Anime Grindhouse: The Slam Dunk Movies

Born on January 12, 1967 in Isa, Kagoshima, Takehiko Nariai loved to draw as a child & while growing up found inspiration in wanting to make manga by reading titles like the late Shinji Mizushima's Dokaben, Tetsu Kariya & Ryoichi Ikegami's Otoko-gumi, Makoto Kobayashi's 1・2 no Sanshiro, & Masami Kurumada's Ring ni Kakero. He originally wanted to go to an art school but as they were too expensive he instead went to Kumamoto University & majored in literature. However, a manga one-shot he had submitted to Weekly Shonen Jump (but didn't win any accolades) caught the eye of editor Taizo Nakamura, resulting in Nariai dropping out of university, moving to Tokyo, & entering the manga business, starting off as an assistant to Tsukasa Hojo during City Hunter's serialization, where he likely worked alongside Haruto Umezawa, future creator of Hareluya II BØY, at least for a little bit. After winning the 35th Tezuka Award for his one-shot Kaede Purple in 1988 (alongside Yuko Asami's Jump Run), Nariai would make his serialized debut in mid-1989 with Chameleon Jail, a manga written by Kazuhiko Watanabe about the titular "Risk Hunter" who takes jobs too dangerous for normal law enforcement & can change his appearance using an energy called "kara"; Chameleon Jail would only last 12 chapters, across two volumes, before getting cancelled.

However, included in both volumes of Chameleon Jail were Kaede Purple & a later one-shot by Nariai called Jordan Miteeni/Just Like Jordan, both of which were basketball stories inspired by the likes of Michael Jordan, who had already become a living legend by this point... and alongside a later one-shot called Aka ga Suki/I Love Red that was published in the 1990 Shonen Jump Summer Special they marked the first hints at Nariai's true calling in manga.

You see, back in his school days Nariai was a part of the basketball team, and while they weren't really any good Nariai had fond memories of when he & his friends would just play basketball. Therefore, he decided that his second manga serialization for Jump would be all about basketball (despite some protestations from his editor, due to basketball manga never doing well), and in Issue #42 of 1990 Nariai (now using the pen name Takehiko Inoue) debuted Slam Dunk. This told the story of delinquent Hanamichi Sakuragi, whose desperation for finding a girlfriend makes him join Shohoku High's basketball team to please a girl he falls instantly head over heels over named Haruko Akagi (the sister of the captain of Shohoku's team), despite his utter lack of any experience, only to discover a true love for the game. It initially had a bit of a variable start, but about half-a-year into its serialization, which marked the start of the first real game that was played, Slam Dunk rebounded strong & would go on to be one of Shonen Jump's biggest, most iconic hits of the 90s, being second only to Dragon Ball in popularity & has been recognized with single-handedly popularizing basketball in Japan. When Slam Dunk ended in Issue #27 of 1996 after 276 chapters (across 31 volumes) it became both the third manga in Jump history to be given a "Full Color Final Chapter", following Ring ni Kakero in 1981 & Dragon Ball in 1995, & the second manga in Jump history to have the magazine cover for its final chapter, following Yamazaki Ginjiro in 1981. The manga's end alone would also result in a loss of ~2 million readers, which when combined with Dragon Ball's the year prior losing ~500,000 readers resulted in the end of the "Golden Age of Jump" that Fist of the North Star began back in 1983. Without a doubt, Slam Dunk is one of the most iconic titles in all of manga (& Inoue himself is one of the most beloved artists in all of manga), and even to this day it continues to be a best-seller whenever a new release happens... though that's due, in part, to Inoue infamously being against offering digital versions of his manga, only recently changing his mind when it came to his wheelchair basketball manga, 1999's Real.

So if Slam Dunk is such an iconic series, both in its original manga form & in its equally celebrated TV anime adaptation by Toei that ran from 1993 to 1996 for 101 episodes, then why am I covering it here? Simply put... movies! In 1994 & 1995, as part of the (mostly) biannual Toei Anime Fair, four Slam Dunk anime short films were produced, but today almost no one ever talks about them & they've never seen any official English release; they were all remastered in HD for a Blu-Ray release in Japan in 2015, though. Therefore, since I recently just read through the entire manga for the first time ever, I want to check out these four movies & see if they deserve being as generally forgotten as they've become today. Also, for hell of it, I'll toss in late 2022's The First Slam Dunk as well, to round out the starting roster with five players, as per regulation. It's time to open up the Anime Grindhouse!!

The first Slam Dunk movie, which has no subtitle so I'll just call it "Slam Dunk: The Movie", debuted in Japanese theaters on March 12, 1994 as part of the '94 Spring Toei Anime Fair, where it ran alongside the 10th Dragon Ball Z film (i.e. Broly - Second Coming) & the 8th Dr. Slump film (i.e. Hoyoyo!! Follow the Rescued Shark...). The very same day saw the debut of Episode 19 of the TV anime, which ended the practice game between Shohoku & Ryonan (the aforementioned first game that truly started the manga's immense popularity), so this movie came out super early into the TV anime's life. In fact, it even predates a TV special, Ketsui no Shohoku Basuke-bu/The Resolve of the Shohoku Basketball Club, that would recap the anime up to this point by just three weeks; said TV special is even more obscure & forgotten than these movies, as it's just a recap. Coincidentally, this movie takes place just after the Ryonan game, but before the introduction of Shohoku's last two "new" characters, Ryota Miyagi & Hisashi Mitsui. At just shy of only 30 minutes long this is the shortest of all the Slam Dunk movies, but does that prevent it from telling a good story... or at least a decent game of basketball?

Shohoku is about to have a game against Takezono, a Top 8 team in the region known for its loud & highly organized cheering section (made up mostly of girls) messing with their opposition's nerves & morale. Despite this only being his second match, though, Sakuragi is 100% positive that his & his team (but mostly him) can defeat Takezono with little to no trouble, but while taking a quick moment to psyche himself up Sakuragi comes across a girl from Takezono. Said girl turns out to be Yoko Shimura... the 50th girl who rejected his advances back in junior high, as she had feelings for a classmate named "Oda" who was on their school's basketball team. Turns out that same guy, Tatsuma Oda, is now a star freshman player for Takezono's team, and upon seeing Sakuragi before the game belittles how seriously he must take basketball, due to his history of fights when they were in the same junior high school. While Sakuragi really wants to just beat up Oda for his remarks, he instead decides that the only way to shut Oda up is on the court.

"This is for making me the butt of a joke
 in the very first page of my own manga, Oda!"

First up, the very concept of Slam Dunk: The Movie is honestly rather brilliant. You see, the very first page of the manga, & in turn the opening seconds of the anime (after the OP ends), is junior high Sakuragi being rejected by a girl because she "likes Oda from the basketball team". This, in turn, leads to Sakuragi's friends "congratulating" him on getting 50 rejections before they all graduate to high school, plus Sakuragi headbutting all of them into submission, and I feel this is one of the greatest openings ever in all of manga. However, this movie actually decides to ask "Hey, what about that guy Oda who plays basketball, and the girl who rejected Sakuragi for him?" and goes into some details regarding both their relationship & what would happen should Sakuragi ever see the girl, now named Yoko, again. In all honesty, the basketball game between Shohoku & Takezono is kind of ancillary here, as the focus is very much on Oda, Yoko, & how their relationship continued after junior high, with Sakuragi really being more of a confounding nuisance to Oda. Much like someone like Kaede Rukawa, the real freshman prodigy for Shohoku (& Sakuragi's eternal rival), Oda absolutely loves basketball & focuses on improving himself more than almost anything else. Because of this his relationship with Yoko starts getting rocky, as she doesn't really like how he's changed, and then here comes Sakuragi, the guy who Oda only knew as a violent ruffian, donning a Shohoku jersey & acting like he really cares about basketball. Is Oda right in feeling cocky & superior to Sakuragi, or is there something Oda can learn from Sakuragi when it comes to the competitive spirit of playing basketball itself?

Even though it's only 30 minutes long, this movie does a really nice job at developing Oda from start to finish, with Sakuragi's antics on the court being both a great counterpoint to Oda's seriousness, while also delivering Slam Dunk's beloved humor. In all honesty, there's not much to really say about Slam Dunk: The Movie, mainly because it's so short, but it absolutely starts off the Slam Dunk movies, in general, on a very strong note by simply telling a really cool story built off of the manga's literal first-page, which Inoue originally only did for the sake of a gag. It's a real testament to the late Yoshiyuki Suga (who I only learned had passed away last year while literally typing this sentence!) & his skills as a writer, because this is the kind of concept that I'd love to see done more often for original/"filler" stories in adaptations, i.e. taking something small & finding a way to make it notable. As for Takezono in the manga... well, they're listed on the bracket for the Kanagawa Regional Tournament, & otherwise are literally never mentioned or shown, but even if they performed really well they would have only made it as far as the quarterfinals, before being eliminated by the best team in the region, Kainan. Still, that would match their reputation as a "Top 8" team in the region; sorry Oda, but no rematch for you against Sakuragi.

The second Slam Dunk film, subtitled Zenkoku Seiha da! Sakuragi Hanamichi/Conquer the Country, Hanamichi Sakuragi!, debuted on July 9, 1994 as part of the '94 Summer Toei Anime Fair, where it ran alongside the 11th DBZ film (i.e. Bio-Broly) & the 9th Dr. Slump film (i.e. N-cha!! Excited Heart of Summer Vacation). This actually premiered during a week-long hiatus for the TV anime, between Episodes 31 & 32, which at the time was in the middle of the Shohoko vs. Miuradai game during the Regionals... a match which this movie actually takes place shortly after, so Toei was essentially assuming that movie-goers were already familiar with the story via the manga. Interestingly enough this is the longest of the Slam Dunk movies that came out during the 90s at just shy of 45 minutes, but does that extra length help result in a better movie than the first?

Sakuragi is bit down on himself following the match with Miuradai, which ended shortly after Sakuragi fouled himself out of the game, culminating with him accidentally slam dunking the ball onto the head of one of Miuradai's players. Still, Shohoku managed to advance in the Regional Tournament, but one of Shohoku's potential opponents looks to be Tsukubu, a team which happens to be led by Godai, an old teammate of Akagi & Kogure's back in junior high. While meeting up on the train back from school, Godai assures Akagi & Kogure that Tsukubu will come out on top over Shohoku, and that's because Tsukubu has on its team Koichiro Nango, a rambunctious yet talented freshman, similar to how Shohoku has Sakuragi. In fact, while that conversation goes on, Nango & Sakuragi happen to meet each other... and the encounter isn't a nice one as the two start headbutting each other repeatedly over Haruko, who knows nothing of this encounter. Sakuragi & Nango decide on a wager that the player on the winning team gets to have Haruko, while the player on the losing team has to give her up... this despite the fact that Haruko is only a close friend of Sakuragi's (not his girlfriend), while Haruko's only seen Nango while he was wearing his motorcycle helmet & therefore doesn't know him at all.

This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!

Much like Movie 1, Zenkoku Seiha da! is another example of taking a small little moment from the manga & turning it into something notable. In this case it heavily expands on the Shohoku vs. Tsukubu game, which in the manga is literally told in just five panels across just over a single page in Chapter 79. Because of that this movie is technically canon to the actual plot of Slam Dunk, and in fact is accurate to what little info was given about the game itself, namely Tsukubu's early lead, Sakuragi eventually fouling himself into ejection, & even the final score. The only part that's kind of missing is Ryota helping change the pace more towards Shohoku, but I guess that could still be counted at some point, just really focused on in any way. Also, in comparison to Movie 1, this movie is very much all about the game itself, as the silly bet made between Sakuragi & Nango plays no real role overall (outside of Nango constantly talking about Haruko during the game, much to Haruko's own confusion), though Godai does get a little bit of development for himself in the second half. In fact, even Tsukubu's Coach Kawasaki gets some minor focus, as he's revealed to be an old student of Shohoku's Coach Anzai, though outside of one short flashback scene there's really no focus on that aspect. There's one quick bit where Kawasaki instantly realizes that Nango's impressive performance in the first half is because he's trying to impress a girl, though, which shows how quick & observant a coach he is.

And, really, that's kind of what brings Zenkoku Seiha da! down for me in the end: Unfulfilled potential. Don't mistake this as me saying that this is a bad movie, because it certainly isn't, as the Shohoku vs. Tsukubu game is enjoyable to watch, with some cool moments of it own all while technically being accurate to the manga; if you love the manga (or TV anime) this is kind of required watching, I feel. Also, I really enjoyed seeing Sakuragi be given an actual direct counterpart for him to work off of, as Nango truly is like a mirror image of our main character, right down to only initially playing the game to attract girls (Nango more generally, Sakuragi for a single girl), but with Nango having more experience in playing basketball; Rukawa's reaction to seeing them both on the court is a true "Oh no, they're multiplying!" moment. Also, Godai's story that's told here is a good one, being all about a player who felt lesser than his old teammates & desperately wants to prove how much he's improved... to the point where he risks becoming his team's liability. Even the bits with Coach Kawasaki are neat, as we get so little of Anzai's past throughout Slam Dunk, mostly only expanded on before the Nationals. However, this movie is all we'll ever get to see of Tsukubu, Godai, Kawasaki, & Nango, which is kind of depressing. Well, OK, the TV anime does apparently use their movie designs when this match is covered in its original manga form, but you get my point. This is a movie that really could have turned into a full-on feature-length film, long before The First Slam Dunk, and that extra time could have been spent looking more into Godai's past with Akagi & Kogure, Nango's early days with Tsukubu (to help hammer in him being a direct counterpart to Sakuragi), & even Kawasaki's days learning under Anzai.

For Takehiko Inoue the Tsukubu match was an absolute nothingburger of a game given barely any attention in a chapter of the manga that was serialized roughly two whole years before this movie even came out. However, just as with Movie 1, Yoshiyuki Suga was able to take something miniscule & transform it into something really engaging, and I just wish he was allowed more runtime to make it truly excellent.

The third Slam Dunk film, subtitled Shohoku Saidai no Kiki! Moero Sakuragi Hanamichi/Shohoku's Biggest Crisis! Burn It Up, Hanamichi Sakuragi, debuted on March 4, 1995 as part of the '95 Spring Toei Anime Fair, where it ran alongside the 12th DBZ film (i.e. Fusion Reborn) & the Marmalade Boy anime prequel movie. This film debuted the same day as Episode 58 of the TV anime, the penultimate episode of the Shohoku vs. Kainan game during the Regionals' Final Four round robin. However, this movie actually takes place after the Kainan game, as seen with how it literally starts, so once again Toei seemingly just assumed viewers already knew what happened; that's just how popular Slam Dunk was at the time, people. This movie times out at just shy of 40 minutes, so time to see if Movie 3 can maintain the (generally) solid track record I feel the Slam Dunk movies have had so far.

Feeling that he was personally responsible for the team's recent loss against Kainan, Sakuragi goes to a local barber & demands to have his pompadoured red hair shaved down, now knowing that he has to start taking basketball more seriously than ever before. On his way to school following the haircut Sakuragi comes across a tall, blonde-haired American with an amazing leap, and it turns out that this American, Michael Okita, is captain of Ryokufu Private High's newly-formed basketball team, which is why they aren't in the Regional Tournament, & are offering to have a practice game with Shohoku. Despite being in the middle of the Final Four & are set to take on Takezato in just three days, Shohoku accepts the challenge to take their minds off of the loss to Kainan, but there's more to this than a simple friendly game. First, the game is scheduled for that very same day, giving Shohoku no real time to prepare. Second, Akagi won't be playing in this game, due to the leg injury he suffered in the Kainan game, so the team will have to play an entire game without their captain on the court. Finally, Ryokufu's manager Eri Fujisawa actually once tried to scout Rukawa for Ryokufu (in her own mind, at least), only for him to go to Shohoku... and now she wants to prove how big of a mistake it was for him to not go to Ryokufu by forming a team comprised of nothing but the best high school players across all of Japan.

After the first two movies, which both had some connection to the original manga by expanding on miniscule moments, Shohoku Saidai no Kiki! feels the most like what you'd expect from a "traditional" Shonen Jump movie. By that I mean this movie definitely feels like it's kind of set in its own world, one where the events of Chapter 134 (again, this movie happened before the anime technically got to this point) were interrupted by a surprise opponent who wishes to challenge them to a sudden match, and this surprise opponent was led by a manager who has (somewhat) ulterior motives. Unlike the first two movies this one doesn't really do much with the original characters seen here, outside of establishing Michael as having trained in America, another being an old junior high classmate of Mitsui's (& feels that his "senpai" being gone from the game for two years gives him the edge), another having heard of Akagi's skills, & two later substitutions being identical twins, though the movie doesn't really do much with that beyond the two being able to dribble the ball between them while advancing. Sure, the idea of the film is that Ryokufu takes an early lead because of its players' talent, while Shohoku is filled with guys who have ego problems to some extent, but as the movie continues it's shown that Michael & his team really aren't antagonistic at all, and in the end the two teams actually wind up super friendly.

Really, the only real "villain" for a film like this is Eri, who's obsessed with winning, which is why she made such a potential super team in the first place (& wanted to recruit Rukawa for it), but even that kind of gets downplayed over time, with Ryokufu's coach actually being the one who teaches her the lesson in simply loving the game; yeah, Shohoku just plays the game, more or less. Still, the game itself is a solid one, and this movie definitely goes for a bit more visual panache at points than either of the prior two films did. Also, while Akagi does eventually get to play near the end, him being benched for the most part actually gives Kogure a little bit of time to shine, which is nice to see. It's just that, when compared to the first two movies, Shohoku Saidai no Kiki! just feels so... straightforward & simple. There's no clever expansion on something that was minor in the manga, the characters seen only in this movie are admittedly kind of bland, and everything that happens feels so ancillary. That being said, I admittedly did pop for "Kimi ga Suki da to Sakebitai" by Baad, the anime's iconic first OP, playing near the end of the game itself, because it absolutely was a cool moment. Still, there's no doubt that this movie is, like I said, the most "traditional" Shonen Jump movie you can think of for a series like Slam Dunk, and while the end result is still an overall good time it does kind of feel "lesser" when compared to how much I enjoyed the first two movies.

Finally, a cool looking title card that isn't just the TV OP!

The fourth Slam Dunk film, subtitled Hoero Basketman Tamashii! Hanamichi to Rukawa no Atsuki Natsu/Roar, Basketball Man Spirit! Hanamichi & Rukawa's Hot Summer, debuted on July 15, 1995 as part of the '95 Summer Toei Anime Fair, where it ran alongside the 13th DBZ movie (i.e. Wrath of the Dragon) & Ninku the Movie (which, as of this piece, remains the sole piece of Ninku to ever see official English release). This debuted the same day as Episode 74 of the TV anime, which was in the middle of Shohoku vs. Ryonan II, the last game of the Regionals' Final Four that would determine the second & final entrant team for the Nationals. Interestingly enough, Toei could have produced a fifth Slam Dunk movie for the '96 Toei Anime Fair, which debuted on March 2, 1996 (the day the 99th & antepenultimate episode aired), but since the anime was pretty much over by that point I guess I could see there being no reason in continuing to promote it, by then. Much like the third movie this one is also shy of 40 minutes, though still technically longer than Movie 3 by about 20 seconds. So time to see if the original quartet of Slam Dunk movies from the 90s ended on a good note or not.

After a summer game between Shohoku & Kainan comes to an end, Rukawa is stopped by Ichiro Mizusawa, an old lowerclassman teammate of his during his time at Tomigaoka Junior High. Ichiro's skills have improved greatly since Rukawa graduated & went to Shohoku, and he looks to be Tomigaoka's next captain, but in reality there's a big secret Ichiro's hesitant to reveal to Rukawa: He's suffering from osteo-articular tuberculosis of his right foot & ankle. Even with surgery to lessen the eventual pain his feet would feel from the disease, this pretty much means the end of his ability to ever play basketball again, due to the high-impact strain it would continue to put on his foot. Still, all Ichiro wants is the chance to play one last game with Rukawa. Ichiro's sister Akane tells the whole story to Haruko, as the two are old friends, & Haruko agrees to ask Akagi to organize a practice game to make Ichiro's dream come true. While Akagi initially feels that they're too busy at the moment to do the game, upon realizing that his own ankle injury could have resulted in him being in the same boat he asks Anzai for permission, which is granted. Now it's up to everyone on the Shohoku team to give Ichiro one final basketball game that he'll be able to cherish forever... even if Rukawa is seemingly being sour about playing with a "junior".

Of the four Slam Dunk movies from the 90s, Hoero Basketman Tamashii! is easily the most unique of them all. The main reason is because, for all intents & purposes, Ichiro is the main character of this movie, while the Shohoku boys more or less play supporting roles, even Sakuragi. It's also the only time Slam Dunk really covers a subject like someone being forced to stop playing due to something out of their control, as while the manga (& anime) does address injury a handful of times, & the idea of one being potentially "career" ending, Ichiro's case is entirely different by being caused purely by an illness that's irreversible & can't be rehabbed through. In fact, the climactic game involving Ichiro playing with the Shohoku boys doesn't occur until the last third or so, so the majority of the movie is all about setting up Ichiro's past as a rising Tomigaoka star, his plight upon finding out about his illness, and the set up for the game itself, which naturally includes some comedy brought about by Sakuragi & his delinquent buddies. It's also the only movie from this group to not feature a traditional anime OP sequence, though OP2 "Zettai ni, Dare mo" by ZYYG is played over the original footage during the opening credits, & there's even a song by BAAD ("Endless Chain") that plays during the end of the climactic game itself & is 100% exclusive to this movie, which only helps make it feel all the more unique.

The end result is, arguably, the best Slam Dunk movie of the 90s, if only because Ichiro's story is so well told & established, making you feel for his plight, and there's just a fun, feel-good vibe once the game itself happens. It's also easy to see what Rukawa's whole deal is with his attitude about Ichiro being a part of the game, as he simply knows that what Ichiro wants is a chance to take on Rukawa, so Rukawa purposefully acts like a jerk (well, even more so than usual) in order to make sure that Ichiro truly gives it his all for what will be his very last game of basketball. Yoshiyuki Suga was 100% on his A-game when it came to scripting this movie, and the end result is excellent. I should also note that each of these movies were directed by different people who worked on the Slam Dunk TV anime, with Movie 1 helmed by series director Nobutaka Nishizawa (Galaxy Express 999 TV, Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai [1991]), Movie 2 by Toshihiko Arisako (who'd later become a producer for Sailor Moon & headed up casting for Digimon), Movie 3 by Hiroyuki Kakudo (Digimon Adventure, Rokudenashi Blues 1993), & Movie 4 by Masayuki Akehi (Steel Jeeg, Cyborg 009: Legend of the Super Galaxy), who were all storyboarders & episode directors for Slam Dunk TV. As I've only seen an episode or two of Slam Dunk TV I can't really judge how the different directors really effected things in comparison, but I would at least say that Kakudo directing Movie 3 is likely why that one had the most interesting visuals, at points.

Overall, the quartet of Slam Dunk films from the 90s are all absolutely worth watching for fans of this series, as they all offer something interesting or unique from each other & give you solid basketball action mixed with fun character moments, some stronger than others for the latter. As for how they would work as an introduction for newcomers, I think these movies are a solid enough way to get a general idea of the series, and especially Sakuragi, though characters like Ryota & Mitsui definitely suffer from a lack of focus in any major fashion here, outside of what they can do on the court. I originally only had planned on covering these four films for this piece, but I feel it would be weird to leave out the most recent (& notable) of them all... so we're entering overtime!

Which brings us to the fifth film, simply titled The First Slam Dunk. Unlike the prior four films from the 90s, this was a full, feature-length film that was its own attraction, a CG/2D mixed animation production co-produced by Toei Animation & DandeLion Animation Studio, with Takehiko Inoue himself writing the screenplay & even directing, allowing him to join a small group of mangaka who also directed anime based on their work, like Monkey Punch, Buichi Terasawa, and even Satomi Mikuriya. You see, Toei's iconic TV anime from the 90s only adapted the first 22 volumes of Slam Dunk, literally ending with Shohoku getting on a train departing for the Japanese High School Basketball National Tournament. Intentions from Toei to finally adapt the remainder of Slam Dunk to anime date back all the way to 2003, but it wasn't until Inoue himself started pushing for it to happen in 2009 that things finally started moving forward, though the end result wouldn't debut in Japanese theaters until December 3, 2022. The film would also see theatrical screenings in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Malta, Phillipines, India, Spain, Mexico, & across Latin America, eventually grossing $279 million in the worldwide box office, becoming the highest grossing basketball film of all time, which previously had been Space Jam; yes, Takehiko Inoue surpassed even Michael Jordan. Of course, the irony in all of this is that, despite calling itself "The First", this 124-minute movie is actually an adaptation of Slam Dunk's final game, Shohoku vs. Sannoh in the Nationals, but does that necessarily make The First Slam Dunk tough for newcomers?

Shohoku has made it to the second round of the Nationals & have a seemingly insurmountable wall in front of them, as their next opponents are the reigning & defending National Champions, Sannoh, who have not lost a single game in years. For Shohoku's Ryota Miyagi, though, this game is the culmination of the life he's lived so far. Growing up in Okinawa he found a love for the game by his older brother Sota, who unfortunately passed away young after a fishing accident, and while Ryota continued playing he was always told that he'd never be as good as Sota. Ryota's widow mother eventually decided to move the family to Kanagawa, but Ryota's distant nature after Sota's passing gives him a reputation as a troublemaker, though he did earn the trust of Akagi, future captain of the Shohoku basketball team. That reputation wasn't helped, though, when Ryota got into a fight in his first year at Shohoku with Hisashi Mitsui, a former basketball player-turned-delinquent, with the end result putting both into the hospital. Now, though, Ryota can do the one thing Sota never got the chance to do: Defeat Sannoh.

Shohoku vs. Sannoh is the longest game in all of Slam Dunk, totaling 53 chapters (i.e. the manga's entire final year of serialization), so it makes perfect sense to adapt that game into a movie... but how can it possibly work for anyone new to Slam Dunk? Easy, by making Ryota a focal point & framing the game around it being the culmination of his fractured family relationship. And, to be fair, it actually makes perfect sense for Ryota to be given this focus in The First Slam Dunk because, out of the five main starters for Shohoku, he's the only to never actually get any major backstory in the manga. His introduction was him returning from his injuries, alongside Mitsui, but shortly after that the manga goes straight into the Regionals (& later Nationals), which take up the rest of the series; Mitsui's own backstory gets covered over time, since it relates to Akagi & Kogure, but Ryota just is in the manga. Therefore, it's awesome to see Inoue detail Ryota's backstory, which is peppered throughout the film via flashbacks during the game itself, and it's equally new story for both newcomers & those who already read the manga or watched the TV anime. Hell, even the fact that Ryota wears a different wristband for the Sannoh game, which is in the manga but I honestly never noticed until looking back after seeing this film, is given importance by having it be Sota's, in turn emphasizing what this game truly means to Ryota, personally. The movie also includes the actual fight between Ryota & Mitsui that took them both out for the early part of Slam Dunk's overall story, which is only referenced in the manga & anime, which in turn also gives Mitsui a little extra attention, if only in relation to Ryota.

As for the game itself, despite his inexperience as a director (&, to be fair, he had six unit directors helping him out), Takehiko Inoue did an amazing job in converting the game into something that looks & feels like a real-life basketball game. Inoue's love of the game made it so that every game felt believable in the manga, but now with CG (which overall does look great, but does have small moments where the tech falters just a tiny bit) can be animated in a way that allows sequences from the manga to feel like natural movements, while the more notable & dramatic moments can still be given the proper panache & impact they deserve. In terms of adapting the Sannoh game I'd say that it's about 95% here, with the only major bits removed being stuff like Kawata's giant of a little brother Mikio being put against Sakuragi (Mikio is still here, but now he's just another player), Ryonan's Uozumi attending the game (& in turn him reinvigorating Akagi's willpower), all of Sawakita's backstory (though he does get a couple of brand new scenes in this movie, as well), & Sakuragi's iconic late-game moment where he declares his love (of basketball) to Haruko, plus some small snips here & there. I imagine this was mostly done for the sake of time & pacing, as well as the simple fact that Ryota plays little to no role in any of these moments, which is fair. However, I should point out that Ryota does kind of lose importance a little bit over the course of this movie, since many of the most important scenes during the last moments of the game itself are focused Sakuragi & Rukawa. However, that's just natural in this situation, since Sakuragi is the main character of Slam Dunk itself (while Rukawa is Shohoku's actual "ace"), and overall Inoue does manage to keep Ryota relevant throughout. I am not really a fan of the final scene of the movie itself, though, which goes completely against the final chapter of the manga (& even the 10 Days After epilogue Inoue did in 2004) & honestly felt a bit out of place, personally, though I imagine Inoue did this so as to keep the movie working as a standalone work.

Despite the final scene making me tilt my head a little, though, The First Slam Dunk is an absolutely excellent movie that easily makes itself known as the "ace" of the Slam Dunk movies. Yes, it adapts the final game of the manga, but Slam Dunk itself is very much a "journey" story, i.e. the real appeal is more in the path the characters take to reach the end than the end goal itself, so I'd say that this does in fact work very well for newcomers, because it makes you want to see how everyone got to that point. Plus, as I just mentioned, the final chapter of the manga isn't really adapted in this movie, so if you want to know how things REALLY end then you'll still have to read the manga anyway... and, boy, is that more than worth it!

Three months ago the most I had ever experienced of Slam Dunk was an episode of two of the TV anime & the first two volumes of the manga. However, my recent read of the entire manga since then showed me why this became such a beloved manga in Japan, so much so that it's very finale essentially brought an end to Shonen Jump's most iconic era. On a real-life level my interest in sports is generally pretty low, outside of pro wrestling, though I can certainly appreciate a good game when I see one. However, something like Slam Dunk, in which you can feel the love & passion the creator has for the sport of their choice, can still hook itself on me well because sports still has an inherent story to it when it comes to the players themselves. The Slam Dunk movies, in turn, exemplify that because while I think all five of these films are definitely worth the watch the one that I think didn't rise up as high as the others would be Movie 3, which happened to be the one that focused mostly on the basketball game itself. Really, outside of The First Slam Dunk (which had the benefit of adapting a massive game from the manga), the Slam Dunk movies worked best when the game itself was more a vector for the personal stories to shine through via, whether that was Oda looking down on Sakuragi, Godai wanting to prove himself to Akagi & Kogure, Ichiro wanting one last chance to play with Rukawa, or Ryota (via flashbacks) learning that it's up to him to carry on what his brother had intended to do, both on the court & at home.

Takehiko Inoue is beloved by many for good reason, Slam Dunk is iconic for its own good reason, and I'm happy to say that all five Slam Dunk movies are must-watches for equally good reasons. If you've never checked out this series before then these movies are a great place to start, and if you've experienced Slam Dunk in some form before (manga, TV anime, or even just The First Slam Dunk), but haven't seen the first four movies, then definitely take the time to check out some more stories involving Hanamichi Sakuragi & his Shohoku teammates.

Slam Dunk Movies 1-4 © Takehiko Inoue·I.T. Planning·Toei Animation

The First Slam Dunk © I.T. Planning © 2022 The First Slam Dunk Film Partners