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REVIEW: Slam Dunk Episodes 1-24 Streaming


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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
Posts: 2113
PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 11:40 am Reply with quote
Yeah. The premise for this sport series is probably even weirder than Blue Lock but it gradually changes the more Sakuragi becomes involved with the sport. I think something ridiculously well done is in Mitsui's arc when the guy bring freaking delinquents to the basketball gym and Toei starts animating fights like if we were in the Saiyan arc.

Seriously, the amount of blood loss and fights coreography felt like they were experts. There is even a scene a wounded Sakuragi starts beating up a Rambo-like dude and starts saying that each punch is done for every teammates wounded like Goku when beating up Nappa. Surprisingly, Mitsui's arc mixes violence with comedy and even depth as his past with the sport are explored like a documental.

So yeah Sakuragi isn't much like quite a common sport MC. Feels like how Musashi wasn't much of a skilled warrior in Vagabond's beginning and instead takes him a lot to become wise to the point it takes him fear of dying to change into a true warrior. Heck, both Sakuragi and Musashi are kinda delinquents with surprising builts that aren't very popular at their respective homes during their series' beginning.
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Hades Hotgun
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Joined: 06 Jul 2023
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 2:18 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
Slam Dunk is a classic that many older anime fans have grown up with, and its impact is still felt today. In an era where we get crazy and inventive sports series every other anime season, there was a time when Slam Dunk was seen as the height of the genre alongside other classics like Hajime no Ippo.


That time is 1996 through 2023.

Slam Dunk isn't just beloved by older fans. The manga is still a best seller today.

It's interesting to see how different experiences result in different perspectives on works of media, but I find the comparison to crazy inventive sports series is not really a matter of old vs new, but rather a sincere and grounded presentation of a sport vs a video game power fantasy. The difference doesn't have to do with a progression of style, but simply a difference in intent of the authors.

It's actually pretty unlikely that someone could pick up basketball as quickly and naturally as Sakuragi does, but it probably seems very slow to someone accustomed to the superhuman acumen and abilities of many modern sports series characters.

Also, the Slam Dunk anime offers a relatively luxurious pacing of around 3 episodes per volume of the comic, which is quite different from many modern series that adapt with a much more aggressive time table. Again, this is not really a creative progression so much as an industry shift.

If audience preference had really moved away from something like Slam Dunk, then we probably wouldn't see the manga continuing to sell at such incredibly high numbers nearly three decades after the last volume was released.
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malvarez1



Joined: 17 Nov 2008
Posts: 2095
PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 2:27 pm Reply with quote
Hades Hotgun wrote:
Quote:
Slam Dunk is a classic that many older anime fans have grown up with, and its impact is still felt today. In an era where we get crazy and inventive sports series every other anime season, there was a time when Slam Dunk was seen as the height of the genre alongside other classics like Hajime no Ippo.


That time is 1996 through 2023.



Yeah, I feel like the reviewer was slightly downplaying how beloved Slam Dunk is...but for argument sake, you could make the case that the manga is moreso a critical darling than the anime is.

The new Slam Dunk film has a perfect 100 on Rotten Tomatoes with over 30 reviews, so I guess Slam Dunk has still got it.
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Hades Hotgun
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Joined: 06 Jul 2023
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 2:42 pm Reply with quote
malvarez1 wrote:
Hades Hotgun wrote:
Quote:
Slam Dunk is a classic that many older anime fans have grown up with, and its impact is still felt today. In an era where we get crazy and inventive sports series every other anime season, there was a time when Slam Dunk was seen as the height of the genre alongside other classics like Hajime no Ippo.


That time is 1996 through 2023.



Yeah, I feel like the reviewer was slightly downplaying how beloved Slam Dunk is...but for argument sake, you could make the case that the manga is moreso a critical darling than the anime is.

The new Slam Dunk film has a perfect 100 on Rotten Tomatoes with over 30 reviews, so I guess Slam Dunk has still got it.



That's a good point regarding the popularity of the manga relative to the anime. I don't know how comparable they are in Japan or elsewhere so it's an imperfect comparison. That being said, I think a lot of the reviewer's points would apply to either version. In particular, Sakuragi's motivations and the pace of his involvement with the team are the same regardless of version.

On a personal note, I really wish Geneon Pioneer had gotten Slam Dunk on Adult Swim back when they were localizing it. I think it would be regarded as a classic in the US if that was the case. The tone they were going for with the localization really would have fit well at that time in my opinion. Also, the US practice of continuous rebroadcasting gives anime series much greater legs compared to their Japanese runs
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tintor2



Joined: 11 Aug 2010
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 2:52 pm Reply with quote
Yeah the overall popularity of this series is insane. Not only references in other series or sales but also the whole First Slam Dunk film was something that Toei requested Inoue to direct.

In retrospect, Inoue said that Slam Dunk was simple story as he believes he could do something similar with another sport which is why he went on deeper style with Vagabond and Real.
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070okres



Joined: 23 Aug 2023
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 3:10 pm Reply with quote
This is just silly. to review less of a quarter of a show but present the review as some sort of firm conclusion of said show. The most of the rest of the show is heavy on the basketball, and there's very few, if any modern sports shows that are as firm a love letter to a sport as slam dunk is to basketball, by the end of the anime, but even much more so at the end of the manga. The trajectory the MC Sakuragi makes toward becoming a full fledged lover of the sport in the end is so well done, and so slowly but surely built, it's the reason why it resonated and resonates with so many, and why it's still constantly at the top of the favorite all-time shows and manga in japan and broader asia. This isn't a power fantasy either, it's a story of friendship, comradery, laughs, but mostly the love for basketball. just go with it till the end, then read the rest of the manga, and watch the movie. only then will you be able to truly speak on it. Until then the only false advertisement here is this review imo
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NJ_



Joined: 31 Oct 2009
Posts: 3101
Location: Wallington, NJ
PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:30 pm Reply with quote
Hades Hotgun wrote:
On a personal note, I really wish Geneon Pioneer had gotten Slam Dunk on Adult Swim back when they were localizing it. I think it would be regarded as a classic in the US if that was the case. The tone they were going for with the localization really would have fit well at that time in my opinion. Also, the US practice of continuous rebroadcasting gives anime series much greater legs compared to their Japanese runs


This tends to get confusing but just to correct, Geneon had no part in it's localization, Slam Dunk was one of three shows that Toei Animation paid to dub when they started up their current American branch back in 2004 while Geneon was their DVD distributor (though not DVD producer as anyone who owned those specific discs would tell you how bad they were).
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Hades Hotgun
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Joined: 06 Jul 2023
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:46 pm Reply with quote
070okres wrote:
This is just silly. to review less of a quarter of a show but present the review as some sort of firm conclusion of said show. The most of the rest of the show is heavy on the basketball, and there's very few, if any modern sports shows that are as firm a love letter to a sport as slam dunk is to basketball, by the end of the anime, but even much more so at the end of the manga. The trajectory the MC Sakuragi makes toward becoming a full fledged lover of the sport in the end is so well done, and so slowly but surely built, it's the reason why it resonated and resonates with so many, and why it's still constantly at the top of the favorite all-time shows and manga in japan and broader asia. This isn't a power fantasy either, it's a story of friendship, comradery, laughs, but mostly the love for basketball. just go with it till the end, then read the rest of the manga, and watch the movie. only then will you be able to truly speak on it. Until then the only false advertisement here is this review imo


While I think I probably agree with your assessment of the series and I empathize with your obvious passion for it, I don't think the reviewer is making this out to be a firm conclusion of the show, and I think that they are clearly enjoying what they've seen so far.

Personally, I am really happy to see someone appreciating Slam Dunk despite approaching the show from what I would consider a slightly askew perspective. This is especially important given that I expect a lot of people likely share that perspective and are looking at Slam Dunk with similar skepticism.

Some folks might take a while before they really click with the series. My wife and I were basically head over heels for Slam Dunk the moment Sakuragi started pegging Rukawa with basketballs, but that won't necessarily be the thing that seals it for anybody else.

I'm happy to see that Toei is putting the show out there for people to see and I really hope that it can lead to a physical rerelease sometime soon (preferably through Discotek). Even the manga recently got a reprint after being unavailable for quite some time in the US.

While I have my nitpicks about the review, I'm glad that ANN is giving the series some attention and I hope you all will follow up with further reviews of the series, especially now that about half the series is available on Toei's youtube page.


Last edited by Hades Hotgun on Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:52 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Hades Hotgun
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Joined: 06 Jul 2023
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PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 4:47 pm Reply with quote
NJ_ wrote:
Hades Hotgun wrote:
On a personal note, I really wish Geneon Pioneer had gotten Slam Dunk on Adult Swim back when they were localizing it. I think it would be regarded as a classic in the US if that was the case. The tone they were going for with the localization really would have fit well at that time in my opinion. Also, the US practice of continuous rebroadcasting gives anime series much greater legs compared to their Japanese runs


This tends to get confusing but just to correct, Geneon had no part in it's localization, Slam Dunk was one of three shows that Toei Animation paid to dub when they started up their current American branch back in 2004 while Geneon was their DVD distributor (though not DVD producer as anyone who owned those specific discs would tell you how bad they were).


I had no idea. Thank you for that information!
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ZelosZoidberg



Joined: 23 May 2018
Posts: 715
PostPosted: Wed Aug 23, 2023 9:13 pm Reply with quote
Currently on episode 12 and the only thing I'm wishing for is better subtitles and timing of said subtitles because some episodes are rough. I would hope Discotek could get the rights for a disc release to do this series justice but it's Toei.
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Kirki



Joined: 11 Jun 2019
Posts: 296
PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2023 2:54 am Reply with quote
Why do we expect sports anime to take place inside courts for 90% of their runs? This is actually one of my biggest pet peeves about modern sports anime. People don't live in courts. The characters are supposed to have life and relationships outside of them, and half the fun of a sports anime is to see how the sport affects those parts of their lives and how it shapes up their personalities and makes them grow as people. (The other half is cool choreography and impressive shots)

Anyways, Slam Dunk is rightfully a fan favorite. It is just so fun. So 90's and simply so fun.
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070okres



Joined: 23 Aug 2023
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2023 3:43 am Reply with quote
Kirki wrote:
Why do we expect sports anime to take place inside courts for 90% of their runs? This is actually one of my biggest pet peeves about modern sports anime. People don't live in courts. The characters are supposed to have life and relationships outside of them, and half the fun of a sports anime is to see how the sport affects those parts of their lives and how it shapes up their personalities and makes them grow as people. (The other half is cool choreography and impressive shots)

Anyways, Slam Dunk is rightfully a fan favorite. It is just so fun. So 90's and simply so fun.


Exactly. Imagine having a well-rounded fleshed out story with characters that live and breath. when you create a story with sports as a theme. What are we? animals?
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gedata



Joined: 04 May 2013
Posts: 617
PostPosted: Thu Aug 24, 2023 6:31 pm Reply with quote
070okres wrote:
This is just silly. to review less of a quarter of a show but present the review as some sort of firm conclusion of said show.

I don't get that impression from this review. Cool it and don't put words in their mouth like that.
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070okres



Joined: 23 Aug 2023
Posts: 3
PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2023 2:01 am Reply with quote
good for you, I did get that impression. deal with it.
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lomez



Joined: 14 Mar 2018
Posts: 27
PostPosted: Fri Aug 25, 2023 10:22 am Reply with quote
ZelosZoidberg wrote:
Currently on episode 12 and the only thing I'm wishing for is better subtitles and timing of said subtitles because some episodes are rough. I would hope Discotek could get the rights for a disc release to do this series justice but it's Toei.

I haven't watched the Toei uploads on youtube fully since I already watched and read the whole series long ago, but more importantly than the timing of the subs, isn't the sound itself off-sync? I can tell by the noticeably delayed sound effects of the dunks in the opening. Or maybe it's just the opening?
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