, but once you get past the first few episodes, you will love it. There are also some series that are not on this list that you can get through other means.
Conclusion
These are the best basketball anime shows ever released until 2024. They have different story genres that engage viewers from start to finish with awesome characters and great pacing. Watching these basket ball anime will surely brighten your day especially if you love playing or watching basketball.
You can definitely find your next favorite basketball manga show from the above list to stay involved in this sport.
Frequently Asked Questions: (FAQs)
What is the basketball anime called?
The basketball anime is called Kuroko no Basket (Kuroko’s Basketball). This comedy sports genre anime show was written by Tadatoshi Fujimaki.
Is there any anime about basketball?
Yes, there is! There are a lot of anime about basketball from old to new series which you can watch on Netflix or your favorite streaming site. The best anime shows about basketball are;
Slam Dunk
Kuroko no Basket
Dear Boys
Ahiru no Sora
Basquash
What is the best basketball anime?
There are a lot of good basketball anime shows that you can watch on streaming sites. However, we have chosen Slam Dunk as the best basketball anime.
How many seasons does Kuroko’s basketball have?
Kuroko’s basketball anime has 3 seasons with a total of 75 episodes.
