I love watching sports anime. However, this will not be a sports anime article, you can expect one following this soon. What we are going to be talking about here is best basketball anime, and unfortunately there is not many of them here. I have managed to put up a list of top 10, however, one of them is yet to be released. Although, it has not been released yet. There is a manga so I will base my rankings on it, and then I will update the article once the anime adaptation is released if it will be necessary. So, without waiting any further, let’s jump straight into the list and see which are truly the best basketball anime.
Disclaimer: I am sure you will find some anime on this list to either be boring/bad. Therefore I would recommend skipping those and going on to try some else, one of the main reasons I am adding as many anime as possible to the list is to make it easier for you to find a good anime for yourself. Everyone has different tastes so some anime you like others might hate and vice versa.
Top 10 Best Basketball Anime
10. Mitsu x Mitsu Drops
Score: 6.1/10
Mitsu x Mitsu drops is a short 2 episode OVA basketball anime with shoujo and romance. To be completely honest with you, I have added this anime as I was lacking what to put on the 10th spot. And I wanted to make a top 10 list, unfortunately, there is not that many basketball anime out there. Especially not good ones, so let’s just skip this one and get to the real deal. I hope that in the future there will be more anime that cover basketball. If that does happen I will come back and update this list for you.
09. I’ll/CKBC
Score: 6.4/10
Another OVA, however, this one gives us a good view at I’ll/CKBC story with 30 episodes each. The story focuses on two guys, Tachibana, and Hiiragi who were once rivals but now play in the same school. If you want to follow the full story you will have to dive into the manga, so if you don’t like unfinished series perhaps it would be best to check out some other basketball anime. Even though I did not read the manga, I enjoyed the OVA and I’m hoping the manga gets adapted into an anime.
08. Buzzer Beater
Score: 6.6/10
The story of Buzzer Beater is set in a near future where humans co-exist with aliens, and all major sports are played in Space Leagues. However, as humans, we fell short on psychics, agility and overall power in terms of sport as compared to the aliens. An old guy named Yoshimune wants to change the fact that humans have never won in the Basketball Space Leauge. So he starts recruiting a special team of basketball players all over the world.
Therefore, he finds Hideyoshi (our MC) in the streets of New York hustling other players through basketball and decides to recruit him. In terms of story the anime is really good, however, I was really annoyed at the animation used during the matches, it was poorly made and re-used constantly. However, I still went through with it due to an intriguing story. If you believe you can do the same, check this basketball anime out.
07. Ro-Kyu-Bu!
Score: 6.9/10
Are you a fan of lolis and basketball? If yes, then your wishes have been granted. Ro-Kyu-Bu is literally a loli basketball anime, and I know this might disappoint you a bit. However, I did mention earlier that there are not that many good basketball anime. And this anime does not focus entirely on the basketball, it’s simply the activity these 5 lolis take. Therefore the story focuses more on them and their loli-ness.
06. Dear Boys
Score: 6.9/10
Aikawa Kazuhiko was the basketball captain of a prestigious high school. However, he had to move to a new town. There he enrolls into Mizuho high school and joins the basketball team. There he meets a lazy and unorganized team, and he tries to straighten them up. After some unsuccessful trials, he finally manages to get them to practice again. And so they make it their goal to enter the nationals and compete with the best of the best.
05. Dash! Kappei
Score: 7.3/10
The list so far has been pretty disappointing I assume, and I do not think this anime will fix that up. Dash! Kappei is an anime about Kappei, a short boy who excels in all sports and is in love with Akane. He stays in her house as a guest and competes with her dog, who is his rival. The anime is filled with comedy and ecchi as Kappei is actually a pervert and loves lifting girls skirts up. Although this another disappointment for those who wanted to see a basketball anime we still have the top 4 anime that can make up for the other lost causes.
04. Basquash!
Score: 7.3/10
This basketball anime is a little bit different than the other, however, at least it focuses on the basketball aspect. Although we get to see basketball, we do not get to see people playing it. Instead, we get giant robots who are controlled by the humans. The intriguing concept of robots playing basketball got me interested in this anime and so I gave it a try. I can’t say that it was bad, but I can’t say that it was the best. Therefore let’s say that this is a decent anime to watch.
03. Ahiru no Sora
Score: 7.5
Although this basketball anime has not yet actually received an anime, I am putting it in the list ahead of time as I know that the manga is really good. Therefore I hope that the anime will be adapted very well too, you can check out the visuals and announcement in the link below. The story follows Kurumatani Sora who is a short person but wants to play basketball (like Hinata from Haikyu). Although he is short he can still play, he relies on his skills to get to a position where he can shoot and focuses on scoring 3s.
See Also: Ahiru no Sora anime adaptation announced
02. Kuroko no Basket
Score: 8.4/10
Kuroko no Basket is probably the best-animated basketball anime we have had (so far at least), and in terms of story, it was intermediate. The story follows Kagami Taiga and Kuroko Tetsuya who has just enrolled into Seirin High School. Both of them are looking to start playing basketball. Taiga is a well built tall guy, while on the other hand, Kuroko is not. He is short, weak and can’t even shoot. However, soon the Coach of Seiren notices that Kuroko is actually the 6th phantom member of the generation of miracles.
Generation of Miracles consists of 5 prodigies and Kuroko who have won 3 consecutive champions with overwhelming victories at Teiko Junior High. After Junior HIgh they made a promise to each other that they will all go to separate schools and compete to see who is the best one. Due to this, Kuroko’s passion lies in beating them, however, he can not do it alone. As Kuroko is the shadow, and every shadow needs a light. If you have not seen this anime out yet, then I definitely recommend you go instantly watch it.
01. Slam Dunk
Score: 8.5/10
Hanamachi Sakuragi is your friendly neighborhood knucklehead. He’s hot-headed, short-tempered and consistently gets into fights. However, there is one thing he loves more than fights, and that is girls. His record of being rejected is 50 times during middle school. Although he was rejected quite a lot, Hanamachi enrolled in Shohoku High and is hoping to meet the girl of his dreams there. However, he is infamous status quickly gets everyone to start avoiding him, including girls.
One day, a girl named Haruko Akagi approaches him. Just to clear something out first before I move on with the synopsis. Hanamachi does not like basketball, in fact, he hates it. When the two meet, the girl asks him if he likes playing basketball. Hanamachi responds with yes, unknowingly changing his own future for good. Through certain events, with the girl being the major influence, Hanamachi soon finds himself playing basketball.