The First Slam Dunk

Play trailer

The First Slam Dunk

PG-13

Released Jul 28, 2023

2h 4m

Comedy

Drama

Anime

Sports

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

46 Reviews

99%

Popcornmeter

100+ Verified Ratings

Shohoku's "speedster" and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. Born and raised in Okinawa, Ryota had a brother who was three years older. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a famous local player from a young age, Ryota also became addicted to basketball. In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Critics Consensus

A heart-pumping, breathtaking, wonderfully crafted manga adaptation, The First Slam Dunk shoots and scores.

Read Critics Reviews

Wendy Ide

Observer (UK)

While it leans a little heavily on baffling basketball strategy and court-based machinations, it's a dynamic and unexpectedly affecting animation.

Rated: 3/5

Sep 3, 2023

Full Review

Esther Rosenfield

Little White Lies

Like the title says: a total slam dunk.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 30, 2023

Full Review

Phil Hoad

Guardian

The CGI-led courtside portions (as opposed to traditional 2D for the real-life stuff) are miraculously kinetic, with beautifully shaded character models. Inoue orchestrates it all into a rousing, garage rock-powered finale.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 22, 2023

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

The two-hour basketball game, rendered with solid animation that redefines the standard in the sports genre, moves at a fast-paced pace that never loses its pulse or excitement. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 8/10

Feb 21, 2025

Full Review

Tom Spoors

Loud and Clear Reviews

Takehiko Inoue’s The First Slam Dunk is a sports movie done right, with one of the best climaxes of the year that’s guaranteed to leave you fist-pumping the air.

Rated: 4.5/5

Jan 7, 2025

Full Review

Diego Batlle

Otroscines.com

The First Slam Dunk's biggest finding is how well it conveys its nuances multi-dimensionally, and details the physical and emotional experience of a basketball game. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 4/5

Aug 27, 2024

Full Review

Read all reviews

Liz

Have read the entirety of Slam Dunk. I do like that this story is told by the perspective of Miyagi. Awesome movie overall, if you like basketball this is a great movie to watch even without any prior knowledge of Slam Dunk as a series. But trust me Slam Dunk is the best sports manga of all time. Inoue’s drawing and storytelling skills is on a different level compared to other sports manga/anime.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/06/24

Full Review

Gori

This is not just an animation, it's just like watching a sports event. Lots of moments when you hold your breath!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/08/23

Full Review

Kwame

Beautiful movie from amazing series. Honestly, it reminded me, How much I used to like basketball. It's a shame that nowadays, Unless it's extremely over the top sports You don't really see people liking sport animes like that. The last one I think that was really good was haiku, Still I'm glad I got to see it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/08/23

Full Review

William L

Watched it twice, was just as entertaining the 2nd time!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/26/23

Full Review

Melanie

I never seem Slam Dunk before and I still enjoyed this movie. I was on the edge of my seat. I laugh at the players antic and cheered when they scored. It felt like I was watching a real basketball game. An amazing and awesome anime.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/07/23

Full Review

Peter C

The identity of some of the characters, as they grow older, was a little hard to follow. On the hole, however, the artwork was pretty good, and the story was very good.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/07/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Takehiko Inoue

Director

Syugo Nakamura

Ryota Miyagi

Jun Kasama

Hisashi Mitsui

Shinichiro Kamio

Kaede Rukawa

Subaru Kimura

Hanamichi Sakuragi

Kenta Miyaki

Takenori Akagi

Jerry & Marge Go Large

67%

80%

Jerry & Marge Go Large

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Jerry & Marge Go Large

Summer Night

55%

22%

Summer Night

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Summer Night

Butter's Final Meal

43%

86%

Butter's Final Meal

Watchlist

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

Shohoku's "speedster" and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. Born and raised in Okinawa, Ryota had a brother who was three years older. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a famous local player from a young age, Ryota also became addicted to basketball. In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School.

Director: Takehiko Inoue
Producer: Toshiyuki Matsui
Screenwriter: Takehiko Inoue
Distributor: GKIDS
Production Co: Dandelion Animation Studio
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Anime, Sports
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 2023, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.2M
Runtime: 2h 4m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, Dolby Atmos

Most Popular at Home Now