One of the Anime genre that's currently growing its popularity (sometimes for a not so good reason aka: fan service) is the Sport Anime Genre. If you can observe the pattern of each anime season these past few years, there is a growing number of it especially last year where some of them even get to have season 3 (Hello Haikyuu, Koroko no Basket and Yowamushi pedal). However, one of the things the people may neglect or forgot to mention is that how this anime genre give you positivity especially when you really need it.


I am not simply saying these claims just because I thought about it but because I experienced it myself. Anime in sports genre helped me through depression and here's why and how it happened:

-I can relate to the lead (male or female alike) character.



Even if my problem is not sports related (studies, work,etc), the main lead (even if it also applies to some other genre) reminded me of myself in a way of his daily struggles to be better. Most of the MC (main character) of sports anime now are not that OP or has many rooms for improvement (emphasis of now because hello Echizen Ryoma, Toa Tokuchi, and Makoto Tsukimoto) which tends to inspire me more because they felt more human in comparison to the other prodigies.


-It tackles about failure and how you overcome them.




As I already have established, sports anime’s main character is usually not perfect, they go to slump too and when they fail, it hits them hard. When I was in depression, I used to be caught crying in these scenes where they really messed up and since messing things up meant you are dragging your team down, it hurts them even more. I held on to those monologues of self-blame and it is comforting to know that I am not alone in such feeling and that it is normal. It gave me a reference that it is okay to cry, to mope and to feel what I am feeling but at the same time you need to push yourself to swallow all those regrets and think of a solution of how to be better.

-It reminds you that you’re not alone and somebody is there to help you.



One of the things that was common in sports anime is the camaraderie and support of both the protagonist’s team mates and family. Most of the time I tend to hold unto those advises because it helps me even when we have an entirely different predicament. The hugs and emotional scenes and confrontation of a team mate or family never fail to move me. And as the MC start to move again, I find myself being hopeful which helps me to get myself together and be positive again.

-It shows and discuss anxiety and other mental problems (both explicitly and implicitly).



Again, knowing that its really normal helps. In some countries, especially mine, they tend to either jump in conclusion when you say you have mental problem ( they will think you’re already crazy) or depress (they will say that you’re just being a cry baby). The stigma on the thought of visiting a psychiatrist is really strong and very negative that even when you knew yourself that there’s nothing wrong with it, you will just listen to them and ignore what you’re feeling. Knowing that these (technically) strong athletes (yes, even fictional) experience such thing lessens the stigma and was really helpful. I was able to seek help because of this.

-Adrenaline rush is the key.



The suspense and sports might kill you but it will also make you happy.

-It spread positivity in general.



Aside from the dramatic stuff, sport anime is usually partnered with comedy and they usually talk to each other comically. I find those really funny and I know a lot of people do too.



Mashiiro xoxoxo