Basketball Movie Review
The First Slam Dunk
Takehiko Inoue brings his own manga to the screen, shifts the emotional centre to Ryota Miyagi and makes animated basketball feel fast, heavy and genuinely tactical.
A proper basketball film, not merely a great anime adaptation. The game has rhythm, physicality and strategy; the character work gives every possession weight.
Movie details
2022 · 2h 04m · Drama
Director Takehiko Inoue
- Shugo Nakamura
- Jun Kasama
- Shinichiro Kamio
- Subaru Kimura
- Kenta Miyake
- Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue did not just approve the adaptation — he wrote and directed the film himself.
- The film won the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year and reframes the famous Shohoku-Sannoh game through point guard Ryota Miyagi.
01
The Take
The First Slam Dunk makes a clever choice by refusing to simply recap the manga. Ryota Miyagi becomes the emotional centre, so the famous Shohoku game arrives attached to grief, family and a point guard's need to control chaos. Existing fans get the matchup they wanted; newcomers get a complete emotional route into it.
02
Does the Basketball Hold Up?
This is where the film separates itself. Spacing, help defense, fatigue, pressure and momentum are animated as basketball decisions rather than superhero powers. Bodies have weight. Players take bad angles when tired. The ball can move faster than a defender's brain. It understands that great basketball action is already dramatic enough.
03
Best Basketball Moment
The final possession against Sannoh. The film strips away noise, lets timing take over and trusts the audience to understand exactly how much one clean decision can mean.
04
Ball Cred
Written and directed by Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue, with the sport treated as craft rather than decoration. It may be animated, but very few live-action films see the game this clearly.