The hard part about these sorts of commissions is this. When you’ve watches hundreds and hundreds of series like I have, how are you supposed to recall all of them on demand? So when Nicc asked me for an Olympic themed compilation of my favorite tournament arcs (as an Olympic anime list would have been nigh impossible), I had the usual reaction. Initially it seemed pretty easy – I mean, a couple certainly pop to mind immediately. But then I’m daunted at the idea of how many great ones I’m surely going to forget, and that causes me no end of anxiety.

So I’ll caveat by saying that yes, I’m surely going to forget something that will annoy you almost as much as it annoys me. As well, I’m going to leave some obvious contenders out (think WSJ “big” series) because I’m simply not that big a fan of them. In terms of ground rules, the most important is that this is not limited to sports anime. Any sort of competition arc – or exam arc, which opens the door wide for several possibilities (spoiler: no, not Frieren) – is in play. In my mind what this does need is some sort of organised, specific competition – I wouldn’t include “Chimera Ant” for example, or Kingdom.

One rule I set strictly for myself is to only pick one arc from any given series. There are definitely series that could have landed more than one on here, but I’m limiting myself to one for purposes of ending up with a more varied final list. And with that, on to the main course (more or less in reverse order, although I’m not officially ranking them):

Ginga e Kickoff: The National Tournament – In point of fact GeK concludes with another tournament, the Galaxia Cup in Spain. But that was a bit of an anti-climax – it was the Japan qualifying tournament that really represented the series at its tournament best. I’ve long resigned myself to the fact that this wonderful series will never get the attention it deserves. Not only is it a sports anime about pre-teens (which is a non-starter for most English-language fans) but it came out in the midst of one of anime’s greatest seasons and years, spring of 2012.

Watching this ragtag group of grommets grow into  a disciplined soccer juggernaut, led by the tireless terrier Outa Shou, was one of the most satisfying experiences in sports anime. And the final game of the Japan tournament, ending the way it did, was one of my favorite episodes of the 2010’s. There are many soccer anime I enjoy (Ao Ashi is the standout of recent years) but Ginga e Kickoff remains my favorite.

Chihayafuru: First National High School Team Tournament – Fortunately, my rules exempt me from having to declare whether or not karuta is a sport (spoiler: it is). This series is kind of an embarrassment of riches in the tournament arc department, to the point where the tournament arcs sort of take over the whole thing. But I said one per series, so this is the one I’m going to choose.

The first season of Chihayafuru was the best (we’re back in 2012 again). And as great as some of the later tournaments are (like Taichi questing for Class A status) the team tournaments were always my favorite. And the first one my favorite among those. The sheer joy, the tension, and all over a card game about which I knew and cared little going in (and not all that much after, truth be told). Just great tournament anime, and built around character dynamics as all truly great tournament arcs are.

Boku no Hera Academia: U.A. Sports Festival – We’re at the heart of the matter here. Weekly Shounen Jump, a kaiju battle manga. HeroAca has a number of arcs that could qualify for this competition, but the “Sports Festival” Arc is the best of them IMO. It comes relatively early in the series, and was an important milestone stamping Horikoshi Kouhei’s writing as something truly special in  the eyes of battle shounen fans.

The nature of the plot with BnHA layers in all sorts of implications to this storyline. The dynamics between what most (on both sides of the fourth wall) consider the dominant trio of Yuuei are fascinating to watch play out. And Horikoshi pulls off some fascinating twists here, defying expectation and going a long way towards defining Midoriya Izuku as the hero of the series in the process. It’s nominally an undoukai but this is no sports festival, not really – it’s something much more. And who the true winners and losers are is much harder to say than it appears on the surface.

Cross Game: Koushien Qualification Arc (Third Year) – With a special honorable mention to Touch, same scenario. I know I only said it was one per series, not author, but I don’t want to put two Adachi series on here and leave something else off. Cross Game is, of course, a series that’s more about the relationships than the sport (as all Adachi sports series are). He, as I like to put it, uses the sport as the canvas. The characters are the actual painting.

That said, the final arc in Cross Game is pretty spectacular sports anime. There’s so much subtext here, and so much tectonic stress had been building up for the entire series. The characters drive the sports drama rather than the other way around (as can also produce great sports anime to be sure). But the baseball drama is off the charts.

Major: Little League Fall Tournament (Season 1) – Major truly is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to tournament arcs. I could have chosen anything from the World Baseball Classic to the Major League World Series to Koushien. And that’s not even factoring in Major 2nd, which offers compelling options of its own. But if I have to chose one and only one, it’s the Little League Fall Tournament which concludes the first season.

Season 1 is my favorite and I think probably always will be. Goro is at his most loveable as a kid, before his character flaws start to become a bigger problem (especially after he has kids of his own). He’s just a damn hero here, a true sports manga legend. And the underdog story of  the Mifune Dolphins as they try and topple the giants of Japanese Little League baseball (which is a big deal here) is the franchise’s baseball side at its very best.

Hikaru no Go: Pro Exam Arc – Hikau no Go has shown up on multiple LiA “Best of” lists of course, so its inclusion here will be no surprise. It’s a truly wonderful series is most respects, but it specifically does tournament stuff exceptionally well. Again, you’d get some debate on whether or not Go is a sport but in this context, it doesn’t matter.

I pretty much marathoned HnG years after it initially aired, probably watching more episodes in less time than with any anime ever. The main reason for that was the cliffhangers, which this series is fiendishly good at. They weren’t limited to matches by any means, but those were unbelievably cruel – I don’t know how I could have managed if I’d had to wait a week between episodes. The pro exam was a mountain of drama that just never let up, match after match of high-tension competition.

Kono Oto Tomare: National Preliminaries Arc – As pure a tournament arc as any in a sports series, this. Music animanga often have a sports-style structure and vibe to them, and Kono Oto Tomare is certainly no exception. I can’t overstate how perfect the National Preliminaries Arc  is in terms of narrative construction – the buildup, the character drama, the dynamics of the competition itself. I know nothing about the koto but as with karuta or Go, it really makes no difference. And anyway, you watch and learn.

Inevitably any adaptation of a music-themed manga has an opportunity to elevate the material above what’s possible on the page. It’s also a trap, because if you don’t do the performance justice you undercut rather than elevate the experience. But Kono Oto Tomare, despite not having a huge budget, absolutely knocks this part out of the park. All of the performances in the competition are great, but Tokise’s rendition of “Tenkyuu” is possibly my favorite music scene in manga (though its toughest competition might come from the same series). It says something that as I was putting this article together, Kono Oto Tomare was the one entry I found myself going back to re-watch.

Hunter X Hunter (2011): Heaven’s Arena – As much as for any series, I put that “one arc” rule in for Hunter X Hunter. I certainly think “Hunter Exam” qualifies as  a tournament arc (and I’m not sure “Greed Island” doesn’t as well), and it’s good enough to be included on this list. But if I had to choose, I think “Heaven’s Arena” is better. Togashi was really hitting his stride with the series by this point, and of course “Heaven’s Arena” was the arc entrusted with introducing the best power system in shounen manga, Nen.

If I had to pick only one, I’d definitely pick “Chimera Ant” as the best arc in Hunter X Hunter (and possibly in shounen). But H.A. is my favorite in many ways. It’s Togashi at his most fun, full of shounen energy and reflective of its two protagonists (especially Gon). There are so many incredible moments here, and the Gon-Hisoka match in the arena is as good as battle shounen anime gets. I love the supporting cast as well – Zushi and Wing are among my favorite arc-specific characters in the series.