The Imperfect 'The First Slam Dunk': Our True Youth

Around 1998, when I was ten years old, I used to sit with my best friend in front of the TV every day waiting for "Slam Dunk" anime to start. We laughed so hard at the hilarious parodies of Sakuragi Hanamichi and were awed by the coolness of Rukawa Kaede. We also shed tears at the moments of hard-earned basketball goals.

Until one day, we turned on the TV and found that episode 102 was not aired... A small regret was planted in our hearts.

In 2016, I traveled to Japan and came all the way to Kamakura to stand in front of the iconic scene. I felt as vast and calm as the ocean. At that time, I thought the regret had gone, and I thought I was a calm adult.

Until 2023, the film version of "The First Slam Dunk" was released, and the once hot-blooded girl who squatted in front of the TV had been polished into a serious adult by life. But when the music started playing, I cried like a 10-year-old girl, realizing that I hadn't let go of some of the regrets.

The boys who live in the manga are forever young, but we are getting old. I no longer want to conquer the world; I just want to make peace with myself. However, deep in my heart, even until the end of the world, that red-haired, unruly genius boy still resides.

It was your persistence in the manga that led me here. At this moment, sitting in the movie theater, I waved goodbye to you.

Stubborn Inoue Takehiko, he won't give you the movie story you want

The release of a movie version of "The First Slam Dunk" is the dream of many people, and it's no secret that it would be a very profitable project.

However, even though the production company repeatedly asked Takehiko Inoue to make a movie, he refused. The production company was persistent and kept showing him sample footage until 2014, when they finally convinced him. Thus, Takehiko Inoue, who had never made an animation before, said to the production company, "I want to direct."

From the final visual effects, it is evident that Takehiko Inoue has a great grasp of editing rhythm, which is probably due to his many years of creating manga, which allowed him to develop excellent framing abilities within the comic grid.

What I admire most about Takehiko Inoue is that he didn't use the classic anime soundtrack for the movie, which was unexpected. You should know that just by playing the songs "I Want to Shout I Love You" and "Until the End of the World" in the movie theater, along with some animation footage, you could easily make millions of dollars at the box office. Takehiko Inoue knew that the fans expected him to do so, but he chose not to.

It must be admitted that the new soundtrack is also well done, and it makes the viewer excited and fits well with the visuals and story. However, what we really want to hear is "Until the End of the World."

The storytelling in the "The First Slam Dunk" film adaptation has garnered considerable criticism. Nonetheless, director Takehiko Inoue took a unique approach by narrating the story from the viewpoint of Ryoichi Sakuragi, portraying the journey of a child from a single-parent household who faces a significant life-changing event.

Without the basketball games, the remaining segments of the film could easily pass for a production by acclaimed filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda. I comprehended Inoue's creative decision, given that numerous characters in the original manga already possess in-depth backstories. However, Ryoichi Sakuragi, one of the "Shohoku Five," has yet to be given a comprehensive story arc. Inoue thus utilized the opportunity of creating a significant motion picture to rectify this and repay his longstanding debt to Sakuragi.

During an interview, Inoue disclosed that he realized the worth of exploring the stories of ordinary people like Ryoichi Sakuragi only after 20-30 years. When he began creating the manga, he was in his 20s and gravitated toward hot-blooded adolescents with exceptional talents and robust personalities, such as Sakuragi, Kaede Rukawa.

However, at 56 years of age, when making the movie, he had undergone life's trials and realized that mediocrity is the standard in life. Consequently, he elected to center his focus on the most "ordinary" member of the Shohoku Five, Ryota Miyagi, and highlight the struggles of those with modest abilities and fortunes who nonetheless pursue their dreams.

A distinctive trait of "The First Slam Dunk" is the frequent use of flashbacks during the games, which long-standing fans have grown accustomed to. Nevertheless, the film's flaw lies in the excessive use of flashbacks that often disrupt the game's flow and serve as unnecessary distractions. There are numerous instances where the audience's emotions are aroused, only to be abruptly disrupted by flashbacks that act as a wet blanket on their enthusiasm.

Some say that "The First Slam Dunk" is actually a basketball game inserted into the "Biography of Ryota Miyagi", and I agree with this point of view.

But this precisely shows that even today, Inoue is an artist, a willful creator, rather than a market-oriented businessman. It was his willfulness that gave birth to the "Slam Dunk" manga in the first place, and it is also his willfulness that led to the imperfections of this movie adaptation.

However, isn't this the norm of life? Imperfection and doing what one wants to do without caring about other people's opinions. Inoue could have made a fortune by selling his emotions, but he refuses to do so.

This is the best ending of a passionate youth – not compromising on anything.

In fact, "Slam Dunk" has a heartwarming ending in real life. In August 2004, the publication of "Slam Dunk" surpassed 100 million copies. Six major Japanese newspapers ran a commemorative advertisement featuring sketches of the six main players from Shohoku High School. At the same time, the "100 Million Copies Commemoration Website" was filled with messages from "Slam Dunk" fans.

Moved by this, Takehiko Inoue decided to draw on the 23 blackboards at the former Misaki High School in Kanagawa Prefecture. The drawings depicted the story that happened ten days after Shohoku's last match in the national tournament, and the series was titled "Ten Days After."

All the drawings were independently completed by Inoue, who worked from morning till night, and rested for a while on the classroom floor when he got tired. On the day the exhibition opened, there was a long line of people outside the gate of the former Misaki High School. The line extended for three days, and many readers specially flew in from other places.

The drawings on the 23 blackboards could easily have been erased by the crowded crowds, but Inoue took no protective measures. As a result of this trust, all the readers who poured in, though excited, remained at least two meters away from the blackboards, quietly enjoying and taking photos.

Three days passed quickly as Inoue worked on the blackboards at the former Misaki High School.

Reluctantly saying goodbye to the 23 blackboards and Inoue, readers bowed to him and said, "Thank you, sensei!" Some people in the crowd tearfully shouted, "SHOHOKU!"

After bidding farewell to the readers, with the staff as witnesses, Inoue picked up the blackboard eraser. One by one, he erased the manga he had drawn on the blackboards, marking the clean and thorough end of the "Slam Dunk" manga.

It was sooooo cool！

The First Slam Dunk captures the essence of youth that resonates with everyone.

The basketball scenes in the movie stay true to the original manga, and the final five seconds of the match between Shohoku and Ryonan is the climax of the entire series.

In a masterful display of visual storytelling, Inoue Takehiko devotes twenty-eight pages to the scene, yet only a single line of dialogue is spoken. The scene culminates with a freeze-frame of Sakuragi and Rukawa's "Century High-Five," which is widely regarded as one of the most stunning visuals in Japanese manga history.

The movie version of the scene is equally breathtaking, with Inoue using almost three minutes of silence to capture the tense moment. The theater was silent, and I could hear the audience's heavy breathing until the moment of the High-Five, when the music began and a middle-aged man in the back row burst into loud sobs. Even I found myself moved to tears by the experience.

"Slam Dunk" is a timeless classic that resonates with people from all walks of life, regardless of their background, personality, or love for basketball. It's a story about youth, dreams, love, hard work, and teamwork, and the values it embodies go far beyond the realm of sports manga.

This story teaches us about responsibility, hard work, effort, and regrets. It inspires us to bravely pursue our dreams, but also reminds us that failure is an inevitable pain in life.

When Akagi grabbed Sakuragi's head and told him not to cry, he said, "Let's go, get in line!"

However, Sakuragi still cried. Several days later, in the match between Shohoku and Ryonan, the game ended with Shohoku narrowly winning. But it was Akagi who cried this time.

Sakuragi turned to Akagi and said, "Let's go, get in line!"

Through the two matches, Sakuragi grew up. He finally understood the cruelty of competitive sports: either win or lose, there is no middle ground.

When you lose, you should lose gracefully, and when you win, you should win with honor.

The preciousness of "Slam Dunk" lies in its portrayal of a diverse cast of characters, including not only geniuses and super stars, but also ordinary people and troubled youth.

Take Mitsui Hisashi, who suffered setbacks due to injuries but never gave up on training, eventually finding his place as a long-range shooter.

And then there's Kogure Kiminobu, who, while not particularly gifted, contributed to the team as a reliable role player with a kind and gentle personality.

The show also touches on universal themes of youth, such as academic pressure, unrequited love, and uncertain futures.

Even the arrogant and sensitive Sakuragi, the cool and kind-hearted Rukawa Kaede, the modest and reserved Kiminobu Kogure, and the sunny and cheerful Ryota Miyagi all resonate with viewers in their own ways.

In essence, "Slam Dunk" is beloved not just for its basketball action, but also for its authentic portrayal of the ups and downs of adolescence.

Time that never comes back, why is it so dazzling?

I went to see this movie with a full heart of passion, hoping to embrace memories and release some of my remaining youthfulness, but when I walked out of the theater, I felt calm and peaceful, like the feeling I had standing on the beach in Kamakura in 2016.

Undoubtedly, "The First Slam Dunk" is a work full of idealism, satisfying our infinite fantasies and passions for ourselves and the future when we were young. However, Inoue Takehiko uses the movie to tell us that life may not always go as we plan. This may be too cruel and boring for us 20 years ago, but it is very real for us as we mature.

I appreciate Inoue Takehiko for not using a lazy way to complete a work purely based on nostalgia, making the audience cry in the theater. Instead, he brings a new musical score and story, bringing new shock and emotion to the audience.

In the end, Mitsui finally walks out of his brother's shadow and becomes his own person. We also must walk out of the meaningless memories of youth and embrace our current reality.

Perhaps, this is what Inoue wants to tell everyone: There is only one kind of success in this world, which is to live your life according to your own wishes.

We are no longer the same teenagers as before, so why do we demand that "Slam Dunk" must be the same as the one we watched years ago?

There is a line in "Until the End of the World" called, Time that won't come back, why is it so brilliant?

Because it was our youth.