The First Slam Dunk (2022)

Jun 15

High school basketball never felt so surreal.

Presentation:

The anime has excellently choreographed scenes capturing all the nuance of a real professional NBA finals game through the heart and Japanese sensibilites of anime. You have typical optimism and overtly declarative storytelling from an introspective look at 5 members of this underdog squad. I'm not a fan of the contrasty visuals, which are stylistic but not particularly immersive.

Analysis:

The film follows a typical underdog sports arc, but with flashbacks for each of the 5 players on the team. You are led to believe that the point guard is the main character, but the direction shifts to each member, which spreads the focus of the plot thin. By delving into 5 characters over one in the short runtime, you care less about each individual member. This is partly due to the disproportionate screen time of each member, there were some characters i simply couldn't care for, and I cant imagine anyone feeling invested in all 5 characters equally. The somewhat formulaic main basketball arc also makes the film feel predictable and lacking reward for an abrupt ending.

Conclusion:

A decent sports film that should be engaging for many, but if you really wanted a true riveting experience, you can easily watch an NBA finals, which has even more stakes and all the basketball nuances and strategies. However the film explores and presents all the ideas in a digestible way, which could be satisfying for more audiences that are not familiar with the game. the film succeeds in really microscopically capturing the tense second to second play by play of a compelling basketball game, but the emotional backstory might have been executed in a lacksidasical manner for some.

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