Story 3/10
Again, at the beginning I would have rated it 7 or 8 maybe, as the story was diverse and unpredictable to some degree, and it would keep the viewer hanging. Basically, after that there is not much of a story. Just a basketball team trying to be the best. I think this is probably one of the main reasons why they stopped the anime; there was not much new to add.
But does that deserve a 3? In my opinion, no. However, they introduced a new element just to make it worse: Stretching. About 70% of the matches were viewing the crowd cheering, or some flashback. They could have just kept it under 40 or 30 episodes and delivered the same story.
Art 8/10
Just look at any photo of the anime, especially stagnant ones, and I think you will see something special about it. The characters seemed like real people (combined with the good voice acting). I didn't feel like I was watching regular "anime characters".
It gets bad usually during matches, but still, I left with the feeling of the overall picture being good and I think it's the best reference for someone who wants to improve his drawing like myself.
Sound 7/10
No complaints. I thought the voice acting was very fitting. The squeaking and the sound that plays when someone does some amazing dunk or move were cool. The background music and other sounds were okay.
Character 4/10
Again, at the beginning I would have scored it 8 or 9 maybe. Each character had their own thing and it was entertaining to see what they would do in new situations. But I think, contrary to most reviews I have seen; they didn't develop well, especially Rukawa, which was very disappointing.
Enjoyment 5/10
For me, the comedy was really good and one of a kind! I think I have never laughed that much watching an anime!!.. Unfortunately though, some scenes get repeated too many times that eventually I would not only find it dull, but I would HATE it seeing it again and skip it. It was like that from around episode 30. Though each time there is a novel scene, it's very delightful and funny.
The matches were enjoyable. Only when they were playing though.
Overall 6/10
Three things if they were taken out of this great show, it would have made it so much better. One: Repetitiveness.
And two: Repetitiveness.
And three: Have you guessed it?... Reiteration. Oh wait, that- Yes, it's exactly the same thing! This is how I felt watching this show. It seemed like the writers were too afraid to try something new as time went by. The characters get stuck in one dimension, no matter how they "changed" them. Everything was going in just one direction: Shohoku and Sakuragi getting better at basketball.
