10 More Spectacular Shows That’ll Get You Amped Up!
Haikyu is a fun sports anime with a remarkable cast. We examine a boy named Hinata who dreams of becoming a great volleyball player. He enrolls in Karasuno High School and joins their volleyball team to become a better player. Unfortunately, Hinata notices a student named Kageyama also enrolled in this school to play for their team.
He’s known for playing on the team that defeated Hinata’s junior high school volleyball team. Therefore, the series follows Hinata and Kageyama’s mental journey of working together to claim multiple victories for their school. It’s an incredible anime with strong motivational scenery, dialogue, and epic games.
Fear not if you’re having trouble finding anime similar to Haikyu! We’ve discovered 10 alternate shows that’ll give you a similar experience as Haikyu.
Additionally, for each anime we’ve reviewed, we’ve included a link that allows you to view our full thoughts about the series to see if it’s worth your time.
So without further ado, we present 10 TV shows that should whet your appetite when you’ve finished streaming Haikyuu!
Kuroko’s Basketball
Similarities – Sports & Characters
Kurko’s Basketball is a humorous and supernatural sports anime. Unlike Haikyu, this one focuses on two basketball players who hope to bring their high school team to the top. On the other hand, it contains similar themes of friendship and determination as our protagonists Kagami and Tetsuya aren’t willing to back down from a challenge.
You can expect these characters to encounter multiple hurdles in their basketball games. The opponents they meet have unique abilities that emulate otherworldly skills. It’s these abilities that help the show stand apart from other basketball-oriented works. While the series does delve into our characters’ personal lives, our cast’s main issues reside on the court.
If you’re looking for another sports anime that’ll get you pumped up, check out Kuroko’s Basketball.
Ace of Diamond
Similarities – Sports, Characters, Themes
Whenever you’re discussing sports with anyone, basketball, football, and baseball are three that come into play. These sports seem to gain more attention from casual folks than volleyball. Although Ace of Diamond doesn’t share as much excitement from anime fans as the sport it emulates, it crafts a fun narrative full of likable characters and intruiging events.
Like Haikyu, the baseball games in Ace of Diamonds aren’t dull. Each game has a hurdle for our characters to overcome. Whether personal or external, viewers will enjoy seeing our cast triumph in the end. The series has remarkable animation that allows viewers to maintain their immersion.
The show’s protagonist, Eijun strives to become his team’s best pitcher. This is identical to Hinata’s goal of becoming the best volleyball player of all time. With a determined protagonist and some intense games, Haikyu fans will adore what this baseball-centric anime delivers.
Run With The Wind
Similarities – Art Style, Characters, Themes
Run With The Wind evokes similar feelings of growth and determination as Haikyu. The way the characters are animated and drawn look identical to how Hinata and his friends look in Haikyu. The characters in Run With The Wind have a strong admiration for the sport and their adoration for it will rub off on many viewers. This show tackles similar themes of friendship and excellently develops the bond between its cast.
They’ll endure many emotional segments that’ll try to ruin their drive to succeed. However, like Hinata and his buddies, these characters will overcome these obstacles as a unit or as individuals. With nice animation and lighthearted themes, this is a must-watch. Run With The Wind takes place amidst an encounter between two university students named Kakeru and Haiji. Haiji’s impressed by Kakeru’s agility and entices him to live in Chikusei-sou with eight other students.
He accepts the offer because he lost his entire apartment deposit at a mahjong parlor. At his apartment, Kakeru learns that he’s entered the dormitory of his university’s Track Club. Haiji reveals his goal to Kakeru. He hopes to participate in the Hakone Ekiden, a prominent university marathon relay race. With his other buddies disinterested in his plan, it’s up to Kakeru and Haiji to convince the others to take part in the race.
Chihayafuru
Similarities – Sports, Characters, Themes
Chihayafuru is a sports anime that delves into the realm of Karuta competition. This is a Japanese playing card game where players match cards at quick paces. It’s a sport many people may never have heard of. Even if viewers aren’t familiar with the sport in real life, they’ll end up gravitating toward it because of the show’s excellent characters and world.
In Chihayafuru, we follow Chihaya, a girl who wants to see her sister become a fabulous model. After defending a classmate from bullies, she gets introduced to the competitive Karuta world. Chihaya grows a fascination for the sport and joins a specific society to become the Queen of Karuta.
Like Hinata, Chihaya’s passion for the craft was fueled by professionals at the craft. They both endure multiple struggles that’ll help them improve in the sport. Chihayafuru offers a stronger romance angle than Haikyu. However, fans can expect the series to offer slight comedy to spice things up. If you’re looking for a sports anime with a fun romance twist, give this one a shot.
Hajime No Ippo
Similarities – Sports, Characters, Themes
Hajime No Ippo is an epic boxing anime. It contains epic fights, stunning visuals, and well-written characters who are fun to watch. Our protagonist Ippo shares strong similarities to Hinata. Both strive to become the best at their sport and were susceptible to some form of ridicule for their novice performances.
Ippo has it a little more rough than Hinata, though. He endures severe bullying and struggles to support his mother. However, Ippo doesn’t let these obstacles stop his way. He’ll usher the courage to persevere through many foes he encounters inside and outside the ring. That said, the side characters have sparking personalities and qualities that fans will adore.
The show offers some excellent humor. Some jokes can appear more sensual than others, but you’ll chuckle at the many funny facial expressions and reactions our cast delivers here. If you’re looking for a phenomenal boxing anime with a likable cast, heart-pumping action, and motivational narrative, watch Hajime No Ippo.
Ahiru No Sora
Similarities – Sports, Characters, Themes
Ahiru No Sora is about a boy named Sora. He’s a basketball enthusiast ridiculed for his short height. To live up to his mother’s demands, Sora enrolls in Kuzuryuu High School and joins their basketball club. His teammates aren’t well-versed in the sport as he is, so he challenges them to a game to get them interested. It works and we follow Sora’s quest to help these boys earn a championship.
This series does an excellent job of giving our cast issues outside and inside the court. This allows the show to offer great drama and tense moments to prevent the viewer from feeling disinterested. Our cast receives great character development and growth over time and you’ll enjoy seeing how they attain victory.
Despite revolving around a different sport, Ahiru No Sora contains similar material that’ll resonate with Haikyu’s audience.
Ao Ashi
Similarities – Sports, Characters, Themes
Ao Ashi is a newer sports series with a decent following. Like Haikyu, it promises viewers a narrative revolving around proper sportsmanship, teamwork, and personal growth. We examine its protagonist Ashito, as he recovers from a massive loss at a significant soccer sporting event. Despite losing, Ashito receives an opportunity to join a new team in Tokyo.
Although he’s unfamiliar with the area, Ashito promises to lead his new teammates to victory. Ao Ashi fabulously breakdown the fundamentals of soccer for its audience. You’ll learn the ins and outs of the sport by watching this show. Not only that but you’ll learn of the problems everyone faces in the sports regardless if they’re a coach or a player.
Fans will adore seeing Ashito leap over the many curve balls this story throws at him. It won’t be easy, but it will surely keep your interest in anime at an all-time high. Give this one a watch if you’re looking for a fun and insightful soccer anime.
Food Wars!
Similarities – Themes & Characters
Food Wars is a great cooking anime that evokes similar feelings of competition as Haikyu. It follows a protagonist whose determined to become the best in his craft. While Soma may act overly confident, he’ll come across numerous chefs who outclass him. This will motivate Soma to strengthen his skills and develop strategies for defeating others.
The side characters receive equal screen time and have expertise in cooking fields that differ from Soma. Some will be excellent at handling dishes with meat–while others may be experts with sauces. With their clashing personalities and differing cooking regimes, viewers can tell our cast apart and grow attached to them over time.
Food Wars offers strong comedic energy that can reign from lighthearted to awkwardly sexual. The latter occurs whenever characters taste a meal that’s surprisingly delicious. This happens a lot in this show, so if you’re one who doesn’t adore anime with fanservice, you may not like this one. However, if you can tolerate fanservice and enjoy competitive cooking shows with fun characters, you’ll adore Food Wars.
Naruto
Similarities – Themes & Characters
Naruto is a popular ninja anime. It spans an entertaining cast, a gripping plot, and excellent animation. It revolves around a young ninja who dreams of becoming his village’s Hokage. He’ll endure multiple trials that will put him and his friends on the brink of death. Nature’s rivalry with Sasuke mirrors that of Hinata and Kageyama.
They don’t see eye to eye at first, but they’ll eventually understand the strengths and weaknesses of the other. Despite being a more violent and gruesome show than Haikyu, Naruto has its share of lighthearted moments. From Naruto making crude comments toward adult figures to transforming into a stunning woman to appeal to his master, this show knows when it’s right to goof around.
If you’re looking for a fun ninja-themed anime that utilizes similar shonen tropes as Haikyu, Naruto’s worth watching.
My Hero Academia
Similarities – Characters & Themes
My Hero Academia offers Haikyu a world full of superpowers, heroism, and villainy. It echoes similar themes of hope, friendship, and teamwork. Its protagonist Izuku undergoes slight ridicule as Hinata and undergoes severe development as the show continues. He’s not a naive kid and harbors greater intelligence than Hinata.
However, where he excels in smarts he lacks proper social skills. Regardless, Izuku’s someone that doesn’t take kindly to villainous people. He’ll do whatever it takes to protect kind-hearted people, even if it means putting his life in harm’s way. That said, viewers will adore seeing him make new friends and defeat numerous villains.
Both series contain large casts. Some characters don’t receive as much spotlight as others, but those that do will resonate with folks. If you’re looking for more action-oriented anime that’ll give you similar feelings as Haikyu then check out My Hero Academia.
So there we have it, our 10 anime/TV show alternatives to watch when you’ve caught up with Haikyu!
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!