The First Slam Dunk

I gave this movie a 9/10 but to be honest, big part of the score goes to the original Slam Dunk manga, which is a legend, and big part of my youth growing up.

I seriously thought it was an April fool joke when I read 2 years ago Inoue-san announced he was going to make a movie version of slam dunk. And I've been looking forward to this then, and it did not disappoint.

The biggest headache for Inoue-san was probably how could he re-tell such a classic story, which the fans must have re-read hundreds or even thousands of times by now, without making the movie redundant and unnecessary. And he's made some really smart choices here. The smartest choice of all, imo, is to re-tell the Sannon battle from Miyagi's perspective, and adding a lot of backdrop stories.

And manga fans get to re-live the Shohoku - Sannon battle with new backdrop stories, and re-live all the monumental touching moments in the story. And for fans like me, the 2 hours in the theatre felt like re-watching my first love right in front of my eyes years later, feeling like it's just happening for the first time.

The movie is not without flaw. I think for people who have not watched the original manga, the movie will feel pretty choppy. The editing would feel awkward. Especially in the Mitsui story. That would feel so incomplete and even a lot of "WTH" moments. Or likewise when Sakuraki saw flashbacks from his past when he was injured. But maybe there isn't a flawless way to re-tell a 31 books manga (or even the Sannon battle is like 4-5 books?) in a 2 hours movie.

Which is not to say new audience cannot enjoy this movie, but this would simply be a good sports movie to those not being familiar with the original manga. For the fans though, this is an amazing movie.

I can only hope Inoue-san would come up with the Second slam dunk, the third slam dunk, the forth slam dunk .... but hopefully it won't take another 26 years.

Although there's been a lot of advance reviews expressing disappointment mainly from die-hard TV series fans, this animation movie has just completely blown my mind. Being one of an original comic fan for more than twenty years, I am truly amazed how beautiful this animation is, which should come from incredible hard work of creators. Members of the opponent team are now animated and all the characters act lively, this could not been better. New stories added, at the same time, some original parts are effectively cut off or omitted, I think I should call it creativity. Without any knowledge about original series, or even rules of the sport, you will be satisfied with this realistic sports movie and teenagers' hilarious&touchy drama.

This is a message to the creator of Slam Dunk and director of this movie (they happen to be one and the same).

Please let there be a second Slam Dunk. There can even be a third, fourth and fifth. I see so much potential in stories and events that haven't been told yet.

In my younger days I have binged a lot of anime. I've seen a lot, but Slam Dunk is my number 1 for all the right reasons. The drama, comedy and action is amazing even if you don't like sports. It was the series that inspired a nation. Often I wished the series could be recreated with better animation and graphics. This movie shows how great that could be, but I'm glad this movie tells part of the story that could have only been read from the manga as the anime series stops where the manga doesn't.

It was the only manga I ever read since I loved the series so much that I wanted to see more of it. The team of Shohoku is the fictional high school version of Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls. This movie has saved the last dance for a very long time. But in my opinion it doesn't need to stop here. There is room to extend this to a series of movies that can even go beyond what has been given in the manga.

Takehiko Inoue, you have given us so much already. It would be selfish to ask for more, but it could keep the spirit of Slam Dunk alive for many more generations. If I was allowed, I would love to help with storylines and ideas :)

I'm not giving it ten points because the 3D crowd was pretty bad in some scenes. Other than that, it's a perfect movie! The pacing, emotion and tension are set up impeccably, and there are several seconds of silence towards the end of the movie where the whole theater was dead silent, some probably holding their breath.

Fans of the manga will recognize iconic scenes that last just long enough. With the same rhythm and comedic timing, you can tell that the manga's author is the director of the film.

It captures the charms of the manga beautifully, while also using the resources of animation to great effect, making it a masterpiece in its own right.

Knowing that most of the audiences are fans who have read the manga + some new viewers, the director employs a different approach to bring the film to life, rather than introducing all characters from A to Z (that could be boring). It is definitely a very smart way of using a basketball match, supported by the backstory of Ryota Miyaki, to make the movie more solid and compact. On one hand, the fans get to find some classic moments and new elements in the movie, while on the other, new viewers get to know Ryota better.

Although we basically know what will happen at the end of the basketball match, the visual excitement and intense moments are all well presented and intact for your enjoyment!

I also like how the movie describes the relationship between Ryota and other characters. It's not too much or too less, but just enough to remind fans about the connections.

The movie has a few flaws as follows: Firstly, there are no behind stories about the characters and talents of Akagi, Sakuragi, Mitsui (a 3-pointer) and Rukawa (ace of the team), as a result new viewers may not connect well with them or enjoy the movie to maximum.

Secondly, Ryota's side stories are acceptable in the first half, but it becomes cheesy + too much in the second half, especially while the basketball match is on the line!

Finally, the emotional attachment is there, but the intensity is weak. We know what it means and we feel it, BUT it just doesn't touch one's heart at all!

I gave 7.0/ 10.0. Watching it without high expectations will allow you to enjoy it better! Of coz, with knowledge about the manga and characters is definitely an advantage!