Slam Dunk

I'll start at the beginning: the manga for Slam Dunk is one of my all time favs. Every single page of Slam Dunk manga hits me with emotion, the art is breathtaking, the story hits my little heart back then and my lil ol' heart now. So when I discovered the anime adaptation, I was equal parts excited and scared. Could it live up to what the manga that I read multiple times as a kid? Unfortunately, the anime falls short ;( and so I gave it a 4. Because yes: it has its moments. But as a standalone anime experience, I don’t feel it delivered. What I like is the characters from the manga shine through in many scenes and you feel the potential. Knowing the source material gives you context and emotional moments, you know where things are going, and when certain big moments hit you can feel the emotions that the manga wants you to feel and it's on the screen. For older anime from 1993-1996 the fact that it even exists is a plus, you can see the era, you can feel the style of the time. So why I don't like this at all? The Pace, The show draaaaaaaaaaaaags. One example: the arc around Mitsui’s return and his 3-point shooting story, it takes multiple episodes to cover what in the manga is tighter and more easier to digest. Like the Mitsui's plot where he rejoined the team and quit his punk gang is so much better if it isn't moving at a turtle's pace. The animation and direction often feel dated even for its time. Some emotional high points in the manga don’t quite get the same impact here. The art is solid, but it misses the punch of the manga for me. And man the dragging episodes, because of filler or just slower story beats, I found myself waiting for things to move, which reduces the emotional impact that the manga created so effortlessly. And because I love the manga so deeply, the anime carries the weight of that expectation. I tried to evaluate it on its own merits, but it kept falling short of what I envisioned. I don’t blame anyone for this, it’s a product of its era. The early 90s animation methods, pacing norms of the time like Naruto, Bleach etc, and perhaps Toei’s production constraints all factor in. For me as a viewer coming in with high hopes, it didn’t click in the way I hoped. If you come into Slam Dunk having loved the manga, be prepared to have some frustrations. If you’re new to it and see it purely as a 90s sports anime, you’ll likely enjoy parts of it, but the pacing and impact won’t match modern sports anime standards or the emotional intensity of the source material. It’s interesting, it has heart to it, but it falls short for me. Would I recommend it? Yes, but watch it with awareness of the context (old era, slower pace) and with the manga as your reference. If you go in thinking “The Manga is so goddamn cool, I can't wait to see that Shohoku vs Shoyo fight Imma get liiiit” you might feel disappointed. If you go in with “let’s see a 90s basketball anime” you might find things to like. For me, though: as an anime on its own, it didn’t quite land.

The manga and anime started the basketball trend in Japan during the 90s and i decided to see how good it was. This was my first sports anime and I didn't expect much from it. Knowing that it was from Toei also didn't help much. But after the first three episodes, I was hooked for the ride. The characters were the thing that made me like the anime and also learned some nice basketball terminology along the way. The journey itself was filled with pretty intense matches and twists. It teaches some pretty valuable lessons that you can use in your life. Not to spoil more, but after you finish it you should definitely start the manga because the anime doesn't cover the entire story. If you like basketball, then this is for you. If not the characters will hook you up for the ride to come. You won't regret it!

Slam Dunk is a show full of colorful and memorable characters that is, ironically, slowed down by the basketball games they play in. The main character, the genius himself, Sakuragi Hanamachi rides the fine line between lovable and insufferable. For 95% of the time, he is a loud and obnoxious goofball, always spouting about being a self-proclaimed basketball genius despite being a total beginner at the sport. However, because we see his constant failures and his relentless drive for improvement, Sakuragi manages to avoid being an arrogant and unlikable main character. Sakuragi's development as a basketball player is also impressive. Sakuragi's skillset is slowly built throughout the series and he doesn't magically become a highly skilled and well-rounded character like his rival/teammate Rukawa; his initial skill in jumping high for rebounds and endurance is realistically due to his naturally insane athleticism. These aspects of Sakuragi's character make him a character you want to root for. Despite his bravado, you want to see him overcome his obstacles and become a better player. His usual goofiness makes the short moments where he is serious and shows flashes of true brilliance that much more impactful and are the most anticipated moments of each basketball game. The rough and tumble Shohoku High starting line up conists Akagi Takenori, Mitsui Hisashi, Miyagi Ryota, Rukawa Kaede, and of course Sakuragi. Each of them have unique personalities that entertainingly clash with each other. Their motivations and aspirations are interestingly explored, particularly Mitsui's story. Rukawa is an interesting foil to Sakuragi. The former is quiet and already an elite high school basketball player while the latter is bombastic and is just learning the game. Their rivalry is a source of lots of funny moments, but also a source of frustratingly drawn-out knuckleheaded plays by Sakuragi. The rest of the cast are entertaining as well, including Sakuragi's boisterous but loyal group of friends, Haruko, the object of Sakuragi's unnoticed love, and the opponents from other schools. The cast plays off each other very well and there is a very real sense of camaraderie built throughout the show. Unfortunately for how much fun the episodes about training or exploring the various characters can be, the basketball games themselves tend to be not fun because of how long they are drawn out. So much time is taken up by the players on the court talking to each other, coach monologues, or a sequence where every single character in attendance react to something that happened. A large chunk of time is also taken up by Sakuragi daydreaming about how he'll embarrass Rukawa with his genius performance. These are the only times I am annoyed with how boastful Sakuragi is. The moments where the game isn't moving at a snail's pace, where something really cool happens, are teetering on few and far between. But the climaxes of each game are still satisfactory to even awe-inspiring. The highest highs of Slam Dunk are definitely found in the games, but not only after slogging through padded episodes with cool moments peppered throughout it. If the amount of episodes for each game were at least cut down by a third, I would have enjoyed this anime a little bit more. Despite my complaints, there is still a lot to like about Slam Dunk. Slam Dunk is still a piece of anime history I don't regret watching all 101 episodes of because after watching it, it is clear that the genius basket-man Sakuragi Hanamichi's journey into falling in love with basketball set the standard that almost all sports anime afterwards go by.

I didn't want to write a review but i felt i had to when i read the top reviews of Kuroko no Basuke comparing it to Slam Dunk, saying it might be better. Jesus Christ people, you are comparing a Classic work of the Past to a over hyped, overrated show. We have believable characters with strengths and weaknesses, who can't make half court shots here, who can't make shots while in a position like you are doing the hoola hoop. Likeable characters, development. Granted the art and sound isn't the best but it's from the 90's. It annoys me to no ends when a show that's only good for it's flashy moves and art is said to be as good as or even better than a show in which they actually play basketball. It's obvious i liked this show and if you watched Kuroko, please actually WATCH this show before you compare them, because then you'll see what they have in Kuroko isn't basketball. It's magic tricks with a basketball and of course magic tricks will amuse some people. If you actually well informed, then you'll be able to tel the difference between the magic trick and actual basketball.

This is one of those gems of the old that I have slept on. It is almost 20 years old and this is by far one of the best sports anime I've ever watched. At first i thought I'd tackle a challenge: watch an entire anime series with around 100 episodes. There were many anime out there around this length that i just could not commit to. Before long, I became hooked. Having watched 10+ episodes a day, i finished within a week. This anime not only entertains, but it contains factual information on the basics of basketball. The character designs were well crafted and realistic. The music selection is great and the art work for it's day was probably outstanding. If you are a basketball fan and like anime, this is the right anime for you. (side note* This anime also made me very happy because it also pays homage to the Jordan brand. And i happen to love Jordan sneakers.)

Did you ever had the feeling that something grabs your attention so hard that its hard to let it go? I had this feeling while watching Slam Dunk. For me,that is the best sports-related anime tied with Hajime no Ippo. I'll rate by rating points above. Characters-I liked all Shokohu basketball team,exept Rukawa. That guy got on my nerves ever since the begining as he has Sasuke-like personality. Hanamichi is god! Sound-I enjoyed the OST. Story-The story-hmm,I was never the biggest fan of basketball,but still it ruled. Art-Since I'm a great fan of old style art,I can't say a bad thing for it. Enjoyment-I enjoyed it from the begining till the end. Overall its a great anime. A pity that there is not many like it.

Even though it was a fact that I would enjoy Slam Dunk because of the nostalgia factor (since I watched some of its episodes on TV when I was little), I kept on putting off the anime for later because I didn't feel ready for watching this many episodes for a single anime--and even took a break at around 80 episodes, I am glad that I finally came around to finish the anime. When I was a smol kiddo, I initially liked this anime for how relatable and funny Hanamichi (the red-head main character) was, but today, I really liked how he improved personal character-wise as well as his skills in basketball, since he doesn't know anything about the sport at the very beginning. Lately, when it comes to showing friendship, most animes have simply resorted to the chill, slice-of-life type of plot. But this one just proves that it doesn't have to have 0 core plot to emphasize the theme of friendship. I have yet to read the manga, so I don't know what things are like in there, but in the anime, I am kind of happy with the ending.

When I started watching, I gave it a 9, and the more I watched, the more it got dull and the score went down. This will probably be the main theme of this review: Repetitiveness/Stretching. Story 3/10 Again, at the beginning I would have rated it 7 or 8 maybe, as the story was diverse and unpredictable to some degree, and it would keep the viewer hanging. Basically, after that there is not much of a story. Just a basketball team trying to be the best. I think this is probably one of the main reasons why they stopped the anime; there was not much new to add. But does that deserve a 3? In my opinion, no. However, they introduced a new element just to make it worse: Stretching. About 70% of the matches were viewing the crowd cheering, or some flashback. They could have just kept it under 40 or 30 episodes and delivered the same story. Art 8/10 Just look at any photo of the anime, especially stagnant ones, and I think you will see something special about it. The characters seemed like real people (combined with the good voice acting). I didn't feel like I was watching regular "anime characters". It gets bad usually during matches, but still, I left with the feeling of the overall picture being good and I think it's the best reference for someone who wants to improve his drawing like myself. Sound 7/10 No complaints. I thought the voice acting was very fitting. The squeaking and the sound that plays when someone does some amazing dunk or move were cool. The background music and other sounds were okay. Character 4/10 Again, at the beginning I would have scored it 8 or 9 maybe. Each character had their own thing and it was entertaining to see what they would do in new situations. But I think, contrary to most reviews I have seen; they didn't develop well, especially Rukawa, which was very disappointing. Enjoyment 5/10 For me, the comedy was really good and one of a kind! I think I have never laughed that much watching an anime!!.. Unfortunately though, some scenes get repeated too many times that eventually I would not only find it dull, but I would HATE it seeing it again and skip it. It was like that from around episode 30. Though each time there is a novel scene, it's very delightful and funny. The matches were enjoyable. Only when they were playing though. Overall 6/10 Three things if they were taken out of this great show, it would have made it so much better. One: Repetitiveness. And two: Repetitiveness. And three: Have you guessed it?... Reiteration. Oh wait, that- Yes, it's exactly the same thing! This is how I felt watching this show. It seemed like the writers were too afraid to try something new as time went by. The characters get stuck in one dimension, no matter how they "changed" them. Everything was going in just one direction: Shohoku and Sakuragi getting better at basketball.

Hands down one of my favorite sports anime seen to date. A buddy of mine went to Japan recently and he said folks there are absolutely in love with this series, one of the more popular anime of all times there, as well. I read the manga first and fell in love with it. Watching the anime, furthered my love for it. The classic sound effects and themes were top notch, in my opinion. If you enjoy sports anime, this is definitely one to watch. You shouldn't regret it. The characters and character development were perfect, for me. I enjoy seeing characters improve as the series goes on and the specific friendships/ rivalries they develop. As with many of the sports anime out today, i would like to have seen what unfolded after the series ended, but this cant be helped ( i would say this in a more specific way but i dont want to spoil nothing). Anyhow, great series both to read and watch. Glad i took the time to watch it!

Your #1 Source for controversial anime reviews: I've seen tons of anime, I just don't put them on MAL, b/c of time and such other reasons. I'll keep this review short, spoiler-free, and sweet. Pros: Great character development (can really establish a bond with certain characters, and feel how they feel at times), the humor is in the right places thankfully unlike certain comedy anime, and a very "human" (flawed) yet likable main character. Cons: Some art animations can be a bit ugly, then again.. the anime is a bit old, so I give this a pass (no pun intended). Pacing of the actual basketball games seems a bit slow.. 1 or 2 minutes of a basketball game may take 10 minutes of the actual anime at times, feeling a bit dragged on.. Perhaps this is because I myself am a basketball player I'm critical of how the players will tend to stand in place and talk while the clock SHOULD be running, instead of perhaps chatting while running back down the court. These moments drew me out of the "trance-like" state one can tend to go into when reading the subtitles, and instead bringing my state of mind into an "okay lets get this part over with" point of view. Last con I really found that was somewhat annoying was the extreme over-popularity of the foil character in "Slam Dunk". If you think characters like "Naruto's" Sasuke Uchicha, or "Fairy Tail's" Gray Fullbuster are admired, then get ready for Rukawa Kaede! Overall Fantastic anime, but it not having a sequel is the biggest letdown I've seen in pretty much any anime personally, be warned!

It was the greatest sports anime I have ever seen! It was also funny when it came to Sakuragi! Hopefully what I heard is true about Slam Dunk coming back! I really want to watch Season 2 of this anime! Let's hope it does! I was honestly surprised this was considered Shonen, but I guess I did not know the definition of it. Either way, I really hope they do make another season of this. Actually, I hope they finish it rather than finishing it at a specific arcs like other anime series does. I can understand why, but I just want to see it complete since that is how good anime series are!

I think is important to clarify this in the beginning. The anime isn't finished and it will never be. If still you want to watch it (Something that I recommend) I'll say to watch until episode 84, beyond that, read the manga or just leave it. The show do well on hook you with the basketball theme and I really wanted to learn and play it. Every match hypes you short of like when you see Rocky fight in the end of his movies and you want to shout "Go Rocky!" and I can tell that I almost didn't notice that they were so many episodes thanks to the good flow of the story. The characters are interesting and in variety and not only inside the main character team, other teams characters are also interesting and important and it makes it feel really open and appealing (With an exception that I'll mention later). The ost is good, it seams that there are not too many tracks or maybe they repeat too much the same ones to make it seem like that, but they are good tracks. The OPs and ENDs are between the classics, mostly OP 1, END 2 and 4. The art style, from the original manga made by Inoue, Takehiko is amazing and as a artist myself and seriously want to check it out. The animation by the other hand is really good, some times they recycle from old episodes but I appreciate how good the players move during the match doing fakes, jump shoots, dribbling... NOW THE BAD!! I hate characters like Hanamichi, is the cliche of an idiot with talent that take it too over his head and is always acting like a fool making himself look bad, but it doesn't matter because is the main character and because of him, the team is motivated. I get it, it's his charisma and is funny and I'll admit it, I laugh at it, but after the half of the anime it started to be annoying. So many times I thought after loosing against his rival he would actually change his attitude, but he didn't and that what I didn't like about the anime.

Slam Dunk is a sport's anime masterpiece and the one who set up the standards for the one to come after -- a mix of motivation and psychological strength, technical ability and hard training, creativity and talent. In the route to the conquest of the National Championship, we see our Shohoku Basketball Team grow not only from a sport's perspective but also from a human perspective. I highly evaluated Slam Dunk for the realistic and balanced power of the challenges involved. Shohoku isn't overpowered or too weak and technically many games could go either way. Also the technical and tactical commentary of the game is very good, giving you a good insight of the basketball sports world, something many sports anime don't really do that well, going into fantastic and mystic abilities too much. But the strongest feature of Slam Dunk, and the one I really watched this show for was the good characterization and the comicality. Many times I laughed very hard, the protagonist Anamichi Sakuragi is just too funny and its relationship with very other character is very special and unique. Every singular story is good explained and the show takes plenty of time to give insights in their mind giving a round description of their characters. The weakest feature are the somewhat too long games in the mid-late part. It is normal too dramatize this tough important games, but certain times the game don't develop at all for multiple episode and this can be frustrating. Beside some too many flashbacks and slow-pacing the show keeps being very interesting and fun tough. If you want a light and enjoyable show featuring sports element this might be a very good starting point. Slam Dunk is a classic and cult anime. Get to Know the myth of basketball Genius Anamichi Sakuragi!

I watched Slam Dunk many years ago. It was one of the first animes I watched and also one of the few sports animes I like because I'm not a big fan of sports genre to begin with so I'm quite selective. There has to be other elements to attract me. So why do I like Slam Dunk? Firstly, I like basketball. So that's a big plus. Secondly, I like Hanamichi Sakuragi who isn't your typical manga hero. He's a yankee and a slacker, and a moron who's always rejected by girls he confesses to. But He is also stupid and funny and fiercely determined which makes for a good laugh. Story 7/10 Slam Dunk's story basically revolves around a team of hot-blooded teenagers of Shohoku High trying to win the national championship. The main protagonist, Sakuragi joins the team with impure intentions to impress his latest crush, Haruko, with no serious interest in basketball and a lot of funny antics ensue as he tries unsuccessfully to show his stud moves. He is also often incited by his jealousy towards the team's ace, Kaede Rukawa, whom Haruko has her eyes set on and would often sabotage his play. The running gag throughout the series is the two would end up fighting. But as the story progresses, Sakuragi starts to become more and more passionate towards basketball and is able to focus on winning the game rather than winning Rukawa. Slam Dunk consists of a lot of sweat, blood and tears. I was most touched by Hisashi Mitsui's return to the team. I never knew that a shounen anime could make me cry. Art 7/10 I read some comments that criticised Slam Dunk's art style but if you're going to watch a 90s anime in 2016/17, of course you will find it old-school. It is therefore unfair to say that Slam Dunk's art style is bad. It is simply the style of the 90s. HOWEVER, what I really love about the older animes like Slam Dunk is that the characters each have their distinct looks and styles so I can easily tell them apart, unlike newer animes/mangas where the characters look cloned. Characters 8/10 I like all the characters on Shohoku's team, even members from rival schools. My favourite has got to be Sakuragi because he provides the most comedy. My crush when I was watching this is Rukawa because he's seriously cool (followed closely by Hisashi). There aren't any backstories to these characters but I seriously don't care because I watched this for the sport so I don't want the story to be distracted by other irrelevant fillers. Sound 9/10 I was so so so crazy over their ending song 'Sekai wa Owaru Made Wa' that I listened to it repeatedly. Really crazy. Enjoyment 9/10 I watched Slam Dunk twice and I even bought its DVD collection. That's how much I enjoyed it. Kyaa!

IMO Slam Dunk is one of the best of sport anime! It's all about pure talent and hardwork. It's about teamworks and inspriration, skills and powers, fun times and sad times, strategy and strenght!! Sakuragi Hanamichi joined the basketball team, Shohoku due to the feeling he has for Haruko, however as he starts learning how to play basketball with Shohoku, Sakuragi starts liking the sport and becomes determined to be the best player. Throughout the time he training to become the best player, he has learn so much about basketball, teamwork, techniques, power and he has shown his hidden talent of playing basketball Those match that his team had with the other teams was the most incredible moments of the entire series. And the last match (which only shown in the manga) between Shohoku and Sannoh was SO FUCKING EPIC!! one of the best battle of sport of all time! I kept re-read it tons of time and still get hyped from it. Overall this anime is incredible and worth the times, just watch it people!

I debated on making a review for Slam Dunk a little before I finished the series because even though I personally enjoyed it, I felt like I wouldn’t have that much to say about it. I also felt like I could only really recommend it to a specific type of audience: people who like anime and people who like sports aka normal people. Personally though, this felt like a series that was made for me because even though I like me some weeb shit, I also have a huge soft spot for basketball. I remember when I was a kid I picked up the sport on a whim and basically started teaching myself how to play. It wasn’t long until I became absolutely obsessed and started practicing at the local basketball hoop almost every day. My routine during this phase of my life was basically this: shoot some hoops for a few hours, go back indoors and put on some old NBA documentaries from the 90s, 2000s and early 2010s on Prime Video (this was back when it was called Amazon Instant Video), maybe play some NBA 2K or put on an NBA game if there was one playing live, then go back outside and shoot some more hoops. Rinse and repeat until the day was over. I also played on some recreational teams with my friends at the time, and we were usually pretty good for our age group. I even grew to be around 6 feet tall during this point in my life, and just like any other naive kid who loved basketball, I wanted to go pro and play in the NBA. So during my freshman year of high school, I tried out for the basketball team thinking this could be the beginning of me becoming the next LeBron James. SPOILERS: I didn’t make the team. And I think that was around the point where I gradually started to fall out of love with basketball. These days I’m nowhere near as into basketball as I used to be, but occasionally I’ll check in on the NBA to see what’s going on or play a fun little game with some friends just for shits and giggles. So even though I feel like I’ve mostly grown out of the sport, I still look back on that time in my life when I was unhealthily obsessed with basketball with a lot of joy because I have almost nothing but fond memories of it. So when I heard there was a basketball anime that was also considered one of the best sports anime EVER, I knew I had to check it out eventually. And after finishing it, I think the series delivered for the most part. Slam Dunk is just a very genuine and endearing anime. Sure, on paper it might seem like a pretty typical sports comedy-drama, which it kinda is, but what makes it stand out to me compared to most other sports movies and shows I’ve seen is its execution. The most obvious difference is that it’s an anime, which already allows it to portray basketball in ways that live-action really can’t. And because this is an anime, naturally they have to make EVERYTHING as overdramatic as humanly possible. For example, the first game Shohoku plays against Ryonan is literally just a practice game. It doesn’t even matter that much in the grand scheme of things, yet the show treats this shit like it’s Game 7 of the NBA Finals. And I LOVE that because it genuinely gets you invested in what’s happening, while also being kinda unintentionally hilarious because, again, IT’S A PRACTICE GAME. It’s not that big of a deal. But since this is anime, it IS a big deal! I also love how the show makes every play feel like it’s the most important possession of the entire game. Basketball irl is obviously very fast-paced, but in Slam Dunk, every possession gets slowed down and emphasized. You get the players thinking through their next move, people on the sidelines analyzing what’s happening, dramatic reactions, strategies being explained and what feels like five minutes passing over something that probably happened in five seconds. Because…it’s anime bro, what did you expect? Even if you don’t care about sports, I genuinely think you could watch this like it’s a battle shonen where everybody’s “powers” are just their basketball abilities. Hanamichi and Kaede’s relationship especially gave me Naruto and Sasuke vibes at times. They’re talented in completely different ways, they constantly clash with each other, and Hanamichi desperately wants to prove himself against someone who is naturally better than him at the thing he’s only beginning to understand. Speaking of the characters, I think the cast is pretty likable across the board. Even a lot of the players on the opposing teams were interesting to me because they weren’t just treated like random NPCs that Shohoku needed to defeat. Hearing everyone talk about basketball, break down strategies, predict what another player was going to do and adjust to each other during games was making my basketball brain very giddy. Their motivations and personalities are usually pretty simple and easy to understand, but I think that simplicity works really well for this type of story. Probably the most satisfying progression in the entire series, though, was Hanamichi. This dude joins his high school basketball team despite not giving a single shit about basketball and barely even knowing how to play. He’s basically only doing it because he’s down horrendous for a girl he just met and wants a girlfriend. But as the series progresses, he slowly but surely starts taking the sport seriously. He starts wanting to improve not just to impress Haruko, but because he genuinely wants to become a better basketball player. Watching someone who initially saw the sport as nothing more than a way to get a girl gradually fall in love with basketball itself was honestly kinda beautiful. And maybe that progression hit me a little harder because I went through almost the opposite experience. Basketball was once one of the biggest things in my life before I gradually drifted away from it, while Hanamichi starts out not caring about it at all before slowly discovering why people love the game so much. Watching him learn all of these basic things that I remember having to learn myself brought back some memories I hadn’t thought about in a long time. I also found this show genuinely funny. Maybe some of it comes from how relatable Hanamichi’s experience of learning basketball for the first time was to me, but the humor mostly landed. I love how this dude can go from acting like the greatest basketball player to ever touch a court to immediately getting humbled because he still barely knows what he’s doing. The comedy also helps give the characters a lot of personality outside of basketball, which I think is a big reason why I ended up caring about the team as much as I did. I will say, though, that I think Slam Dunk is practically begging to get the Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood treatment someday: a new adaptation that follows the manga all the way through with modern animation and tighter pacing. This is unfortunately one of those anime that ended before the manga actually finished its run, and while I still really enjoyed watching it, I don’t think the animation or pacing has aged the best in certain places. Some games and individual moments can get stretched out for WAY longer than they probably need to be. Considering The First Slam Dunk came out relatively recently and adapted material from later in the manga, I don’t know how likely a complete remake actually is anytime soon, if ever. But I would absolutely love to see it. There’s already so much about this series that works, and seeing the entire story adapted from beginning to end with modern production values could potentially make me love it even more. Overall, I’m glad I finally watched Slam Dunk. I originally thought I wouldn’t have much to say about it, but I guess writing this entire fucking review proved otherwise lol. It didn’t completely reignite my old obsession with basketball or suddenly make me want to start watching every NBA game again, but it did remind me why I loved the sport so much in the first place. Watching Hanamichi slowly discover that same love while rememb…

If you like basketball, then you should give this anime a shot. Of course, I'll start it on a positive note. Considering its year, this anime has great visuals, audio design and characters. It starts off pretty slow, but allows you to see intentions of each person, slowly picking up the pace. While progressing the story, it eventually shows you more and more basketball "action", not only allowing you to witness some truly amazing scenes, but also developing each character as a basketball player. At some point I just started re-watching particular plays several times, just to see how beautiful and realistic they are. And even though the overall plot can be easily guessed (like which team is going to win), the key moments, that will decide this general direction are well-written and often surprising. Just based on this alone I would give this anime a 9 out of 10. But there's always a BUT. The main character is just a despicable person. Maybe his behavior was considered cool at Japan 90s, but as of now (2022) he is just an impulsive and egoistic jerk. Everything he does is only for his own benefit. Left alone, it won't be bad, but in the process he keeps on hurting others, both physically and emotionally. The only reason he can keep on being the protagonist is because of the people around him, who are capable of understanding, forgiving and going for the compromise for a greater good. That's partly the reason, why they can shine so brightly in comparison to the brute that MC is. I cannot deny the passion of Sakuragi, but anime constantly keeps on reminding you, that he does this mostly because of his sexual desires, which only disgusts me even more, considering all other secondary characters motivations. Secondly, this anime has no ending (my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined moment). This is a pretty common occurrence, but is something you have to keep in mind. There will be no happy ending. Not any, to be precise. Overall it was a pleasant experience, just try your best to overlook all the things MC is allowed to do and enjoy one of the best BASKETBALL anime of all time :3

Slam Dunk is a classic. The thing is I'm pretty meh on sports anime, as they are the type of anime to me that can easily be passable but are hard to be great, but Slam Dunk is a pretty good piece of work. I have it at like a 7.499999 rounded down. Slam Dunk just really does everything reasonably well. It doesn't really do anything fantastic in my opinion, but the sports scenes are good, I enjoy the characters, the humor is solid. This is just a very very solid anime. In my opinion, if this anime was made this year, it'd probably be amazing. The fact that it has the really old style animation and just feels old depresses the score a bit, but this is definitely a solid watch.

The story is not particularly unique. It follows a fairly standard sports anime formula where an inexperienced underdog joins a team and gradually improves. and then there is a boy who girls go mad for with greate background for the sport, The characters are well-rounded and have both strengths and flaws. However, my main issue is that despite Hanamichi Sakuragi being the protagonist, he never ends up better than THE GIRLS BOY. at some point it litterally start frustating you for example, for 7-9 whole episodes no shot by protagonist only GIRLS BOY play, he gets a point then crowd goes wild , same for every episode then for one episode protagonist gets some screen time , makes a move get some attention from crowd (less than GIRLS BOY) then again for next 10-15 episode its story of GIRLS BOY. in the end protagonist keeps growing , while GIRLS BOY gets admirations. they say they are rivals but in the end they will call GIRLS BOY a better player and will say protagonist got potential thats all. Personally, I would not recommend it. if you do watch just skipp those worthless episodes where NOTHING IS HAPPENING Score: 4/10

Slam Dunk is easily in my top 10 anime list and definitely top 5 in sports genre. for me this is like the father of all basketball anime and it show the way for every other show after it. i finally understand why the manga is one of the best selling in history after watching this. its so realistic and power ful.​the story about sakuragi is amazing. at first he thinks he can do everything alone and he is just a genius but then he learn what it means to be part of a team. i love how he works so hard, especially his jumping and the way he dunks the ball is just incredible. yes i know the animation and drawings are old because its an old show and sometimes it feels very slow. and sakuragi's behavior can make people really angry sometimes lol. even i got annoyed with him sometimes but when u try to have empathy u understand why he acts like that. he is one of my favorite characters ever because he is so human. ​as someone who loves basketball very much this kind of shows have very special place for me. the grit and the hard work is perfect. it might be old but the soul of this anime is better than many new shows today. if u can handle the old style u must watch this classic. its not just about sport, its about growing up. ​ Score:9/10