After its release, The First Slam Dunk quickly reached number one at the Japanese box office and secured the fifth spot among the highest-grossing anime films in history.
The film is an adaptation of one of the most popular manga series of all time. The 31 volumes of Slam Dunk were published between 1990 and 1996, and the anime series began airing in 1993. Twenty years later, Takehiko Inoue, the original author, directs and writes the screenplay for the feature film that brings the Shōhoku high school basketball team back to the screen in a final game that will take your breath away, whether you are familiar with the series or new to the court.
The First Slam Dunk is a basketball game interspersed with the players' stories, focusing on Ryota Miyagi, a 17-year-old who owes his passion for the game to his older brother. The creators use 2D animation techniques for the off-court stories and 3D for the game sequences, which were crafted under the supervision of professional basketball players.
The result is a true race against time that draws the viewer into a vortex where every successful pass is more than just sporting skill—it's a personal triumph shared between player and coach. The First Slam Dunk is an immortal lesson about the essence of team spirit. It highlights the psychological fine-tuning behind organizing all the egos and differences among players so they can complement each other and work together for a victory that one cannot truly savor without having experienced failure at least once.
With the support of the Embassy of Japan in Romania, JTI, and NTT Data.
Article written by Crăița Nanu