Slam Dunk: Vol. 1

Rating T+ Genre manga Author Takehiko Inoue Publisher Viz Media

Personally, I never thought of associating basketball with manga. Ever. But as soon as I laid eyes upon my latest manga adventure, it was obvious that I was in for a strange juxtaposition of those two things. The cover of Slam Dunk features a tall and immensely broad-shouldered redhead staring menacingly off to the side under his really intense James Dean hair. This beast of a cover boy is our main attraction, Hanamichi. He has the perfect build to be a star basketball athlete, and a temper that leads to him bulldozing every schoolmate in sight. The poor sap has been rejected 50 times (and he’s only just started his Freshman year in high school!), as his friends will remind him over and over and over.

One day he meets Haruko, a beautiful girl at school who happens to be a basketball fanatic. As soon as she lays her eyes on him, she immediately sees his potential. He hides his disdain for the sport in the name of love and ultimately decides to pursue it with the other-worldly impatience and drive. The kid doesn’t have much luck in the love arena; the girl of his dreams has a big crush on an actual school basketball star, Rukawa. But he’s mean to her (and everyone) and we don’t like him. Damn it if he isn’t the cutest cartoon you’ve ever seen, though. I’m just going to throw this out there right now—when you get this book, look forward to page 63. If you appreciate the beauty of Japanese manga, and you think some of the boys they draw are absolutely to-die-for, just wait until page 63. What a face!

So, what next, right? Well, that’s pretty much the story for this volume. Not much happens beyond being introduced to these freakishly tall Freshmen and the sweet little girl who loves basketball. Although, we do meet her brother, who happens to be the captain of the basketball team (the best part about him as a character is the fact that he has the super high, super flat-top haircut that Kid had from Kid ‘N Play). DRAMA!! This is the main thrust behind Hanamichi’s newfound passion to be on the team.

In terms of the storyline, I was a little disappointed. There are some really great moments that only a sports tale can give you, such as when Hanamichi first discovers that he actually can play basketball (the crowd completely erupts after his first dunk—it  really gets your blood pumping!), but for the most part, this lacks the fine execution and charm of other mangas that I’ve read. Then again, this is the first volume of this series, so perhaps better work is on its way. As of right now, I tire of following a main character with the temper of a 4-year-old who cries and beats people up on every other page. That is not to say that this kind of character can’t work, but when these eruptions are used too often, it can get overwhelming. The images of those scenes got too flashy for me as well—somewhat like a Baz Luhrmann film. I couldn’t stand “Moulin Rouge!” But hey, if you liked the jumpiness of that movie, maybe this manga is for you. I, however, was positive that I was about to drop dead from an aneurism.

The thing I do like about this manga is that I feel an exciting undertone throughout the entire work. And even after reading it, that feeling lingers. I feel like something better is coming, something exciting; a hero being born. A blossoming beast of a prodigy. I certainly hope I’m right, because if this manga evolves into being about a famously talented basketball team and their two quietly intense stars, that would be something that I could really see myself getting into. But as of right now, Hanamichi needs to grow up.