Genre trend · 2000–2026
The decline of sports anime
Share of new TV anime tagged sports each year since 2000. In 2025 it was 3.6%, down from an average of 6.0% a decade earlier.
- Share in 2025
- 3.6%
- 6 of 167 new TV series
- Change since 2015
- −0.6 pts
- from 4.2%
- Peak year
- 2001
- 12.1% of new series
- 2026 so far
- 0.0%
- 0 of 71 listed so far
Sports share of new TV anime
Percent of TV series premiering each year that are tagged sports · 2026 is partial
Show as table
| # | Year | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2000 · 2 of 55 series | 3.6% |
| 2 | 2001 · 11 of 91 series | 12.1% |
| 3 | 2002 · 6 of 88 series | 6.8% |
| 4 | 2003 · 7 of 111 series | 6.3% |
| 5 | 2004 · 7 of 131 series | 5.3% |
| 6 | 2005 · 10 of 134 series | 7.5% |
| 7 | 2006 · 6 of 190 series | 3.2% |
| 8 | 2007 · 9 of 159 series | 5.7% |
| 9 | 2008 · 5 of 161 series | 3.1% |
| 10 | 2009 · 10 of 153 series | 6.5% |
| 11 | 2010 · 9 of 133 series | 6.8% |
| 12 | 2011 · 8 of 167 series | 4.8% |
| 13 | 2012 · 12 of 185 series | 6.5% |
| 14 | 2013 · 16 of 211 series | 7.6% |
| 15 | 2014 · 14 of 241 series | 5.8% |
| 16 | 2015 · 10 of 240 series | 4.2% |
| 17 | 2016 · 23 of 282 series | 8.2% |
| 18 | 2017 · 9 of 264 series | 3.4% |
| 19 | 2018 · 23 of 254 series | 9.1% |
| 20 | 2019 · 12 of 202 series | 5.9% |
| 21 | 2020 · 12 of 194 series | 6.2% |
| 22 | 2021 · 15 of 220 series | 6.8% |
| 23 | 2022 · 14 of 209 series | 6.7% |
| 24 | 2023 · 10 of 222 series | 4.5% |
| 25 | 2024 · 13 of 216 series | 6.0% |
| 26 | 2025 · 6 of 167 series | 3.6% |
| 27 | 2026 (so far) · 0 of 71 series | 0.0% |
Sports TV series per year
How many new TV series were tagged sports · 279 from 2000 to 2025
Show as table
| Item | Series |
|---|---|
| ’00 | 2 in 2000 |
| ’01 | 11 in 2001 |
| ’02 | 6 in 2002 |
| ’03 | 7 in 2003 |
| ’04 | 7 in 2004 |
| ’05 | 10 in 2005 |
| ’06 | 6 in 2006 |
| ’07 | 9 in 2007 |
| ’08 | 5 in 2008 |
| ’09 | 10 in 2009 |
| ’10 | 9 in 2010 |
| ’11 | 8 in 2011 |
| ’12 | 12 in 2012 |
| ’13 | 16 in 2013 |
| ’14 | 14 in 2014 |
| ’15 | 10 in 2015 |
| ’16 | 23 in 2016 |
| ’17 | 9 in 2017 |
| ’18 | 23 in 2018 |
| ’19 | 12 in 2019 |
| ’20 | 12 in 2020 |
| ’21 | 15 in 2021 |
| ’22 | 14 in 2022 |
| ’23 | 10 in 2023 |
| ’24 | 13 in 2024 |
| ’25 | 6 in 2025 |
| ’26 | 0 in 2026 |
Defining sports series by decade
2000s · most followed
2010s · most followed
How this is measured
Counts are TV series (not films, OVAs or web series) on Kitsu, grouped by the year they premiered, with the sports tag. A series can carry many tags, so shares across genres add up to more than 100%. Kitsu's tagging has become more thorough over time and its listing of the latest year is still filling in, so treat sudden jumps in single years with caution; the long-run direction is the reliable part. Browse all sports anime →
Other genre trends
Sports anime trends FAQ
Is sports anime getting more popular?
No, its share has fallen from about 6.0% around 2015 to 3.6% in 2025.
How many sports anime came out in 2025?
6 new TV series tagged sports premiered in 2025, out of 167 listed on Kitsu.
When were sports anime most common?
2001 was the peak, when 12.1% of new TV series were sports.