The First Slam Dunk Review

The First Slam Dunk is an anime film based on the manga series and anime series Slam Dunk. The manga’s creator, Takehiko Inoue, adapts his own work for the big screen.

Ryota Miyagi (Shugo Nakamura) is a small yet determined basketball player who plays as the point guard for Shohoku High. As Shohoku High plays in the final of the National High School Championship Ryota reflects on his life, from his childhood on Okinawa, his relationship with his brother, mother, and teammates, and his troubled teenage years when his family moved to Kanagawa Prefecture.

The First Slam Dunk has been a big hit for an anime film. It’s the fifth highest-grossing anime film of all time and it won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation in 2023. The First Slam Dunk has been met with a positive critical and audience reception in Japan and beyond.

I enjoy sports films, even if the genre can be cliched. When I was younger I enjoyed basketball: I followed the NBA in the ‘90s and I even made my dad watch Space Jam. So, The First Slam Dunk ticked a couple of boxes for me. Added to that was the anime media that made The First Slam Dunk different from most sports films.

The First Slam Dunk did not have a traditional sports film narrative. It wasn’t a comedy about a group of misfits needing to become a functional team or an underdog story about a team or individual having to overcome overwhelming odds. The film was not set over the course of a season or tournament or building up to a big sporting event. Half the film was about the sporting event and it was a back-and-forth between the two teams. Rivalries formed between the players on the two teams and the coaches tried and strategize a path to victory.

The use of animation allowed the film to get into the action on the court. More so than a live-action could ever achieve. For high school teams, they played like they were in the NBA and it was exhilarating to see all the skills on display and a fist-pumping rock soundtrack. Fans of basketball can see who some of the characters were meant to mirror. Hanamichi Sakuragi (Subaru Kimura) was a maverick rebound king with dyed hair like Dennis Rodman, Haruko Akagi (Maaya Sakamoto) was tall and strong and could power his way through his opponents but couldn’t do a free throw, like Shaquille O’Neal, and Hisashi Mitsui (Jun Kasama) was the Michael Jordan of the team, a talisman but a ball hog. Shohoku High’s uniform was the same colours as the Chicago Bulls.

Whilst The First Slam Dunk was a sports drama, the heart of the film was teen angst and melodrama. This film had more drama and emotion in the first five minutes than many other films have throughout their whole run times. The First Slam Dunk was Ryota’s story as he faced constant tragedy throughout his life. He lost his father, and his brother, was forced to move, was bullied, and had a bad relationship with his mother. Ryota’s brother, Sota had an influence on the boy since Ryota developed a love for basketball and gave him important lessons about persistence. After Sota’s death, Ryota suffered from guilt and living in his shadow, leading to Ryota try and fulfill Sota’s dreams. This drama and personal issues made The First Slam Dunk feel more like A Silent Voice, an anime that would put anyone through the emotional wringer.

The original manga and anime series were released in the mid-90s. Because of this long gap, there would be plenty of audience members that wouldn’t be familiar with the material and The First Slam Dunk had to act as a fresh start. I went in thinking it was going to be a prequel like Jujutsu Kaisen O. The film changed the protagonist since the original series focused on Hanamichi. In the film, Hanamichi was the comic relief character. The tone of the original series was lighter than this film.

The First Slam Dunk was a great feat of a film. It was an entertaining sports film that didn’t have a typical sports film narrative and an emotional drama about teen issues.