The 2022 anime calendar is pumped full of nostalgia and there are no two ways about it. After Urusai Yatsura and Bastard!!!, The First Slam Dunk Movie is set to bring back the legendary basketball anime and we cannot wait for it! The 90’s classic anime series is going to return with some familiar faces as seen in the first official trailer which has finally been released!
The Slam Dunk manga was written and illustrated by Takehito Inoue and was serialized in the Weekly Shonen Jump from 1990 to 1996! With its sale in millions, Slam Dunk is one of the Top 10 Best selling manga series of all time! The series also had an anime adaptation that spanned 101 episodes and was aired from 1993 to 1996. The First Slam Dunk movie will follow the same premise.
The manga series is rated a whopping 9.1/10 on My Anime List!
The First Slam Dunk Trailer
What is Slam Dunk About?
High school delinquency ran deep in Hanamichi Sakuragi. After being rejected by 50 girls in school, Sakuragi finally enters high school and forms a crush on Haruko Akagi. To even Sakuragi’s surprise she does not seem to be repulsed by him and neither does she seem scared. This makes Sakuragi dive into his feelings even more. Haruko decides that Sakuragi would be well-suited to the school basketball club and leads him there for tryouts.
Sakuragi seems completely disinterested in the sport and with his fiery temper and delinquent behaviour, he clashes a lot with the people around him. However, he seems to have a natural talent for basketball, leading him to join the team mostly to get Haruko’s affection. Sakuragi finds a bitter rival on the team along with a bunch of other players who all seem to be at each other’s throats but end up making a fantastic team eventually.
Together the misfits of the basketball team chase the dream of a championship title against all the formidable teams that line up against them.
What Will The First Slam Dunk be About?
The First Slam Dunk is yet to release an official synopsis for the movie. From the title and the trailer, it seems that the very beginnings of the Shohoku High School basketball club will be explored. The well-known faces of the team appear in the trailer with the old-school animation style and from the looks of it, we are going to get the classic Slam Dunk action back!
The official Twitter page for the movie has included the official release date but not the duration of the movie. A lot of the key details about the arc being covered are yet to be announced.
What is The First Slam Dunk Release 2022?
The First Slam Dunk movie has been slated for a December 3, 2022 release!
The international release date for the movie is yet to be announced but should follow soon considering the fame Slam Dunk has. Usually, international releases follow Japanese theatrical releases by 6 months or so. North America is usually the first to get a release date for anime movies.
Where can I watch The Slam Dunk Movie 2022?
As expected Slam Dunk 2022 is big and deserves an IMAX premiere. The official trailer has announced that the movie will be released on Saturday, December 3, 2022 in 40 IMAX theatres across Japan. It will take another 7 days to land the movie in 34 cinemas for Dolby Atmos and Dolby Film screenings. The duration of the movie is 124 minutes.
The tickets will be available for sale a month ahead from The Slam Dunk Movie 2022 release.
From the first day of the opening, saved seat tickets will be on sale from December 8th to November 5th. This is the first attempt in the industry to permit held seat passes to be bought one month before the release date.
The First Slam Dunk Characters Cast and Staff
The Shokoku basketball team has its voice actors in place! The movie has released the official voice cast for the five main characters in the team:
- Subaru Kimura as Hanamichi Sakuragi
- Shugo Nakamura as Ryota Miyagi
- Jun Kasama as Hisashi Mitsui
- Kenta Miyake as Takenori Akagi
- Shinichiro Kamio as Kaede Rukawa
Takehito Inoue is directing The First Slam Dunk himself at Toei Animation and is also credited as the scriptwriter. Yasuyuki Ebara is the character designer and director of the animation. Toshio Ohashi, Yu Kamatani, and Katsuhiko Kitada are credited for technical direction. Kazuo Ogura is directing the art, Daiki Nakazawa is the director of the CG, and Yuta Ogura is the producer. Yuta Tsukuoka and Koji Kasamatsu are working with sound direction.
The opening theme of the film is being performed by The Birthday and 10-FEET is performing the ending theme titled Dai Zero Kan.
FAQs – The First Slam Dunk Edition
Q. Will there be a new Slam Dunk anime?
A. The last couple of years has seen speculation about the return of the Slam Dunk anime but there is no confirmed news of this yet. The First Slam Dunk is the first movie released from the franchise in decades. A new Slam Dunk anime is unlikely unless the movie announced the return of Slam Dunk in the new-gen anime.
Q. Does Slam Dunk have a movie?
A. Before the new Slam Dunk movie, there have been four movies from the Slam Dunk franchise that were released through the 1990s. There Slam Dunk (1994), Conquer the Nation, Hanamichi Sakuragi! (1994), Shohoku’s Greatest Challenge (1995), and Howling Basketman Spirit!! (1995).
Stay tuned for updates on The First Slam Dunk and all your favorite titles. In the meantime, don’t forget to let us know your picks from The Best Fall 2022 anime releases, the best anime movies of all time, the best English Dubbed Anime, and the Best Netflix Anime, and let us know all you plan to watch in this anime season!
