The movie is about Shohoku High School vs Sannoh High School, a very well-renowned basketball team that pretty much dominated in the decades past. Shohku was never on Sannoh's radar but nevertheless, with determination, Shohoku climbed into the national finals. We do get very tiny glimpses into those past games but that is not what this movie is about. This movie is about the Grand Final.
I was on the edge of my seat the entire time! This movie had so many close calls. Of course that is to be expected out of a movie haha it would be very boring if it was completely one-sided. Of course, some elements were dramatized but talking with my B-ball friends is usually very intensive. The one wish I had was some more backstory on Sannoh. I am sure Sannoh players are obviously great guys and I never portrayed them as the "villains" in any sort of way. Not even the players, just the school itself would have been good as there was certainly information missing that could have elevated it more. For example, stating that Sannoh has won the past 10 tournaments, etc etc would have elevated the tension even more. Both for the Sannoh players as well as the viewers. That way it adds a conflict of interest that adds pity and pressure on the Sannoh players. Instead, it is left up for speculation. 10/10 story.
The animation is also an area that is interesting. On one hand, I LOVE the style. Like the semi-realism of the animation is amazing. Like simply superb style and would not change it for the world. On the other hand, clearly the budget wasn't that high and while the animation is great, the quality could have been a bit better. That same year the best animated movie of all time released: Suzume. You can clearly tell where Suzume and Shinkai put their efforts. Kind of a mid story but amazing animation and amazing music. Slam Dunk is the opposite lol.
The music is also good. Not great, but good. The soundtrack did get tense when it needed to but at the same time I felt like there was somber parts of the story that could have been heightened had it been for better background music. That is something Shinkai and his team does amazingly. But overall the animation and music is a solid 7/10.
The characters in this movie are amazing. As mentioned previously, I wish we got an insight to Sannoh's characters. But the 5 basketball players on Shohoku: Miyagi, Mitsui, Akagi, Rukawa, and Sakuragi. They all are amazingly written characters with clear thoughts in their backstories and emotions. The depth they went into the characters is also amazing. An obvious focus on Miyagi but they certainly told us about the others. Especially Mitsui as well. 10/10 characters and how they are written.
This brings me to my final score of a 9/10. Had it been for better animation and music, I think this would have been a solid 10/10 movie. Nevertheless this is an amazing amazingly written movie with I think the 3rd best writing in an anime movie by far. Seriously amazing writing.
Thanks!
-CyanCheetah
