Soccer (or football, outside of 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 manga and anime that are focused on soccer, perfect for fans of the game.
Updated April 18, 2023 by Suzail Ahmad:Blue Lock has truly revolutionized the genre of sports manga with its ridiculously good story and an equally good way of portraying the importance of the different qualities in soccer. While Blue Lock has definitely made soccer popular with the mainstream audience, avid soccer fans have been enjoying other soccer series that came out years before Muneyuki Kaneshiro's manga.
With soccer fever being at an all-time high within the manga and anime communities, it is the perfect time to go over some of the best soccer anime and manga. With that in mind, the list has been updated with some more gems that focus on the most popular sport in the world.
16 Meoro! Top Striker
Meoro! Top Striker is an anime series that follows the story of a thirteen-year-old boy named Hikaru who loves soccer. Hikaru's passion for the sport started ever since he received a ball. In order to improve his skills even further, Hikaru decides to join an Italian club, but he doesn't stay there for too long.
He chooses to move away from the club to join a weaker side. Hikaru's new adventure is filled with obstacles, but his strong resolve keeps him going, and it also helps his new team improve. As his new team continues to develop, they get the opportunity to participate in a big tournament. Hikaru's eyes light up at the opportunity, and they end up taking part in the competition.
15 Victory Kickoff
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.
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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.
14 The Knight In The Area
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.
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.
13 Clean Freak! Aoyama Kun!!
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.
12 Fantasista
Fantasista is a soccer manga that has been 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 in order to take the next step toward his dream.
Sayonara Football boasts a rating of 7 on MyAnimeList, which is quite high for a soccer manga. Sayonara Football is an iconic manga as it follows girls' soccer, and it also highlights the problems that women face in sports. The manga has been written by Naoshi Arakawa.
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It 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.
10 Farewell My Dear Cramer
Farewell My Dear Cramer is the sequel to Sayonara Football. It started serializing in the Monthly Shonen Magazine in 2016, and it reached its conclusion in 2020. The manga also got an anime adaptation in 2021.
In the sequel, 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.
9 Hungry Heart: Wild Striker
Hungry Heart: Wild Striker is a popular anime series that is based on the manga series written by Yoichi Takahashi. The series began airing in September 2002, and it ended in 2003, with a total of 52 episodes.
It 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. But, after joining Jyoyo Orange High School, things began to change, and he found his love for soccer once again.
8 Captain Tsubasa
Captain Tsubasa is arguably the most famous soccer manga around. It was written by Yoichi Takahashi, and it has been in circulation since 1981. 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.
7 Giant Killing
Giant Killing is based on a Japanese soccer club known as East Tokyo United. The club has 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.
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The new manager 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.
6 Whistle
Whistle! is a highly-rated manga series, written by Daisuke Higuchi. It follows 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.
5 Inazuma Eleven
This series follows the adventure of Raimon Middle School's soccer club. The club has been in turmoil for a long time, so the responsibility of fixing the situation falls on the shoulders of Mamoru Endou, who is the current captain. However, he soon finds out that the job would be far from easy.
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Mamoru soon realizes that he needs help to fix the club. He 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.
4 Days
Days is a soccer manga by Tsuyoshi Yasuda that focuses on the personal battle between two boys, Tsukushi and Jin. Tsukushi is considered to be talentless, and he 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 would be linked to each other.
3 Ao Ashi
Ao Ashi is manga series by Yugo Kobayashi. The manga received an anime adaptation, which first aired in April 2022. Ao Ashi focuses on a boy named Ash*to 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.
2 Be Blues! Ao Ni Nare
Be Blues! Ao ni Nare is a manga series, which follows a boy named Ryuu Ichijou who plans on becoming a part of Japan's 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.
1 Blue Lock
After coming to the realization that the Japanese National Team is in dire need of an overhaul, the Football Association decides to change things up, and in a bid to do so, they end up hiring Jinpachi Ego as a coach. The new coach believes that the national team needs a striker, who can score plenty of goals. This prompts him to create a facility where three hundred strikers are forced to fight it out among themselves.
Yoichi Isagi is one of the many competitors, who joins the Blue Lock in hopes of leaving the failure of his past behind him. The series follows his adventure as he begins his journey to become the best striker in the world. Blue Lock has the potential to become one of the best sports manga of all time and is worth a read for fans of soccer, manga, or both.
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