Slam Dunk Is Insanely Good

created: 2023.01.30. 00:29 · modified: 2023.01.30. 10:51 ·  · license

This post was automatically translated and has not yet been reviewed by me. Please read with discretion.

It’s really, truly, incredibly good.

I hadn’t planned on seeing it, but a friend had a spare movie ticket, so I just picked something that was showing. I can’t believe I nearly missed a masterpiece like this. It was the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in ages, and the most I’ve ever enjoyed an animated film. I can’t stand predictable stories and I don’t usually watch animation, so by all rights this shouldn’t have appealed to me much. But the direction and music more than make up for it. I got goosebumps several times: when the Shohoku players first appeared one by one as sketches, when Ryota Miyagi had his breakthrough, when there was one minute left in the game, and more.

Another huge plus is that you can understand and enjoy it without knowing anything about the original manga. Last year, I went to see Dune (⊃∪∩∈) knowing nothing about the original novel and had a rough time. There was a brief explanation of its world at the beginning, but it covered only a fraction of the enormous story, and I couldn’t even take that much in. For the first time ever, I dozed off in a movie theater. This time, though, all I knew going in was that I’d heard Hanamichi Sakuragi’s name a few times. Thanks to each player’s distinctive look and personality and the way their stories unfolded, it wasn’t long before I could see a jersey number and immediately remember who that player was.

It makes me look back on my own life and wonder whether I’ve ever had a breakthrough like Ryota Miyagi’s. I need to live more fiercely.