Top 10 Volleyball Anime (Recommendations)

Updated October 1, 2022 by Ernie

The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear the word “Volleyball anime” is ofc Haikyuu!! If you think about it, Haikyuu!! is the reason this genre became popular. Volleyball manga are becoming increasingly popular in the industry. And hopefully, these manga will soon be animated.

I’m a huge volleyball enthusiast and It’s wonderful seeing my favorite sport getting the attention it deserves. Volleyball has it all, drama, intensity, and some jaw-dropping moments. To be very honest, there aren’t many volleyball anime out there. But don’t worry, you guys have me!! I got ya covered.

Without any further ado, let’s start the list. 

Here are some recomms for y’all 31+ BEST Sports Manhwa (Korean) Of All Time!

 

BEST VOLLEYBALL ANIME

 

10-Zoku Attacker You! Family Medal E No Michi 

INFORMATION
Title	Zoku Attacker You! Family Medal E No Michi
Genre	Romance, Sports, Team Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Knack Productions
Premiered	2008
Episode Count	52
Duration	23 min

Zoku Attacker You! Family Medal E No Michi is the first anime to be featured on this list. This anime is basically a spin-off version of the original Aggressor You! that aired way back in the 1980s. 

This show tackles the basic problems faced by athletes outside the court. It features the story of teenage girls striving to do their best despite all the difficulties they are facing with their team on the verge of termination. It shows us that athletes are also humans. They also face family, love, and friendship issues and it is not easy for them as well.

This underrated gem aired back in 2008. Not many people know about it. I believe it deserves some more attention. The animation, however, is not that great which is a major drawback. It has a MAL rating of 6.15, which I think is pretty decent considering that volleyball anime were not that popular back then.

 

09-Anime Document: Road to Munich

INFORMATION
Title	Anime Document: Munchen E No Michi
Genre	Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Unknown
Premiered	2972
Episode Count	16
Duration	25 min

Munchen e no michi is the next show to feature on this list. This show is basically a live action x animation documentary based on a volleyball match that took place at the Munich Olympics. 

It has 16 episodes with a watch-time of 25 min each. It aired in 1972, so don’t expect much from the animation. It won’t be that great. There is no enough information available regarding the studio or anything. 

 

08-Attack on Tomorrow

INFORMATION
Title	Ashita e Attack!
Genre	Drama, School, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Nippon Animation
Premiered	1977
Episode Count	23
Duration	24 min

Attack on Tomorrow is one of the most realistic sports anime I’ve ever seen. The way it portrays the hardships and troubles of our MCs is just marvelous. 

This show’s plot revolves around high school girls who enjoy volleyball. Their school, however, did not have a volleyball club, so they decided to start one from scratch. It all started as a fun activity. But as time passed, their enthusiasm and zeal grew. Their team became well-known at their school.

The next objective is to win the National High School Volleyball Tournament. With the school backing them up, the girls believe that they can do it. It will not be easy. They must overcome numerous obstacles. Will they be able to get past all the hardships and win the tournament? What do you guys think?

This show aired way back in 1977 and has 23 episodes. It has a MAL rating of 6.31, which is quite decent if you ask me. The animation is not that great. However, if you truly adore volleyball, you should deffo give this one a shot.

 

07-Harukana Receive

INFORMATION
Title	Harukana Receive
Genre	Slice of Life, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	C2C
Premiered	2018
Episode Count	12
Duration	23 min

Harukana Receive is one of the recent volleyball anime on this list. I assume you guys already know that there are multiple types of Volleyball, right? There’s the traditional volleyball, then there is beach volleyball, footvolley, hooverball, and many more. 

This anime is centered on beach volleyball. It features the story of Haruka Oozora. She recently moved to Okinawa with her grandmother and cousin, Kanata Higa. As she was touring the nearby beach, she saw some girls playing beach volleyball. She also joined them. 

After some time, Narumi Tooi notices Haruka’s cousin Kanata approaching the court. After her arrival, this friendly encounter turned into a match and Haruka’s team lost. Now, I’m not going to explain the basics of beach volleyball, just keep this thing in mind that it features just two players per side. 

During the match, Haruka discovered that Kanata and Narumi used to be a formidable duo. However, Kanata left beach volleyball because of her short stature. Now, Haruka decided to help Kanata overcome this anxiety and win the beach volleyball championship. Can they do it? 

This anime has a pretty decent rating of 6.66. The animation is also good.

 

06-Attack No. 1

INFORMATION
Title	Attack no. 1
Genre	Drama, Shoujo, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Tokyo Movie Shinsha
Premiered	1969
Episode Count	104
Duration	24 min

Attack No. 1 is the next anime to feature on this list. This gem aired back in 1969. It is one of the oldest sports anime out there. 

Kozue is the MC of this show. She is a middle school volleyball enthusiast. Kozue has a hugeee dream, and that is to represent the Japanese Volleyball team. It is, however, not that easy. The story continues as we follow Kozue’s journey.

During the show, she does manage to make it to the big stage. Soon, she realizes the dark side of professional volleyball or any other sport. As you get to the big stage, it gets really difficult for you to become satisfied with yourself. People get jealous of your success and try their very best to downgrade you. 

Still, she somehow manages to keep up with everything and make her dream come true. Having over 100 eps, this anime is really a gem. Kozue’s personality changes and hardships during the series are portrayed beautifully. As this anime is pretty old, the animation is not that great. If you’re a true volleyball enthusiast, you should deffo give this one a shot. You won’t be disappointed.

This show has a MAL rating of 6.83. It is a bit lower than expected. Most peeps prefer animation over story, so it makes sense. 

 

05-Attacker You!

INFORMATION
Title	Attacker You!
Genre	Action, Romance, Shoujo, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Knack Productions
Premiered	1984
Episode Count	58
Duration	23 min

Attacker You! Is another old school sports anime that aired wayyy back in the 1980s. This features the story of You Hazuki. You lives with her father and Sunny, her brother. She instantly fell in love with volleyball after seeing it on television.

She aspired to compete in the Olympics for Japan. With this desire, she quickly rose through the ranks of her high school’s girls’ volleyball club. She got to meet some incredible people during her journey. Some of them were friends, while others were rivals. During her long journey, she also fell in love with someone.

This show has over 50 episodes and is a great time killer. The plot of this show leans more towards the shoujo genre at times. Still, it is considered a sports classic. If you’re a true volleyball enthusiast, you should deffo give it a shot. 

It has a MAL rating of 6.64, which is not that high. It should’ve been much higher. However, as I’ve already said, people prefer animation over story. 

 

04-2.43 Seiin High School Boy’s Volleyball Club

INFORMATION
Title	2.43 Seiin High School Boy’s Volleyball Club
Genre	Drama, School, Slice of Life, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	David Production
Premiered	2021
Episode Count	12
Duration	23 min

Seiin High School Boy’s Volleyball Club is one of the recent volleyball anime on this list. This anime aired in Winter 2021. Fans expected great things from it, but were slightly disappointed. The anime was not bad, it’s just that Haikyuu! has set the bar too high.

The plot of this show revolves around Kimichika Hajima, a prodigy setter. Hajima moved back to his hometown where he got reunited with his childhood friends including Yuni Kuroba. Hajima notices that Kuroba has immense talent for volleyball. He persuades him to join the team and help them win the championship.

However, things did not go that smoothly and Kuroba’s anxious nature cost his team the tournament. After that, he left the club and decided to avoid Hajima. Following year in high school, both of them got reunited again. This time around, Hajima promises not to repeat the same mistakes and help Kuroba. Will he be able to persuade Kuroba again?

The animation of this show is pretty decent compared to some other anime on this list. I’m sure you’ll love it! It has a MAL rating of 6.15, which ofc is pretty low. 

 

03-Kougyou Aika Volley Boys

INFORMATION
Title	Kougyou Aika Volley Boys
Genre	Comedy, School, Seinen
Type	OVA
Studio	J.C.Staff
Premiered	1997
Episode Count	2
Duration	25 min

Kougyou Aika Volley Boys is unlike your typical volleyball anime. This show is not about enthusiasm or commitment. The basic plot of this anime revolves around a group of boys hungry for women’s attention. 

One of the classes in Kudo High School is totally deprived of girls. Yess! You read that right, there are no girls in this class. It’s an all-boys. So, the boys of this class decided to make a girls’ volleyball team, hoping that girls would join it.

Well! I won’t tell ya how their scheme went. This show has just 2 eps with 25 min run time, so it’s a rather quick watch. It serialized in 1997, so the animation is not that great. Still, it’s a decent watch in my opinion. It is one of those anime that aren’t rated on MAL.

 

02-Shoujo Fight: Norainu-Tachi No Odekake

INFORMATION
Title	Shoujo Fight: Norainu-Tachi No Odekake
Genre	Comedy, School, Seinen, Sports
Type	OVA
Studio	Production I.G
Premiered	2009
Episode Count	1
Duration	30 min

Shoujo Fight is the next anime to feature on this list. This anime follows the story of a teenage girl named Neri Ooishi. Neri is considered a prodigy. She was the captain of her elementary school volleyball team and even managed to reach the national tournament.

 However, during her middle school years, she was not given the respect she deserves. She sat as a reserve player for three whole years. High school was the last opportunity for her to prove her talent to the world. Can she do it?

This anime aired in 2009. It has just 1 episode with 30 min watch-time. You can watch it in one go. There is no real drama or anything in this show. It’s purely about volleyball. Being a volleyball enthusiast, I really enjoyed watching it. The animation is pretty smooth as well.

Like Kougyou Aika Volley Boys, this show also doesn’t have a MAL rating. 

 

01-Haikyuu!

INFORMATION
Title	Haikyuu!
Genre	School, Shounen, Sports
Type	TV
Studio	Production I.G
Premiered	2012
Episode Count	25
Duration	24 min

Finallyy! Haikyuu! Is one of the most popular sports anime out there. It just revolutionized this genre. Whenever a new sports anime comes out, fans instinctively compare it to Haikyuu!. Drama, action, comedy, and a dash of romance are all present in this show.

In case you have been living under a rock and know nothing about this show. I’ll explain the plot of Haikyuu! This anime features the story of Hinata Shouyou. When he was young, Hinata got inspired by a volleyball player known as the Little Giant. Ever since then, representing the Japanese Volleyball Team became his desire.

Hinata’s middle school didn’t have a volleyball club. He formulated a team by himself and participated in a tournament, and of course, he was utterly defeated. During this tournament, he met Kageyama Tobio AKA the King of the Court. 

After passing high school, both of them managed to get admitted to Karasuno High School. Being short, Hinata faced a lot of hardships. However, he compensated for his shortcoming with his exceptional jumping ability and never ending passion for the game. 

Haikyuu! has a total of 4 seasons with the third one being rated the highest, 8.79 on MAL. Being animated by Production I.G, its animation is just exquisite. Its manga is also one of the highest rated on MAL. If you haven’t watched it yet, despite being a volleyball fan, I don’t know what you have been doing with your life. Go and BINGE it!!

In case you don’t know how to watch Haikyuu! COMPLETE Haikyuu!! Watch Order (OFFICIAL)

 

Conclusion

Sooo, here is the list fellas. I’ve tried my very best to formulate the perfect list for y’all. The rankings are not biased. Most of the anime on this list are old school, and have below par animation. 

Volleyball is getting popular day by day. It really feels great to see your favorite anime get the attention it deserves. 

You should also take a look at this: 51+ BEST Sports Anime to Watch (Recommendations)