Have you ever wanted me to cover an absolute hood classic? If so, all my veteran manga fans can rejoice cause I'm about to cover "the" Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue.
Summary
If you looked up "delinquent" in the dictionary, you'll probably see a picture of an angry Hanamichi Sakuragi. When he isn't spending his time beating up the local gangsters with the fellows, he's often getting rejected by any sensible girl in sight. All except for Haruko Akagi, who, after seeing Hanamichi's immense athletic potential, asks him to join the Shohoku high school basketball team.
Smitten by the chance to impress everyone and Haruko, he leaps outwards, only to fall on his face when he meets with fledging ace Rukawa and team captain Gori Akagi (Haruko's sister). Now hopping mad over his embarrassing defeat, Sakuragi restores his battered pride by becoming Shohoku's first-year basketball superstar. Will his inclusion be a slam dunk for the team, or will his fiery temper end up plummeting them?
Characters
Hanamichi Sakuragi: The self-proclaimed "tensai" (genius) of Shohoku High. Adorned with a pompadour as fiery as his temper, Sakurai is highly temperamental, overly sensitive, immensely prideful, and almost self-destructive determination. Despite these negative traits, though, this same unrivaled passion and untapped talent makes him a star when he shines properly.
Gori Akagi: Coming on as the team's "center" in more ways than one, we have Gori. Stern, strict, and stout as an oak tree, Gori's role as team captain balances out a lot of Shohoku's more troubled delinquents. Every angered punch on the noggin from him, though, comes from a genuine place of love. Especially when he realizes he's finally found people as passionate about the sport he loves as him.
Rukawa: Serving as the team's lone ace, Rukawa excels at almost every aspect of the sport. Except for the teamwork kind, Rukawa keeps to himself as a silent and introverted guy. He may proudly serve Shohoku, but Rukawa's sights are set on America.
Ryota Miyagi: Adopting the role of the team's tiny but fast point guard, Miyagi is Sakuragi's closest friend on the team. He has a massively open crush on the team's manager Ayako.
Hisashi Mitsui: The former ace of the team and current shooting guard, Mitsui, in his past, suffered greatly from his severe sense of pride, which forced him to leave the team on a bad injury. After a hardy redemption, Mitsui returns intent on making up for lost time.
Overview
Slam Dunk is an oddity to me. It was one of the first sports anime I heard about when I got into the genre. This isn't a surprise given how the series is marked as the 7th highest-selling manga of all time and surged the popularity support in Japan. Yet, in general conversations, I've rarely seen this Titan get brought up in any conversation like you would do other classic 90's anime.
This is a damn shame because if there were one word to describe my experience with Slam Dunk: it would be refreshing. I'm so used to every sports series being nothing but back-to-back games or elaborate superpowers and metaphors that seeing (excuse my French) niggas just balling around was fun. More so than many of its contemporaries, Slam Dunk strips back the elaborate metaphors to construct an ever-personal stripped-back story.
That's not to say Slam Dunk looks boring by any means though, far from it. Takehiko Inoue is a legend in the manga world for a reason, so seeing his artistry improve over the course of the series is probably one of the greatest reading experiences I've ever had. The expert paneling, strong posing, dynamic speed lines, and realistic proportions give every action Shohoku takes during a game an overwhelming purpose behind it.
The progression goes further than the visuals, though. A character like Sakuragi in a lesser manga would've gotten old very fast, but here, seeing its idiotic antics always leaves me with a 50/50 shot of laughing my ass off or jumping out my bed in sheer hype. His lack of game knowledge also allows for Slam Dunk to be the perfect entry point for newcomers to the game.
Veteran basketball fans could also get a massive lay-up from the many visual references to real-life Slam Dunk makes. Seeing the series indirectly lawd over the 90s Chicago Bulls or paying respect to Kareem gave me massive whiplash in the best way possible.
It doesn't downplay the more original flair of the manga, though. Shohoku is a team of underdogs and conflicting interests, so seeing them start from the absolute bottom is excellent. Sakurgai's talent may be great, but he still needs to get a main character privilege. The team needs to catch up, victories are far from guaranteed, and Sakuragi is constantly labeled as the weakest link.
A dangerous concept, as we later see the buildup of other rival teams who are just as passionate as our MCs. This leads to what is Slam Dunk's best quality: its down-to-earth nature. Between the endlessly funny gags in the peanut gallery and the very real backstories of our upper-level students, this is a series where no one ever feels forgotten. This leads to one of the most bittersweet yet rewarding final games I've ever witnessed.
Epilogue
Whether 30 or even 60 years from now, Slam Dunk will always be a classic in the Sports Manga industry. While it's very much a series that inspired many others, there's still an undeniable charm that will never be replicated. Making this my 150th spotlight was a pleasure, and I hope more people give it a chance. Unfortunately, I've exhausted my versatile vocabulary enough, so let's see where the spotlight takes us to next.
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