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NEWS: Funimation Licenses Wanna Be the Strongest in the World Wrestling Anime

Eh, if it makes them money. We're getting Free ES, so... Sports anime for two groups.

eight_car wrote:

Most sports anime have stupid unrealistic power moves that can't exist. However, as pro wrestling is in a league of its own for it in real life, it actually works in anime good! Name a sports anime with NO unrealistic power moves and isn't a total sausage fest and I will give it a shot! (i.e. don't even say Free! to me)

Well, most animated sports series aren't mixed gender, so they tend to lean to one side or another. I'll start with ones I haven't seen. In terms of girls sports, there is Taishō Baseball Girls, which Sentai released in NA. Bamboo Blade is another, but I know people tend to draw a line between 'ordinary sports' (soccer/football, tennis, basketball) and something like kendo. Baby Steps is a sports/romance work with a main male and female, plus there is Touch if you want to try out older works. I've heard good things about all of these series (except maybe Bamboo Blade?), but can't attest to quality myself. Same with Captain Tsubasa, Hajime no Ippo, and Prince of Tennis. Only made it through an episode of Slam Dunk.

Now, for things I've watched. Ace of the Diamond and Haikyuu have no power moves. They're popular with certain female audiences, but I'll assume you're differentiating between that and Free. To me, the former feels more like a typical shonen sports series than the latter. Not that this is a bad thing, but the first few episodes aren't that great, and the animation/art takes a bit to improve. Both of these star male teams, so their casts are primarily male. Haikyuu has a girl club manager plus some members from the girls team, while Diamond has a scout, four managers, and a childhood friend. I'd say, of the two, Haikyuu is more similar to something like Kuroko or Big Windup in terms of male cast presentation, which may not be something you'd like. Giant Killing actually featured non-high school aged players, and stuck to normal moves. Biggest caveat was the coach being in his early 30s. Finally, there is Ping Pong, which has a real indie flavor. Its main players are male, but there are a couple of important women. It doesn't have superpowers in the sense you're thinking of, but uses plenty of dramatic imagery. It looks great.

EDIT:
And if ecchi is more what you wanted, I guess there is Kenkou Zenrakei Suieibu Umishou (swimming) and The Ping-Pong Club/Ike! Ina-chuu Takkyuubu. The latter somehow got an English dub. Though, to be honest, I think they may be less about sports than ecchi via sports. Take that as you will.