Slam Dunk is a beloved shonen manga series during the 90s, created by Takehiko Inoue. During the 90s, it was beating out even Akira Toriyama’s Dragon Ball series; the series’ popularity has outlasted for a reason: the amazing storytelling. The way that Inoue draws sweat contributes to the story. It follows the journey of delinquent Hanamichi Sakuragi in competing as a basketball player in Kanazawa Prefecture.
The reason for his journey to becoming an athlete is attributed to his affection at first sight with Haruko Akagi, the sweet little sister of the Shohoku basketball team’s captain. It also spurs and continually motivates him to improve and keep playing.
Aside from the relationship between Haruko and Sakuragi, there are ways in which love and passion are depicted in the series, although Inoue prefers to write his romance subtly and through slow burn.
Let’s talk about it in this blog!
Sakuragi and Haruko
The most glaring relationship is between Sakuragi and Haruko. He first finds her cute and through basketball, seeks to establish a close relationship with her. Her attention, affection ,and kindness fuel his playing of basketball. He joins the basketball team for her after fifty romantic rejections.
At first, his arrogance isolates him from the team and his pride, and due to his ego, he occasionally has to ask Captain Akagi for help with the more technical aspects of basketball.
His first attempts at games create an impact but have him making a lot of mistakes such as fouling out in his first two games. Despite the clumsiness of Sakuragi’s performances during his first games, Haruko (as well as her brother) praises Sakuragi and gives him good feedback for his attempts and highlights the positive aspects of Sakuragi’s performance. She and her brother coach Sakuragi on his defense and basic dunking.
On a micro-level, the way Haruko watches Sakuragi at practice and during games might feel like an unpredictable roulette wheel online due to her also having feelings for Rukawa, leading her to prioritize him – and then also turning her attention to Sakuragi and her brother.
However, it is her encouragement and kindness that are the direct catalysts for Sakuragi’s character development. Her friendship with him transforms him over time; he begins as an unruly delinquent, and with the loss of Shohoku to Kainan, he resolves to become a better sportsman and even shaves his head. This new hairstyle earns Captain Akagi’s approval, and he says he looks more like a sportsman; this is also the renewal and commitment of Sakuragi to basketball as a sport.
After the Sannoh match, Sakuragi tells Haruko he loves basketball genuinely, and yet it can be interpreted as Sakuragi telling Haruko he loves her.
In Sakuragi and Haruko’s relationship, we see Sakuragi transform into a young man who finds a new purpose in life beyond violence and achieves his potential – and it’s because of his closeness to Haruko, who is a wonderful influence on him. Their relationship is not transactional. Rather, what keeps them bonded together is a genuine love for one another and basketball.
Ayako and Miyagi
Ayako is the object of Miyagi’s affections; she is the team manager and he is the point guard, with a background in violence due to being unable to emotionally process his grief. Violence plays a role in the storytelling of Slam Dunk; when young men are unable to process how they feel, they turn to violence for the worse. In basketball, do these young men find a healthy outlet to process and work for. It’s no different than Mitsui’s case – or even Sakuragi’s.
Although Miyagi claims he wasn’t sure that he was serious about basketball, his relationship with basketball is more than what it seems. Basketball was one of the things taught to him by his elder brother, who disappeared.
But it is Ayako who is an integral part of why Miyagi continues to play, aside from his grief. He witnesses how hard she fights and remains a pillar of support for the basketball team; she is the one who taught Sakuragi the basics and supports the team emotionally and from an admin point of view.
Miyagi and Ayako remain in the same class, and he claims that as long as she’s smiling, he’ll keep playing basketball and is happy to be like that, there is a possibility that she may like him back.
Throughout the manga, Ayako has special gestures to Miyagi that indicate her support of him.
Mitsui and Basketball
The reason why Mitsui targeted Miyagi during the introductory arc was because Mitsui was jealous of the talent and potential Miyagi had; Mitsui had the same potential in middle school. In middle school, he went to the nationals and was given the MVP title, after being inspired by Coach Anzai to keep playing basketball through the hard times. This is also the reason why he goes to Shohoku High School.
In Shohoku, Mitsui’s knee injury acts up. At the same time, he struggles with his confidence as people refer him to MVP when he wants to be treated normally. He tries to return to basketball earlier than his recovery, which results in him leaving basketball for two years and turning his anger and frustration into being a gangster, which he isn’t even good at.
When he returns to basketball, he struggles with his fitness, his confidence, but he goes a long way. His love of basketball and respect for Coach Anzai and the support that he gets from the team are crucial to his improvement.
Sakuragi and Basketball
The real love story here, though, is Sakuragi and basketball. While his motivation to play was the love of Haruko, Sakuragi commits to the game, falls in love with it, and sees it as a path to his future. He strives and works hard to become a better player and even dreams of getting back, even by the last chapter that he’s still in rehab.
Wrapping Up
Slam Dunk is more than just a shonen manga; it’s a love story between a man and the sport he loves – and how love can transform people into the best version of themselves! For this reason, it’s a manga worth reading and revisiting.
