13 Anime With Bikers and Motorcycle Themes

The motorcycle anime. Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1988 cyberpunk masterpiece set in Neo-Tokyo defined what anime motorcycles could look like on screen. Kaneda’s red bike is one of the most iconic vehicles in animation history. The opening biker gang chase, the neon-lit highways, the way the bikes feel weighty and dangerous — all of it set the template for every motorcycle anime that came after.

If you’ve never seen Akira and you call yourself an anime fan, fix that first. Then come back to the rest of this list.

Tokyo Revengers is the modern motorcycle anime that conquered the world. Takemichi, a failed adult, finds himself time-traveling back to middle school to save his ex-girlfriend by infiltrating Tokyo Manji Gang, the biker gang her brother once led. The bike action is real, but the show’s heart is in its emotional gut-punches, gang dynamics, and Mikey’s complicated journey as the Manji Gang’s leader.

The franchise size: Tokyo Revengers became one of the biggest anime franchises of the early 2020s, with multiple anime seasons, live-action films, and manga selling tens of millions of copies. If you want modern biker gang anime, this is the entry point.

The philosophical motorcycle anime. Kino travels from country to country on her talking motorcycle Hermes, spending exactly three days in each one. Every destination is its own moral parable. The show isn’t about motorcycles, exactly — it’s about what motorcycles enable: travel, observation, the freedom to keep moving.

Both the 2003 original and the 2017 reboot are worth watching. The 2003 version has the better atmosphere; the 2017 version has cleaner animation.

Not strictly a motorcycle anime — Megalo Box is technically about futuristic mech-boxing — but Junk Dog’s motorcycle rides through the dystopian city are some of the most atmospheric biking sequences in modern anime. The bike represents his freedom from the slums he’s trying to escape.

The 2018 series and its 2021 sequel Nomad: Megalo Box 2 are both worth your time. The art direction alone earns it a spot on this list.

The pure motorcycle enthusiast anime. Bakuon!! follows Hane Sakura at Okanoue Girls’ High School, where the motorcycle club is the heart of student life. The show goes deep into real bike models, maintenance details, and brand culture (Yamaha, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki are all repping). For actual riders, this is the bike-positive anime.

Real-world product placement: Bakuon!! features specific real-world motorcycle models, not generic stand-ins. The show is essentially a love letter to Japanese motorcycle culture, complete with brand loyalty rivalries between the characters.

One of the best slice-of-life anime of the 2020s. Koguma, a lonely high school girl, buys a used Honda Super Cub and her entire life slowly opens up. The bike isn’t a power fantasy — it’s a small Honda commuter scooter — but the show treats it with reverence. Friendships, road trips, breakdowns, all of it builds Koguma into a person who knows how to live.

The animation is gorgeous. The pacing is deliberate. Super Cub is one of the few anime that makes a 50cc moped feel like the most important vehicle in the world.

Wind Breaker (2024 anime, ongoing) is the modern delinquent biker anime that picked up where Tokyo Revengers left off. Sakura Haruka transfers to Furin High School, the school for delinquents that the local community has come to rely on as their unofficial defenders. The fights are clean. The biker gang energy is strong. The character work is sharp.

If you liked Tokyo Revengers and want more of that, Wind Breaker is your next watch.

Ballet plus motorcycles plus political revolution. RideBack‘s premise sounds absurd until you watch it. Rin Ogata, a former ballet dancer, discovers that her dance training translates perfectly to riding a “RideBack” — a transforming motorcycle with robotic arms. The action sequences are some of the most graceful in motorcycle anime.

It’s only 12 episodes. Watch them all.

The bicycle exception: Yes, Yowamushi Pedal is about bicycles, not motorcycles. But the show’s biking culture, racing intensity, and sheer commitment to the sport earn it a spot on any “anime about bikes” list. Otaku-turned-cyclist Sakamichi Onoda joins his high school cycling club and discovers he’s a hidden talent. The races are incredible. The character work is real.

If you’re broadly into bike anime as a genre, Yowamushi Pedal is essential viewing even though it’s pedal-powered.

Baribari Densetsu (Bari Bari Legend) is one of the foundational motorcycle racing manga, with an OVA adaptation in 1986. It follows Gun Koma and his journey from illegal street racer to professional motorcycle road racing championship contender. The series helped establish the entire motorcycle anime genre and is hugely influential in Japan.

The manga ran for years and is one of the great underrated racing comics.

The 1980s biker OVA about the Centaurs racing team in Yokohama. Arthur and Ken, two members of the gang, find themselves competing for the same woman and settle it with a no-holds-barred motorcycle race. It’s dramatic, stylized, and very of-its-era in the best way.

A deep cut for serious motorcycle anime fans.

Sidecar motorcycle racing? Yes, that’s a thing, and Two Car (2017) is the anime about it. Made by Silver Link to mark their 10th anniversary, the show focuses on all-girls high school sidecar teams competing in races. The mechanics of sidecar racing (where two riders work as one unit) make for genuinely interesting sports anime drama.

Niche but well-made.

The 1983 mecha-motorcycle hybrid that became part of the Robotech franchise in the West (it was the third “generation” of the Robotech edit). The bikes in Mospeada transform into power suits, blending motorcycle action with mecha combat. Scott Bernard’s quest to retake an Invid-occupied Earth is classic 80s science fiction.

If you grew up on Robotech in the US, you’ve already seen this — just with different names.

The Taka vs. Taka rivalry story — two motorcycle racers who happen to share a first name, locked in escalating competition after a near-fatal crash. Futaridaka leans into classic shōnen sports anime structure with motorcycle racing as the sport. Worth watching for the racing sequences.

The otome game adaptation. Six riders, one female lead, alternate worlds at war. The bikes are stylized fantasy machines rather than realistic motorcycles, and the show is firmly aimed at fans of the original video game franchise.

For completeness rather than priority. If you’re new to motorcycle anime, start higher on the list.

The car exception: Initial D is technically about cars, not motorcycles. BUT the racing culture, the mountain pass (touge) racing, and the broader Japanese street racing aesthetic overlaps significantly with motorcycle racing anime. If you love bike anime for the racing thrill, Initial D is essential viewing in the same family.

Takumi Fujiwara delivering tofu in his AE86 while becoming a touge legend is one of the great anime stories. Plus the Eurobeat soundtrack absolutely slaps.