English Dub Review: The First Slam Dunk

Overview:

Ryota Miyagi sets his humble sights on basketball stardom when he joins his high school’s basketball team alongside a rag-tag group of passionate players. The odds are against Ryota and the rest of Shohoku High’s team as they take on the steadfast Sannoh school, but a little determination and some passionate teamwork can go a long way in The First Slam Dunk.

Our Take:

Sports anime are nothing new for the medium, but there’s been a newfound intensity that’s surrounded the genre over the past few years. Slam Dunk is particularly special since it’s a breakthrough sports/shonen series and one of the most celebrated basketball anime. In Japan, The First Slam Dunk has broken box office records and it’s currently the fifth-highest-grossing-anime film of all time. It’s beaten other anime juggernauts like Your Name, Suzume, and One Piece Film: Red, but The First Slam Dunk is the only sports movie in the lot. Positioned as the classic series’ bittersweet return and farewell, The First Slam Dunk is written by Takehiko Inoue, Slam Dunk‘s mangaka and creator, who has really devoted his entire life to this basketball series. This also marks Inoue’s directorial debut, which is all too fitting in what for all intents and purposes could be his magnum opus’ swan song. The First Slam Dunk tells a satisfactory basketball story, but it pulls from a stale playbook and it doesn’t beg for a rematch.

Ryota Miyagi, a short beginner basketball player, strives to follow in his brother Sota’s footsteps and do his legacy proud. “He’ll never be his brother” only gets said once in The First Slam Dunk, but it’s clear that this toxic mantra endlessly reverberates inside Ryota’s head as he continually fails to meet these impossible expectations that he’s set for himself. He shouldn’t try to be the next No. 7; he should be himself. It’s a simple, albeit cathartic lesson that it takes Ryota the entire movie to properly understand and believe. It pushes this shonen sports movie to some surprisingly dark, psychologically intense places as it explores imposter syndrome, generational shame, and the lonely pursuit of perfection.

The First Slam Dunk presents basketball as a thrilling pastime. However, the movie is more interested in the endless hours and practice that’s required to become an expert at something. Those who are destined to make it are the ones who are willing to literally put their blood, sweat, and tears into the endeavor, even if the odds are stacked against them. The First Slam Dunk excels in this department, as it does when it highlights the absolute joy and freedom that Ryota and the other basketball players experience when they’re lost on the court. The First Slam Dunk isn’t necessarily saying anything new in this regard as it follows hopeful underdogs as they go for broke, but that doesn’t mean that it still can’t hit it big and connect on an emotional level while also generating genuine tension through its matches. The First Slam Dunk is guilty of cribbing plenty of sports movie tropes. That being said, there’s palpable excitement that the audience will feel during the climax of Shohoku’s final match. The First Slam Dunk will make audiences want to cheer and scream alongside the movie’s spectators.

The First Slam Dunk is a fairly standard sports anime movie, yet it boldly leans into a singular extended basketball match and rarely leaves the court for more understated “slice of life” moments where these characters are viewed outside of the context of sports. It’s essential to flesh out a cast beyond their basketball team stereotypes and Inoue has a little too much blind confidence in the gravitas of Shohoku High’s big match. However, Inoue pushes this film to take some ambitious, stylistic risks rather than follow a strictly linear narrative. What plays out is a lot more interesting, even if it doesn’t always work or the material occasionally struggles under its own weight, as The First Slam Dunk explores basketball’s ability to create endless legacies that birth immortals. 

There’s also a very intentional decision on the film’s part to not depict the Sannoh rivals as villains. Yes, they’re for all intents and purposes the movie’s antagonists. However, The First Slam Dunk treats Sannoh’s team like humans who just happen to be Shohoku’s opponents rather than cartoonish enemies. It’d be very easy to vilify these figures, but The First Slam Dunk instead humanizes them. They’re given empathy and pathos instead of aggression. It’s a decision that’s very true to the nature of Slam Dunk even if Sannoh’s squad don’t really become deep characters beyond their prowess on the court.

The First Slam Dunk confidently tells its story, but it’s unfortunately the film’s look and style that’s going to be the biggest hurdle for some audiences to clear. The movie’s blend between standard animation and CG augmentation honestly looks kind of awkward and creates an uncanny valley effect. It’s not as subtle or natural as Toei’s other uses of CG, like in Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, even if these films have completely different aims with their aesthetics. Toei’s use of such tactics is meant to capture the complex, kinetic choreography and action that fills the basketball court with as much authenticity as possible. The First Slam Dunk certainly succeeds in this regard and there’s no doubt that real people performed these movements to help bring these basketball games to life. There are moments in The First Slam Dunk where you’d swear that you’re watching an actual basketball match. It’s a testament to the fluidity of these characters and the animation’s control over every muscle in their bodies. 

That being said, this realism may not be that important to everyone, especially in a heightened medium where magically-charged sports can be just as popular as grounded realism. It’s admirable that director Inoue sticks to this aesthetic choice, but it leaves one thinking what a different art style–whether closer to the retro look of the original anime series or something more stylized–would bring to this project. Ironically, the sketchbook approach that’s present in the opening credits is beautiful and I almost wish that The First Slam Dunk kept that look for the entire movie. It feels like a cheap tease once the color and CG seep into this greyscale art. There are moments where there’s almost a watercolor aesthetic to the movie’s visuals that’s the result of The First Slam Dunk‘s more muted color palette and the fluidity of the CG visuals. 

Even those who may find the film’s visuals jarring won’t be able to deny The First Slam Dunk’s exceptional sound design. There’s some really meticulous work here that extends into the movie’s music by Satoshi Takebe and Takuma Mitamura, which continually finds the perfect tempo to help heighten the movie’s visuals. The movie’s English dub also doesn’t phone in any of the performances, which can sometimes happen with sports anime that aren’t dense in lengthy dialogue. Everybody here rises to the occasion and brings as much to these characters as the original cast.

There are only so many ways in which a basketball movie can end and anyone who’s familiar with the original Slam Dunk knows that Inoue values personal growth over victory. That being said, The First Slam Dunk concludes with a satisfying final play that ends the movie on a worthy high rather than dragging out the moment and running the risk of ruining this momentum. At over two hours long, The First Slam Dunk is just long enough before it starts to feel repetitive and overstay its welcome. It never quite reaches this point, but those who aren’t necessarily drawn to sports anime may yearn for shorter quarters. All of this aside, The First Slam Dunk should satisfy long-time franchise fans as well as newcomers who go in expecting some fast-paced action that doesn’t rewrite the rulebook. Sometimes a slam dunk is strong enough to speak for itself.

‘The First Slam Dunk’ is playing in select theaters on July 28th