It’s no secret that the anime industry is at its peak right now, and the commercial success of anime movies worldwide is proof of this. However, unlikeDemon Slayer,Dragon BallandOne Piece, 2023’s brightest prospect is not a shonen, but rather a throwback to one of the best sports manga ever,Slam Dunk.
Written by Takehiko Inoue,The First Slam Dunkis a revival of the artist’s magnum opus that for many people in the 90s became one of the seminal pieces in theanimeworld when the medium started making strides outside of Japan. What’s most perplexing about it is thatSlam Dunkhad been completely out of the limelight until last year, when the rebooted film began posting the kind of numbers that have turned into an all-star candidate thatcan match contemporary anime likeJujutsu Kaisen.
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Why IsSlam DunkSo Popular?
As mentioned, the 90s were instrumental in making anime what it is today thanks to legendary works likeCowboy Bebop,Berserk,Neon Genesis Evangelion,Sailor Moon, as well as ongoing sagas likePokemonor the aforementionedDragon BallandOne Piece. Right up there with these isSlam Dunk, which featured a grounded basketball story, as opposed to the fantasy-driven plots in nearly every other series.
Nevertheless, despite making its debut afterCaptain Tsubasa, plus in a sport that is admittedly not as popular as soccer, Inoue did lay the foundations for what evenin this era is a compelling sports anime. Simply put, it would be hard to imagineHaikyu!!’smass appeal hadSlam Dunknot come first to normalize this epic, albeit very relatable sports story.
Slam Dunkstars Hanamichi Sakuragi, a young man with a criminal background who falls in love with the sport after only joining the high school team to impress a girl, Haruko Akagi. With this premise, Inoue managed to create an underdog tale that paid off the anime arcs some of his contemporaries were writing at the time, only with a different coat of paint, that of a coming-of-age story that’s as universal as it gets for any type of media.
Pairing that with basketball being one of the sports that finds itself more at home in film, contrary to soccer, Inoue added excellent animation work that still renderedSlam Dunk’sgames in great style, without sacrificing the aspirational vibes all shonens have. If movies likeCreed 3can borrow from anime in 2023, what made Inoue such as genius was realizing that manga could do the same 30 years before.
The First Slam DunkHas Been A Hit In Japan
Suffice it to say, nostalgia has played a bigrole inThe First Slam Dunk’scomeback. That’s because many of the 90s anime gems never really left, instead, most have stayed around in some form, withGhost in the Shellgetting multiple over three decades, so when Inoue announced in 2021 a movie was coming, the news felt like Michael Jordan’s return to the Chicago Bulls, the team whose colors inspired Shohoku’s uniforms.
In Asian markets alone,The First Slam Dunkhas earned over $120m at the box office, already cracking the top 20 ever for anime films, despite a limited release. Regardless, much like the original series, basketball’s growing popularity since 1996 could see it benefit from a wider audience and newcomers that wouldn’t be lured by other anime.
Nevertheless,The First Slam Dunkalso adds plenty of novelty by changing its protagonists from the redheaded Hanamichi Sakuragi to star point guard Ryota Iwasaki, whose own backstory will make the team’s journey much different, it adds new rivalries, and overall changes the plot quite a lot.
It’s also not as ifThe First Slam Dunkdidn’t take advantageof more modern animation techniques as the movie’s trailers showcase a new blend of 2D and 3D art that strengthens a show that had plenty of flair going for it. Just looking at the trailers, the newer art styles make this 90s classic transition into 2023 flawlessly.
When WillThe First Slam DunkRelease?
As usual, althoughThe First Slam Dunkpremiered last December in Japan, its rollout in other countries has been slower, mostly being released in Asian countries. In South Korea, particularly,Slam Dunkmanaged tobeatDemon Slayer’sunprecedented success.
Sadly, at the time of writing,The First Slam Dunklacks any confirmed dates for when its European landing.One Piece Film: Red, another Toei Animation movie did not take as long as other anime films to come out in the United States, but for now, it’s widelybelievedSlam Dunkwill arrive in Europe first.
The latest rumors haveThe First Slam Dunkdebuting in European countries such as France or Italy closer to summer, whereas American audiences might have to wait until late 2023, or even 2024 to watch this basketball gem.
