Slam Dunk

"Light Hearted, Hilarious, and Enjoyable

This anime and Hajime No Ippo I think laid the groundwork for most future sports anime similar in vibes, themes, and music. The sounds and the music was well done it was upbeat and had this happy sort of vibe coming out of it which really matched with the anime. The visuals were nice and not that bad considering that Slam Dunk first came out in 1993 and it got better as the series went on. The story was good it had it's hiccups and bumps here and there but they had pretty good consistency for most of the 101 episodes. It started off slow in the beginning but picked it's pace up later on. I just hated how some matches would be short and span maybe 1 or 2 episodes and then others would be crazy long 6 to 7 episodes. They did a good representation of how basketball is played in real life but had some missing pieces of what makes basketball, basketball but it was still nicely shown. It had some annoying some typical school clichés but most of it was easy to ignore. Most of the characters were alright I think Akagi, Mitsui , Anzai were the most flushed out and well written out of all them. The ending was kind of a cliff hanger and left some unanswered questions. Also it felt a bit too comical at times especially during the matches. And even at times I preferred what happened outside the basketball court such as their everyday life.

Overall I think it was a respectable anime, even though It was alright in terms of story I enjoyed it very much. The best thing about it was the comedy and the progress you make with with Sakuragi in the basics of basketball and you learn more as the story advances. I felt like it had much more untapped potential such as adding family into the mix which would have made character dynamics more interesting and realistic, their backstories or how they grew up, and their daily life other than school and basketball. All this would have made the anime more realistic and more believable and we could have been even more connected with the characters.

Memorable: No Rewatchable: Quiet unlikely..

The anime is good but a bit extra childish(immature) that's why I didn't like it much in the first few episodes but when Sakuragi Hanimichi(protagonist) was getting into basketball more and more, I started to like the show. At that time I thought it was best suited for teenagers and I still think that I was correct but in the later parts of the show it reaches its peak and I think everyone would love the latter parts of the show especially the matches they play against the top teams. Those matches are so detailed, they lasts for many episodes that's why I'm not fully satisfied with the show because they ended it in between(what i mean by that is the show is not complete) as the manga has much more to offer. I've heard that they aired this uncomplete version just to promote the manga and/or there was a problem that someone wanted to change the story but in the end the show is not complete and we never get to see Sakuragi Hanimichi at the peak of his abilities as at the end of the show he was still an amateur, more or less.

Inoe's art comes to life with this amazing adaptation of Hanamichi's struggle to become the best basketball player. The character development, the plurality of emotions and the smooth, flowing storytelling will keep you at the edge of your seat. Watch this team climb from zero to zenith in the world of Japanese high school basketball.

It has been 21 years the first time I watched this amazing story and I still watch it (I am 35 at the moment).

To be honest, if you compare to modern equivalents for this sort of story, you may think flashback concept is not enough to constitute the story. Yet, the concept it self works really well and comedy factor is ridiculously fantastic. There is only one sour thing makes me sad which is not to see Sannoh match as in Manga.

I am extremely grateful for mangaka Takehiko Inoue for this story as well as the animation team and voice actors.

Slam Dunk is a great anime, from passion for basketball, to comedy, to plot, to execution this series has it all. The series centers around a 1st year High school kid Hanamichi Sakuragi who hated basketball in the beginning but joined the team to impress Haruko(A girl he has a crust on) but later develops a burning passion for the sports himself & he soon becomes one of the main players of his High School team. I hated the fact that they did not finish the comic book, i.e the original story line, but still. This series is a must watch for all the sports lovers. Even if u ever hated Basketball this series will make u love it. It's just THAT good. The main character is an amateur in Basketball. While he learns how to play it. So will you all. There are some great high school rivalries. There are some heart breaks too. In other words this is an absorbing anime. A complete 10/10 from me. Enjoy!