Sports
This subgenre is the singular reason why SOL is the least worst (Least...worst, least bad, least not good? What?) genre on this list.
Pros:
Not cringey
Good characters
Good animation
Cons:
3-D character with 1-D problems
Main team wins way too much
No grey areas
Cliches
THE FANBASE
Pros Analysis:
Not cringe-y: Now you'd think that a subgenre that makes sports such as soccer and basketball extremely intense and over-the-top would be at least a bit cringe-y, right? Well no actually. They actually do a good job of making it so that it juust approaches the line that separates extreme and cringe.
Good Characters: I've never watched a sports anime with bad characters, except for that anime (We shall not speak of this until later). The characters have great interactions, great dynamics, and, like Pro #1 said, it's not cringe worthy at all, except for when one or more of the (Usually main) characters give a "Don't give up!" or "(Sport this anime is based off of) is crying/is sad (Inazuma Eleven Go)")
Good Animation: C'mon now. Tell me a single sports anime with bad animation. I'll wait. Like it's so good even the manga have good animation, and they aren't even animated! That's how you know you've reached greatness.
Cons Analysis:
3-D Characters with 1-D Problems: Not every sports anime is guilty of this of course. If it were, SOL would be lower in the list. But, for the ones who do have this problem. *Sigh*, it's annoying to say the least. Like you have a complex character with goals and interests, all that good stuff, but then the author realizes they need a character arc regardless (make sure to make it as short as possible) and so they slap on some problem that is possible and does actually happen, but isn't as complex as the character it's directed towards. The problem with this is that we take an already good character, give them an arc, but because the problem is so weak compared to the character themselves, all we get in return is a slightly better version of the character.
The Main Team wins way too much: The biggest issue with sports anime is that they only lose when it's directly beneficial to a character or characters. Otherwise, they'll just keep on winning. Now a good team winning isn't bad, the problem is it excludes the other teams. Watch any anime where the main team is playing against a team that's, "The best in that nation", and then watch them get folded. Yeah it's annoying. Let them lose a bit to show that they still have more to learn before becoming the best team in the world.
No Grey Areas: The main is either super bad or super good, there's never a point in time where said team is in the middle of the spectrum. This is kind of tied to the second con. Since the main team wins too much, there's no room for them to lose sometimes and win other times, showing that they aren't good or bad, just in the middle.
Cliches: The main character is always the best player on the team regardless of how much longer everyone else practices. Also, no matter what deficiency they might have, they seem to have a special ability that covers for that. The main team always relies on the main character to give them a morale boost that suddenly just gives them the energy they need. Main team always pales in comparison to the main character no matter how far they were in the beginning of the show. Main character gets all the girls no matter how incompatible they are.
(Extra Con) THE FANBASE: The fanbase, oh the fanbase. Especially Haikyuu. No, no, actually. This will be JUST FOR the haikyuu fanbase. Stop acting like you're a pro at volleyball because you watched 2d characters defy gravity. Speaking of that, just because Person A didn't hover in the air for 5 seconds as the ball was going to person B, doesn't mean that it isn't minus tempo. Minus tempo is when you jump before the setter sets the ball. Jumping is the action of your feet leaving the surface. So, the PICOSECOND someone's feet leave the ground before the setters sets, THAT is minus tempo. No, the coaches don't need to learn more, you need to actually know what flipping jumping is and stop being entitled douchebags. Phew, got my anger out. Ok that will be all :D
I've decided I'm just going to cover three or four subgenres for every genre to make sure this isn't too long.
