The First Slam Dunk

 You know, I was looking forward to reviewing The First Slam Dunk when it debuted last July. But it never played near me at all. You'd think that an anime basketball movie would be an easy sell. But no, it only played in less than 600 theatres nationwide. It finally made it to home media yesterday. It's game day.

This is far from the first movie based on the definitive basketball manga. It is, however, the directorial debut of series creator Takehiko Inoue, who picks up where Toei's 1990s anime left off. Like Haikyu, the film revolves around the manga's volume spanning climactic game. There's the central team, Shohoku High, and their opponents, Sannoh High. Unlike Haikyu, you don't need to go in knowing the story thus far. It brings us up to speed with pivotal flashbacks for the Shohoku guys.

Ryota Miyagi (dubbed in English by Paul Castro Jr.), Shohoku's point guard, is also the film's main focus. It opens with him losing his father, and later, his basketball ace brother Sota, in quick succession. The double-loss strains Ryota's relationship with his mother, particularly in a tough scene where she catches him looking through Sota's mementos. He takes to the basketball court, even as scouts tell him he can never replace Sota. With him, we're all pumped to see the guys prove themselves on the court, but him especially. 

Let's see who else is on the team. There's Hisashi Mitsui (Jonah Scott), an ex-thug who got into a brutal altercation with Ryota early in the manga. His redemption arc is compelling, particularly when he visits Ryota in the hospital after a motorcycle crash. The team's big guy, Takenori Akagi (Aaron Goodson), deals with lingering self-doubt, embodied at one point by an annoying devil (long story). Kaede Rukawa (Aleks Le), the team's bad boy, takes the game pretty personally. Ayako (Kelsey Jaffar), the team's manager, bonds nicely with Ryota during nighttime practice. You'll get to know these characters rather well even if you haven't lived with Slam Dunk your whole life. 

The team's biggest personality belongs to the franchise's regular protagonist, Hanamichi Sakuragi (Ben Balmaceda). He frequently proclaims himself a genius, and he lives up to that on the court. Even his accidentally deflecting the ball with his face is impressive. He may annoy his teammates, and he doesn't always respect his Coach Anzai's (Mike Pollock) fatherly advice, but you can tell there's mutual respect between them all. He doesn't even let a crippling injury stop him, even as everyone else wants him to hit the bench. He might not be the film's central focus, but you'll never forget Hanamichi Sakuragi once he gets onto the court.

You also won't forget the basketball action. The cel-shaded motion capture for the players is a bit too fluid at times, but you'll still be on edge as Shohoku and Sannoh face off. I never really watch basketball, but I was glued to the screen when time slowed down during the game's last nine seconds. I'm certain you will be too. Inoue's editor Ryuichi Takita sustains the excitement rather well down to the last decisecond. Surprisingly, the cel-shaded motion capture blends rather well with the 2D animation used off the court. I didn't notice the different styles until I took a second look. The art directors stated they wanted to make it look like a moving manga, and I think they succeeded in replicating Inoue's style.

My only real gripe is that the Sannoh guys didn't have much personality. I still liked their coach's gracious pep talk at the end. All in all, The First Slam Dunk is a stellar anime sports film, and I'm pretty pleased it finally became available to watch. I had to update my Fandango at Home/Vudu account to watch it, and it was worth it. This is a film that welcomes, not confounds, potential new fans with its compelling drama on both sides of the court. I think you'll be impressed too once you press play. Game on.