September saw the end of the much-awaited anime adaptation of the manga Ao Ashi, and just like everyone’s expectations, season 1 ended with a bang. The anime, by Production I.G, debuted in April and completed its first season in September 2022, with a total of 24 episodes. And unlike many other manga adaptations, Ao Ashi stayed true to its source, and it’s safe to say that it delivered.
There was already quite a lot of buzz around the anime because of the manga’s popularity, and as the anime adaptation was released, many new fans flooded in just because of the anime. At this point, it’s obvious that the anime was critically and financially successful.
Ao Ashi tells the story of a difficult but skilled boy, Ashito Aoi. He was the star player of his old school, but due to some issues, he was left in despair. He got a new opportunity when a youth coach Tatsuya Fukuda invited him to his soccer team. Fukuda knew Aoi was difficult, but he also saw the immense potential within him. Hence, Aoi joins Fukuda in the unfamiliar settings of Tokyo to make his signature on the history of Japanese soccer.
Even though season 1 gave us 24 episodes of pure bliss, if you’re like us, in the end, you’ll be left with a feeling of wanting more. Although a second season isn’t going to be appearing any soon, what you can do right now is to catch some similar animes out there. Because although there are a lot of unique elements that make Ao Ashi stand apart, truth is told, there are a lot of animes that give out a similar vibe.
So, we’re here with 21 animes with a lot of similarities to Ao Ashi.
Giant Killing
Although the title may scream otherwise, like Ao Ashi, Giant Killing is an anime purely about soccer. But unlike the former, Giant Killing focuses on the life of an eccentric coach named Takeshi Tatsumi, who surprisingly has a lot of similarities with the coach Tatsuya Fukuda in Ao Ashi.
East Tokyo United (ETU) soccer team was once the top dog in the Japanese soccer world. But its glory days are long behind as it is now facing defeat after defeat. Forced to make a desperate decision to turn this situation around, the team’s general manager Kousei Gotou takes a gamble and hires Takeshi Tatsuma as the new coach.
During the glory days of ETU, Tatsuma had been the team’s captain and had spearheaded the team to countless victories. But due to some unknown reasons, he transferred to an English amateur club. While the feeling of betrayal lingers in the minds of ETU fans, Tatsuma takes up the job of leading the team as the new coach.
Blue Lock
Much like Ao Ashi, Blue Lock is an anime based on soccer. But that’s where the similarities end. Although it hasn’t started airing yet, we included it in this list because it is one of the most awaited animes of 2022. Blue Lock is a hardcore anime with considerably higher stakes than Ao Ashi.
Due to the current sorry state of Japanese soccer, the Japanese Football Association hires the eccentric and enigmatic Jinpachi Ego as the new coach in a desperate attempt to come back. Attempting to find the best striker in all of Japan for the soccer team, Jinpachi initiates Project Blue Lock. At this prison-like facility, hundreds of talented strikers from high schools all over Japan compete against each other to become the new striker of Japan’s national soccer team for the world cup. The losers are forever banned from even tryouts for the team in the future.
We follow the story of Yoshi Isagi, a high schooler who believes he has let down his soccer team by failing to reach the national level. Isagi finds the Blue Lock project a second chance and strives to become the best striker in all of Japan and hopefully win the World Cup for his country.
Captain Tsubasa
A list of the best sports-based animes wouldn’t be complete without the inclusion of Captain Tsubasa. Although it’s long past its glory days, anime is still one of the best in the history of the sports anime genre.
11-year-old Tsubasa Oozora started playing soccer when he was really young and developed a deep love for the game to the point that it became an obsession. As his mother encouraged his endeavor, Tsubasa and his mother moved to Nankatsu city, which is famous for its excellent elementary school soccer teams.
In the new city, Tsubaru met many new friends and rivals who had the same passion for soccer as him. His ultimate goal is to one day represent the Japan soccer team in the FIFA world cup, but he learns it will take much more than talent to get there.
Whistle!
Unlike the protagonist Ashito Aoi in Ao Ashi, Kazamatsuri Shou in Whistle! Is not someone who was born with immense talent to play the game. This difference in which the protagonist has to start from scratch sets Whistle! Apart from many other animes. It is a show that teaches that even if talent matters, pure hard work and determination are what matters most for achieving ultimate glory.
Struggling to stand out more as a player in the prestigious Musashi no Mori Junior High soccer team, which is known for being one of the best soccer teams, Kazamatsuri Shou transfers to Sakura Jousui Junior High.
Although not as big as his old school soccer team, Shou can play the game well here. Supported by his new friends and teammates and his determination, Shou works hard and rapidly develops his soccer skills to one day achieve his dream.
Haikyuu!
There wouldn’t be many anime fans who haven’t heard of this gem of a sports anime. Although it isn’t about soccer based on the sport Volleyball, the spirit and determination of the protagonist in Ao Ashi resemble
The one in Haikyuu. Also, Haikyuu is created by the same studio, so there are some similar elements in that aspect. Shouyou Hinata is a kid who didn’t have much height, which was a factor that is considered to be a must to become a professional volleyball player. Although he didn’t have height, he was blessed with a fiery determination to conquer his weakness and become the best.
Following the footsteps of his idol, Hinata joins the Karasuno High School volleyball team to get even one more step closer to being a professional volleyball player. On his way to becoming the best, he meets new friends and rivals with whom he has to play to revive the now-diminishing volleyball team.
Ace of Diamond
Although the sport differs, like the main character in Ao Ashi, Eijun Sawamura becomes frustrated because of his team’s loss in his final middle school baseball game. And like in Ao Ashi, Eijun is given an incredible opportunity to rise to the top.
Seeing Eijun’s immense potential and unusual pitching style, he is scouted for Tokyo’s prestigious Seidou High School, known for being the best. Supported by his teammates, Eijun takes up the opportunity to conquer new horizons by joining a new team filled with friends and rivals.
Clean Freak! Aoyama-Kun
Compared to most in this list, this one is a bit light-hearted. Unlike Ashito in Ao Ashi, a striker, Aoyama is a mid-fielder for his team, and no one else can do as good a job as he can. Everyone loves him for being reliable, charming, cool, and athletic. But he got a little bit of a problem.
Aoyama is a clean freak with extreme germophobia who goes to insane lengths to keep him clean while playing a game that is often described as dirty. In any case, Aoyama remains the best playmaker and has the utmost determination to make his team the best one to make it to the Nationals.
Slam Dunk
The main characters in both Ao Ashi and Slam Dunk have a few similarities. Both are hard-headed and easily aggravated. But unlike Ashito in Ao Ashi, Hanamichi Sakuragi didn’t love his respective sport initially.
Sakuragi was infamous in his middle school for being rejected by numerous girls, and his notoriety was transferred along with him when he joined Shohoku High. But after some mishaps, he was introduced to the basketball sport in his school and discovered that he had really good potential for the game. As he joins the school’s basketball team and gains new teammates, he begins to love the game he once hated.
Inazuma Eleven
Like Ao Ashi, Inazuma Eleven follows the story of high school soccer.
It has been too long since Raimon Middle School’s soccer club, Inazuma Eleven, last saw its golden days, and it is even on the verge of being disbanded. Brimmed with determination, the team’s current captain, Mamoru Endou, takes up the challenge to revitalize the team back to its glory days.
Days
Here the story follows not one but two central protagonists. Tsukushi Tsukamoto and Jin Kazama. The two high schoolers are not at all different. Tsukushi is someone who doesn’t have any exceptional talent for the game, but Jin is practically considered a genius of the game. Just like their personalities, their worlds are also not similar.
Yet after a chance encounter, they are dragged into a single world, the world of soccer. And their lives are forever changed.
The Knight in the Area
Like Ao Ashi, this is an anime that truly focuses on the growth of the main character, both as a skilled player as well as a person.
Kakeru Aizawa’s ultimate goal is to become a member of the Japanese national soccer team one day and to lift the world cup for his country. But his current state is far from being the best. So he works harder than anyone to become the best and so that he can stand tall with his childhood friend, who’s also a soccer prodigy and has already become a member of the Japanese women’s national team.
Hajime no Ippo
Although the sports they’re playing differ drastically, Ashito from Ao Ashi has a lot of similarities with the main character of Hajime no Ippo. Both are gifted individuals who were blessed with an opportunity to be part of a greater team where they can become more skilled with the right help.
Due to being part of the family business of fishing boat rental since he was a kid, Ippo Makunouchi had developed strong muscles. After a chance encounter with an up-and-coming boxer Mamoru Takamura, Ippo is rescued from bullies and taken to Takamura’s boxing gym. Takamura and his fellow boxers are stunned to see Ippo’s punching strength. Little did anyone know, that was the beginning of Ippo’s journey to becoming the best in the world.
Hungry Heart: Wild Striker
This is another anime with soccer at its core.
Fed up with living in the shadow of his brother, a professional soccer player, Kyosuke Kano decided to quit the game as he was always being compared to his brother. But he is drawn back into the game when his high school discovers his talent and asks him to join the team. Accompanied by his new friends, Kyosuke is determined to be a professional soccer player and surpass his brother one day.
Free!
Unlike Ao Ashi, this anime is about swimming, but both animes got the same spirit.
Haruko Nanase loved swimming as much as he loved breathing. He and his three friends had won a relay race in elementary school. After they separate post-victory, the four friends reunite as high schoolers. But things aren’t the same as it was before. As friends became rivals, Haruka strives hard to come out on top as the best swimmer.
Kuroko No Basket
This anime has been dubbed multiple times as one of the best sports anime ever, and it has every reason to be so.
Tetsuya Kuroko is, at first glance, nothing special and lacks presence, but he has a powerful secret. As he strives to prove his worth to the Seirin High School basketball team, he forms a rare companionship with the skilled Taiga Kagami. Along with the rest of their team, the duo aims to conquer the upcoming Interhigh championship.
Tsurune
Although it’s far from the soccer scene, Tsurune is similar to Ao Ashi.
Minato Narumiya had loved Kyuudo, a modern Japanese martial art focusing on archery, all his life. But an incident caused him to quit the sport. But like in many other cases, some things forced Minato to take up the bow again. With the support of his friends and teammates, Minato begins to understand the reasons why he loved the sport in the first place and strives to better his team to win the prefectural tournament.
Baby Steps
Just Ao Ashi, this anime tries to tell the story based on a sport in the most realistic way possible. But in this instance, the sport is Tennis.
It tells the story of a boy Eiichirou Maruo, who first looked at Tennis as a game to pass his time. But after meeting some new friends and because of his increasing enjoyment of the game, he began to love playing Tennis. As he improved his playing style, he was one step closer to becoming a professional tennis player.
Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru
The deep character developments in Kaze ga Tsuyoku Fuiteiru are reminiscent of the ones in Ao Ashi.
Forced to live with the difficulties due to the circumstances, Kakeru Kurahara, the former ace runner of Sendai Josei High School, met a new friend who offered him a place to live and something more. He offered him a position at Kansei University Track Club and requested Kakeru’s help participating in Hakone Ekiden—one of Japan’s most prominent university marathon relay races. Kakeru takes up the challenge, and along with his newfound friend, they attempt to prepare the club for the Hakone Ekiden marathon.
Ping Pong The Animation
This is yet another anime where the main character is given an opportunity to become a better player with the right help and coaching. Also, it has a unique style of animation that drastically sets this anime apart from the rest.
Although they’re best friends, Makoto “Smile” Tsukimoto and Yutaka “Peco” Hoshino are opposites. But both were similar in that they had a fervor for ping pong. Peco strives to be the best in the world, but he often misses practice, and Smile can’t help but hold himself back when playing against others. After a shocking failure, they’re in personal conflicts. But with the inter-high tournament drawing near, they train harder to be the best despite their hardships.
Megalo Box
This particular anime and Ao Ashi are similar in that in both animes, the main character used to be the top dog in their respective old turfs but found themselves surrounded by other skilled players when they went to a bigger stage.
Junk Dog used to be an unrivaled boxer in the underground fighting called the Megalo Box. But after a severe loss, he decided to make a comeback through Megalonia, a tournament in which the strongest Megalo Boxer in the world is decided. With a new moniker, “Joe,” he began to rise to the top as he defeated opponent after opponent.
SK8 The Infinity
Last but not least is this gem of an anime. SK8 The Infinity is another anime where the main character has a lot of passion for the sport. In this case, it’s skateboarding. Reki Kyan is a high school student who is passionate about skateboarding. After a particular night of skateboarding, his skateboard is broken, and his arm is broken. This makes him incapable of practicing.
However, when one of his new classmates who had just transferred to his school approached him with a need for money, Reki introduced his skateboarding world to his new friend, a place where money could be made doing dangerous stunts. But little did Reki know, this was the beginning of a friendship that would win several races in the future.
Also read: 10 Must-Watch Anime Like Hyouka
