The Genius Sports Manga: Slam Dunk by Takehiko Inoue
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- čas přidán 30. 07. 2023
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Slam Dunk was a sports manga that ran from 1990 through 1996 in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump. Artist and writer Takehiko Inoue was told basketball wasn't popular in Japan but he was passionate about the sport and he overcame the odds to build his story into an unlikely hit. This video explores what Takehiko Inoue did with pacing and character growth to create what I argue is the best sports comic. - Zábava
The animated adaptation of Slam Dunk was very popular here in Latin America when it aired in the late 90s and early 2000s. The recent movie, The First Slam Dunk, just got released here a few days ago and for the Neutral Spanish dub many of the original voice actors reprised their roles, Takehiko Inoue even sent a congratulations message to all the fans in Mexico
Hell yeah, let’s goooooooo!!!
It’s cool that anime is popular in Mexico but I wish more Mexican animated movies existed with their own animation industry there’s so much storytelling potential for your beautiful country I love the murals you see on walls in Mexico imagine that translated into animation
@@cheetahluv210 I'm not from Mexico, I'm from South America. I just watched Slam Dunk's Neutral Spanish dub when I was a little kid
I don't know much about original Mexican animation, there's the Las Leyendas movies by Estudio Anima, the show Villanous by Alan Ituriel and the Frankelda series that premiered in HBO Max
@@pablocasas5906 yeah but it’s still rare
@@pablocasas5906 okay lo siento por asumir que eres mexicano pero lo asumió porque hablaste de los fans en mexico pero hay muchas simularidades y diferencias entre las culturas en latinoamerica
Inoue's art is some of the best ever seen in comics - his later series, Vagabond, is truly something to behold. I'm not sure if using reference material from some of the most famous images in basketball should really count as much of a scandal, given how much of a love letter to the sport the manga is (and the huge impact it had on the sport's popularity here in Japan).
I'd even dare to say that his art surpassed artists like Kentaro Muira. His inks are masterful.
He has another manga! The title is 'Real', it's about disabled basketball. Heard it's good! Haven't read it but planning to :).
@@Summyerindeed amf same
10 years ago I was asking all my Japanese friend and co-workers which manga series to read. Man, woman, boy, girl all recommended Slam Dunk. It didn't disappoint. Must read!
It is a must... I can guarantee that. It's a classic.
Takehiko Inoue is one of the greatest creators to ever exist. His work is masterful.
Slam Dunk ending is what confirms Inoue's brilliance. Doing that to your main character, when you are expecting him to achieve the ultimate goal, can blow your mind.
And the last in-game interactions with Haruko are superb. We saw this man drooling in love with the girl and when she tries to help over the back injury, he just WANTS TO PLAY BASKETBALL, in pain and ignoring the girl that makes him crazy in love. Chills.
My favourite comics expert, talking about my favourite manga and the movie coming this week to LATAM. I must be dreaming. ⭐
Inove suffers from depression, Slam Dunk is actually the only manga he actually finished, and it feels rushed.
Of course, it works in the context of the story, this was never about Sakuragi getting the girl and Shohoku winning the Nationals, it was about growth.
The ending works (especially counting the epilogue Inove wrote years later), but I cant understand people not happy about.
I liked the ending as it was the right amount of bittersweet and didn’t drag things out like a lot of manga. The final arc to Eyeshield 21 wasn’t bad but I feel it would have been more satisfying to end after the Christmas bowl.
From simp to sigma
@@Jose-se9pu I prefer the ending where mc lose. it's a lot more realistic compared to being undefeated and become no1.
I just came here very quickly to say that, thank you. This is an incredible series by an incredible author. His other works, Vagabond and REAL, also deserve attention. Thank you for looking at it and speaking about it.
I dare anyone to not shout "Shiratori" while crying when the moment comes.
You got that right!
@@MrJerichoPumpkin The line "You don't have to win. Just don't lose..." made me ugly cry
As a fan of the author and the manga I gotta give my thanks. An excellent episode.
The most well-written sports media ever. I grew up in sports, watched a bunch of the highschool/college sports movies big in the 00's, and wasn't really a fan of anime until around 2010 when I discovered Samurai Champloo. The action in Slam Dunk is so grounded in reality, and the outcomes are genuinely unexpected in the games. Other sports animes rely on magic/powers to add depth, but Slam Dunk fully understand the nuance of the game.
I don't know how the creator was able to masterfully choreograph a believable game AND accurately represent all the characters included WHILE not being predictable.
I cannot fawn enough about how well-written the action is. The greatness of Slam Dunk exceeds manga/anime, in my opinion. Takehiko's passion of the game is in full display and should be appreciated by any sports fan.
growing up in japan in the early toi mid 90s, slam dunk was everywhere, glad to see it getting some light.
New Comic Tropes on SLAM DUNK !? Let Chris keep the utensils he’s str8 cooking with this content
Nice to see some manga get a serious treatment.
I feel that a lot of manga series actually have more story and character development than most american stuff.
I also like the Eyeshield 21 manga that is about american football. The main character is a small runt that gets beat up a lot and therefore has developed super running and dodging skills to avoid the bullies. This turns out to be really useful on the field.
Inoue should be introduced into basketball hall of fame so time in the future.
It just makes me happy to see love for slam dunk, the absolute best sports manga there is. And a story that changed my life.
This was the first comicbook ever that made me laugh out loud reading, amazing work. And it's just incredible how Inoue manages to make the depiction of the game super exciting, it's truly a masterpiece
Speaking of Takehiko Inoue, do you plan on ever covering his other work like Real or Vagabond? He's a fantastic artist who deserves a ton of appreciation in my opinion.
I am from latin america and loved the anime when it was broadcast here when I was a teenager, the quality was insane, like it's very realistic and detailed art style is faithfully represented on screen. Like most of the world football (soccer) is by far the most popular sport in my country Uruguay but I was never good at it, Slam dunk really made me try and play bball without any experience or expectations, and played casually for years. I think the passion for the game of the author really shines through and it very contagious, but also the characters are very human and warm and funny, you really feel for all of them in spite of all of their flaws, probably because of their flaws.
I wasn't aware of all the efforts of Inoue to help real students to play basketball, that is heartwarming.
Regarding the "plagiarism" accusation, I am generally not very forgiving in the matter but I think this is clearly a case of inspiration and truly homages rather than theft. The art is good and created with the photos as reference but not straight up tracing and copy.
Thanks for this great episode! This is a story everyone should read!
I first experienced Slam Dunk in its animated adaptation when I was in high school, and it actually inspired to start playing basketball. But the manga is just top notch in terms of artwork, panelling and pacing. Which makes me want to suggest to eventually cover Vagabond by the same author.
The First Slam Dunk will be screened next weekend over here, it is definitely something I want to see.
I'm not a sports guy, but I enjoy sports stories (movies/docs), so I may need to check this out.
Also, this video is a.... SLAM DUNK!
This manga made me cry, it's a masterpiece!
I’ve never read the manga, but as a kid I used to love Slam Dunk!
In Puerto Rico Slam Dunk is one of those cartoons that every kid loved and now as an adult is very normal to meet other Puerto Ricans that don’t like anime but LOOOVE Slam Dunk and Dragon Ball Z.
I’m sold, I’ll start reading the manga!
Can’t wait for Inoue to do the sequel to this, Air Ball.
Love it, I wish the whole series got adapted in the anime. Vagabond is great too, Inoue’s art and storytelling never ceases to amaze me.
I can't stress enough how much i love Slam Dunk. I don't see enough video essays on it and it makes me so sad. Its nust an insane masterpiece. The scenes where Akagi tells Sakuragi that rebounding is a 4pt game which leads him to box out better and him developing a semi-solid jumper which leads him to shoot the ball in clutch.
It's just so amazing that he has a one track mindset and he uses it to the best of his abilities. It literally made me a basketball fan.
This is one of my favourite manga of all time. THANK YOU for talking about it and hopefully introducing it to a whole new audience
I love it when an artist goes super deep into the stuff they're into.
I remember Gunsmith Cats from Kenichi Sonoda and he was really into cars and guns so always went into super detail about the kinds of engine modifications people made to their cars and what kinds of bullets they used.
Thank you for doing justice to this amazing series.
Hanamichi Sakuragi is my favorite character in manga, and Slam Dunk is my favorite sports title. You'll want to read Furuudate's volleyball manga Haikyuu! It stands on the shoulders of Slam Dunk, but it takes almost everything that's great about it and takes it further and better. It'll never take Slam Dunk's place in my heart, but it is a fantastic sports manga (and anime).
I'm so thrilled you covered this!
The anime for Slam Dunk is also most excellent and I recommend it in addition to the manga.
I went to watch The First Slam Dunk film as soon as it was released. I watched it two times more afterward. I was about to rewatch it one more time, but then it was already pulled out of the movies in my area. It was impressive knowing that it was Inoue-sensei's first time directing. I went on a Wednesday afternoon and unsurprisingly the seats were packed. Slam Dunk the anime was big in my country, almost all kids went into basketball frenzy during its first run here. It really felt like watching a live match. Everyone was holding their breath and then cheering loudly at the end of the match. Even for people who can't really remember what they watched back then, for all I know, they all enjoyed it. I am waiting for a chance to purchase the film so I can show it to my sister who only started her interest in Slam Dunk way after the last viewing of the film, lmao. Sometimes I forgot how Inoue-sensei started off his mangaka career. Honestly, I was so used to seeing his masterpiece (I worship his Sumi art book) that I forgot how his art was at the beginning of Slam Dunk. He is just like a typical eastern hero. He started from nothing and then he mastered his art by hard work and dedication. Thank you for the video. It's also refreshing to hear Japanese names not butchered completely, lmao. It might have slowly progressed for the better, but I still find it quite amusing.
Man what a fantastic channel this is, I'm watching this video again because I just finished the manga today, thanks for putting so much effort and passion into this channel
People love Slam Dunk here in south america. When i was a kid it was the rage at high school. Even today you see people wearing the shohoku t-shirt in the streets.
well done and informative as always. I had heard about this manga before and seen some of the artwork, but I'm seeing some of these beautiful, detailed drawings for the first time now! So good! I don't mind the sort of tracing that was used for these pages, they look great and the use of actual NBA photographs makes it feel more like homage than stealing. Keep it up, Chris!
slam dunk is my of all time favorite manga, I loved characters and story so much, I went to read another manga from the Takehiko, Real! amazing art and storytelling, so inspiring for me to draw more and draw better
(and don't let me begin on Vagabond..)
thank you so much for this video, I discovered your channel through video of Vince Colletta and subscribed immediately for all your other videos! keep up the good work!❤
Nicely done! Slam Dunk is my favorite manga. I love your approach of higlighting the mangaka's own growth as an artist and storyteller in its pages.
You might be interested to know that the Slam Dunk anime is just recently starting to release for free (legit) on CZcams. It's over on the Toei Animation official channel.
Hello, I'm a Japanese and a big fan of SLAM DUNK. Thank you for a wonderful video and also sharing the consistent theme of slam dunk about falling in love with something, working hard and growing up. I was impressed by the detailed sharing of stories from Kaede purple to slam dunk scholarship. I'm a little sad that slam dunk isn't very popular in the West, but here in Japan everyone knows it and literally the top of sports manga. I would appreciate it if you could know how much other sports manga and even the popularity of real basket ball in Japan (and Asia) are influenced by this masterpiece. BTW, the new movie "The FIRST SLAMDUNK" is also one of the best sports movie, so please check it out.👍 In Japan, it exceeded 15 billion yen at the box office and is still being screened eight months after its release.
I saw the movie. I do a short review at the end of this episode, while the credits run.
In most latin america it was a huge success, boosting the popularity of the sport like in Japan. The voice actors that made the dub all they way back then, reprised their roles now in the dubbed movie.
I love your content man. I've been following your channer for years and you have picked my favorite stories of all time in a lot of episodes. This is one of my childhood manga/anime favorites and it defined a lot of my tastes in narrative structure and tone. Thatk you for sharing.
I've been reading Slam Dunk on and off and yea it's a really great manga. It is a little shaky at the beginning but the more you read it the more hyped you really get. I didn't even know this manga helped influence Japan's culture directly back in the 90s but it makes a ton of sense how it did. So very cool fact to know.
I didn't even know about the movie btw but seems I better go track it down once it's available.
i impatiently waited for this ep to release when you first mentioned it, and it did not disappoint! i am currently reading the manga, but taking it at a very slow pace just to savour it. so good that i don't want it to end. thank you for making an ep about this story, chris!
I've been looking forward to this episode! Great work
Great video, Chris! Been waiting for this one since I first heard you mention it on a live show like a year ago.
Fantastic episode Chris! It's always great to see a new episode. Stay well, man.
This made me so happy, i love Slam Dunk. There are so many things one can dissect from the ouvre, but overall thank you for covering it in your channel.
Saludos from Argentina!
Another great video - thanks for bringing this to light! I wanted to add that 'Manga! Manga!' really is a wonderful read for anybody interested in the history of the art form - I'd highly recommend it!
I’ve been a huge fan of Slam Dunk for more than 15 years since I watched & read the manga. It’s insanely good, heart pumping, & very lovable. The more I grow up and re-read the manga, I fall in love deeper & deeper to the series.
The moral value in Slam Dunk is something that you can relate in your life.
It’s a masterpiece that you can enjoy & take good value from it.
I love this guy.
Man, as a guy living in Japan who speaks Japanese, that opening was nice to hear.
I just read this series and my favorite comic book CZcams covers it in a video? Let’s gooo! Slam dunk is PEAK
Never read Slam Dunk, but I've always heard it was good, so I'll have to check it out someday. Not a big sports manga guy, but I've always liked the works of Mitsuru Adachi, especially Touch and Cross Game. Baseball manga, especially ones about high school players aiming for the Koshien, are very common (when I was importing Shonen Sunday during Inu-Yasha's early run, there were at least 3 baseball series running at the same time), and Adachi has written five series on the subject over the last forty+ years (Nine, Touch, H2, Cross Game, and Mix).
There's a reason why SD is considered an Alll-Time favorite manga in Japanese survey. This even became more popular than DBZ, YYH, and HxH.
It's really different from sports manga, IMHO. When I think of it all these years later, I don't actually think of basketball. Or the journey to become a champion.
I think of high school, coming into your own as a person. These really neat slice of life stories. And what it means to learn to really love something. The themes are just a beat different. Really unique!
Great episode as always, Chris! Love your channel!
I always wondered about this comic/manga . Thanks for the Excellent videos.
This looks incredible. Will definitely seek this out.
All time favorite. Kickstarted my admiration for basketball.
You got my sub
Thank you for reviewing my favorite show in the 90
Believe me, Slam Dunk is one of the best comics I ever read. The art is AMAZING and all the characters are incredible. For me, it is one of those cases where the work surpasses labels or genres. When I started reading this masterpiece, I didn't even like sports manga!
Slam dunk is fantastic, great video chris!
I LIKELY want you to do a episode on Battle Angel Alita and Why James Cameron love it so much!
Hell yeah another quality video from you!
Thanks for this.
I always find it interesting when you branch out to other comic genres and cultures for an episode.
I wonder, have you ever thought of an episode on webcomics? They were my 1st experience of more than sporadic one-off issues and collection books and there's something rather unique about series that have freely released for decades, often as pure passion projects.
Especially as the high output comics now seem far rarer, with many talented artists only working on their series when they're between more traditional jobs.
They have become so much a relic that I can't immediately think of a large list, but something like 'Sluggy Freelancer' could be a fascinating episode; seriously, for something I went into expecting to be like Garfield, the character development, parallel story telling, long form arcs and insane decades long cannon is amazing.
It's ability to introduce characters are jokes, then break you with the emotional weight of them being real people is amazing.
Interesting as usual! The whole tracing debate needs a full video!
A great topic for sure !! I had 100% forgotten the art at the beginning !
Great vid. Made me wanna read it.
Slam Dunk is fucking huge here in the Philippines too. The anime's been constantly getting re-aired for decades and when the new movie came out it was a massive event.
Hey man just wanted to thank you for promoting this incredible manga your the reason I went and gave it a read and I couldn't be more grateful keep up with the great content and your doing well
More Manga, please!!! I really love your insight into this.
Awesome work here Chris, love Inoues work
I read this 8 years ago and just didn’t see the appeal. But people still praise it all the time. Maybe I’ll have to revisit it.
I was about to suggest this! I encountered the anime first when I was a kid (it was dubbed localized here in the Philippines for many years since the mid 90s). I still watch it occasionally
This was a great episode!
One of my all time favorite manga
Great video
I don't like sports much in my real life but for some reason sports manga are among my favorite. Hajime no Ippo, Teppu, Slam Dunk, Eyeshield 21, Blue Lock, and Haikyu are all so engrossing. A lot of the time it's not about the actual sport, but the relationships between the characters and trials and tribulations an underdog(s) go through.
Grew up with the anime, it was one of, if not my fav. Still watch it at least once a year all these years later.
The significance of this manga/anime in asia is no joke. Im half asian and have spent most of my life in asia. The amount of ppl who still revere this story to this day is amazing.
The way the characters moved us fans was indescribable. Heck, the story has been credited with making basketball a much popular sport in japan. Like just imagine, a manga literally helped change/transform the sports landscape of a nation.
I will always love this story and its characters. But one easy way to see how immensely popular it was (and still is) is to look at top selling mangas. The fact that its in the tope 10 while only one other manga has less volumes in a testament to its popularity (while others have significantly more).
I think one reason is that the characters were so relatable cuz they were "real". Sure they were supremely talented but it wasnt a kurokos basket or prince of tennis thing where the talent was no longer realistic (not hating on those two cuz i enjoyed the hell out of them lol).
Plus, u had a great and touching redemption arc in there as well.
Again, i think just how "real" it felt was a gigantic reason as for why it became so popular and why it still holds a special place in so many ppls hearts all these years later.
Aaaayyy! I thought there was no episode this week hehe, awesome!!
Very very very good video. I always heard about this and suspected I would like it since I am heavy into basketball and do read manga almost everyday but I always wanted to stick to more over the top themes and topics. This video sold me on picking it up next time I see it if its even available!
I remember not even liking basketball at all, but reading this really makes me appreciate and respect the sport.
I always love your energy. Your passion shines through and is honestly quite contagious.
Fantastic episode!
OOOhhoho yeah. Inoue is probably more known by his "Vagabond" for most younger readers of the world (..and yes, all wondering if it'll every be finished), but here in Asia his "Slam Dunk" was DA BOMB for all of us middle-aged men, back in the '90s when we were middle/high school or young college students.
So, the recent movie didn't really connect with the younger audience (I mean, let's face it, people in their 20s weren't even born then, and in their '30s now were toddlers when Slam Dunk was around) ... but it made news by becoming a rare scene where us middle-aged men in their 40s and 50s were filling up the theater to watch an anime !!!
It was.. like.. the most excellent nostalgia-bait ever. Truly amusing.
Oh! I've heard about this, and have been curious to know more!
Great story. I love it when we learn about something completely new and unheard of.
hello man I haven't watched your channel in like 2 years (got busy and stuff) and I'm happy to stumble up on your channel again you look great👍
Vagabond, Desert Punk, Pluto and Monster need their own videos ngl.
Cool, one of my favorite artists.
great! I'm hooked
ahhhh thank you for covering manga! Can you cover one of the most heartwarming, fun and wholesome Punpun next?
What happened to the awesome openings? “Oh hi there, you caught me destroying something beautiful. Speaking of destroying beautiful things, likes talk about the MCU!”
I’m a brand new viewer to the channel but those openings drew me in for my first few video views.
If you're looking for another manga to dive into, may I suggest Billy Bat by Naoki Urasawa. It's about a cartoonist who draws comics about a bat that he may or may not have been accidentally inspired (or even unconsciously stole) from a lesser known Japanese comic. He tried to reach out to the creator in Japan and he got involved in a generations spanning search for the "Bat". This could be of special interest for you given that the main character is within the business of creating comics and it delves into western history and conspiracies.
I’ll read everything I can by Naoki Urasawa. I’ve been aware of Billy Bat for a long time and have flipped through the Japanese editions a few times but my Japanese reading skills are pretty bad so I’ve been hoping for an official English translation.
@@ComicTropes Hope they release an official English translation soon. Excited for your video on it someday.
Wow a manga video & that too on Slam Dunk! It's a really great story that deserves to be talked about.
Thanks Chris!
another great video :)
What I love about SD is it is a story of underdogs. Unlike Captain Tsubasa (another powerhouse sport manga), the main protaganist is not a golden protage. Entire team consist misfits but they carries team and all of them are irreplaceable, that's why their loss felt natural. When they lost against Kainan because of their weak bench you understand it, when they gonna certainly lose against Ryonan just one miscalculation of Ryonan''s coach changed that Shohoku victory. After Sannoh game you kinda expect they can't win tournament without Sakuragi and it makes sense. I didn't like that ending too at first (espacially after that many new player hype introduced) but after multiple readings I appriciated the ending. It makes sense, it is real life. Kuroko no Basket is more known serie about Basketball but we know influencer. Maybe one day we could see Toyotama and Sannoh games animated or start of sequel serie.
The whole manga is totally worth acquiring. The last chapters are as emotional as a real NBA game. And the series is realistic, the story was never about winning the tournament but about each player overcoming their issues and finding strength in numbers. Even for the best players, not only in Shohoku but in their rival teams as well
Chris -- great video, once again. Never read SLAM DUNK, but I really enjoyed (no pun intended) REAL. Always appreciate you covering everything in comics, from the Golden Age in the US to huge manga series that might not be as well known here in the US. I've read quite a few sports manga over the years -- over 900 chapters of Hajime no Ippo (boxing), hundreds of chapters of Giant Killing and Ao Ashi (soccer), and have started dipping into some of Mitsuru Adachi's baseball manga. Based on how much we seem to love sports and sports stories here in the US, I am continually baffled by the failure of any American comics to deal with sports. Seems like such a natural (and no, NFL Superpro doesn't count...). Also, sadly, even the big US manga importers/translators barely ever pick up on many of these series.
One last pedantic point coming from a Akira Toriyama fan -- the manga is and has always been simply DRAGON BALL. The "Z" was an anime invention!
Keep up the good work!
We got episodes of the anime here in the u.s. sometimes, it's an insanely hype series.
never been exposed to sports manga - thanks for doing so, interesting to learn about
I've followed you for years. I love your essays on Comic creators from the West, but this was awesome! I have read Slam Dunk (not fully) but very much enjoyed it. I have next to zero interest in real life sports, but due to Slam Dunk, I found a very strong love of SPORTS manga. My favorite is Eyeshield 21 by Riichiro Inagaki (Dr. Stone, Trillions Game) and illustrated by Yusuke Murata (One Punch Man, Bakuman, etc.). I hope to see you cover more manga, of varying genres.
Murata didn't illustrate Bakuman
@danielg.w5733 oh my goodness! You're absolutely right. Smh. I feel dumb. Ohba and Obata. Obata and Murata have such an attention to detail with objects, that I got them mashed up.
I’d love to see an episode on Vagabond, easily my all time favourite manga series. Inoue truly is a genius creator, I hope he manages to finish it some day.
Superb video
amazing vid as always Chris ! I would love to hear your thoughts on Inoue's other series Vagabond and Real. Vagabond is my personal favorite work of his and one of my favorite mangas of all time!
Just goes to show how much a story can have on its readers and how great slam dunk is as manga