The First Slam Dunk

Best game of basketball in a movie ever.

If you weren't already familiar with the story or characters, I'm not sure how well this would work. That being said I enjoyed seeing all of these beloved characters again even if it concentrated on my least favorite of the team members. The animation is smooth even if not to my liking, the pacing is great and the story just worked for me for the most part.

opening up midjourney and typing “expensive-looking anime about basketball”

As an old-timer, I'm glad I get the chance to see Slam dunk on the big screen, even more when it's one of my favorite game in all sports shonen manga they chose to focus on. I did find it weird that the focus shifted to Ryota for the movie but it kinda worked.

Ryota's backstory is presented so well: without guile, so understated, and devastating in its realism. We all react to grief differently and life goes on and so it goes for Ryota and his family. But the movie compromises in still sticking to the same storytelling beats that happen in the manga. Also, I would kill for Takehiko Inoue to create an ending for Vagabond through a film with this animation style.

Holy shit this is so good!

keptbeingsurprisedbytheamountofbasketballanditnotbeinggoodlmaostoppedcaringanditfeltlikeiwaswatchingaseasonfinalewithoutwatchingtheshow

Now THAT’S a freakin’ basketball movie right there. Went in expecting an entertaining anime, but ended up getting an emotionally enthralling story that was every bit as investing and entertaining as the actual basketball game. Inoue’s passion and love of the sport is very evident in the way he shoots the game and takes time building up compelling arcs for our team. The final play is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in a sports movie period. Exhilarating from beginning to end.

Despite the actual “present-time” basketball material being relatively engaging, we don’t really get to understand the motivations driving the individual players beyond the lead, Ryota. And even then, his story is chockfull of tiresome cliches delivered without any real tact. It becomes a drag whenever we have to take a time-out from the action on the court to wallow in a myriad of loosely connected character threads that fail to culminate into something satisfying or cathartic.