The sports anime genre is heavily populated with athletic men participating in different kinds of sports. So, if you want a breath of fresh air and would rather watch an all-female ensemble, then here are the 15 best all-female sports anime to watch right now!
RELATED: Great Anime Created By Women
Saki
Saki Miyanaga has a knack for playing mahjong, but the more her family forces her to play, the more she hates doing it. Who can blame her? Saki receives punishment from her family regardless of the outcome of the game!
To get out of her situation, Saki learned an impressive skill that allows her to keep her score at zero. It basically means that Saki is neither losing nor winning, but just breaking even. It is a skill more impressive than just winning.
But everything changed after Saki joined Kiyosumi High School’s mahjong club, and her passion for the competitive sport finally returned.
Together with Nodoka Haramura and the rest of the club members, Saki is aiming to reach the nationals!
In case you didn’t know, Mahjong has been acknowledged as a mind-game sport!
Rifle Is Beautiful
This sports anime features cute anime girls competing in rifle shooting!
In Rifle Is Beautiful, also known as Chidori RSC, Hikari Kokura vows to fulfill her dreams of entering the Olympics under the category of target shooting.
But it will not be an easy road, as Hikari needs to do something to revive the Rifle Shooting Club at Chidori High School first!
Together with her childhood friend and teammate Izumi and the other members of the club, such as Erika and Yukio, Hikari regroups the club in the hopes that they will be able to enter the nationals!
Rifle Is Beautiful is a pleasant sports anime to watch, perfect for a one-day binge. It has likable characters, as expected of an anime that features cute girls doing cute things (CGDCT)!
Two Car
Enter the world of competitive motorcycle sidecar racing in Two Car and join two completely different high school girls, Yuri Miyata and Megumi Meguro, on the island of Miyake.
They are competing in a local sidecar racing event called Miyakejima TT, where seven teams consisting of two people from different high schools around the area have gathered!
Unlike other competitions, the local sidecar racing is not as intense as anyone would expect. Instead, the teams are helping each other out, and the rivalry among the participants is incredibly low.
What’s even more surprising is that our main characters, Yuri and Megumi, decided to join forces not because they wanted to win the prestigious prize but because they wanted to reunite with their former coach, who will be in London.
Amanchu
Discover the joy of underwater exploration in Amanchu through the sport of scuba diving! Yes, you read that right; scuba diving can also be considered a sport in addition to being someone’s personal hobby.
Amanchu is a relaxing and healing sports anime with an aquatic setting, perfect for a summer night binge-watch. It is also a slice-of-life anime that makes the mundane aspects of life interesting!
It centers on Futaba Ooki, a young girl who moved from the city to the oceanside town of Shizuoka, where she befriends an energetic girl named Hikari Kohinata, who has a burning passion for scuba diving.
They decided to join their high school’s Diving Club but soon learned that the club was on the brink of disbandment due to a lack of members.
Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club
I have a confession: I don’t know how to ride a bike, so sports anime about riding bicycles always easily get my attention. And in Minami Kamakura High School Girls Cycling Club, the joy of watching cute anime girls riding bicycles is an interesting experience.
In this all-female sports anime, Hiromi Maiharu joins the newly-established cycling club of Kamakura Girls High School after getting to know Tomoe Akitsuki.
Hiromi couldn’t ride a bicycle at first, but thanks to Tomoe’s guidance, she finally picked up her riding skills from a long time ago.
Together with the other members of the cycling club, Hiromi and Tomoe enjoy the pleasure and benefits of riding a bike!
Ippon! Again
Ippon! Again is an underrated anime that deserves so much more attention after being overlooked during the Winter 2023 anime season. It has a very simple premise, but this doesn’t mean that it’s not enjoyable at all.
Instead, Ippon! Again has good anime production, real-life character depictions, and a lovely atmosphere that will make the viewers commit and watch more, and most importantly, it does justice to the sport of judo.
This sports anime has a similar vibe to Haikyuu!!, as Ippon! Again starts with two rival characters joining the same team. Except, these two characters are not competing all the time like Tobio and Shoyo.
Rather, Ippon! Again shows how these two rivals develop as characters and how their bond grows stronger.
Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story
I have always wanted to try golf, but I can’t find the time to play. So, the immediate solution to this craving is to watch a sports anime that features golf instead.
Birdie Wing: Golf Girls’ Story brings golf to new heights as the rivalry between the Rainbow Bullet "Eve" and the Innocent Tyrant "Aoi" intensifies.
It all started after Eve faced a crushing defeat against Japanese golfing prodigy Aoi Amawashi.
At first, Eve only wanted to play golf to provide for her family’s needs, but after her game with Aoi, everything changed. Of course, she wanted to win against Aoi in a rematch.
However, both Eve and Aoi have other priorities aside from golf that they need to settle first.
This sports anime is not eye candy, but as soon as you dip your toes in it, you’ll find yourself invested in its thrilling episodes that no one saw coming!
Long Riders
"Let’s enjoy cycling!" is the phrase I hope my future self can say as well. But in the meantime, I have no choice but to indulge in Long Riders, a cycling anime with beautiful visuals, cute and heartwarming moments, and a heavy focus on riding a bike.
It also has a very simple premise, unlike other intense sports anime out there.
Long Riders starts with Ami Kurata, a university student who fell in love with cycling at first sight.
She decides to buy a bike on impulse, and since then, she has been enjoying her cycling trips with her childhood friend Aoi and her school senior, Hinako.
Every time Ami rides her bike, she gains more learning, experience, and, of course, memorable moments with her friends!
Scorching Ping Pong Girls
The Suzumegahara Middle School’s ping-pong team gains an incredibly fiery ace player in the body of transfer student Koyori Tsumujikaze.
She has a natural gift when it comes to ping-pong, and her positive energy gave new hope to the other members of the club, such as Hanabi, Hokuto, and Agari.
Following the downfall of the nine-time champion, Oudou Academy, Suzumegahara Middle School is aiming to replace the former champions and make a name for themselves.
But will they be able to do it, considering how they can’t make it past local city tournaments despite their skill at ping pong?
Scorching Ping Pong Girls is a very enjoyable yet underrated anime with great character development and a thrilling premise.
It has some dramatic moments thrown in for good measure, but overall, Scorching Ping Pong Girls is an anime worth watching!
Iwakakeru! Sports Climbing Girls
If you’re into competitive climbing, then Iwakakeru! Sports Climbing Girls might be your next sports anime.
This is not a show for everyone, but those who are willing to watch the anime for the sake of learning the technicalities behind competitive climbing can easily enjoy the series.
This a warning that you may feel a little bit of jealousy after seeing the characters flex their muscles and climbing skills.
In Iwakakeru! Sports Climbing Girls, high schooler Konomi Kasahara joins the Hanamiya Climbing Team after deciding to break away from her former lifestyle.
She believes that she has found a new calling in life after becoming fascinated with the sport of competitive climbing.
Bamboo Blade
I always find Kendo an interesting and beautiful sport, where every swing of the wooden sword is an art to behold. Fortunately, Bamboo Blade is a sports anime that centers on an all-female team that practices Kendo.
In Bamboo Blade, Toraji Ishida revives Muroe High School’s Kendo team to compete with his former upperclassman’s team.
The winner of the match will win a whole year of free meals, a chance Ishida is not willing to give up.
That’s when Ishida encounters Tamaki Kawazoe, a Kendo prodigy. He offers Tamaki a chance to join his Kendo team, but will the young Kendo practitioner accept his proposal?
Taisho Baseball Girls
Taisho Baseball Girls is a sports anime that supports women's empowerment.
It defies the stereotype during the Taisho era that girls should stay at home, do household chores, and marry at the right age to serve their husbands, especially in Japan, where women can’t do any vulgar things that boys can do.
But in Taisho Baseball Girls, a group of girls are fighting for their passion to start an all-female baseball team. They are aiming to prove the boys wrong, who believe that they will fail because they are just women.
Thus, the story begins as 14-year-old Akiko invites her friend Koume to start a baseball team.
Despite the challenges and discrimination they face, Akiko and Koume will not stop proving the boys wrong!
Ro-Kyu-Bu!
Ro-Kyu-Bu! is yet another basketball anime with an all-female team of cute girls doing cute things. It is overtly moe, but if you get past the character designs, then you’re good to go!
It has an enjoyable premise, and you’ll be able to have a lot of fun watching the characters interact with each other. They have good chemistry, and it really shows in each episode.
This all-female sports anime centers on Keishin Academy’s basketball team and their coach, Subaru Hasegawa.
They have a cute style of playing basketball, but that doesn’t mean the team cannot compete with other strong teams!
With a goal in mind, Keishin Academy’s basketball team will push further in the hopes of winning one match after another!
Hanebado
This time, Hanebado is a sports anime where girls are playing badminton! So, if you’re into the sport and planning to watch an anime related to it, then add Hanebado to your watch list!
This anime is beautifully done, with the visuals perfectly capturing the ideal angle for a badminton match. For some, Hanebado might be overly dramatic, but for others, the anime is just right.
Hanebado centers on Kitakomachi High School’s badminton club, under the new head coach, Kentarou Tachibana.
He is an Olympic-level player who introduced Ayano Hanesaki, a badminton prodigy who is also the daughter of the reigning world champion, Uchika Hanesaki, to the club members.
At first, Nagisa Aragaki is hesitant to accept Ayano because of their shared history, but eventually, Nagisa decides to change for the better and understand her own feelings as well as her teammates ‘ambition to bring victory to their club.
Anima Yell!
A comfy and charming sports anime about cheerleading, Anima Yell! is a joy to watch. It features cute characters with colorful personalities!
Each of the characters is unique on their own, and it’s enjoyable to see them talk about cheerleading and actually do it.
However, Anima Yell! doesn’t really have an actual plot, so other viewers might have trouble embracing this show.
Anima Yell! revolves around 14-year-old Kohane Hatoya, who wants to start a cheerleading club despite not knowing anything about the sport.
Worse, she has a fear of heights, which is unusual for someone who wants to do cheerleading stunts.
Regardless, Kohane is adamant not to give up! Thankfully, her good friend Uki is more than determined to help her out.
Thus starts Kohane’s recruitment of potential members for the newest cheerleading club at school!
Want the latest on all things anime? Make sure you follow us on Twitter!