SLAM DUNK” is the milestone of Japanese basketball manga by Mr. Takehiko Inoue.
It is a manga work representing Japan loved by the whole world and all generations, and a “new movie anime” is scheduled to be released in the fall of 2022. It has become a trending topic on Twitter every time the official account releases information about it, and fans are getting even more excited about it.
In this issue, we will look back at the story of the original manga in preparation for the movie version of “SLAM DUNK” with a look back at each match! You can get excited remembering those famous scenes and lines, or you can agonize over the contents of the new movie version!
Let’s look forward to the release of more information in the future and build up our spirits for next fall! Wait for me, Shohoku!
This article contains spoilers.
Do you… like… basketball?” ~Hanamichi Sakuragi “Basketball Club” admission
The main character of this work, Hanamichi Sakuragi (* hereafter Sakuragi), is a well-known delinquent who leads the “Sakuragi Gundan” (as he is called) with his trademark red regent and large body.
Although this is a well-known basketball manga, it is a catchy “delinquent manga” in the early part of the story, which revolves around one delinquent’s fascination with the sport of basketball and his growth in the game.
Sakuragi is prone to falling for girls easily, and he was rejected by a total of 50 girls during his junior high school years. The most recent girl he fell for rejected him because she “liked Oda-kun from the basketball club. If he told her on graduation day, he could have made various excuses, such as “We will be apart in high school,” but he was rejected straight away.
Sakuragi, who is easily influenced, has become “allergic to basketball,” and even at Shohoku High School, where he has just entered, he jumps on basketball-related topics and head-butts the people he is talking to.
He is so violent that he head-butts the people he is talking to. A girl asks him an ill-advised question, “Do you like basketball? Sakuragi turns around angrily and sees Haruko Akagi (hereafter “Haruko”) standing right in front of him.
This encounter would become a fateful encounter for Hanamichi Sakuragi and the Shohoku High School basketball team.
Sakuragi pretended to love basketball, which he hated and had no experience in, in order to look good to Haruko, who was his “star”. Haruko is so excited by Sakuragi’s enthusiasm that she takes him out to the gymnasium and asks him, “Do you know what a dunk is?” She takes him to the gym and asks him, “Do you know what a dunk is?
He flies as fast as he can and slams the ball into the center of the ring!
Sakuragi did as she said, running as fast as he could with the ball in one hand, and then leaping as fast as he could! He not only hits the ball, but also hits his head on the board.
He hit the ball and hit his head on the board! Watching the whole scene, Haruko intuits that he will be the savior of the basketball team and recruits him to the basketball team. This encounter would be the meeting of destiny for Hanamichi Sakuragi and the Shohoku High School basketball team!
Sakuragi, lifelong rival “Kaede Nagarekawa
There is a first-year student at Shohoku High School who shines differently from Sakuragi. That is Kaede Nagarekawa (“Nagarekawa”). She is called the number one rookie in Kanagawa Prefecture, and her talent is overwhelming. She is the opposite of Sakuragi, who is tall, cool, and good-looking.
Their meeting was also a shuraku. Sakuragi is disheartened when Haruko tells him that she likes Ryukawa, and is called to the rooftop by the delinquents of Shohoku. When he goes to the rooftop to take the shock of his broken heart out on the delinquents, he finds the delinquents lying there, who had been beaten up by Nagarekawa, who was irritated in his sleep!
Sakuragi, who is involved with Ryukawa, and Haruko, who sees him, also gather on the rooftop, and the actors are all present.
Haruko, who was unfamiliar with the situation when she saw Ryukawa being beaten up by the delinquents, determined that Sakuragi was the assailant and denounced him. Sakuragi is seriously damaged!
Worried about Ryukawa, Haruko runs up to him and says a few words, but Ryukawa brushes her off, saying, “Who are you? Haruko is seriously damaged.
Sakuragi gets mad at her and starts hitting her. Then, Haruko’s misunderstanding accelerates and she shouts at Sakuragi, “Daikkirai! She shouts “Daikkirai! Sakuragi is unable to fight!
Sakuragi hates Ryukawa and basketball. The two, who had the worst encounter, grow up to be rivals and the best of friends.
Shohoku basketball team captain Akagi vs. siloed Sakuragi
A heartbroken and desperate Sakuragi gets into a dispute with the basketball club during an outside practice and somehow ends up in a 1-on-1 match with the captain, Goken Akagi (hereafter “Akagi”)!
Akagi sets up a handicap match to show Sakuragi, who has insulted basketball, the reality of basketball. The rule is that Sakuragi must score one goal before Akagi scores 10 goals to win, but Sakuragi can do nothing in front of Captain Akagi.
Sakuragi shows his dashing ability which is hard to believe that he is a homecoming club member, and we can see Sakuragi’s potential, but the difference in power is obvious. Haruko can only watch anxiously as the two would-be friends fight each other.
Just as Akagi is about to decide the game, Sakuragi’s super defense (a.k.a. “Hun Hun Defense”) with his out-of-the-ordinary instantaneous force takes the ball away from him. While struggling against Akagi’s defense, Sakuragi and Akagi both end up doing a powerful slam dunk, slamming the ball into the goal.
He was a mess, running with the ball in his hands and kicking for steals, but he showed off his legs to catch up to Akagi in an instant, his fun-fun defense, and his power to dunk on the rebounding Akagi.
Hanamichi Sakuragi joins the club and learns a “weapon”!
Sakuragi joins the basketball club on his own accord to win a game and get closer to Haruko’s brother. Akagi does not approve, but is impressed by Sakuragi’s enthusiasm for cleaning the gym and polishing balls, and allows him to join the club. Nagarekawa joins the club, other club members and Ayako, the manager, also join the club, and the new Shohoku Basketball Club finally gets underway!
Sakuragi is reluctant to go through basic practice. He continues to play basketball, despite his frustrations and anguish due to his continuous kisso. Sakuragi had rarely been passionate about anything, but this scene showed a change in him.
Mr. Anzai, the coach of the Shohoku basketball team, decided to test the new team’s ability by organizing a practice game against Ryonan High School, a strong school. In the red-and-white game for the practice match, captain Akagi and Ryukawa had a fierce clash, which showed that Ryukawa is the real deal. Sakuragi also made his appearance in the middle of the game and showed his presence with a slam dunk (on Akagi’s head) off the dribble. Anzai-sensei was in a good mood after seeing these two lively newcomers, and was suddenly looking forward to the practice game.
The first is the “common man’s shot. The first is the “layup shot,” which is the most common shot you see in basketball.
Sakuragi makes fun of it as a simple shot, but it is a deep shot that is not easy to succeed. He learns it successfully through self-directed practice with Haruko and his athletic ability. The joy and pleasure of being able to do it little by little is good, isn’t it?
The second is “rebounding. This is a play to get the ball when a shot by a teammate or the opposing team misses and bounces off the ring. Akagi tries to help Sakuragi, who is a beginner, by teaching him this play, where power and quickness are important.
Sakuragi learned important skills in scoring and offense and defense. Will he be able to play in the practice game against Ryonan?
Clash! Ryonan High School, Practice Match
At last, the Shohoku basketball team had its first practice game against Ryonan. Their opponent, Ryounan, led by captain Jun Uozumi (“Uozumi”) and big ace Akira Sendo (“Sendo”), is the fiercest team in Kanagawa and Shohoku’s biggest rival. Both captains are fired up with fighting spirit even before the match begins. Nagaregawa, the cool ace, and Sendo, the loose ace who comes in late. What kind of moves these four players and Sakuragi, an amateur, will make is the highlight of this match.
Sakuragi starts on the bench as a secret weapon. The match is intense from the beginning with the four players mentioned earlier. Uozumi’s block completely stops Shohoku’s onslaught, and the ball is in Sendo’s hands. The performance of Sendo, a super high school level player, was outstanding, scoring a goal himself while creating the game with his brilliant assists. Both the players and the coach were in the mood for Ryonan in the early stages of the game.
Two men responded to Ryonan’s words, “We’re going to score 30 points,” and the two men lit up! Will Shohoku fight back?
Main Pillar, Akagi
Ryukawa cut off a pass to Sendo, who was on a roll, and started a counterattack by sampling Sendo’s well-known line “Saaiko-ka”. Ryukawa and Akagi, who could not remain silent at Ryonan’s words, began to score more goals.
The Shohoku players, who had been tense and stiff, gradually relaxed and began to play well thanks to Akagi’s defense under the goal and his captain-like communication. Nagaregawa also began to get better, and the team as a whole became more energetic.
This is the role of Akagi, the mainstay of Shohoku! Shohoku is strong because of Akagi’s strong core. The first half ended with a small point difference and the second half began. Sakuragi is gutsy about Sendo, but Sendo also seems to feel something for Sakuragi. Even from the viewpoint of the famous player from Kanagawa, he seems to feel something for Sakuragi.
Anzai Sensei asks Sakuragi to warm up, but then an unexpected accident occurs.
The Shohoku rookie goes on a rampage.
Akagi, the mainstay of the Shohoku team, cuts his eyelid in an accident and has to go down to the bench temporarily. It is up to Hanamichi Sakuragi, the secret weapon, to fill in the inside position left vacant by Akagi.
Sakuragi was nervous for his first match, but he soon got into his stride with the help of Nagarekawa’s ass-kicking. He provokes Ryonan with his signature big mouth, and plays with Ryonan with his unusual athletic ability and unpredictable moves (he just doesn’t want to pass the ball to Ryukawa)!
He also inspired Ryukawa, who had been showing some concerns about his physical strength. The two rookies went on a rampage! This puzzled Ryonan’s coach, Mr. Taoka. This was an explosion of Shohoku’s new power. Sakuragi jumped to a height of over 2 meters to grab a rebound from Uozumi, who was over 2 meters taller than Sakuragi. The flow of the game seemed to be Shohoku’s, but …….
Gori and the losers who came back.
Sakuragi shows great performance, but he is still an amateur. He is also starting to lose his rebounding skills, and Ryonan is right on his heels. The hole left by Akagi is large, and Ryonan is slowly pulling away from the team. However, there was a resounding “Chigai~~u~!
“No way~!
and a cry of “Chigai~~uu! Akagi, who had finished stopping the bleeding, had returned. He then sent a message to Sakuragi that his rebounding was not up to par. He takes over with Ryukawa and enters the court.
With Akagi back and the team tightened up, Shohoku began to fight back. Sakuragi also remembers what he was taught and plays as a rebounder. Sendo is a man who hates to lose.
Sento, a genius but an uneven player, was able to score more and more points as Shohoku gained momentum. Sakuragi’s rivalry with Sento is also flared up, and he desperately tries to catch up with Sento.
Watching Sakuragi, Ryukawa, who had been waiting for the last two minutes of the game, also went to the court! The last two minutes of the game are now upon us, and the competitive players have gathered to play.
Ryukawa and Sakuragi double-team Sendo on defense. Akira Sendo happily responds. Director Taoka says, “I’ve never seen Sendo play so happily. Sendo, who innovated that they could be rivals in the near future, goes all out to beat them.
Sento overtook the two and immediately went into a three-way formation. Akagi and Ryukawa’s help did not arrive in time, and at the moment it looked as if they would be pushed out,
Sakuragi, who had returned immediately, blocked Sento from behind! Nagarekawa then made a 3 to bring the score back to 1 point. With only a few minutes remaining, Ryonan slowly turned the ball over. Akagi steals the ball and passes it immediately to Ryukawa, who runs onto the ball and receives a pass from Sakuragi.
Sakuragi is free to dash for the goal, and a slam dunk comes to mind. However, Sakuragi regains his composure at Haruko’s call and scores with a “commoner’s shot,” a weapon he has learned to use!
He succeeds in turning the game around! The Shohoku members are elated. However, Sento, who has not given up yet, sneaks up on them. In the end, Sendo’s double clutch shot in mid-air, which allowed Akagi and Nagaregawa to cross each other and score a goal, ended in defeat in Shohoku’s first game.
Despite the defeat, Shohoku showed their power clearly against Sendo and Ryonan led by coach Taoka. They left Ryonan with a vow to play another match at the Inter-High School Championships.
After the match, Sakuragi heads out to buy a new bash with a sense of regret and confidence in his progress.
