Three Cs

In last week’s post, I talked about my ten favorite adventure/fantasy anime. I also mentioned that there are a wide variety of anime genres. This week, I’d like to share my favorite anime from the two other genres I like to watch: sports and slice of life. A few of these could fit into more than one category, so I put them where I think they most belong.

Sports

1. Haikyu!

This anime follows the Karusuno High School volleyball team as they work to build a strong team and go to nationals. The main character, Hinata Shoyo, is short for a volleyball player, but he uses his reflexes and amazing jumping ability to succeed despite that. The pacing of this show is excellent, and all of the team members are likeable. Of the true sports anime I’ve watched, Haikyu! is my favorite.

2. Chihayafuru

The main character of this anime is a high school girl named Chihaya who loves to play karuta, a Japanese game that involves touching poem cards faster than an opponent. Chihaya and her friends work to improve their individual karuta skills and to win in team competitions as well.

I included Chihayafuru in the sports category because competitive karuta requires quick reflexes and stamina. The team members work hard and practice a lot. With that being said, karuta is as much a game as a sport. Also, the anime includes more about the players’ personal lives than a true sports anime, so it kind of fits under slice of life as well. Regardless of what category it is in, Chihayafuru is an amazing anime that I highly recommend.

3. Run with the Wind

This anime follows the Kansei University running team as they train for a strenuous cross-country race. Run with the Wind is unique in several ways. First, it tells a complete story in one 23-episode season. Also, the characters are in college, rather than high school like most sports anime characters, and when the anime starts out, only two of the team members have distance-running experience. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the team come together and build their individual strengths.

4. Yowamushi Pedal

In this anime, a first-year high school student named Onoda Sakamichi joins the Sohoku High bicycle racing club, although he has only ever cycled recreationally. He and the other first-years train with the club’s older members to get ready for the year’s largest race, the Interhigh. I found Onoda to be a compelling character that I couldn’t help but root for. The other members of the team were appealing as well, and their comaraderie was heartwarming.

Though I enjoyed this anime a lot, the pacing was frustrating at times. Intense moments, like the sprint at the end of a race, were sometimes stretched so that they took an entire episode. Also, some of the antagonists were very over-the-top, especially for an anime that is supposed to be realistic, not fantasy. Despite this, I will still rewatch Yowamushi Pedal at some point, and I hope they will have a new season some time soon.

5. Days

The main character of this anime, a first-year named Tsukamoto Tsukushi, decides to join the Seiseki High School soccer team after playing for the first time with a friend a few days before. Tsukamoto struggles a lot, but his hard work and dedication win the team’s respect. I enjoyed this anime a lot, even though the writer(s) have a tendency to make you feel like something momentous is about to happen and then disappoint you.

6. Free! Iwatobi Swim Club

As you might have guessed from the title, this anime focuses on the Iwatobi High School Swim Club. The main character, Haruka Nanase, is a gifted freestyle swimmer. He and his friends form a swim club and compete in both individual and team events. This anime focuses a lot on the emotional and psychological lives of the swimmers and their friendships with each other. Because of that, it could probably fit under the slice of life category as well.

Slice of Life

1. Shirobako

This is my absolute favorite slice-of-life anime I’ve ever seen. It follows the story of five friends who are all trying to make it in the anime industry. The characters in this anime are all working adults, which is refreshing, and the struggles they face are very true to life. Shirobako also offers a behind-the-scenes look at how anime is made. It is a truly unique and enjoyable anime!

2. Wotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku

For anyone who is unfamiliar with the term, an otaku is a closet nerd. In this anime, the protagonist is a young woman who secretly likes nerdy things. She’s had bad luck in most of her relationships, but when she starts dating a fellow nerd, things start to work out much better. The show focuses on their relationship with each other and their friendship with another otaku couple. This anime is very fun and lighthearted.

3. Recovery of an MMO Junkie

To me, the title of this anime really doesn’t describe it very well. The subtitle, “Recommendation of the Wonderful Virtual Life,” fits it much better. The main character, Moriko Morioka, quits the corporate job that was making her miserable and uses her savings to support her life as an online gamer. In the game she likes to play, she connects with a man that she ends up falling for in real life as well. I wasn’t sure I would like this anime, but it turned out to be right up my alley.

4. Your Lie in April

In this anime, a feisty high school violinist helps a piano prodigy confront the issues that have kept him from playing since his mother’s death. This anime has a lot of funny moments, but it also delves rather deep. Word to the wise, if you decide to watch it, you’ll want to have your tissues ready!

5. Kaichou wa Maid-Sama!

Ayuzawa Misaki is respected by her peers as the president of her high school class, but she has a secret. To earn money for her family, she works as a waitress at a cafe where her uniform is a maid outfit. A boy from her school, Takumi Usui, finds out but agrees to keep it a secret. The anime is mainly the story of their friendship and budding romance. It’s been a while since I watched it, and writing this post is making me want to rewatch it some time soon.

6. ReLife

Techinically, ReLife would be considered sci-fi, but because the feel of it is more slice of life, I’m including it in this category. At the beginning of this anime, a man convinces the main character, Kaizaki Arata, to become a test subject for a program called ReLife. Kaizaki has only been employed part-time for several years and is practically a shut-in. The ReLife program is designed to make him look younger for a year, so he can go back to high school and try to get a better start.

The only sci-fi aspect of the show is the pill that makes Kaizaki look younger. The anime focuses on his experiences as an adult in a high school world. I was highly skeptical about this show when I watched the first episode, but it quickly drew me in. I found it to be a great show with a good message, and I highly recommend it.

Those are my favorite sports and slice-of-life anime. There are a lot of other good ones. According to my husband, I haven’t even watched some of the best yet. Do you have any anime you would recommend that I watch? Let me know in the comments. If you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to see more like it!