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Plot Synopsis

No plot synopsis or other information available for Slam Dunk

Story & Characters

Sakuragi Hanamichi, an infamous thug and also a hopeless romantic., is now in high school. Trying to impress the possible love of his life, Haruko, he ended up joining the school's basketball team. He has no knowledge of the game so he starts out with basics which he truly hates. With his passion for Haruko to drive him, he elevates his game and quickly becomes a significant member of Team Shohoku. Though what really drives him is trying to outplay teammate Kaede Rukawa, which is Haruko's love interest, unfortunately. Though a struggling team, late additions of veteran members have boosted them to the Final Four. Facing teams such as 17-years champion Kainan and arch-rival Ryonan, they endured every moment and ended up with second place and a ticket to the National Pkayoffs. The manga picks up where the anime left-off.

Slam Dunk is basically a story of teamwork, loyalty, perseverance and commitment to the game. Shohoku team members all have hopes of making it to the finals but is hindered by members who give up easily. The plot line is very good and is very well-woven.

Overall, Slam Dunk has a great story and certainly features a theme that is most definitely emphasized on this anime.

Rating

8 (good)

Art

Slam Dunk characters are well created and and realistic have physics during play. Motion is definitely a key in a sports anime and Slam Dunk does not fail to deliver on that criteria. Ball transition, dribbling, shooting and the glorious slam dunk are worthy rivals to the real-life highlight reels. Character design is yet another strong point, featuring realistic player modellings and height advantage. Ball physics or how the ball can act in real life is well rendered and doesn't fall off to the weird department. NBA bloopers are abound with parodies of Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson to name a few.

The downside, Slam Dunk is pretty old-school and if you don't like old animes, you would not appreciate the coloring. Slam Dunk has a few flaws when it comes to player's poses when they make a successful lay-up. You would find it ridiculous or just weird.

Overall, Slam Dunk has great fluid motion and exciting animation plus the great animated plays. For an old anime, this is very excellent. Try the manga if you want to suffer.

Rating

9 (very good)

Sound

The Slam Dunk sound department has no noticeable flaws and will make watching Slam Dunk an auditory masterpiece. Realistic sounds and foley effects added seamlessly along with great lyp-synching are perfect and will not be noticeable even for the most discerning viewers. On-court sounds and player dialogues are good and makes tense moments even more exciting. Hearing the ball "swish" through the net in favor of the team is a soothing sound for those hardcore viewers. Dunks are highlighted by great "launch" sound sequences that are primarily gives the feeling of above-the-rim action.

Sakuragi Hanamichi himself has a few special BGMs that can only be heard during special events and moments like a "heartbreak scenario", a "genius' moment" or a "winning play".
Also look out for his song "Tensai Basketu-man" which he usually sings and hums when he's happy.

Slam Dunk's opening "Kimi ga Suki da to Sakebitai" is performed by Baad and the ending "Anata Dake Mizumeteru" is performed by the great Ohguro Maki.

No audible flaws are noticeably present on Slam Dunk. A quality sound experience although play-by-play commentaries are missing.

Rating

10 (excellent)

Presentation

Slam Dunk is the first basketball anime (I think) and features a great plotline that doesn't require a genius to figure out. Thus making Slam Dunk predictable in terms of who will win (Shohoku only has one significant loss and that is against undefeated Kainan).

The creators must really have great sense of humor making a total wack like Sakuragi the hero. The comic relief, commonly the Sakuragi Squad and Judo Guy, are real laugh-riots are can get you laughing for some time. On-court humour are always abound with players from all team serving as clowns. Even Kainan's serious captain Maki gets his share of punchlines in this.

You will definitely enjoy this watching this as nice plays and great humours are all-over the place and will make viewers stay tuned just for that. Aside from that, the longing to see the succeeding events will grasp the viewer's interest for a long time to come.

Overall, Slam Dunk is great anime with a sensible meaning but creatively woven into the interesting plotline and engrossing animation. A must-see for retro-anime lovers and fans of the sports genre but will appeal to everyone including little children. A must-have.

*Though I say retro, this is a mid to late-90s anime so its not really that old.

Rating

9 (very good)

Final Verdict

8.83 (very good)

Reviewed by jakulito, 3y 19wk ago