The First Slam Dunk · reception & legacy
2022 · Takehiko Inoue
How The First Slam Dunk has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
Announced with a fully recast voice cast and a mysterious CG look, it drew real pre-release backlash from fans of the 90s anime — then opened and promptly won almost everyone over, running for months in Japan and becoming a box-office phenomenon across Korea and China.
What's debated
Fans still argue over Inoue's choice to re-centre the story on Ryota Miyagi instead of Sakuragi — a bold reframe some call the film's masterstroke and manga purists call a bait-and-switch.
Its footprint
It turned moviegoing into a sporting event: 'cheering screenings' in Korea and China had audiences in Shohoku jerseys shouting like courtside fans, and the manga's legendary line 'the left hand is just for support' got a whole new generation quoting it.
Where it stands
A Letterboxd darling that's rapidly become the 'you must see this even if you don't watch anime' sports movie — routinely name-dropped among the best basketball films ever made.