Sports Anime in America...Can it work?

[Space Cadet]

After watching the Yankees vs. Red Sox game on Wednesday(yay, Red Sox) and people talking about the game, It got me thinking. Could sports anime such as Slam Dunk, Princess Nine, etc. find an audience on American television and be as big as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, or DBZ? A while back, Production I.G. was supposed to be adapting Eyeshield 21 which should be the first American football anime. I was thinking maybe with football being the number 1 sport in America, it could do well.

[William C. Maune]

The way I see it, if kids will watch an anime series about folks playing with cards or tops, I don't see why sports couldn't work.

[Carlos]

After watching the Yankees vs. Red Sox game on Wednesday(yay, Red Sox) and people talking about the game, It got me thinking. Could sports anime such as Slam Dunk, Princess Nine, etc. find an audience on American television and be as big as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, or DBZ? A while back, Production I.G. was supposed to be adapting Eyeshield 21 which should be the first American football anime. I was thinking maybe with football being the number 1 sport in America, it could do well.

It probably could work. Eyeshield 21, if done well, sounds like it could be a hit with 9-14 year olds who like football. I think the main problem with sports anime is that it's mostly predictable. Unlike real life sports which is unscripted, sports anime is scripted and you probably know what is going to happen in the end. Also, the pacing of episodes can be tedious. A single game could last 3 episodes due to the fact that the characters will have to talk, people are going to stare into space and analyze each other for a weakness. However, if done well, sports anime can be fun and well-done.

[Beat]

The only sports anime that I've really liked so far is Hajime no Ippo (Fighting Spirit). And that's probably because boxing lends itself well to animation.

[True Noir]

Prince of Tennis would be great! I have a friend who absolutely loves playing tennis but I haven't told her about this anime yet. She'd be going crazy if she heard about this. Even more than normal. As for the real question.... I'm not too sure. I think it's a 50/50 chance that someone would have to take.

[Zero Angel]

the success rate of sports based anime has been mediocre. with shows like Battle Athletes Victory and Fighting Spirit it has been kind of an uphill battle. there have been some pretty big successes though, like Princess Nine.