Slam Dunk (manga) | |
![]() Slam Dunk | |
Genre | Sports |
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Manga | |
Slam Dunk | |
Written by | Takehiko Inoue |
Published by | ![]() |
Anime | |
Directed by | Nobutaka Nishizawa |
Studio | Toei Animation |
Anime | |
Directed by | Nobutaka Nishizawa |
Studio | Toei Animation |
Slam Dunk (スラムダンク, Suramu Danku) is a 31-Tankōbon (volume), 24-Kanzenban Japanese manga and anime series written by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shohoku (Shōhoku) High School. It was first published in Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump in Japan and has sold over 100 million copies in Japan alone.[citation needed] In 1995, it received the Shogakukan Manga Award for shōnen.[1]
It was so popular that many Japanese teenagers began playing basketball after it was published.[2] Inoue has also used basketball as a central theme in two other manga series: Buzzer Beater and Real.
The anime series, consisting of 101 episodes, was produced by the TV Asahi terrestrial television network and Toei Animation and directed by Nobutaka Nishizawa. It was first aired on TV Asahi from October 16, 1993 to March 23, 1996. It was later aired on the anime satellite television network, Animax, in addition to four animated movies produced. The anime series follows the manga storyline, but leaves out the National Tournament games. The animated movies are separate stand-alone stories.
The manga was originally licensed in North America to the now-defunct Gutsoon! Entertainment and serialized in Raijin Comics during 2003 and 2004 before Gutsoon folded. The license has since been picked up by VIZ Media, who confirmed at Comic Con International 2007 that will start publishing the series in 2008. A preview of the series was published in the December 2007 issue of Shonen Jump[3] Another English version has been published in Singapore by Chuang Yi.
Plot
The main character of this manga is Hanamichi Sakuragi, who started out as an outcast who fights as a method to gain power and publicity, becoming the leader of a gang. Hanamichi, being very unpopular with girls, has been rejected by them fifty times, the last of which rejects him for Oda, a basketball player from another school. He then becomes enraged at anything related to basketball. When a girl asks him if he plays basketball, instead of screaming at her as he does to anyone else, he falls in love and also claims he is a big basketball fan (and as he states here onwards, "a genius"), only to find she loves Rukawa, a novice player with great ability. When Hanamichi sees her training alone, he surprises her with his ability to hold the ball in his hand, and she teaches him how to perform a slam dunk, much to his joy. After a misunderstanding in which Haruko thinks Hanamichi attacked Rukawa (It was really 3rd year students) she tells him he hates him, sending Hanamichi again into a rage, and into a fight with Shohoku's basketball captain Takenori Akagi who challenges him to score 1 point in a 10 point match to teach him a lesson after Hanamichi insults basketball. Despite his inexperience and making ridiculous attempts at beating Akagi, Hanamichi impresses everyone after he makes an unbelievable jump and succesfuly performs a slam dunk, beating Akagi. Haruko apologizes for telling him he hates him and reveals she is Akagi's sister (much to Hanamichi's disbelief due to how unlike they are).
After many attempts to please Akagi, he finally is accepted into the Shohoku basketball team. Hanamichi was reluctant to join the team at first because Akagi made him practice basic skills apart from the team, but Sakuragi, despite his immaturity and hot temper, returns as he understands their importance and is allowed to practice with the team. Akagi, realizing Hanamichi's amazing height and strenght, begins training him to get rebounds, convincing him that "whoever controls the rebounds controls the match". Soon after, Hanamichi finds himself in his first match, a training game against team Ryonan, a team which rivalizes against Shohoku, and he vows to defeat Sendoh, the team's best player. While being a major nuisance in the bench and costing the team a few points (Also due to his hatred for the amazing Rukawa), he is allowed to play, and again manages to surprise everyone with his skills, as well as showing great ability in getting rebounds. Shohoku unfortunately loses the match, prompting Hanamichi to train even harder to beat both Sendoh and Rukawa (As well as to feel himself worthy of Haruko).
After the match, a student called Miyagi Ryota appears. A brash and rather violent student with a rough past who played for Shohoku, he quickly finds himself fighting with the 3rd year students, and this way sees Ayako (The team's manager) and Hanamichi walking together. Ryota happens to be in love with Ayako very much as Hanamichi is to Haruko, and his rage pits him against Hanamichi. As Hanamichi notices his crush on Haruko, they realize they are very much alike, both being rejected by girls and with a big crush which led them to basketball, and quickly become friends.
As things seem calm, the 3rd year students gang up on the team, and start a fight in the gym (which might cause the team to be expelled and banned from playing). The brains behind this is Hisashi Mitsui, an aggressive student who fought Ryota (which left both in the hospital), and wants to destroy the basketball team. After the fight, Kogure, the team's co-captain, explains he was once Shohoku's MVP (Most Valuable Player), with uncanny ablity to score trile points, but he grew jealous of once-rookie Akagi, and their competition led to a lesion in his leg, which forced him to retire. While he since recovered, this deep pain for leaving basketball left him resentful. As the team's coach Anzai appears, he remembers his inspirational words and encouragement to him and, finally breaking down in tears, asks to be reinstated.
The full team then begins training for the national championship, winning many matches, including a very difficult match against Shoyo, another very popular team, but a problem appears. Due to his inexperience and violent nature, Hanamichi keeps getting expelled, as well as showing he cannot make shots from afar. This makes Akagi train Hanamichi into learning his way around the field and shooting near the goal, counting on Hanamichi's amazing talent and learning ability.
Akagi's training proves effective as they play a match against Kainan, the best team in the prefecture, and Hanamichi shows great improvement. After a very tough match which is very taxing and challenging for the whole team (Mostly Mitsui, who has to prove himself after his long absence) they manage to get even with Kainan, only down by 1 point. At the last second, Hanamichi has the ball but instead of passing it to Akagi to deliver the advantage point, he accidentally passes it to a Kainan player, costing them the match. Even though nobody blames him (everyone, including a begrudging Rukawa, admits he far surpassed everyone's expectations), he is terribly ashamed of himself and can't even look at Haruko in the eyes. Finally Hanamichi steels up and cuts his hair almost bald (much to everyone's amusement), stating he is now fully commited to the game.
Despite losing to Kainan, the team is not eliminated from the national finals, and begins training hard, watching other teams play and studying them, devoting themselves to win. The team is momentarily in danger when their basketball training causes everyone's grades to drop, which means that if they fail, they cannot play. Akagi arranges meetings in his house and makes them study hard to pass their exams, which they do (Though barely). The team finally gets to play a rematch against Ryonan, which this time they manage to win, getting the team into the nationals. This victory also brings motivation to the team, as Akagi is offered a grant into a major university, and Rukawa is one step closer to his dream of playing in a major team and eventually, in the United States.
During this period, coach Anzai notices Hanamichi's flaw in shooting and teaches him the correct shooting posture. He decides to teach Hanamichi the secret to making perfect shots so that he becomes effective in any position, and with the aid of Hanamichi's gang, challenges Hanamichi to a training for himself while the team plays away, consisting of 2000 shots to the goal. This is most challenging, but Hanamichi shows complete devotion and makes a tremendous effort, winning the challenge and finally becoming a competent shooter.
The first round in the nationals is against team Toyotama. This proves to be a very difficult match due to not only the team's ability, but also a very violent gameplay and a ferocious crowd, which make the team worry and lose concentration. Shohoku manages to regain the rythm of the match, which causes friction in Toyotama, revealing they play only to win instead of playing the game as a sport, and this ideoogy makes their new coach announce his frustration and resignation. Before the end of the match, Toyotama's previous beloved coach appears and reminds them of team spirit and the joy the team once had playing. They make a comeback, but their captain is expelled for commiting intentional fault, which discourages them, giving Shohoku the victory.
The second match is against Japan's best high-school team, Sannou, whose reputation give great doubts to Shohoku's players. As the match comes, Shohoku faces their inner demons. Akagi is fearful of his rival captain and lacks his usual confidence, Rukawa is on the edge having to become the best, Ryota is outmatched due to his size and their opponent's ability, Mitsui remains doubtful of his skill, and Hanamichi faces his own inexperience. Finally, all the players are put to the test, and recover their confidence. As the game progresses, a pivotal play is in danger of being lost by the ball going courtside, which prompts Hanamichi to jump desperate and recover the ball, plunging himself fiercely into the ground at it. His actions are possitive as the team scores, but soon Hanamichi finds difficulty walking. During Timeout, Ayako discovers Hanamichi's recover caused him to seriously injure his back, putting his health and most importantly his career in jeopardy. Hanamichi is left in the bench, frustrated, while Anzai tells him he played a superb match, and considers himself unworthy of being his coach for letting him play with his back hurt. As Hanamichi dwells in doubt, Rukawa tells him that if he is going to enter, he might as well do it, angering Hanamichi. In the end, Hanamichi meets Haruko courtside and reflects on all that has happened since he met her, going back to her initial question, if he plays basketball, to which he answers out loud he loves it (which sounds almost as if he's declaring his love to her), and he decides to finally reenter the match. Hanamichi shows difficulty in playing due to his wound, and causes the team some trouble, but again is encouraged when Rukawa teases him. The match is even, and Shohoku needs 2 points to win. Desperate, in the last play, Hanamichi finally passes the ball to Rukawa (something he always despised doing since Rukawa showed off), and after Rukawa's shot, makes a final, glorious 2 pointer shot from midcourt, winning the match.
After beating Sannou, it is revealed Shohoku lost their next match since they were too exhausted from playing against Sannou. Still, Shohoku managed to enter the nationals unlike other years, and finally become one of the prefecture's most prestigious teams. In the last scene, we see Hanamichi in a beach, reading a letter from Haruko, where she informs him of the team's progress. After Akagi's and Kogure's graduation, the team needs more training for the new candidates, prompting Ayako to take Haruko as assistant manager. Ryota becomes the team's next captain, training hard to become a good leader and gloating in his new position, much to the annoyance of Mitsui. As Hanamichi reads that Haruko tells him about Rukawa has been selected for Japan's national team, Rukawa himself runs past Hanamichi, showing him his new team's shirt, to which Hanamichi says Rukawa got chosen only because he himself was unavailable. Haruko ends his letter wishing him a speedy recovery and telling him she and his beloved basketball will be waiting for him. As he folds the letter, a nurse comes looking for him, telling him his next session will be more painful than that of the previous day. Hanamichi tells her it's ok, because, he is a "genius".
Characters
Music
- Opening Themes
- "Kimi ga Suki da to Sakebitai (君が好きだと叫びたい) [I Want to Shout 'I Love You']" by BAAD (eps. 1-61)
- "Zettai ni Daremo" (ぜったいに 誰も) by ZYYG (eps. 62-101)
- Ending Themes
- "Anata Dake Mitsumete'ru" (あなただけ見つめてる) by Maki Ohguro (eps. 1-27)
- "Sekai ga Owaru Made Wa" (世界が終るまでは…) by WANDS (eps 28-49)
- "Kirameku Toki ni Torawarete" (煌めく瞬間に捕われて) by Manish (eps. 50-81)
- "My Friend" (マイ フレンド) by ZARD (eps. 82-101)
Critical response
In a poll of over 79,000 Japanese fans for the 10th Japan Media Arts Festival, Slam Dunk! was voted the #1 manga of all time.[4]
References
- ^ "小学館漫画賞:歴代受賞者" (in Japanese). Shogakukan. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
- ^ "スポーツとメディアの関係性 (Relation between sports and media)". students of Rikkyo University. Retrieved unknown, but after 2002.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "VIZ to Serialize BLEACH, Publish Slam Dunk". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2007-07-27.
- ^ "Top 10 Anime and Manga at Japan Media Arts Festival". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2006-11-21.