• Something I often hear from others is that “Slam Dunk is underrated”. To an extent, this is true. The series isn’t very talked about among younger fans of manga, and newer sports series such as Haikyuu are mentioned more by younger fans. However, Slam Dunk is not underrated in the slightest. Its numbers of copies sold worldwide (170 million copies, making it the seventh best selling manga of all time) speaks for itself, but in this essay I want to break down both the numbers and impact that truly show Slam Dunk’s success.
• During the time of the series’ publishing in Shonen Jump, Japan had been going through an economic fall. The Japanese economy suffered a prolonged recession that followed the collapse of the economic success of the 80’s. Corporations had stopped hiring new employees in order to maintain their current ones. This meant that many people were out of work, and it led to high unemployment. While this doesn’t directly affect Inoue, it puts lots of pressure on his manga to do well. After all, if he couldn’t make something that sold, he was out of a job. He had also stated that his editors were against him making a basketball manga due to it being unknown in the country, yet he did it regardless — despite knowing that he could easily be out of a job and face the financial difficulties many others were facing throughout the 90’s.
• Throughout the 90’s, basketball wasn’t very known in Japan. The NBA was at its peak in popularity, but this popularity didn’t translate to Japan. Baseball and soccer were far more known sports in Japan, and so Inoue was faced with the task of introducing basketball to his readers. (He did a good job of this). Slam Dunk starts off more comedic and casual compared to an intense sports series, and this was done to appeal to a wider audience. In fact, some of the most popular chapters and episodes at the time had been the gym fight arc, which didn’t exactly have much to do with basketball. But as the series progressed, Inoue was faced with two choices; to continue with the writing structure that was selling, or to double down on the basketball aspect of the series and risk alienating and losing his audience.
• But instead of backing down, Inoue decided to take the risk. The story became more and more basketball focused, but he didn’t alienate his audience. In fact, the story was becoming more and more popular. At the time, it contended with Dragon Ball Z, and at times was even outselling.
• The apex of the series’ popularity had been towards the end of its serialization in 1995-1996, throughout the Shohoku vs Sannoh match. And then… it ended. Inoue’s editors wanted him to continue the series as it was one of the magazine’s best selling, but instead, he just left. A complete power move. The series had lots of material that could have been used to continue the series, such as what happened to Shohoku (particularly Sakuragi) after the Sannoh match, him getting the girl, him becoming an even better player. I think that Inoue knew the series could have been even bigger if he had continued, but I also believe that it ended where it needed to. If Slam Dunk had been dragged longer, it may have gotten stale, and it might not have been as beloved as it is right now. Additionally, Inoue’s other big titles such as Vagabond or REAL don’t have endings due to long hiatus, and it’s possible that Slam Dunk may have faced similar treatment.
• Aside from its overall sales, another interesting metric that encapsulates Slam Dunk’s success is its sales per volume estimate.

• Slam Dunk being second only to One Piece (the best selling manga of all time) highlights just how successful it is.
• Additionally, here is a sales chart of the best selling manga in September 2022. The fact Slam Dunk places here despite being a series that has been completed for over 25 years speaks for itself.

• The series is very impressive sales wise already, but another component on just how successful Slam Dunk is its cultural impact in Japan. I already stated Inoue was forced with the task of introducing basketball to Japan. And to say he introduced it to them would be an understatement; it can be said that Slam Dunk popularized the sport.
• Around the 90’s, while basketball was at its peak in popularity due to the NBA, Japan didn’t pick up on this. Baseball and football were still far more popular. As I said before, Inoue was tasked to introduce basketball to his readers.
• Introduced is an understatement, and Inoue’s story actually increased enrollment in basketball among Japanese youth. In fact, throughout 1990-1995, around one million Japanese high schoolers were playing basketball as an extracurricular. And when Slam Dunk ended its serialization, this number dropped again.
• Additionally, when the NBA came to Japan during the time the series was being published, the stadiums for their games were packed. This adds onto just how much more popular basketball was getting in Japan. And even now, it can be said basketball is a much popular sport in Japan.
• But he didn’t just introduce the game itself; he also showed the culture surrounded by basketball.
• Basketball culture is another prominent thing shown in Slam Dunk, from the boys hooping in Jordans, the baggy clothes they wear, to the sneakerhead culture. Inoue bridged 90’s American culture to Japan, and he made it a thing among Japanese youth.
• Something else I want to note is that Nike allowed for Inoue’s use of their products in the manga. On my initial read, this surprised me, since I figured that Nike would have copyrighted the series. However, the reason they allowed for Inoue’s display of their products was because it essentially advertised their products to the Japanese market. In fact, Jordan’s and Nike’s sneakers had a massive increase in Japanese sales throughout the series’ publication (particularly the shoes worn by Sakuragi and Rukawa). Additionally, Nike also had a collaboration with Inoue to make red Jordan’s with Slam Dunk’s panels.
• The series wasn’t known in just Japan, but throughout other Asian countries such as South Korea, China, and The Philippines. And as a result, basketball got popularized in these countries as well. If you were to ask anyone from there from around the 80’s-90’s, it’d be difficult to not find a Slam Dunk reader.
• Throughout all this, I firmly believe that Slam Dunk isn’t underrated. It is arguably one of the most influential mangas, and easily one of the most successful.

i set up links to all the posts ive written for the characters. if you want anything for a particular character you can find it in here :)

Mitsui

• mitsui in a relationship
• rich mfs in slam dunk
• views on appearance/fashion
• mitsui’s fav movies
• mitsui in love <3
• seeing his crush get cheated on
• the reputation of hisashi mitsui
• reacting to confession
• getting cheated on
• dental work + hygiene
• mitsui’s rizz

Rukawa

• rukawa in a relationship
• rukawa’s music taste
• views on appearance/fashion
• rukawa’s love for cats
• rukawa relationship hcs
• rukawa as a cat dad
• the dynamic of rukawa, sendoh, and sawakita
• the misunderstanding of kaede rukawa

Maki

• maki in a relationship
• rich mfs in slam dunk
• maki’s car
• views on appearance/fashion
• maki’s fav movies
• reacting to crush’s confession
• maki as a father
• getting rejected by his crush

Miyagi

• views on appearance/fashion
• miyagi in love
• walking s/o home
• reacting to confession
• miyagi in academics

Sawakita

• sawakita in a relationship
• rich mfs in slam dunk
• sawakita in america
• comforting crying s/o
• walking s/o home
• sawakita the best slam dunk boy (real)
• getting cheated on
• the dynamic of rukawa, sendoh, and sawakita

Sakuragi

• views on appearance/fashion
• reacting to crush’s confession
• hanamichi + his friends
• seeing his crush get cheated on
• getting complimented by a girl
• the image shift of hanamichi sakuragi

Sendoh

• sendoh in a relationship
• views on appearance/fashion
• reacting to crush’s confession
• sendoh as a father
• dating a tom boy
• getting rejected by his crush
• getting cheated on
• sendoh in academics
• dental work + hygiene
• the dynamic of rukawa, sendoh, and sawakita

Kiyota

• kiyota in a relationship
• views on appearance/fashion
• dating a tom boy
• seeing his crush get cheated on
• walking s/o home

Kogure

• kogure’s fav movies
• comforting crying s/o

Fukuda

• fukuda in a relationship
• comforting crying s/o
• dating a tom boy
• reacting to confession

SD ESSAYS

• the solitude of ryota miyagi
• the misunderstanding of kaede rukawa
• the dynamic between rukawa, sendoh, and sawakita
• sports manga’s greatest antagonists; sannoh high
• the success of slam dunk
• the reputation of hisashi mitsui
• ayako’s interactions with shohoku’s starting five
• the image shift of hanamichi sakuragi
• the characterization of eiji sawakita
• physical touch in slam dunk

Considering the fact they’re basketball players who have to condition (even on the off-season), I thought this would be fun to think about :). And also i go to the gym and i see boys like them all the time there

slam dunk boys at the gym

rukawa

• One thing about Rukawa, he is going to the gym ALONE. Like it’ll literally be him, his airpods, a towel, and a fat waterbottle against the world. I don’t think he’d hate working out with someone, but he’d prefer to workout alone since he can stay focused and go at his own pace.

• He’d have both his AirPods in at full volume and go CRAZY on the machines/weightlifting bars. I think for his stamina, he would use the Stairmaster at full speed and go on it for as long as he could.

• I’d say that he does workouts for all of his body, but his favorite workouts would be arm ones, just because he’ll be able to put more power into his basketball shots.

• I don’t think he’d be approached by anyone at the gym since he’s always super focused on his workout and looks VERY intimidating, but if you went up to him and asked him for help, he’d do it.

• BUTTTT If he was in a bad mood that day, he might just put his AirPod right back in and ignore you 😂. However, after he cools off, he’d feel kinda bad. And then sigh and go up to you like “What did you need help with?”

• HE’D DEF BE ADMIRED BY ALL THE GYM BADDIES!!!!!

ryota

• Ok I feel like his level of productivity would depend on who he’s at the gym with. If he’s with Mitsui, those two are gonna try and compete with who could lift heavier weights 😂. But if he’s with Sakuragi, aint NOTHING getting done.

• He will take a ton of gym photos and mirror selfies and post them like “Hitting the gym today ✅” on Insta/Snap. AND HE’LL SEND THEM ALL TO AYAKO 😂😂😂. His gym fits will be coordinated asf too!!! He will go over there dripped out!!!

• I think if he goes alone he’d be really focused. He wouldn’t look intimidating or anything but he’d keep to himself and put on some music (def rnb like bryson tiller or brent faiyaz) and do his workouts. If the gym had a track area, he’d walk around and jus think about life and whatever happened throughout his day.

• Now if Ayako tagged along with him to the gym one day… HES GONNA ACT A FOOL. Like he will literally just stand by her the entire time as if he’s her mf bodyguard. And if a man even TRIED to talk to her, he would instantly shoo him away 💀

sakuragi

• His productivity would also depend on who hes with 😂

• If he’s with his lil gang… they getting into BIG trouble. Those idiots would fool around and try and swing around the weightlifting bar and hit eachother with it. They’d cause a big commotion and then get escorted out the gym by mf security.

• I think he’d go alone alot lowkey… especially after rehabilitation, he’d go there to do light workouts to prepare himself for basketball practice.

• I f he doesn’t know how to properly use a machine, this mf is NOT ASKING NOBODYYY for help 💀. Like he will stand there and stubbornly try messing with it until either he figures it out, or one of the gym’s staff sees him and offers him help

• I feel like he’d be very popular with the elderly people at the gym. Like in the mens’ locker room, the old men would look at him and be like “Back in my day, I was a lot like you, son,” and be hyping him up on his muscles and big build. AND HE’D ACT ALL OVERCONFIDENT but he’d lowkey be smiling about it for the rest of the day. He’d smile and make a peace sign whenever he sees one of the elderly regulars there. And if they asked him for help, he’d help!!!!! He’d have a whole community of uncles and aunties at the gym

• In terms of people around his age tho.. it’s a different story. If someone is using a machine or area he’s trying to use, he’s gonna be SOOO inpatient. Especially if whoever is on it isn’t using it. If it’s a girl, he’d ask politely, but if it’s a guy, he’ll mean mug tf outta them, until they get intimidated and walk away 😭

• If he and Ryota are at the gym together, those two will take SO many pictures. Half of the time they’d jus be talking and talking, and wouldn’t get ANYTHING accomplished

mitsui

• Ok, one thing about Mitsui, he is NOT going to the gym alone. Like he will hit the whole mf team up and ask them to go with him. Even Akagi.

• I think he’d go frequently though, especially in order to build up his stamina. Rukawa would show him the Stairmaster machine and he’d go CRAZY on there. Like by the end, it’ll say he walked up 200 flights of stairs 😂

• He’d lowkey have so many gym crushes. But he wouldn’t approach ANY of them 😂😂😂. He will just admire, sigh, and then go on with his workout. I think some of the gym baddies would think he’s cute but they wouldn’t approach him

• The reason why he’d be scared of being alone at the gym is because it’d be jus him and his thoughts. AND FOR MITSUI, THATS SCARY ASL. However… I think going to the gym alone from time to time would end up being a way for him to destress and reflect.

PS: IMMA DO A PART TWO WITH AKAGI, SENDOH, SAWAKITA, and whoever else yall want

This is something I’ve thought about for a hot minute and i wanted to make an essay on it :))

socioeconomics in slam dunk

• Like many things in life, basketball is a money sport. While inherent talent and skill is incredibly important, without the resources and opportunities to succeed, you can only get so far.
• Throughout Slam Dunk, the importance of money and how it has a massive role in the world of basketball is not explicitly stated, but through the depictions of different teams in the series, it is prevalent.
• We are first introduced to Shohoku High, a public school in Kanagawa. Shohoku is not a “poor” or “ghetto” school, but it is by no means a prestigious school either. Shohoku is initially depicted to be an ordinary school, but we are also shown how it has delinquency and school fights — especially among its protagonist and his “gang”
• Shohoku’s normalcy is extended into its clubs, in particular, its basketball club. This club isn’t necessarily “run down” or “at risk of not existing anymore”, but aside from its coach (Coach Anzai, a man who used to coach the Japanese national team) and Akagi, their star center, Shohoku’s basketball team doesn’t have much going for it. Due to being a public school, Shohoku doesn’t have the money incentive to recruit star players (like some other schools I will mention soon), and most stars (besides Rukawa LOLLL) won’t go to an ordinary school “on a whim”
• Moreover, the financial disparities become even more personal through the experiences of the characters themselves.
• Sakuragi is hinted at to be poor, and the notion that basketball is “pay to play” is first explored through him in volume three, where Hikoichi (a player from Ryonan who “scouts” their competition) points out that it is strange Sakuragi doesn’t have basketball shoes, but he is quick to tell himself that it is likely because Sakuragi can’t afford them. Many basketball shoes, especially the Jordans that Sakuragi obtains throughout the series, are well over the $150-200 USD price range. While it is possible to play without basketball shoes, not having shoes that are designed for basketball automatically puts a player at a slight disadvantage.

• This brings into question how resources—or the lack thereof—can subtly but significantly influence the trajectory of a player’s journey and a team’s potential for success. Sakuragi was lucky to have gotten practically free basketball shoes due to the generosity of a store owner, but those costs were his own out-of-pocket expenses. Unfortunately, a public school without special stipends for their programs cannot provide financial assistance to provide some of the resources to nurture potentially talented players.
• While schools like Shohoku do not have funds to incentivize players or potential talent to come their way, they also do not have the funds to incentivize star coaches to coach at these schools. While Shohoku was able to have gotten Anzai (who wanted to retire by coaching highschool basketball), many public schools do not have that same luck.
• In fact, the reason that two of the starting players, Mitsui and Miyagi, even decided to attend Shohoku was due to its coach, Coach Anzai. I think this goes to show that if a school invests in incentives like star coaches or a star basketball program, then these talented players will want to attend.

• In terms of schools who provide ALL the incentives, and has thus led to star teams, I want to focus on Kainan, Shoyo, and (especially) Ryonan.
• All are labelled as prestigious, private schools with amazing basketball programs, with Kainan having a stellar track record at nationals. But why is that? How did they get so.. good?
• If I had to best answer this, money.
• Ryonan is known to have scouted its star players, with Coach Taoka even scouting Sendoh and Fukuda from a junior high in Tokyo. For reference, Kanagawa is about two hours away from Tokyo, so Coach Taoka has to provide incentives for these boys to move to a different prefecture rather than staying in a city that likely has many powerhouse schools. In his case, these incentives would likely be full rides to Ryonan, as well as extra stipends to cover these student’s additional costs (such as food, money to move away, etc). Since Ryonan has the funding to do this, Coach Taoka is able to travel around to different areas, find these hidden talents, and bring them over to Ryonan. Public schools like Shohoku, who do not have allocated funds for sports programs, do not have this opportunity… and thus, are at an automatic disadvantage.
• It is not explicitly stated how prestigious of a school Shoyo is, but having a program-related disadvantage affecting their players is prevalent. They do not have an official coach (for an unmentioned reason), and their star player Fujima has to coach his teammates as a result. Unfortunately, this additional responsibility prevented him from focusing on his own skills. I do believe Shoyo IS a school that has funding, but this highlights how a program being neglected directly impacts the strength of a team.

• Another team I wanted to point out is Toyotama, a team that faced some of the most immense pressure in the entire series.
• While Minami and Kishimoto, the team’s leaders, are characterized as “brute assholes”, it is shown that their irrational behavior stems from their pressure to perform well in order to potentially bring back their former coach, Coach Kitano.
• Although Toyotama is 8th in the country, for the investors in their school’s basketball program, this isn’t enough. And thus… Coach Kitano was fired in the hopes of getting a coach who could lead the team to a better performance.

• For these prestigious schools, their end goal is making a return on their investments. After all, what is the point of pouring all that money and resources for a team that doesn’t even land them in the news?
• While this is sad, it is very realistic. And as a result… even though Toyotama has a prestigious program, they felt even more pressure to *make a return.“ and this pressure poured into the team and their behavior.
• However, the school that truly encapsulates the opportunities that money and resources provide for their players is Sannoh Technical High School.
• Sannoh is practically a world class basketball team, with "anyone in Japan who gives a damn about basketball knows them”, a team that had won nationals for years on end.
• But how can one team be so good, let alone having a lasting legacy of greatness?
• While their players are undoubtedly talented, Sannoh has invested aplenty into nurturing their players’ talents.
• Like Coach Taoka of Ryonan, Sannoh’s Coach Damoto scouts the best and brightest for their team. Eji Sawakita, although residing in a different prefecture, was discovered and scouted by Sannoh. While it isn’t explicitly said how many players they scouted, or what incentives they provided Sawakita (aside from opportunities and their prestige), it can be inferred that Sannoh likely looks for the best and brighest to be apart of their teams.
• In addition to the money and resources spent scouting, Sannoh provides their team with immense opportunities that most schools do not.
• It is stated that Sawakita had been sent on a trip abroad to play basketball in America, and that he even learned new techniques during his trip. To say the least, a trip like that is… expensive. To send students to a country across the world just to play basketball is a hefty price to pay, and yet Sannoh was willing to pay it.

• To prepare for Shohoku’s match, Coach Damoto arranged a practice match with Sannoh alum who have a similar playstyle to Shohoku. While it is possible that these alum were willing to volunteer their time doing this, Damoto going out of his way to bring them all together and schedule that practice match is something that likely cost a significant amount to make happen. And it is certainly an opportunity that many schools would not provide.
• Unfortunately, it is difficult to compete with money, and this sentiment is universal for any sector.
• But what makes Shohoku’s victory over all these powerhouse schools, especially Sannoh, so shocking is the fact it is an “ordinary, no name school.” Theoretically, Shohoku would never beat a team like Sannoh, especially given the fact that Shohoku didn’t even have half the money, resources, and opportunities that Sannoh does.
• Yet… Shohoku did it. And I think this part of why Slam Dunk is such a beautiful story: an ordinary team was, even for a moment, able to be extraordinary.

• This scene kinda surprised me when I first read it since I thought Rukawa would just look at it and walk past it. But he got on his knees and gestured the cat to go towards him and everything.
• Rukawa definitely has a soft side for cats. The one he encountered was just some street cat he could’ve chosen to ignore, but he seemed to want to pet it.
• He also seemed reactive when the cat didn’t want to be pet, and this surprised me since he’s usually unbothered and he normally doesn’t want attention from anyone.
• In comparison, when Ryota saw a crow, he tried scaring it off
• I think this (and also his music taste) portray Rukawa to not be as much of a mean guy as Hanamichi thinks.
• Rukawa’s drawn with cats in many of Inoue’s illustrations (ex: this and this).
• To me it shows that Rukawa likes cats, and it gives him some depth outside of him being a basketball obsessed dude.
• I HC that Rukawa either owns a cat, or at least grew up with one when he was younger. Cats aren’t high maintenance or annoying so they wouldn’t bother Rukawa, and even though he prefers solitude I think he’d like a cat sitting next to him.
• omg imagine him going to a cat cafe for some peace and quiet and the cats all go to him and he pets them

• By textbook definition, an antagonist is someone tbat contends or opposes somebody else. In Shonen manga (in fact, probably all books), this antagonist is needed. Depending on the genre, the person may be a villain figure, or someone who isn’t exactly a good person. In many battle manga (such as Naruto or One Piece), the antagonist is supposed to be someone that the reader dislikes, and they’re supposed to root for the protagonist(s). However, in sports series, this isn’t the case. In sports a manga the antagonists are rival teams that share similar goals as the protagonists; to be the best and win. As a result, they aren’t exactly bad people, they’re simply teen boys that are put against the main team. Because of this, sports manga antagonists have to be written in a way that both opposes and pushes the protagonists, but also in a way that isn’t villain-like. This can be a challenge to do, but I believe that the best example of antagonists in sports manga is Slam Dunk’s Sannoh High, the final team that Shohoku faces in the series.
• The theme of reputation and image is used to introduce Sannoh. Sannoh is hyped up to be the greatest highschool basketball team, who have won countless nationals and are known by practically every Japanese basketball fan. In fact, even Akagi idolized them, hoping to challenge them one day. And when Shohoku sees the interhigh’s lineup and learns that they face Sannoh in their second match, all of them (except Sakuragi) are left extremely anxious. This is because they understand Sannoh’s reputation as extremely great players due to their accolades and name alone, the only reason Sakuragi is ‘carefree’ is because he’s too much of a newbie to basketball to understand the weight of Sannoh’s reputation/image. Also, similarly to Sakuragi, Meihou’s Morishige doesn’t care much for Sannoh either, and he left a reporter in shock when he answered “What’s a Sannoh?” I think this left her in shock because Sannoh had built up a big name for themselves, and it was practically unheard of to see someone that didn’t acknowledge that. I also want to add that none of the Shohoku players had seen Sannoh’s matches previously, so it was simply Sannoh’s name and reputation alone that led them to knowing how great of players they are.

• When the boys watch last year’s match of Sannoh vs Kainan, they’re left speechless at the skills of the players. After all, Kainan was already a tea m that was so great, yet Sannoh completely dominated them. This led the pressure to sink in for all the boys, even Sakuragi.
• Coach Anzai brings up something interesting to the boys, that Shohoku are going to be the ‘villains’ to many of the onlookers in the crowd. Sannoh is a beloved team by many, and they want to see them win, similarly to how readers of a series want to see the protagonist win. I found it interesting that he said Sannoh’s advantage was their reputation, and not their abilities. This led to the Shohoku boys embracing the title of being the “Bad Boys”. I think this title fits them very well, as they are a team made up of problem children. This signified to me that the boys were letting go of the pressure they felt the night before.
• However, Sannoh was unfocused in the first half of the match. Coach Anzai mentions how the Sannoh boys likely felt pressure to live up to the name they had built for themselves, and they couldn’t play their best initially. But when they started to ease up towards the end of the first half, they played much better. And to say they challenged Shohoku would be an understatement.
• The boys were completely dominated by Sannoh in the second half, being behind by over 10 points for practically the rest of the match. Rukawa had met his match and was continuously bested by Sawakita (something I will touch on in a second), as well as Akagi being bested by Masashi. I believe that Sannoh’s players challenged Shohoku and pushed them to play better.
• Eiji Sawakita was regarded as the best Japanese highschool basketball player, and Rukawa knew that he could become the best highschool basketball player if he managed to beat Sawakita. But, Rukawa just didn’t have Sawakita’s athleticism and he kept on losing in a one on one against Sawakita. I think this reflected Rukawa’s weakness; that he didn’t have good playmaking and had always relied on his athleticism and his own skills to beat his opponents. And to the most part, that was enough to get him past many people, Sawakita was simply better. Rukawa was forced to change his approach, so he took notes from Akira Sendoh’s playmaking and passed to his teammates. I think Sawakita pushed Rukawa to change his play style and helped him develop as a player, in a way that’s natural and realistic for the nature of basketball.
• Akagi had known of Masashi Kawata for years, and knew of how Masashi was the best highschool center. I think he really respects Masashi’s abilities as a player, and it’s reflected in the match against Sannoh. Akagi put himself one on one against Masashi, and like Rukawa, he kept on losing. This led him to get more and more focused to win against Kawata, and he lost his confidence (and focus) as the match went on. However, Akagi regained himself (partially thanks to Uozumi) and he realized that he didn’t need to be the best, but that he had to be the foundation for Shohoku.
• Aside from these particular examples, I think Sannoh pushed all of Shohoku as a whole. The boys pushed their limits as players and were driven to excel. And as a result, Shohoku cemented themselves as the greatest challengers to ever do it. But again, Sannoh was an important component to the greatness of that last match.
• The Sannoh boys pushed the protagonists, and they did it in a way that’s natural for sports, instead of coming off as villains. In fact, Sannoh has just as good of a team dynamic as Shohoku. The boys all get along well, and of course have normal teen boy arguments. Masashi and Sawakita have a banter based friendship, as Sawakita insults his appearance and Masashi makes fun of him for being a crybaby. Some other moments I thought showed the team’s dynamic was Sawakita encouraging Mikio Kawata by telling him “You’ll do good Mikio,” or Fukatsu telling Sawakita it was ok he made a mistake.
• All of Sannoh’s players aren’t bad people either, despite them being the final antagonists of Slam Dunk. In fact, I would say that they’re sweet boys, even towards Shohoku. For instance, Masashi Kawata noticed Sakuragi’s in pain, and he directly told him “You got a future kid, don’t overdo it,”. I think it was kind of him to compliment Sakuragi like that and it showed he wasn’t a bad guy. Sawakita didn’t really trash talk or act rude either, and his interactions with Sakuragi and Rukawa were funny.

• I think that this highlights how the Sannoh boys are just regular teen boys that are alike to Shohoku, but that they’re simply on another team. And I firmly believe that Sannoh High is the golden standard for sports manga antagonists.

• While I consider Slam Dunk a perfect series, with amazing characterization, I believe that the weakest aspect of the story is the lack of backstories. While a backstory is not needed for every character, it would have added much more to the main characters and their development. The main team members of the series are already very well developed and they had plenty of development (especially throughout the Sannoh match). However, Ryota Miyagi, Shohoku’s point guard, seemed like a static character in comparison to his other teammates.
• While he isn’t a badly written character by any means, we didn’t see much of his story throughout the manga. His main thing was being the short boy who had a crush on Ayako.
• During his introduction arc, Miyagi was overshadowed by Mitsui, who had his whole backstory revealed in that arc. In comparison, all we knew about Miyagi was that he was a problem child who liked Ayako, and became friends with Sakuragi.
• Throughout the rest of the series, we don’t truly see much of Ryota’s struggles, aside from his height leaving him at a disadvantage. This issue is shown throughout the Sannoh match. The readers are shown how Ryota is concerned about if he can even match up to Fukatsu, but we aren’t shown much of Ryota’s inner thoughts compared to Akagi’s thoughts of comparison.
• More of Ryota’s story is revealed in a spin-off chapter that was released after Slam Dunk’s serialization, titled Piercing. We finally learn more details about Ryota’s life, such as how he had known Ayako since he was young and about his brother’s disappearance. This added some depth to Ryota and potentially explains why he’s a problem child, but it is still rather vague and left many questions unanswered.
• However, over 20 years later, Ryota’s story was finally revisited. In The First Slam Dunk, Ryota is the main character and we finally learn about his background and even his inner thoughts.
• What shocked me the most was learning just how passionate Ryota was about basketball. Aside from Sakuragi (who himself became serious about basketball towards the end of the series), I felt Ryota was the most casual about basketball. He had even explained to Sakuragi that he wasn’t sure he wanted to play basketball in highschool until he saw Ayako. However, it’s shown Ryota had played basketball since he was a child, and his older brother had taught him. And despite Ryota’s mother disliking basketball (due to it reminding her of her late son), Ryota continued to play it.
• His family life which is hinted at in Piercing is fully revealed in the movie. Ryota’s brother is confirmed to be dead, and we truly see how much it affected Miyagi. While in the manga he doesn’t seem depressed or anything, we learn how it deeply affected him and led him to become a delinquent. He was even bawling in his cave hideout that he used to visit as a kid. And the fact he wrote to his mother that he wished he was the one who died instead speaks volumes.
• Ryota had always come off as a very nonchalant person. While he did get pissed at times, he didn’t seem like he had serious issues. Ayako even states to him that he always looks like he’s fine. I think that this shows how strong Ryota was mentally, he always looked okay in front of his teammates and the average reader wouldn’t figure he had anything too serious going on,
• As stated in a lyric by Taylor Swift, “No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire”. Ryota seems to keep his problems to himself, similarly to Sakuragi. It seems like nobody in the team has any idea what happened, aside from maybe Yasu and Ayako. And Miyagi doesn’t act depressed either. However, I believe that his background reveals that Ryota tries to keep his feelings and struggles under control.
• Something I think is notable is Ryota’s friendship with Sakuragi. It’s shown that they don’t get along, until they open up to each other one night regarding their bad luck in love. Their entire conversation that night wasn’t revealed (and I believe there is a possibility they could’ve talked about things outside of their love life), but it still shows that Sakuragi was the first one Ryota opened up to on the team. Additionally, Ryota was the first one on the team that Sakuragi confided in about any struggles he was facing. As a result, I believe that this was why they were able to become friends so easily.
• While Miyagi is already a stand out character in Shohoku, the additional information regarding his background makes him an even better written character.