The NBA might be on hiatus, but basketball content never sleeps. The First Slam Dunk, a Japanese animated sports film, has finally bounced its way onto Netflix. The First Slam Dunk is based on Takehiko Inoue’s landmark manga series, Slam Dunk, from the 1990s. The anime film depicts the Inter-High Championship game between Shohoku High and the undefeated Sannoh High.
Written and directed by Inoue, The First Slam Dunk follows Ryota Miyagi (Shugo Nakamura), the speedy point guard with a trauma-induced past due to the tragic death of his older brother. Winning the championship is everything for Ryota and his teammates Hanamichi Sakuragi (Subaru Kimura), Takenori Akagi (Kenta Miyake), Hisashi Mitsui (Jun Kasama), and Kaede Rukawa (Shinichiro Kamio). However, the boys quickly learn that facing the challenges in their personal lives is the key to succeeding on the basketball court.
In honor of The First Slam Dunk on Netflix, here are three reasons to watch.
Basketball is inherently cinematic
Basketball is cinema. It’s more than just a game with an orange ball. Basketball has all the components of a movie, with built-in storylines and characters. Winners and losers. Protagonists and antagonists. Heroes and villains. The athletic feats are poetry in motion, from making a no-look pass and jamming a slam dunk to diagramming a perfect play and nailing a three-point shot.
Think of basketball as a chess match. Both teams are constantly adjusting their strategies to score points. Still, the game arguably relies on mental warfare more than physical combat. Inoue beautifully toes the line between capturing an athletic competition between two teams and depicting how a game can be the most important thing in the world to teenagers.
The visuals are out of this world
With anime, the success of the movie or TV show heavily relies on visuals to tell the story. Inoue understands that basketball is a game of movement. It’s fast, kinetic, and full of energy. Thanks to the combination of 2D and 3D animation, The First Slam Dunk captures the fast-paced decision-making and problem-solving that every player must decipher in a split second.
Inoue manages to freeze time in big plays, as your heartbeat increases with every basketball bounce. Although anime frequently draws comparisons to video games, The First Slam Dunk is no electronic game. The attention to detail — including the sweat dripping off the players’ faces and the movement of shorts when a player sprints the floor — is marvelous and lifelike. Real stakes on the line for these players, as evidenced by their extremely revealing facial expressions.
It has a fresh take on the sports movie genre
How a team of underdogs can band together to defeat their heavily favored rivals is Sports Movies 101. This tried-and-true formula is the basis for 90% of sports movies, including The First Slam Dunk. One of the players typically embarks on the hero’s journey. In this film adaptation, the hero’s journey belongs to Ryota, who becomes the story’s driving force instead of the manga’s protagonist, Hanamichi. Ryota must overcome his childhood trauma if he wants to lead his team to victory.
Tension between teammates is a staple of sports movies. The First Slam Dunk depicts conflict with Hisashi, a former bully who must earn the trust of his squad. The First Slam Dunk does not reinvent the wheel. Instead, it injects a familiar movie formula with a fresh, dramatic, and emotionally moving story that transforms The First Slam Dunk into a crowd-pleasing adventure.
The First Slam Dunk is now streaming on Netflix.