Ask John: Why Aren’t There Any Anime About Japanese Sports?

Question:
Why aren’t there any anime about Japanese sports? As you discussed in previous articles, there are plenty of shounen anime glorifying American sports, yet there’s a noticeable lack of anime which even recognizes native Japanese sports, such as karate and kendo. Even sumo, Japan’s national sport, lacks representation in anime. Can you explain this disparity?

Answer:
In a manner of speaking, Japan doesn’t actually have a very great variety of native, traditional sports. Most of Japan’s traditional sports are variations on a singular theme, and many of Japan’s traditional sports are extensions of combat techniques. Karate, judo, aikido, and Jujutsu are all forms of hand-to-hand martial arts. Sumo is likewise technically classified as a martial art. Variations of swordsmanship include kenjutsu (sword fighting), kendo (sword fighting with bamboo practice swords), and Iaido (drawing the sword). Likewise “kyudo” is the sport of archery, and “yabusame” is the sport of archery from horseback.

Given the relative similarity of the majority of native Japanese sports, they appear frequently within other anime rather than getting their own anime. For example, Japanese archery is prominently featured in anime including Inuyasha, Chikyu Shoujo Arjuna, Tattoon Master, and Tokyo Majin Gakuen. Sword training appears in anime such as Rurouni Kenshin, Samurai Girl: Real Bout High School, Nazca, and Shigurui. Countless anime feature some variety of martial arts fighting. But Japanese sports aren’t entirely excluded from getting their own anime.

The 1985 television series Musashi no Ken may be the best example of an anime about the sport of kendo. The 1990 OVA series “Ossu!! Karate Bu” is a sports anime based on, obviously, karate. There are also anime that aren’t strictly sports anime but which still prominently feature traditional Japanese sports. Fashionable Judo Girl Yawara and the Princess Army Wedding Combat OAV series are shoujo romantic dramas with a heavy concentration on depicting judo practice and sport. The 1973 biographical anime television series “Karate Baka Ichidan” depicts the life of Kyokushin style karate founder Oyama Masutasu. However, I’m not familiar with any anime the prominently illustrate sumo wrestling, although the sumo wrestler character E. Honda does appear in the Street Fighter II anime movie.

Sumo may be one of Japan’s most popular and respected sports, but it doesn’t often appear in anime. I can only guess that maybe Japanese children and typical anime viewers just aren’t interested in watching anime about training to become a sumo, or sumo wrestling itself.

There may be relatively few anime devoted to traditional Japanese sports because very few of Japan’s traditional sports are structured around teams. Sports like hunting and falconry aren’t especially visually dynamic. Archery isn’t especially visually exciting. (The argument may be made that Go and Mahjong likewise aren’t visually exciting, but they involve a degree of luck and gambling skill that doesn’t apply to archery.) Sumo and self defense martial arts may have visual impact, but they’re mainly solo activities. There are no native Japanese sports that have the combination of team dynamics and physical action present in sports like soccer, football, baseball, and basketball. The combination of team interaction and physical action provide ideal source material for anime because these elements allow for character interactions and relationships, character development, and dynamic visual impact. Typical Japanese sports seem better suited to providing context for stories, or background for stories rather than being the primary focus of anime stories.

Update July 25, 2007
Reader “Cat Clan” pointed out that EG Film produced a 23-episode sumo-themed anime television series titled “Miru to Tsuyokunaru Tsuukai! Yokozuna Anime Aa Harimanada” in 1992.