Best Sports Anime of 2019

Constantly falling short compared to the girls' club, the boys' soft tennis team is on the verge of being disbanded because of their weak skills and lackluster match results. Desperate for new members, Touma Shinjou tries to recruit capable players but fails to find anyone. Then Maki Katsuragi transfers in and displays sharp reflexes when he catches a stray cat in his classroom, catching Touma's eye. Intrigued, Touma eagerly asks Maki to join the boys' team but is quickly turned down, as Maki has no interest in clubs. Touma refuses to give up and eventually convinces Maki—on the condition that Touma pays him for participating and covers other club costs. Maki joins the team, and his impressive form and fast learning let him instantly outperform the rest. Though this sparks tension among the boys, Maki challenges and drives his teammates to not only keep up with his seemingly innate talent but also push them to commit to a sport they once ignored. As the members of the boys' soft tennis club discover their own abilities, they face personal struggles and experience the darker side of growing up in middle school.

Sora Kurumatani has always loved basketball, but he lacks what is often seen as the most important asset in the sport: height. From the very beginning of his passion for the game, his short stature has been a challenge. However, this never stopped Sora from believing that hard work and persistent practice could prove his abilities, regardless of his physical disadvantage. To fulfill his mother's wish, Sora enrolls at Kuzuryuu High School with the goal of joining the basketball club and competing wholeheartedly in tournaments. To his dismay, he discovers that the boys' basketball team is merely a hangout for delinquents with no real interest in the sport. Sora also learns that the Hanazono brothers, Chiaki and Momoharu, whom he befriends, have lost their once-fiery motivation to play. Determined to breathe new life into the team, Sora challenges the boys to a match. His quick footwork and agile movements overwhelm them. Gradually, inspired by Sora's impressive skills, relentless effort, and unwavering dedication to basketball, the boys find their long-lost passion for the game unexpectedly reigniting.

Winning the high school team tournament marked a major milestone for the Mizusawa members. Each of them has grown significantly in their own way, and the victory reflects just how far they've come. Yet with one goal achieved, their personal ambitions are now within sight. Chihaya Ayase is determined to face Shinobu Wakamiya and claim the title of Queen, while Taichi Mashima, having reached Class A, can finally go head-to-head with Arata Wataya. Everyone at Mizusawa is driven to improve, and if they continue striving, there's no telling what the future may bring.

Koshien Stadium, a sacred venue known as the "field of dreams," is where high school baseball players see their aspirations realized. Having won the autumn tournament the previous year, Seidou High School's baseball team has, for the first time in seven years, secured the opportunity to play there. The spring tournament is followed by the contest that will determine the nation's top team—the Summer Koshien. As the third-year players will leave after the summer tournament, the team must blend the seniors' experience with the newcomers' potential to defeat both familiar and fresh adversaries and claim the desired national championship. In the meantime, pitcher Eijun Sawamura remains as resolute as ever to obtain jersey number 1 and take the "ace" role from his constant rival, Satoru Furuya. While the team readies itself for its most formidable trial, Sawamura and Furuya continue their battle to guide their team to victory and become the central figure of the sport—the genuine "Ace of the Diamond."

Rifle shooting is a competitive sport that demands accuracy and precision. In Japan, where carrying firearms is prohibited, most participants come from the defense force. However, once rifles using light beams instead of live ammunition became common, the sport opened up to younger people, leading to school-level competitions. First-year high school student Hikari Kokura, who loves marksmanship, transfers to Chidori High School. She tries to join the rifle-shooting club, only to discover it no longer exists because the sport lacks popularity. Disheartened but determined, she works to revive the club and manages to gather three other members: her childhood friend Izumi Shibusawa, the half-Russian Erika Meinohama, and the reserved Yukio Igarashi. Thus begins the Chidori Rifle-Shooting Club, whose sole ambition is to compete on the national stage.

Tsubasa Arihara loves baseball so deeply that she actually founded her high school's baseball club. But passion alone isn't enough to keep a club going, so it's up to her to recruit as many standout players as she can. Some potential members have never played before, while others have come back to the game because of Tsubasa's love for the sport, and together they'll form a team united by their love for baseball as much as by their growing friendships. But whether they win or lose, one thing is certain: every game they play together is bound to be a home run!

Thanks to the legacy left behind by Tatsuya Uesugi, Meisei Academy High School was once famous for its powerful baseball team. However, twenty-six years after that golden era, the team has failed to maintain its reputation and has since fallen into obscurity. Two stepbrothers, Souichirou and Touma Tachibana, are determined to restore the former strength of Meisei Academy's baseball program and make it to the National High School Baseball Championship. Both boys are second-year students at Meisei Academy Middle School and are exceptionally talented players. Souichirou demonstrates outstanding abilities as both a catcher and a batter. Touma possesses extraordinary pitching skills but no longer takes the mound for a certain reason. Once they enter high school, the two form a battery and aim to compete in the National High School Baseball Championship.

Riku Haruma steps into high school with no clear direction for his future. Watching peers perform with monstrous energy—leaping higher and sprinting faster than anyone else—he decides to give his all. He spots Akira Kariya playing rugby, a sport Riku once loved but abandoned because of his body type. As Akira charges roughly, Riku offers him some unsolicited advice. This moment reignites Riku’s fading passion for the game, causing his future to finally shine.

The advent of Circlet Technology and Virtual Reality has revolutionized society, giving rise to a new competitive e-sport known as Circlet Bout. In this arena, schools clash to crown the strongest Circlet Bout Club and player. During a match, Yuuka Sasaki is mistaken for a contestant and faces off against Chikage Fujimura, Japan’s top player. Although inexperienced, Yuuka manages to hold her own in the fierce duel, sparking a deep passion for the game and leading her to resolve to become a Circlet Bout athlete herself. Two years later, Yuuka relocates to Tokyo and enrolls at Union School, hoping to train and one day challenge Chikage again. Upon arriving, she finds that the Circlet Bout Club has been disbanded. Her primary objective now shifts to assisting the athletic Miyuki Kasahara and club manager Ayumu Aizawa in reestablishing the club and restoring it to its former prominence.

After appearing in the Prism King Cup as Edel Rose’s representative and catching a glimpse of what it meant to be a future Prism Star, Shin Ichijo enrolled in Kakyoin Academy’s high school division in spring, starting his first year. Meanwhile, Koji, Hiro, and Kazuki of Over The Rainbow left Edel Rose to establish a new agency, keeping themselves quite occupied. Around the same time, with his title of Prism King taken by Hiro, Schwarz Rose’s leader, Jin Norizuki, proposes PRISM.1—a contest to decide a new king other than the Prism King—and announces that Schwarz Rose and Edel Rose will compete against each other. As everyone prepares for PRISM.1, Yukinojo finds himself torn between kabuki and the Prism Show, feeling he isn’t living up to his potential in either and unsure of what to do. Seeing him in this state, his father tells him to leave the world of Prism Shows.

This anime is a parody of fairy tales and folklore centered on racehorses. Classic stories such as Momotarou and Cinderella are reimagined in horse racing scenarios, with the narrator delivering the action in the style of fast-paced sports commentary. The production is funded and promoted by the Japan Racing Association (JRA).

The narrative follows Mu Ma as he recognizes the disparity between school-level and professional basketball, confronts these obstacles directly, perseveres, and ultimately rises to become a top-tier professional basketball player.