Slamdunk Anime: Slam Dunk (Japanese: スラムダンク Hepburn: Suramu Danku) is a Japanese manga series written

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Slam Dunk (Japanese: スラムダンク Hepburn: Suramu Danku) is a Japanese manga series written
and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue about a basketball team from Shōhoku High School in
the Shōnan area. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from 1990 to 1996, with the chapters
collected into 31 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. It was adapted into an anime series by Toei
Animation which has been broadcast worldwide, enjoying much popularity particularly in Japan,
several other Asian countries and Europe.[2] Slam Dunk has sold over 121 million copies in Japan
alone, making it one of the best-selling manga series in history. Inoue later used basketball as a
central theme in two subsequent manga titles: Buzzer Beater and Real. In 2010, Inoue received
special commendations from the Japan Basketball Association for helping popularize basketball in
Japan.
Hanamichi Sakuragi is a delinquent and the leader of a gang. Sakuragi is very unpopular with girls,
having been rejected an astonishing fifty times. In his first year at Shohoku High School, he meets
Haruko Akagi, the girl of his dreams, and is overjoyed when she is not repulsed or scared of him like
all the other girls he has asked out.
Haruko, recognizing Sakuragi's athleticism, introduces him to the Shohoku basketball team.
Sakuragi is reluctant to join the team at first, as he has no prior experience in sports and thinks that
basketball is a game for losers because his fiftieth rejection was in favor of a basketball player.
Sakuragi, despite his extreme immaturity and fiery temper, proves to be a natural athlete and joins
the team, mainly in the hopes of impressing and getting closer to Haruko. Later on, Sakuragi realizes
that he has come to actually love the sport, despite having previously played primarily because of his
crush on Haruko. Kaede Rukawa — Sakuragi's bitter rival (both in basketball and because Haruko
has a massive crush, albeit one-sided, on Rukawa), the star rookie and a "girl magnet" — joins the
team at the same time. Not long after, Hisashi Mitsui, a skilled three-point shooter and ex-junior high
school MVP, and Ryota Miyagi, a short but fast point guard, both rejoin the team and together these
four struggle to fulfill team captain Takenori Akagi's dream of winning the national championship.
Together, these misfits gain publicity and the once little-known Shohoku basketball team becomes
an all-star contender in Japan.
Inoue became inspired to make Slam Dunk as he liked basketball since his high school years. After
Inoue started Slam Dunk, he was surprised when he began receiving letters from readers that said
they started playing the sport due to the manga. His editor even told him "basketball was a taboo in
this world." Due to these letters, Inoue decided he wanted to draw better basketball games in the
series.[3] With the series, Inoue wanted to demonstrate the feelings from an athlete such as their
thoughts when they win, lose or improve at their sport. When he started making Vagabond, he noted
that when he was doing Slam Dunk he had a simpler perspective on life as he focused more in
victories and success.[4]
With the series, Inoue wants the readers to feel achievements as well as love for the
sport.[5] Thinking that his success as a manga artist being largely due to basketball, Inoue organized
a Slam Dunk Scholarship for Japanese students as he wanted to give back to the sport by
increasing its popularity in Japan.[6] However, when asked about the response from readers to
basketball, Inoue commented that although Slam Dunk is technically a basketball manga, its story
could have been done with other sports such as football.[7] He also added that the artwork for the
manga was very typical and mangalike in comparison to his newer works such as Real. His
experiences with basketball also influenced the story from Slam Dunk: as a youth Inoue started
playing basketball to be popular with the girls, but later became interested with the sport in and of
itself. This was mirrored in the character of Hanamichi Sakuragi, who starts playing basketball to be
popular with the girl he likes, to later become truly fond of the game.[8]

Slamdunk Anime: Slam Dunk (Japanese: スラムダンク Hepburn: Suramu Danku) is a Japanese manga series written

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