Takehito Inoue’s “Most important mission” Kept Him from Drastically Increasing the Stakes of The First Slam Dunk

Slam Dunk is widely acknowledged to be one of the most influential sports series in anime and manga, period. But sooner or later, its impact left the industry and entered into the real world of sports. In fact, many of the current Japanese national basketball team players grew up reading Slam Dunk.

Ace Japanese basketball player Yuta Watanabe said the phrases from the manga, such as “If you give up, that’s the end of the game” and “Having experienced defeat will someday become a great asset,” have become ingrained as a mentality for many players when they compete. Another player, Yudai Baba, admitted that basketball wouldn’t be this popular in Japan today if it wasn’t for Slam Dunk, and thinks all the national team players have a desire to do their best for Inoue-sensei.

The reason for Slam Dunk‘s author to reduce the stakes in the film

In December 2022, Takehito Inoue, the creator of Slam Dunk himself, took the helm to write and direct a theatrical animated version of his work, called The First Slam Dunk. This movie became such a hit that Wu Jianghao, China’s ambassador to Japan, even mentioned Slam Dunk in a press conference at the Japan National Press Club.

Fans know how intense each match in the series is, but there’s one reason that prevented the author from removing characters from the picture completely. During an interview recorded in Korea, Inoue-sensei admitted that his top priority in any series or movie is to bring the characters he imagines in his head to life. In addition, he creates them in a way that they resonate with the audience enough, so that they’ll watch the movie multiple times.

As is the case with both manga and movies, bringing characters to life is the creator’s most important mission. As the saying goes, ‘the character stands up,’ and I also placed the highest priority on keeping the character alive. But the fact that the audience who met these people wants to meet those characters again, could there be anything more joyful than this?

Generally in sports anime and manga, characters do not die. That’s because even in real life, players don’t die during matches, unless a fatal injury takes place. But of course, anime and manga do tend to exaggerate stuff. So the real reason why mangakas like Inoue-sensei do not kill characters is because they want them to exist and inspire real people to pursue their passion in sports and get better at it.

Fans, for instance, have seen the Haikyu!! themes played at a Tokyo Olympics volleyball game. These moments and OSTs that appear in the anime actually pump up players before and during a match.

Similarly, there’s a reason why folks say Slam Dunk made basketball popular in Japan.

The impact of Slam Dunk on Japanese Basketball

In the 9th volume of the Slam Dunk manga, released in 1992, Inoue-sensei wrote:

Next, I want to see the Japanese national team in the Olympics. If the kids who started playing basketball because of ‘SLAM DUNK’ grow up and make it happen… I will cry.

More than 30 years have passed since then, and Japan secured a spot in the Olympics on their own, coinciding with the release of the movie. It was as if the basketball culture nurtured by Slam Dunk had grown and blossomed over time. The main mottos of Slam Dunk were actually exemplified by Japan in an important game.

Take their game with France on June 30, 2024 for instance. France is now ranked 9th in the FIBA World Rankings, while Japan is placed 26th. Despite France’s 6 cm height advantage, Japan persisted in testing the host nation.

The motto “If you give up, that’s the end of the game” was exemplified by their tenacious fighting spirit, especially in the face of adversity. In that match, Rui Hachimura got sent off in the fourth quarter for his second unsportsmanlike foul. But Japan subsequently recovered and managed to not lose despite a 4-point deficit, and ended up drawing with France.

After losing a game they could have won, Yuki Kawamura said,

We want to use this experience in the next game against Brazil. We will achieve our goal to make it to the Quarter-Finals.

All the players showed a forward-looking, never-say-die attitude toward achieving their goals, basically imbibing Slam Dunk‘s 2nd motto, “Having experienced defeat will someday become a great asset,“. Whether manga fans have read the work or not, there’s no denying how much of an impact Slam Dunk has had on Japan’s basketball landscape, a feat very few manga have achieved.

The First Slam Dunk movie is now available to watch on Netflix.