Top 10 Best Anime with Tournaments
The world of anime is filled with exciting stories, and a particular theme is fascinating: tournaments. In this list of the 10 best anime with tournaments, ... read more...Toplist will explore stories where people's determination, skills, and dreams come together in big competitions. Let's go through the anime that has been fun to watch and motivated us with their exciting tournament stories.
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The U.A. Sports Festival is essential to the My Hero Academia anime. It's a big event where students from U.A. High School show off their abilities in a friendly competition. The festival includes different challenges to test their fighting skills, clever thinking, and potential to be great heroes. It's a chance for students to prove how good they are and to get noticed by pro heroes, agencies, and the public.
During the U.A. Sports Festival, characters get to show how much they've improved since they joined U.A. High School. It's also a chance to explore their friendships, rivalries, and what motivates them.
The story in this part talks about things like competing, never giving up, being good friends, and feeling the pressure to do well. It also shows that being a hero is more than being strong – it's also about being intelligent and inspiring others.
Fans really like the U.A. Sports Festival part of the anime. They enjoy the exciting fights, how characters interact, and learning about students' powers. What happens in this part of the story shapes what characters will do next as they know to become heroes.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Kenji Nagasaki
- Released: April 3, 2016 – present
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5626028/
- IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
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Honnoji Academy Natural Election is a part of Kill la Kill anime. The Natural Election means a bunch of fights and problems happening at Honnoji Academy. This is all because Satsuki Kiryuin wants to become even more powerful and make a system where some people are in charge, and others follow.
In this part of the story, Ryuuko Matoi challenges Satsuki Kiryuin's control of the academy. The story is mainly about Ryuuko trying to find out what happened to her dad and her strong determination to beat Satsuki. Ryuuko fights against lots of strong opponents. Along the way, she learns about the academy's history, the Life Fibers (a big deal in the story), and the things that make her who she is.
Kill la Kill was praised because it looks exciting, has a unique art style, and tells its story quickly. The Honnoji Academy Natural Election part of the story is super important because it dramatically changes things. It tells us important things about how the world works and why the characters do what they do.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Hiroyuki Imaishi
- Released: October 4, 2013 – March 28, 2014
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3114390/
- IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
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Grand Magic Games is an integral part of the Fairy Tail anime series. The Grand Magic Games occurred seven years after the events on Tenrou Island. The Fairy Tail guild was away for those seven years because of a potent spell. The story starts with the guild returning to Magnolia City, now hosting the Grand Magic Games. These games are a big competition where the best mage guilds from all around Fiore come together to show off their skills.
The Fairy Tail guild, led by characters like Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Erza Scarlet, Gray Fullbuster, and more, wants to show their strength and the best guild. But they have to face tough competition from other powerful guilds like Sabertooth, Mermaid Heel, and Lamia Scale.
The Grand Magic Games have different events that test the participants' magic powers, teamwork, and strategies. These events include fights, races, and challenges that make the characters push their limits. As the games go on, there's more tension, and we learn about the connections between different characters from the past.
Fans of Fairy Tail like the Grand Magic Games part because it has exciting fights, the story focuses on the characters, and it's fun to see mages from different guilds compete. This part of the story shows how strong and determined the Fairy Tail guild is after being away, adding more depth to the whole story.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Shinji Ishihira
- Released: October 6, 2012 –March 30, 2013
- Link to watch: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1528406/?ref_=m_ttep_tt
- IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
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Megalo Box is an anime that mixes old-style boxing with a futuristic touch. The story follows a talented boxer named Junk Dog who fights in secret matches to make money. One day, he meets Yuri, the best Megalo Boxer who's part of an official league. After a tough fight with Yuri, Junk Dog enters the big Megalonia tournament, where the best Megalo Boxers compete.
To join the tournament, Junk Dog has to get a proper ID and use a new name, Joe. He faces many challenges, strong opponents, and struggles to become known in Megalo Boxing.
Something unique about Megalo Box is how it looks. The way it's drawn and animated makes it look like older anime, but it also has some modern touches. This mix of old and new gives the show a unique and nostalgic feeling.
People liked Megalo Box because of its exciting story, the characters' development, and how it combines classic boxing ideas with a futuristic spin. It caught the interest of old fans of "Ashita no Joe" and new people who like sports anime.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Yō Moriyama
- Released: April 6, 2018 – June 29, 2018
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7965802/
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
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Future Diary is an anime series full of suspense and psychological thrills. The story is about Yukiteru Amano, a high school student who doesn't have many friends. He keeps a diary on his cellphone to write down what happens daily. But things get scary when he realizes that his Diary is now telling him things that haven't happened yet. He figures out that he's caught up in a dangerous game set up by a powerful being named Deus Ex Machina.
Yukiteru and eleven other people with Future Diaries are in a big fight to beat each other. The last person left standing becomes the new ruler of time and space. Each person's Diary can tell them different things about the future. Yuno Gasai is one of the people in the fight and is Yukiteru's classmate. She becomes critical in the story. Yuno likes Yukiteru and is ready to do anything, even violent things, to protect him.
While playing the game, the contestants make friends and do things that hurt each other. We learn more about who they are. The anime talks about trust, surviving challenging situations, being tricky, and what happens when you have a lot of power.
Future Diary is known for how some people like it because it's exciting and full of surprises. But not everyone wants it because it can be violent and have dark parts. Even with that, the anime has many fans who like it, and it's a well-known anime in the world of psychological thrillers.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Naoto Hosoda
- Released: October 10, 2011 – April 16, 2012
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2069441/
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
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"Haikyu!!" is a popular anime series about sports focusing on volleyball. The story is all about Shoyo Hinata, a young and energetic boy who gets excited about playing volleyball after watching a big match on TV. Even though he's not very tall, Hinata wants to be a great volleyball player. He joins the volleyball team at Karasuno High School and starts his journey to show that being short isn't the only thing that matters in the game.
Hinata meets Tobio Kageyama, a perfect setter who used to be his rival in middle school. Kageyama always wants things to be perfect, while Hinata goes for it with his natural talent. At first, they don't get along, but later on, they learn to work together and become the leading pair on the team. The anime follows the ups and downs of the Karasuno volleyball team as they work hard to compete at the national level and take on strong opponents.
"Haikyu!!" has gotten a lot of praise for its exciting stories, well-animated matches, and the characters' journeys. Many people, both fans of sports anime and those who aren't, really like it. The show does an excellent job of showing how exciting and friendly team sports can be while also telling the characters' personal stories.
People have also liked how the anime realistically shows volleyball moves and strategies. This makes it feel more genuine. "Haikyu!!" has even made some viewers more interested in playing volleyball and other sports.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Susumu Mitsunaka and Masako Satō
- Released: April 6, 2014 – December 19, 2020
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3398540/
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
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Cell Games is a big part of the well-known anime series Dragon Ball Z by Akira Toriyama. It's one of the essential parts of the series and is known for its exciting fights, high stakes, and emotional parts. The Cell Games story connects to the more prominent Android and Imperfect Cell Saga.
The Cell Games story is about the danger caused by a bio-engineered android named Cell. The Cell combines cells from strong fighters, including the series' main characters. Cell declares the Cell Games tournament and invites the strongest Earth fighters to join. The situation is serious: Cell says he'll destroy the Earth if no one beats him in the game. This leads to a big showdown between Cell and the Z Fighters.
The Cell Games story has ideas about giving up things for others, having power, and the chance to improve. Gohan changing from a scared fighter to a mighty warrior who fights to keep his loved ones safe is a big focus.
The Cell Games story stands out in Dragon Ball Z because of its emotional fights, character growth, and how it looks at the results of relying only on strength. Gohan changing and beating Cell are moments that fans remember. This story also influences future levels in the Dragon Ball series.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Yasuhiro Nowatari
- Released: April 5, 2009 – March 27, 2011
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1170802/
- IMDb Rating: 7.2/10
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Carnival Corpse is an adamant game in Deadman Wonderland anime. In this game, Deadmen – people with special powers called Branches of Sin – fight each other in fights where their lives are on the line. The winner gets a candy reward, while the loser faces terrible consequences. The Carnival Corpse adds a lot of harshness and desperation to the show, showing how evil and twisted the prison is.
The story is about Ganta Igarashi, a high school student wrongly accused of a crime and sent to Deadman Wonderland. There, he finds out he has his extraordinary power called a Branch of Sin. He gets involved in the prison's dangerous games, meets other Deadmen, makes friends, and tries to figure out the secrets of the prison and his past.
Deadman Wonderland talks about things like staying alive, bad stuff happening, wanting revenge, and how it's not always clear what's right or wrong. It shows what happens when people are mistreated and treated like they're not even human and how people's pain can be used as entertainment.
Deadman Wonderland differs from other series because it's pretty dark and deals with serious stuff. It looks at how people act when things are callous. But remember, because it has intense and mature things, it's best for older viewers.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Kōichirō Hatsumi
- Released: April 17, 2011 – July 3, 2011
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1909447/
- IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
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The Dark Tournament story in Yu Yu Hakusho is widely seen as one of the greatest tournament stories in anime history. It's a clear example of how story tournaments can make things more exciting, develop characters, and create intense battles. This story happens during the second part of the anime and goes from episode 26 to 66.
In this Dark Tournament story, Yusuke Urameshi and his friends, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama, are asked to participate in a particular fighting contest called the Dark Tournament. This tournament is organized by powerful rulers from the world of demons, who do it for amusement and to show their control. Yusuke's team, Team Urameshi, enters the tournament to win. They want to stop evil demons from causing trouble on Earth and get better by gaining experience and training.
The Dark Tournament is famous for its very tough and dangerous battles. The fighters can use their extraordinary powers, techniques, and skills. The tournament has different rounds, bringing new opponents and challenges for Team Urameshi. As they keep going, they face more challenging and more formidable opponents. Some of these opponents have personal reasons to want to beat Yusuke and his friends.
During the story, the characters change and grow a lot. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Kurama all have their difficult situations and deal with their inner struggles. The fights don't only check how strong they are physically, but also how strong they are emotionally and in their thinking.
Detailed information:
- Directed by: Noriyuki Abe
- Released: October 10, 1992 – December 17, 1994
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3592928/
- IMDb Rating: 6.8/10
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Naruto: Chunin Exams anime is often seen as one of the greatest tournament plots in anime. Young ninjas from different ninja villages join the Chunin Exams, a series of tests and fights to measure how good they are at combat, thinking ahead, and working in a team. This story happens at the beginning of the series and is essential for the characters to grow and learn more about the ninja world.
At first, the participants do a written test to see how much they know and understand. Later, they go into the dangerous Forest of Death for a survival challenge. Those who do well in the forest get to do the preliminary fights. The central part of the Chunin Exams is the tournament itself.
This anime looks into ideas like competition, wanting something a lot, working together, and wanting to be better than you thought you could be. It also shows participants' different reasons for doing things and where they come from.
The Chunin Exams story is loved by Naruto fans, known for its intense fights and times when characters change and grow. It helps people watching the show understand more about the ninja world and the hard things young ninjas must endure. Other anime shows with tournaments in their stories have been influenced by this story. It's still an essential part of what makes Naruto unique.Detailed information:
- Directed by: Naoki Horiuchi
- Released: January 8, 2015
- Link to watch: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4284614/
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10