To some, Slam Dunk might just be another basketball anime full of unrealistic physical feats, but to many, it is why they first loved and played the beautiful sport. As you may remember, December 2022 marked the release of the franchise’s film The First Slam Dunk which has notably recorded No.1 in box office revenue during a stacked 2023 Japan movie slate. But that’s history now, and bigger news has just arrived.
The First Slam Dunk will be shown again in over 300 theatres nationwide from Tuesday, August 13! That’s not where it ends, however, to commemorate this revival, it has also been determined that the film will be exclusively distributed in Japan on one of the biggest streaming platforms online, Netflix. June 10th marks the first broadcast of the sports anime film. Get ready for an enigmatic cinematic experience this year!
Who Is Involved in The First Slam Dunk?
The First Slam Dunk is an animated film directed and written by none other than the original author of the manga, Takehiko Inoue. It made a whopping 15.8 billion yen in box office revenue and ultimately became the standard for sports anime filmmaking. Serialized from 1990 to 1996, Slam Dunk is highly considered to be one of the best mangas in Japan—making the Toei Animation 2023 adaptation unsurprisingly successful.
The voice actors for our beloved Shohoku High School basketball team members include Nakamura Sougo as Miyagi Routa, Kasama Jun as Mitsui Hisashi, Miyake Kenta as Akagi Takenori, Kamio Shinichiro as Rukawa Kaede, and Kimura Subaru as Sakuragi Hanamichi. As mentioned, the animation will be headed by Toei Animation, the original producer of the anime counterpart, alongside Dandelion Animation Studio (Sarusuberi: Miss Hokusai).
The tickets for the re-screening of The First Slam Dunk will go on sale starting June 21st. However, the only thing people really want to know now is where the movie’s playing. But, fret not, the announcements will go through their official platforms and social media as soon as possible; and considering 300+ theatres are in contention for the film, looking for one wouldn’t be too much of a hassle.
Shift of Focus: Who’s the Main Character in The First Slam Dunk?
First of all, despite being titled The First Slam Dunk, the film continues where the anime left off—making it a sequel that follows the latter part of the manga. But fans are happy to finally close the door on one of their favorite sports anime, and it couldn’t have had a better storyline to follow. Moving away from everyone’s red-haired paint beast, Hanamichi Sakuragi, the story follows Shohoku’s resident speedster in Ryota Miyagi.
Playing as Shohoku’s floor general and point guard, Ryota Miyagi has always shown his knack for dribbling the ball and scoring with his speed and basketball IQ. Ryota dreams of making it big inside the court following in his older brother’s footsteps. His first step is taking the Shohoku High School basketball team to glory alongside rebounding know-it-all Sakuragi, all-around star Rukawa, monster center Akagi, and sharpshooter Mitsui as they face Sannoh Kogyo High School at the Inter-High School National Championship.
The manga and anime are popular enough to warrant just a single watch of the film. Whether or not you’ve seen this basketball masterpiece, better take this as another chance to plead farewell to one of anime’s most legendary 5-man lineups.