Slam Dunk is anime the most popular sport of its time. Until now, this anime adaptation of Takehiko Inoue's manga has a large fandom.
If you are a fan of the anime genre sport such as Kuroko no Basketball, Yuri on Ice, or Haikyu!! then Slam Dunk is a must on your next watch list.
Come on, let's look at the synopsis and order of watching the anime Slam Dunks in the article below!
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Synopsis of Slam Dunk
Slam Dunk tells the story of Hanamichi Sakuragi, a student who is famous for his temperament, tall body and red hair, who enrolls at Shohoku High School.
He wants to get a girlfriend and break the record after being rejected 50 times in a row in middle school.
Because he is known to be negative, many students avoid him. Before long, due to several incidents, he ended up only thinking about two things, namely hating basketball and wanting to find a girlfriend quickly.
One day, a girl named Haruko Akagi approached him without knowing Hanamichi's background, who was a trouble maker.
Haruko asks if the red-haired man likes basketball. Because he fell in love, he finally agreed to the girl's question.
Hanamichi was then taken to the gym and told to do a slam dunk. Trying to look great, he instead slams his head into the football board.
When Haruko informs the team captain about Hanamichi's extraordinary physical strength, Hanamichi slowly begins to return to the love of basketball he once hated.
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5 Most Popular Slam Dunk Characters
This anime has many talented basketball player characters and has a special impression on its fans.
In the 90s, it turns out that Weekly Shonen Jump once held a poll to determine the most popular character from this sports anime series.
Below are the 5 most popular characters based on the results of the second voting. Is there your favorite character?
Hanamichi Sakuragi (6,893 votes)
As the main protagonist of the anime series Slam Dunk, he occupies the Forward position for the Shohoku High School basketball team.
Hanamichi was initially known as an angry, arrogant, rude and aggressive person. However, as the story progresses he begins to control himself and becomes more mature than before.
Akagi claims that Hanamichi is much stronger than Jun Uozumi from Ryonan even though he is smaller.
Hanamichi gained this extraordinary physical strength when he underwent hard training before competing.
Hisashi Mitsui (4,777 votes)
In second place is Hisashi Mitsui who occupies the position as Shooting Guard for the Shohoku basketball team.
Even though he was on hiatus due to a knee injury, he still has the abilities his team needs to win the match.
Hisashi actually had the opportunity to join a famous school basketball team like Ryonan, but he preferred Shohoku on the recommendation of coach Mitsuyoshi Anzai.
Kaede Rukawa (2,956 votes)
Kaede Rukawa, who is the Ace and Small Forward of the Shohoku basketball team, managed to occupy third place as the most popular character.
He is quiet, cold, selfish, and insensitive to his surroundings. Kaede doesn't care about anything other than basketball.
As is the habit of many other ikemen characters, if Kaede is not seen on the basketball court, she is usually asleep on the school roof or in her classroom.
He really likes sleeping, even once driving his bicycle while asleep. Waking Kaede from her sleep was unforgivable, because she would immediately beat anyone who did it.
When it comes to basketball, he doesn't like to lose easily. This was shown during sparring between new students and class 2 and 3, especially Takenori Akagi.
Kaede has a dream to become the greatest high school basketball player in Japan, and she considers Akira Sendo of Ryonan to be her fiercest rival.
Kenji Fujima (1,880 votes)
In fourth position, there is the captain and coach of the Shoyo team, namely Kenji Fujima. As a coach, he will usually sit down during the game to supervise the progress of the game.
Even though he has more responsibilities and duties than other players, he will still join the game if his teammates need him.
Not only is he smart and responsible, he is also a very talented basketball player. He is one of the best players in his region along with Shinichi Maki from the Kainan team.
Fujima and Maki were known as two rivals when they first entered the world of basketball. They had competed in their early years as students and Shoyo was known as the strongest team in Kanagawa.
Ryota Miyagi (1,861 votes)
Ryota Miyagi is in fifth place as the most popular character in this anime. He is Sakuragi's closest friend on the team.
Just like Sakuragi, Miyagi also plays basketball because he is motivated by his love for his friend and classmate, Ayako.
Ayako herself is the team manager from Shohoku who Miyagi calls "Aya-chan". He often tries to pose for Ayako in matches.
Off the field, Miyagi has a bad reputation as a bad boy. He was even hospitalized for some time after fighting the Mitsui gang.
He also has the same level of arrogance as Sakuragi, always claiming he is the best Point Guard in their prefecture.
When Miyagi feels nervous off the court, he has a habit of putting his hands in his pockets because they shake.
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Slam Dunk Anime Watch Order
After reading the synopsis of this anime, maybe you are still confused about the order in which to watch Slam Dunk. Here is the order!
- Slam Dunk episodes 1 – 20
- Slam Dunk The Movie (1994)
- Slam Dunk episodes 21 – 36
- Domination Sakuragi Hanamichi Movie (1994)
- Slam Dunk episodes 37 – 60
- Shohoku Maximum Crisis! Burn Sakuragi Hanamichi (1995)
- Roar Basketman's Soul: Hanamichi and Rukawa's Burning Summer (1995)
- Slam Dunk episodes 61 – 101
- The First Slam Dunk (2022)
So, that's the synopsis and order of watching the Slam Dunk anime. Are you interested in following Hanamichi Sakuragi and Shohoku's journey?
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