Soccer (or football, outside the United States) is the most-watched sport in the entire world. Every game is attended by thousands of people and those who can’t attend watch it on their television. Soccer is very popular in Japan and, due to its immense popularity, many mangaka have decided to create series whose stories celebrate the sport.

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These stories also help readers who are not familiar with soccer to get a taste of the sport. Over the years, many manga and anime have come out that incorporate the spirit of soccer. With that in mind, here are some of the best soccer anime and manga, perfect for fans of the game.

Updated January 10, 2025 by Mark Sammut: As Blue Lock season 2 is complete by this point, this article has been updated to reflect this development. Despite a rough start, Blue Lock vs. U-20 Japan became pretty great by the end of its run, cementing the series as one of the all-time best soccer anime.

14

​​​​​​Victory Kickoff!!

MyAnimeList: 7.20 (Anime)

Victory Kickoff showcases the struggle of a young boy named Shou, who is extremely passionate about soccer even though he isn’t particularly good at playing it. Shou’s dream of playing for a soccer team takes a massive hit when the manager decides to disband it.

Shou is left feeling helpless, but he receives a major boost after playing against a female professional soccer player. The match motivates Shou, and he decides to recruit new players for the team. In his bid to find new players, Shou’s mental resilience is put to the test. As the story continues, Shou starts to get better at playing soccer, which ultimately helps him steer his team toward glory.

13

The Knight In The Area

MyAnimeList: 7.16 (Anime) / 7.48 (Manga)

The Knight in the Area offers a gander into the emotional journey of Kakeru Aizawa. On a fateful day, Kakeru breaks his leg, forcing him to become a manager. Kakeru is satisfied with his role, but when he and his brother get into an accident, everything changes. In order to save Kakeru, his brother’s heart is implanted into him.

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Once Kakeru grasps the full extent of what has happened, he begins to regret the decision to take up a managerial position. After much deliberation, Kakeru decides to become a soccer player and fulfill his brother’s dream of winning the World Cup with Japan. However, Kakeru lacks his brother’s natural talent, so he has to train a lot harder than everyone else.

12

Clean Freak! Aoyama Kun

MyAnimeList: 6.95 (Anime) / 7 (Manga)

Clean Freak! Aoyama Kun takes a different approach from most sports manga. Instead of completely focusing on a character’s desire to achieve great things by playing soccer, this particular series focuses on Aoyama, the main character, and his incessant need to be clean at all times. Despite knowing that soccer is a contact sport, Aoyama doesn’t stop playing.

Aoyama’s style of play is rather elegant; he keeps things simple and avoids being tackled. His style earns him a lot of plaudits, but he soon realizes that it is not sustainable, especially when his team is challenging for the big trophies. Along with satisfying the viewers’ desire to watch a proper sports anime, the story also covers the personal journey of Aoyama and how he deals with getting dirty in matches.

11

Fantasista (Manga Only)

MyAnimeList: 7.58

Fantasista is a soccer manga written by Michiteru Kusaba. The manga started serializing in Weekly Shonen Sunday in 1999, and it ended in 2004. The series also got a sequel manga, which also became quite popular. The manga focuses on Teppei Sakamoto, a boy from the countryside. Teppei is a huge fan of soccer, and he tries to get better at the game. His sister decides to teach him everything that is needed to become a soccer player and, after the training ends, she suggests that he should join a high school soccer team to take the next step toward his dream.

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Although nothing too original, Fantasista does a good job of maintaining a realistic tone, especially since Tappei is talented but not depicted as a prodigy. Considering the manga’s sequel ended roughly a decade ago, an anime adaptation seems completely unlikely at this point; consequently, interested parties should just read the manga rather than hope for an adaptation.

MyAnimeList: 7.03 & 7.37

Sayonara, Football follows Nozomi Onda, who just wants to play soccer. However, she faces the huge problem of facing physically superior opponents in official matches. As the story unfolds, Nozomi becomes more self-confident, and she decides that she will not stop until she reaches her goals. Farewell, My Dear Cramer is the sequel to Sayonara Football, and Sumire Suo and Midori Soshizaki end up joining the Warabi Seinan High School. The two take up the responsibility of ensuring that the school team performs better in competitions. The team gets a new coach, Naoko Nomi, who helps the team to improve and play against some of the best teams in the country.

This recommendation is a bit of a special case since both manga received anime adaptations. Sayonara, Football received a fine movie in 2021, setting the stage for a 13-episode adaptation of the sequel. Unfortunately, the latter missed the mark for the most part, to the point of not being worthy of a recommendation as a substitute for the source material.

9

Whistle!

MyAnimeList: 7.36 (Anime) / 7.72 (Manga)

A highly-rated manga series, written by Daisuke Higuchi, Whistle! centers around the young Kazamatsuri Shou, who dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. The biggest obstacle to his dream is his inability to play soccer at a high level. But when he joins Sakura Jousui High, he starts to work on his skills. The support of his teammates and friends helps him to get closer to his dream.

On paper, Whistle! can sound like one of the most by-the-numbers sports manga ever; however, the execution is pretty darn great, with the story building extremely nicely. The characters are most likable, and the soccer matches are done pretty well by the manga. The anime is watchable, but the manga is the way to go with this one.

8

Days

MyAnimeList: 7.16 (Anime) / 7.59 (Manga)

Days focuses on the personal battle between two boys, Tsukushi and Jin. Tsukushi is considered to be talentless and is overlooked by the other people around him. On the other hand, Jin is deemed a genius, who is deemed capable of making it at the highest level. The two boys bump into each other one fateful day, but little do they know that their destinies will be linked to each other.

With one of the best friendships in a sports manga, Days starts cute and gradually transforms into an above-average story with some pretty gripping matches. The anime is fine but ends way too soon, making it difficult to recommend as a whole; conversely, the manga is pretty good throughout its long run.

7

Hungry Heart: Wild Striker

MyAnimeList: 7.54 (Anime) / 6.86 (Manga)

A popular anime series that had a pretty successful run during the early 2000s, Hungry Heart: Wild Striker follows Kano Kyosuke, who is a high school student from Jyoyo Orange High School. Kyosuke’s elder brother is a soccer player who plays for A.C. Milan. Kyosuke’s elder brother played a significant role in his life as he was the one who taught Kyosuke everything about soccer. With time, the people around him started comparing Kyosuke to his older brother, which caused him to lose all interest in soccer. However, after joining Jyoyo Orange High School, things began to change, and he found his love for soccer once again.

Hungry Heart: Wild Striker is a rare example of an anime eclipsing the manga, and the adaptation is arguably the definitive version. Although fairly slow initially, the story picks momentum around the halfway mark, and it even has some emotional moments. Fans of Captain Tsubasa should check this out as it feels like a spiritual successor at times.

6

Giant Killing

MyAnimeList: 7.53 (Anime) / 7.99 (Manga)

Giant Killing is based on a Japanese soccer club known as East Tokyo United, which is having a tough time in the best soccer league in the country. While barely avoiding relegation, the club tries everything to improve its condition. Finally, they decide to experiment one more time by bringing in a new coach, who faces the huge task of getting the club on the right track and competing against other clubs with much bigger budgets. In addition to this, due to his previous reputation, Takeshi is hated by the fans of the club, making his job even harder.

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In a refreshing change of pace, Giant Killing highlights managers/coaches rather than exclusives the players, resulting in a arguably one of the most realistic soccer manga of all time. There is a heavy focus on tactics over individual talent or moments of brilliance, setting the seinen story apart from its shonen counterparts.

5

Inazuma Eleven

MyAnimeList: 7.73 (Season 1)

This series follows the adventures of Raimon Middle School’s soccer club, which has been in turmoil for a long time. Consequently, the responsibility of fixing the situation falls on the shoulders of Mamoru Endou, the current captain; however, he soon finds out that the job will be far from easy. Mamoru comes across Shuuya Gouenji, a supremely talented soccer player, who is no longer interested in playing. However, Mamoru is not disheartened, and he starts working to convince Shuuya to join the club.

Inazuma Eleven is quite a trip. While on a fairly small scale initially, the anime expands its scope considerably, eventually resembling a battle shonen more than a conventional sports anime. As long as somebody enjoys over-the-top action and a kid-friendly tone, this is comfortably among the most entertaining soccer anime.

4

Captain Tsubasa

MyAnimeList: 7.35 (1983 Anime) / 7.41 (Manga)

Captain Tsubasa used to be the most famous soccer manga, although that probably is no longer the case. Nevertheless, both the manga and the 1983 anime adaptation are classics that influenced the sports genre in general. The series follows a boy named Tsubasa, who dreams of winning the FIFA World Cup with Japan. From an early age, Tsubasa had enough talent to impress everyone around him. After getting a mentor, Tsubasa’s soccer journey took off, and he began to perform in the biggest games. Over the years, the series has sold over 80 million copies, making it one of the most popular manga series in the world.

Nowadays, newcomers should probably start with the 2018 adaptation since it is accessible and easier on the eyes. Just to be clear, the original still has plenty of charm, but it is now escaping its age.

3

Be Blues! Ao Ni Nare (Manga Only)

MyAnimeList: 7.92

Be Blues! Ao ni Nare follows a boy named Ryuu Ichijou who has set his sights on representing his country by qualifying for its national soccer team. Everything seems to be going well until Ryuu tries to save his friend from being hit by a car. Due to the injuries he sustains, Ryuu is sidelined and has to wait for two years before he can start playing again. After the incident, Ryuu joins a high school soccer club, and slowly starts his road to recovery.

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Be Blues! ended in 2022, so an adaptation seems unlikely to happen at this point. Fortunately, the manga is fantastic, both in terms of characterization and presentation. An argument could be made that this is the most realistic soccer manga.

2

Blue Lock

MyAnimeList: 8.21 (Season 1 of Anime); 8.48 (Manga)

If this discussion was purely based on popularity, Blue Lock would be far and away the best soccer anime, at least when it comes to modern stories. Both the manga and its anime adaptation took the world by storm, and this success could be credited to the concept’s wide appeal. While technically a sports show, Blue Lock also shares a lot in common with death game stories, albeit with the „death” aspect being replaced by squandered dreams. As Japan needs a world-class striker, a special program, Blue Lock, is created to boost the development of the country’s brightest young attackers. However, if a player agrees to participate, they have to put their futures on the line. If somebody is eliminated and sent home, they will never be allowed to represent Japan.

Unlike most sports anime that focus on teamwork, Blue Lock is all about ego, with the program specifically trying to bring out the players’ selfishness. Forced into a situation that demands they evolve to preserve their soccer dreams, the characters are constantly pushing beyond their limits, particularly Yoichi Isagi. Initially coming in as one of Blue Lock’s lowest-rated participants, Isagi grows at a ridiculous rate, developing a skill set that sets him apart from more traditionally talented players.

If push comes to shove, the manga is the best way to experience this story, just because it is a more consistent experience. Blue Lock season 1 is great throughout, using a primarily stylish presentation to make up for some fairly static animation by modern standards. Season 2 is more of a mixed bag, with the first six or so episodes being considerably worse than anything else in the series. However, Blue Lock vs. U-20 Japan turns things around once the headline act begins, which is the first time the anime features an 11v11 match.

1

Ao Ashi

MyAnimeList: 8.17 (Anime) / 8.59 (Manga)

Ao Ashi focuses on a boy named Ashito Aoi, who is the star player of his junior high team. But one day, he loses his temper and ends up being kicked off the team. After his removal, his team collapses and he begins to question himself. Luckily for him, he meets a coach, who sees potential in him and invites him to come to Tokyo to hone his skills.

While not lacking in fantastic matches (and that goes for both the manga and the anime), Ao Ashi dedicates plenty of time to the characters’ off-field lives, exploring their mentality, hang-ups, and attempts to grow. All of this is handled very well. When the whistle blows, Ao Ashi delivers some of the most intense soccer matches in the genre, despite the occasional fantastical flourish.

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