Sport and film don’t always mix  – some sports just aren’t cinematic enough – but there are times when a film manages to capture the electric energy of a game, ensnaring your attention from the off. The First Slam Dunk is a fine example of this. The first feature film by Takehiko Inoue, it’s based on the director’s own manga series Slam Dunk, and follows the journey of the Shohoku High School basketball team as they take on the infamous and unbeatable Sannoh Kogyo team. Cutting regularly between the all-important game and flashbacks, the film explores each character’s motivations, who their rivals are and why they want to win so badly.

There’s only one full match in The First Slam Dunk, and it lasts the entirety of the film, which splits its time between this match-up and the stories of all the players taking part – mostly that of Ryota Miyagi (Shugo Nakamura). Through exceptional character building, scriptwriting and editing, Slam Dunk perfectly matches the pace of the film to the sport it’s depicting. And when the flashbacks start to get a little slow, the film thrusts audiences straight back into the heat of the action, this time with more knowledge of the players on court, building the tension and emotional investment in the game’s outcome.

Not content with making one of the most structurally impactful films of a generation, Inoue creates one of the best animated anime films to grace the big screen. The film hops between fluid and energetic three dimensional rotoscope animation which captures the sheer speed of the players’ movements, and gorgeously detailed hand painted locations and landscapes for the slower and more intimate character building scenes and transitions. The change in style is never obvious though, and always feels like a natural progression of both story and emotional atmosphere. The First Slam Dunk avoids the typical anime trappings of static frames moved in the edit to create a constant sensation of motion, challenging the very dimensions it’s limited to.

It’s a supremely well animated sports film that embraces underdog cliches and elevates them to a whole new level with its expert use of perspective and exquisite narrative structure. Topped off with exhilarating pace and editing, Takehiko Inoue’s care for his manga series radiates off the screen, making this a gold standard for both animation and sports films.

The First Slam Dunk releases on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K on March 24th in the UK and Ireland 

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