And we are back again with another manga recommendation for the week. We have been doing this series for a rather long time so I think it’s about time I can mention this manga. It is getting a new movie sometime soon so it’s even better to read right now. It’s one of the few very famous manga that completed their run before MAL was launched and is still the 9th highest rated manga on MAL.
You have read the title; you already know we are talking about Slam Dunk. It is one of the best sports manga, period. And its high rating despite its old age shows just how relevant Slam Dunk still is. So let’s get started.
Introduction
Slam Dunk is a sports manga based on, of course, basketball. It is written and illustrated by Inoue Takehito. It was published in Weekly Shonen Jump from 18th September 1990 to 4th June 1996. Slam Dunk is fairly short for a shonen manga at just 276 chapters or 31 volumes.
It does have a short sequel that serves as an epilogue to the series but, we are not talking about that. Here’s a fun fact though, apparently the It’s sequel was drawn on 23 chalkboards at Misaki High School in the Kanagawa prefecture. It was there for 3 days and then serialized a few years later. That’s insane, right?
Plot
Slam Dunk revolves around Sakuragi Hanamichi who just entered high school and hates basketball. After facing 50 rejections, he is determined to finally get a girlfriend in high school. Hanamichi has physical capacitates beyond his years and he is big. One day, a girl approaches him and asks if he likes basketball to which he replies yes because he was happy a girl was talking to him despite his true feelings. And then he ends up joining the basketball club.
So many sports manga/anime have had similar stories over the years. I won’t say it is the manga that started it, but it is definitely the manga that made it famous. Slam Dunk is also probably the best iteration of this story template. Slam Dunk is really well-paced and doesn’t unnecessarily drag things. A lot of sports manga like drag things and matches on, this difference is one of the things that make Slam Dunk great.
Characters
Once again, Slam Dunk is the one that made the character Stereotypes we see in sports manga famous. Slam Dunk has some really good characters though, I won’t deny that. Character development is great and almost all characters are really well brought out. Hanamichi probably received the most character development as he is much more mature by the end of the series.
Art
Man Slam Dunk’s art is awesome. It is just amazing. The amount of motion the author can showcase is just amazing. The matches are a treat to read because of the well-laid-out panels and the awesome art. Despite its age, Slam Dunk’s art can rival some modern mangas and is probably better than a lot of others. I personally, really like the character designs in Slam Dunk.
Why you should read Slam Dunk?
Quick pointers on why you should check out.
- Simple and easy to understand the plot
- Great matches
- Awesome art
- Good characters
- Rather short
Conclusion
That is all I have for now. Let me know your thoughts down in the comments. I am also open to any new or old manga recommendations. With that said, I will take my leave here. See ya!
