Classic sports anime Slam Dunk‘s much-awaited comeback movie “The First Slam Dunk” is coming to Hong Kong and Macau in early 2023! The news was revealed by Chinese film distributor MediaLink on Friday, Nov 11. The announcement marks the first confirmed release date of the anime movie outside Japan. The movie is originally set to premiere on Dec 3 in Japan this year.
Staff and Cast Members
Takehiko Inoue, creator of the Slam Dunk manga, will direct and write the script for the movie. Toei Animation and DandeLion Animation Studio will co-produce the movie.
Other key staff members of the film include:
- Yasuyuki Ebara – Character designer/Animation director
- Katsuhiko Kitada – Technical director
- Naoki Miyahara – Technical director
- Toshio Ōhashi – Technical director
- Yū Kamatani – Technical director
- Daiki Nakazawa – CG director
- Yūta Ogura – CG produce
- Kazuo Ogura – Art director
- Yota Tsuruoka – Sound director
- Koji Kasamatsu – Sound director
The following are the revealed cast members as of to date:
- Shugo Nakamura as Ryota Miyagi
- Jun Kasama as Hisashi Mitsui
- Shin’ichirō Kamio as Kaede Rukawa
- Subaru Kimura as Hanamichi Sakuragi
- Kenta Miyake as Takenori Akagi
Japanese band The Birthday will perform the opening theme song of the film, while 10-FEET will perform the ending theme song. A promotional video for the film was also released on Nov 4, showcasing the movie’s ‘live-action’ feel.
The movie will get IMAX, Dolby Atmos, and Dolby Cinema screenings. Selling of reserved-seat tickets started on November 5 in Japan.
About Slam Dunk
The First Slam Dunk is the first-ever movie based on the original manga written by Inoue. It also marks the official return of the beloved sports anime after more than two decades of absence. Inoue published Slam Dunk manga in 1990 in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump. It was adapted into TV anime in 1993.
Crunchyroll describes the synopsis of the series as follows:
Hanamichi Sakuragi, an entering freshman at Shohoku High, holds a record for being rejected by 50 girls during middle school. Ever since the last girl turned him down for a guy on the basketball team, Sakuragi’s been traumatized by the sport. One day, an unsuspecting Sakuragi is approached by a cute girl who asks him, “do you like basketball?” Sakuragi immediately falls head over heels for this girl, Haruko, and answers “I love it!” Dreaming of the day he can capture Haruko’s heart, Sakuragi, who doesn’t know a dribble from a dunk, begins his training. But Haruko had her sights set on another freshman, Kaede Rukawa, the superstar rookie. The freshmen pair and the rest of the Shohoku basketball squad begin their season with their sights set on a national championship…
Crunchyroll
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