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Tsurune (2018, 13 episodes) QQ: Implicit-literal? And because the show is surprisingly self-aware, they went ahead and labeled their spin-off movie, Yowamushi Pedal: The Movie, as Sport/Romance with the main focus being on everyone’s favorite couple - Makishima and Toudou. Every character is legitimately good and queer as hell and I’m honestly hard pressed to find a single straight character in YowaPeda.
IS FREE A GAY ANIME SERIES
YowaPeda is a sincere anime that does my favorite thing very few sports series endeavor to do - go beyond one year of high school and actually show new teams after the third years leave. If you have even a passing interest in anime, chances are you’ve seen screencaps of YowaPeda’s protagonist, Onoda Sakamichi, asking everyone he encounters anime’s most proverbial question: “Do you like anime?” Onoda is dedicated to his ardent love of anime, riding his mamachari 90km (~56mi for Americans) round trip to Akihabara every week, which catches the interest of the cycling club and because *reasons* he becomes the second climber of the Sohoku team. Yowamushi Pedal (2013, ~112 episodes) QQ: Implicit-metaphorical Which, incidentally, is probably the most perfect ending I know about. But it’s the relationship between Peco and Smile, in all its ambiguity and tumultuousness, that gives the show its queer heart - not least of all because of the open-ended way in which the series wraps up. Throughout the show, we also meet a colorful variety of other ping pong prodigies, and their battles with both internal and external demons (always metaphorical, but often depicted in a way that verges on magical realism) culminate in what are some of my favorite emotional climaxes in all of anime. In any case, Ping Pong is the story of Peco and Smile, childhood best friends, fellow outcasts, and table tennis wunderkinds who have grown apart and lost whatever joy it was that originally brought them to ping pong - and whatever mysterious magnetism drew them together.
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Personally, I’ve never been able to decide which side of that debate I come down on, so I’ll let you judge for yourself. Like with Yuri!!! On Ice, you could make the case that Ping Pong - which arguably (in addition to sharing a director) has more in common with Devilman Crybaby than it does with any of the series on this list - either transcends the sports anime genre, or elevates it. Ping Pong the Animation (2014, 11 episodes) QQ: Implicit-literal Also, since you’re reading this list on AniGay, Daiya no Ace is super fucking gay. Regardless, it features an all star cast, moments that will leave you in tears from laughing super hard and from being right there in the moment with the teams when they win and lose. Maybe it’s because the protagonist school’s baseball team is a powerhouse (while most sports anime by and large features underdog teams) that our main players have to constantly improve and challenge themselves to be (and remain) on the starting roster. The best part of Daiya no Ace, however, is that every time a character faces internal and external adversity, they face those roadblocks with determination and humility and we watch them legitimately grow and mature. The show is hilarious and features everything about sports anime I love, from every character being endearingly earnest to having realistic stakes tinged with only mild levels of absurdity. But thanks to a friend firmly recommending a phenomenal fanfic that completely changed my life, I fell hard and fast for Daiya no Ace. If you asked me three years ago whether I’d ever watch an anime about baseball I would’ve laughed in your face.
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~ RebeccaĪce of the Diamond (2013, ~126 episodes) QQ: Implicit-metaphorical Oh and of course, it is hella gay, centered around one of the most adorable tales of star-crossed elementary school crushes I’ve ever seen. In the end it’s a beautifully crafted story that deeply respects its characters. In many ways it’s a strength of the show how little it tries to subvert your expectations but at the same time, I was deeply impressed by how seriously and deftly the second half of the show delves into some surprisingly heavy emotional arcs of loss and trauma. It’s comforting and escapist to slip into a world where the worst villains you encounter are salespeople trying to pass off spruce go boards as kaya wood. Since my first anime love was the, uh, other shonen series about a boy with goofy blond bangs cheating at a game by being possessed by an ancient spirit, I had a huge soft spot for Hikaru no Go from the beginning - I love the particular genre trappings, the earnest intensity, the slightly pretentious forays into game theory.