Matt Schley
May 4, 2015 
Captain TsubasaThere are many reasons young people decide to participating in sports: through the influence of parents, friends, coaches, etc. In Japan, the land where there are manga about just about anything, comics naturally also play a part in what sports young people choose.
Ranking site Goo recently asked its readers what sports manga influenced them into choosing the sport they played in their youth, and the results looked a little something like this:
16. Giant Killing (soccer)
15. Shoujo Fight (volleyball)
14. Yawara! (judo)
13. Kuroko’s Basketball
12. Haikyu! (volleyball)
11. Musashi no Ken (kendo)
10. Hajime no Ippo (boxing)
9. Ping Pong
8. Tomorrow’s Joe (boxing)
7. Yowamushi Pedal (cycling)
6. Attack No. 1 (volleyball)
5. Prince of Tennis
4. Dokaben (baseball)
3. Aim for the Ace! (tennis)
2. Captain Tsubasa (soccer)
1. Slam Dunk (basketball)
Kuroko’s BasketballThe oldest title on the list is volleyball manga Attack no. 1, which debuted in 1968 and became an anime series the next year. Volleyball was also represented on the list by more recent series Shoujo Fight and Haikyu!, making it something of an enduring category.
Another classic on the list is Dokaben, which debuted back in 1972. Surprisingly, it’s also the only baseball title on the list, despite baseball anime and manga being a rather large genre.
Yawara! and Musashi no Ken represent the traditional Japanese sports judo and kendo, respectively. AnimEigo released the first 40 episodes of the Yawara! anime series on DVD in America.
Has sports anime or manga ever inspired you to take up a game?
Aim for the Ace!Source: Goo
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