12-Days of Anime, Day 6: Slam Dunk

slam dunk

Okay, okay, I promise I won’t make any Space Jam jokes in this article.

 

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Right you are, MJ.

So you may be wondering why a young, handsome, and trendy 18 year-old like me would watch this decades-old series.

Simple answer:  in my home country, this show an anime legend.  No self-respecting kid on the street (or an adult growing up) would not know about the adventures of Sakuragi and the rest of Shohoku, and naturally I was in on the hype as well.  It may have looked old as heck, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Now, the question is:  did I still enjoy it upon viewing it now, around 8 years later since I last saw it, what with my taste in anime being more refined?

Why, yes, yes I did.

What’s up, everyone, my name is Ken, from thebuttonsmashers.com, and today, I present to you Day 6 of the 12-Days of Anime, featuring my immediate two-cents on what could be considered the grand-daddy of sports anime: Slam Dunk

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The story follows Hanamichi Sakuragi, a delinquent entering his first-year of high school.  Infamous for being constantly rejected by girls his age, he feels ecstatic upon meeting Akagi Haruko, who isn’t appalled by Sakuragi as other girls usually are.  Haruko then suggests that Sakuragi joined the chool’s basketball team, seeing his knack for athletics.  Although never having played the sport before, Sakuragi joins the team, meeting new teammates and building goals to be one of the top basketball teams in Japan.

I’m keeping this article short, because there really isn’t much to say about Slam Dunk.

So far, I am really liking this show.  Regardless of what it looks, the essences of a story structure is still present here, and it’s fun to see how Sakuragi develops both as a player and as a person as well as the rest of team.  Part of that fun is the comedy, which is very slapsticky but funny nonetheless.  The characters are interesting to watch, as each of them have differing personalities that tend to, more often than not, clash with one another, and yet compliment each other as well.

All these things in only 8 episodes in.  That’s a pretty good sign if you ask me.

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Now, I will admit that the show looks OLD AS HELL, but seeing as it was released in 1993, I’m not really surprised and got used to the animation immediately.  And you know what?  Once you get used to it, it’s not that bad.

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JUST LOOK AT THIS.

The soundtrack is something to commend, as it takes both the slice-of-life aspects and the action-packed parts of the show and compliments them beautifully.  The sound effects for the basketball itself is rather spot-on, so no issues with that.

All in all, the first few episodes have been really worth my time, both from a story perspective and an enjoyment perspective.

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Yeah, I don’t really have much to say about Slam Dunk.  It’s amazing, but I fear that not everyone would be able to adapt to it, as it is kinda slow-paced and the knowledge of having to watch 101 episodes of this might be a bit daunting, but if you do get through the initial slow pace of the show, then you might just be surprised with what you see.

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So what recommendation do I give this show?

Check out the first few episodes.  This show is not a cake-walk by any means, being an anime with about 100 episodes worth of basketball, so if you’re gonna try to watch it, at least see if the first few episodes resonate with you, and then make your verdict.  Personally though, I am enjoying the story and the characters so far, easily making me look through the old animation, and hopefully you’d give it a shot (hehe) as well.

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Aaaaaaand, with that, I bid you all adieu.  This has been Ken for thebuttonsmashers.com Anime Reviews, and I’ll see you guys tomorrow for Day 7!