Search form

Crunchyroll Celebrates the World Cup with Soccer-Themed Anime Lineup

In honor of the huge international tournament, the streamer shares its favorite ‘football’-related series including ‘BLUELOCK’ and ‘My Dear Cramer’

To celebrate the 2022 World Cup, Crunchyroll has put together a bountiful list of soccer-themed anime.  From the new fall series BLUELOCK, where 300 strikers are pitted against each other in a Squid Game-esque battle royale, to the heartfelt female-led Farewell, My Dear Cramer, there is a soccer anime series for everyone.

Below is Crunchyroll’s list of soccer themed anime:

  • BLUELOCK! (8Bit) Japan’s desire for World Cup glory leads the Japanese Football Association to launch a new rigorous training program to find the national team’s next striker. Three hundred high school players are pitted against each other for the position, but only one will come out on top. Who among them will be the striker to usher in a new era of Japanese soccer?
  • Aoashi (Production I.G.) After a loss in his last junior high school soccer tourney, Ehime Prefecture’s ace player, Ashito Aoi, is devastated but in every loss there’s a victory. Tatsuya Fukuda, manager of an organization that trains students for one of the leading clubs in the J-League, sees Ashito’s raw talent and offers a tryout to his group. Together they’ll bring the youth club and Aoshi’s talents to new heights!
  • Clean Freak! Aoyama-kun (Studio Hibari) Aoyama kun is a hot, young soccer prodigy who plays midfielder for the National U-16 Soccer Team. But he’s also an extreme germaphobe! This TV anime adaptation of Taku Sakamoto’s manga portrays the friendships he forms and the challenges he overcomes in a “spotless” coming-of-age story!
  • Farewell, My Dear Cramer (Liden Films) Onda Nozomi has played soccer with boys since she was a child. Despite practicing harder and being better than anyone else, once she entered middle school, she hit a wall. In a sport like soccer where athletes sometimes violently collide, "Physical difference" becomes a reason for the boys to be separated from the girls. Nonetheless, Nozomi doesn't give up! She rejects the words "because she's a girl" so that she can continue to play her favorite sport with her friends. Nozomi is determined to become a soccer star who captures everyone's attention!
  • DAYS (MAPPA) Tsukushi Tsukamoto, a boy with no apparent skills or outstanding features, hides his passionate heart. Jin Kazama on the other hand is a lonely soccer genius. The winds of change begin to blow in the world of high school soccer as these two boys with nothing in common come together, and their touching story unfolds.
  • Shoot! Goal to the Future (EMT Squared, Magic Bus) Years after winning a National Championship for Kakegawa High School, Atsushi Kamiya returns as a coach to a less-than-stellar team. One of the team’s best players, Hideto Tsuji, is over playing soccer altogether! Will the star of a famous soccer team turned coach be able to turn his team around?
  • FUTSAL BOYS!!!!! (Diomedea) For the past 10-odd years, futsal has been booming across the world. After watching Tokinari Tennoji represent Japan in the U-18 World Cup, Haru Yamato aspires to be a player like him. He joins the Koyo Gakuen Futsal Club where he meets teammates Seiichiro Sakaki, a loner who refuses to pass the ball to anyone, and Toi Tsukioka, who is burdened by a past that nearly made him quit futsal for good.

Source: Crunchyroll

Whitney Whitener's picture

Whitney is a freelance writer focusing on VFX-driven fantasy film & TV as well as preschool animation.