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In the long history of the sports anime genre, Slam Dunk casts a long shadow. It has long been one of the most celebrated and influential entries in sports anime - so much so that the film The First Slam Dunk, released 26 years after the original anime ended, charged its way to becoming the fifth highest-grossing anime movie of all time. If you missed catching it in cinemas, fret not! The First Slam Dunk is coming to Netflix at the end of August 2024 and offers the perfect entry point for new fans to the series.

Despite its name, The First Slam Dunk is not a prequel to the Slam Dunk anime and manga; it actually adapts the final chapters of the original manga. You’d think this would make it nigh-inaccessible to new fans, considering these are characters that were last on our screens before a large chunk of anime fans were born, yet it is wonderfully balanced in a way I can’t remember seeing from a revival film like this. All the characters from Shohoku High School’s basketball team are here with their existing backstories and motivations that might seem impenetrable to a new fan as they face off against the inter-high basketball champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School, but the movie does some very clever things to make it work.

First, the focus of The First Slam Dunk is different than the original anime, which featured Sakuragi Hanamichi as its main protagonist. The movie shifts to his teammate, Ryota Miyagi, as the main character, freeing it to more fully explore his motivations and backstory with more freedom, unrestrained by the tight shackles of continuity. The simple shift of protagonists is enough to free the narrative enough to make the movie relevant to new fans while still feeling firmly like a Slam Dunk movie. It doesn’t feel like it should work but it absolutely does.

The backstories of all the characters are drip-fed through the narrative at just the right pace to keep new viewers from being overwhelmed while giving existing Slam Dunk fans that moment of elation as it referenced moments from previous 100+ episodes of the anime. It is a difficult balance to pull off yet it feels so effortless here that The First Slam Dunk feels like it could be the blueprint for any revival film that comes out. Takehiko Inoue, the original mangaka of Slam Dunk, makes his directorial debut look easy.

Obviously, it helps that the animation is beautiful, featuring the most fluid depiction of athletes in anime since Yuri on Ice, and has a decidedly retro feel to the character designs that bring back memories of the stars that dominated the NBA in the 90s – there are enough Jordans on the court to make even the most avid Nike collector jealous. The art style has a modern flair, with 3D animation techniques mixed in to excellent effect, but still feels retro enough to sit alongside the original 90s anime without being jarring. Again, Inoue finds the perfect balance between old and new to make the movie work.

The First Slam Dunk is coming to Netflix on August 25, 2024 and serves as the perfect entry point for an anime that has been off the air for nearly three decades. The new protagonist combined with a series of perfectly spaced flashbacks means you can hit the court running even if you have never heard of the original anime. And, if you enjoy it and want more, Crunchyroll has every episode in its US library for you to add to your watch list. 

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