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The First Slam Dunk is a 2022 Japanese animated film that’s been hailed as one of the greatest sports movies of all time
02:00 ET, 07 May 2025Updated 02:49 ET, 07 May 2025
A still from The First Slam Dunk(Image: Netflix)
One review for The First Slam Dunk says: “There isn’t much more that needs to be said other than you should watch this movie ASAP.” And this sums up the general sentiment towards Takehiko Inoue’s animated sports film.
The movie, which hit Japanese theaters in December 2022, is adapted from Inoue’s own Slam Dunk manga series. With Inoue at the helm as both writer and director, the film scooped up the Animation of the Year at the Japan Academy Prize in 2023.
The First Slam Dunk scored big-time on the global stage, raking in a whopping $279 million at the box office. Shifting focus from its manga origins, the film zooms in on Ryota Miyagi, the talented point guard for Shohoku High School’s basketball squad, who entered the sport following in his older brother Sota’s footsteps.
Ryota and his teammates – Takenori Akagi, Hanamichi Sakuragi, Kaede Rukawa, and Hisashi Mitsui – take on the challenge of dethroning the premier inter-high basketball champs, Sannoh Kogyo High School. Adapting the manga’s nail-biting final game, the movie also introduces unique flashbacks and caps it off with a fresh epilogue dedicated to Ryota’s tale, reports Surrey Live.
The First Slam Dunk turned out to be a box office juggernaut. According to IMDB, it now stands as the 12th highest-grossing Japanese film in history and holds the title of the fifth biggest anime film ever made. Boasting an immaculate 100 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a stellar 99 per cent audience score, The First Slam Dunk shines bright.
A still from The First Slam Dunk(Image: Netflix)
Critics are raving, with one saying: “Takehiko Inoue’s The First Slam Dunk is a sports movie done right, with one of the best climaxes of the year that’s guaranteed to leave you fist-pumping the air.” Another said: “The First Slam Dunk is one of the best basketball movies you could ever see. It’s a suspenseful and emotionally gripping film that balances a story of achieving sports greatness and coping with grief.”
Another review said: “Heart-pounding and heartrending, first-time director Takehiko Inoue’s adaptation of his own manga proves that he has the skills of a pro.” Another fan wrote: “No movie has so literally reduced basketball to ‘just a game’, and no movie this side of Hoop Dreams has so ecstatically conveyed why it’s also so much more than that.”
The emotional resonance of the film struck a chord with one viewer, who wrote: “This movie will make you stand up and cheer. This movie gets what makes basketball great.”
“I was so into the game that I was sweating and my heart racing while I watched. I would say that I was at the edge of my seat the whole time, but that’s not true. I actually stood up to cheer and pump my fist as I watched.”
Another fan wrote: “I can say all the sports movie review cliché stuff about this film, and it is all true. The music is great, the characters are great, and the story is great. If this movie does not pump you up, you do not have a pulse.”
A still from The First Slam Dunk(Image: Netflix)
Another viewer said: “One of the greatest movies I’ve seen in my life. I’m not kidding. Amazing animation, amazing soundtrack, amazing story all amazingly executed. And the best part is that it’s a movie for everyone. Even if you don’t like anime. Even if you don’t like basketball. Even if you don’t care about sports. Enough said go watch it!!!”.
And another wrote: “Animation was incredible, I’m not even a huge fan of basketball but this was such a gripping story I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.” The consensus is clear, as one viewer succinctly puts it: “Like the title says: a total slam dunk.”
The First Slam Dunk is available to stream on Netflix.
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