The most realistic football anime and manga

Key recommendations

• Manga like Whistle! focus on realistic sports scenarios, featuring the struggles and determination of the players.
• Fantasista presents a believable story of a child prodigy without relying on unrealistic skills or abilities.
• Aoashi offers a realistic picture of football with precise tactical plays and a focus on player dedication and commitment.

There have been sports manga since the early days of the medium, such as retro racing fun Speed ​​Racerthe boxing blitz of Ni Kakero ringand the fantastic portions of The Prince of Tennis. That said, they're not really realistic. Boxers don't break their opponents with the “Galactica Phantom” and Serena Williams didn't hit a ball so hard that it made the dinosaurs disappear.

There are manga that leave the shonen-style fun at home and focus on the core of their sports. Slam dunk and REAL he went deep into basketball. Major he went into the wear and tear that baseball can take on its players. These anime and manga take on football in an intriguing and realistic way.

8 Whistle!

Height doesn't matter when the player can go a long way

Whistle! follows a familiar plot where its protagonist tries to overcome his disadvantages to become a professional gamer. In this case, Shō is shorter than average, which puts him at a disadvantage when transferring to a new school. It's even worse when his teacher introduces him as a former star player for his old school's football team, when he never made it.

However, his progress is managed in a thorough manner. Instead of having a magical shōnen technique up his sleeve, he learns to use his short height to his advantage, moving fast enough to become an effective forward. Through his care and determination he brings his team together. As such, like Shō, the manga lacks flash, but has the substance to keep readers engaged.

7 Fantastic

Country Boy proves he's good enough for school leagues

• Creative: Michiteru Kusaba.
• 25 volumes, 223 chapters.
• Fan translations only.

For more high school football fun, Fantastic follows Teppei, a boy who lives and breathes football. He was introduced to the sport by his older sister who even taught him how to play the game and practice his soccer skills on the field. But he can only do so much playing at their country house.

His sister suggests he joins his high school's football team to see how far he can go. Unlike WhistleTeppei turns out to be a child prodigy, but in a believable way. They don't launch balls like a cannon or score goals from the other side of the field. Instead, he just has the edge in skill and knowledge to be an advanced player, or “fantasista,” if he can keep up with his team.

When a woman plays football in a man's world

• Creative: Naoshi Arakawa.
• 2 volumes, 8 chapters.
• Available in English through Kodansha Comics USA.

Manga about women in sports has been around for years, from being fantasy to being realistic, like Teppu. In that lane alone, Natsuo has at least one female league to compete in. What happens when a woman wants to play a sport that doesn't want her around? Sayonara Football shows that he totally, like his protagonist, Nozomi, loves soccer but never gets to play a game.

Because her coach considers her too small and delicate to last in such a physical sport, although she has the technical skills and tenacity to last on the field. Now she has to practice more on her own time just to keep up with her teammates. However, she keeps going in the hope that one day she will prove her worth. Her story continues in Sayonara Watashi no Cramerwhere Nozomi gets a chance to play with others at a rival school.

5 catenaccio

Doing whatever it takes to be the best

• Creative: Daisuke Morimoto.
• 6+ volumes, 57+ chapters (on hiatus).
• Available in English via MANGA Plus.

Whistle, Fantasticand Sayonara Football all dealt with issues facing players in high school football. But what about players who want to turn pro? What hoops and obstacles must he jump through? catenaccio provides an answer as Yatarō aims to become the best soccer player in the world in ten years. But to do that, he needs to break into a top European team.

As well as showing how the sport attracts young players, from minor league scouts to youth academies, it also shows how far players will go to make it as a professional player. Yatarō is dedicated to the sport and will do whatever it takes to achieve his dream, whether it's following a few rules or learning a few extra skills, such as improving his chances of getting into an Italian team by learning Italian .

4 Be the Blues

Returning off the field

• Creative: Motoyuki Tanaka.
• 49 volumes, 489 chapters.
• Fan translations only.

While Europe's top leagues tend to be where the best players end up cutting their teeth, others become stars by focusing on being the best for their home teams. As in Be the Blueswhere the prodigious player Ryū aims to become part of Japan's national soccer team, the “Blues”. But he suffers a serious setback when he is hit by a car while trying to protect his best friend.

Other lanes would have their advantage suffer a miraculous recovery before playing better than ever. For Ryū, he has to go through extensive rehabilitation just to reach his old base level, and his recovery is not guaranteed. He could see his dream end before it began or beat the odds and rehabilitate his football skills after he improved. It all depends on Ryū's determination and a little luck here and there.

3 days

Players don't have to be superstars to be important

Manga strips often follow tracks that start hopelessly from its premise, then improve as it progresses. But daysThe protagonist, Tsukushi, shows no particular interest or aptitude for sports until he is saved from some bullies by his classmate, Jin Kazama (no, not that one). He asks Tsukushi to replace a player on his futsal (mainly indoor soccer) team and agrees, despite being hopeless at the sport.

However, he played the whole game, despite the leg injury, and managed to score the decisive goal. From there, its realism lies more in Tsukushi's development, as he isn't exactly a diamond in the rough, even when Jin manages to get him onto their school's elite soccer team. But his effort and perseverance are enough to inspire others to do their best, and he learns to appreciate himself for what he can do well.

2 Killing the giant

Using real tactics to beat the big hitters

Plots about players learning to get better at a sport are par for the course in sports media, as are those about eccentric coaches finding a way to make their team successful. Killing the giant follows the latter as East Tokyo United (ETU) is on the verge of relegation to a lower league. Their hope lies in former player-turned-manager Tatsumi Takeshi, who has managed to turn an English amateur side into an FA Cup contender.

Now he aims to do the same for ETU through his expertise in 'giant slaying' – taking down bigger teams with smaller teams. It seems unlikely, but Takeshi's tactics have real merit to them, as they are based on actual strategic football plays. It's also about how the football hierarchy works, meaning everyone at ETU gets a chance to shine, from the supporters in the stands to the chairman who has the final say on what happens at the club.

1 Aoashi

The beautiful game unfiltered and delivered in the form of manga and anime

If returning players and teams on the road to recovery still sounds a little fanciful, Aoashi they should be higher up their street. It is considered one of the best football stories as the protagonist Ashito Aoi shows promise as a player. He is dedicated to improving his skills and is dedicated to the sport, while being stubborn and preferring to play offense rather than defense.

However, J-Youth League coach Fukuda believes Ashito has the potential to go far in the sport if his talents are honed properly. It's a surprisingly close adaptation of how young players enter the sport while recreating real football tactics so closely that J-League players have commented on its accuracy. When it comes to manga and anime, it's hard to get more realistic than that Aoashi.