Kara Dennison
August 23, 2021 
Sports anime can be exciting, inspiring, and high-energy. Or, as the upcoming Slow Loop shows us, it can be way more laid-back. The series revolves around stepsisters and their mutual love of fly-fishing — definitely a chill way to spend an afternoon.
It’s not the only sports anime that takes this view. While you wait for the winter 2022 release, why not watch (or re-watch) these shows?
Chihayafuru
Karuta anime Chihayafuru actually feels like it might pack more adrenaline per episode than Slow Loop will, which is kind of wild. The series, about a love triangle played out against the world of competitive poetry card matching, has unexpected moments of excitement. But by and large, it’s a slow-paced romance once our heroes put the cards away.
It’s also a beautiful series to look at, partly because Chihaya and her teammates opt to sport traditional dress when they compete. The show has brought attention to karuta worldwide — both its history and its competitive play.
Tsurune
KyoAni’s Tsurune highlights another traditional activity: kyūdō, a style of archery dating back to Japan’s feudal era. And because it’s from KyoAni, you know the kind of vibe you’re in for. Like Slow Loop, it highlights a sport that requires patience over raw speed.
Minato’s story is a fairly standard sports anime story: he was good in his sport, he left it, but now he’s been convinced to try again. In Minato’s case, he copes with “target panic” — a neurological condition that affects archers worldwide, but that can be overcome.
Moshidora
Unlike Slow Loop, Moshidora is actually about a very common sports anime pick: baseball. But it’s not the topic that warrants its inclusion so much as its approach. Because while this is a baseball anime, it’s also about business management. For the baseball team. Using a book by noted management consultant Peter Drucker.
Protagonist Minami, hoping to be the best team manager possible, looks for books on How To Do Management. She finds Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices, and she goes with it. It’s a book about how to manage a company, and goes into stuff like marketing and innovation. And yet, somehow… it works. There’s also a film adaptation, in case you need even more “high school girl uses C-level business knowledge” goodness.
Will you be watching Slow Loop when it airs? What are some of your favorite chill sports anime? Maybe the upcoming fly-fishing series will join that list this winter.
