The series' story overall is pretty a basic “we’re going to the Nationals and we’re going to win” kind of story. The main difference is its story other than it’s unique hook and good/surprising ending is that the win at the nationals is for everyone, not just their “senpai” that are going to graduate. The series' characters and basketball shine the most here.

The main character, Hanamichi Sakuragi, is someone who has grown a significant amount. At the start of the series, you see him as a delinquent, someone who gets very physical and aggressive and doesn’t even know the rules. You see him evolve from this person who plays basketball to woo a girl, to someone who loves basketball. You see Sakuragi desperately fight for victory and grow/mature with each match. The manga is good at getting you attached to his growth and emotions. He starts with the basics (dribbling, passing, lay-ups, and rebounds), and Inoue (the author of Slam Dunk) builds up and develops his character with amazing pacing and gradually growing love for basketball. Sakuragi is an overconfident character that experiences growth and matures throughout the four months that is the story.

Sakuragi’s rival is someone who’s been playing basketball for a long time. He’s a top scorer in Japan and another person with a ridiculous amount of potential. Rukawa is someone that everyone in the game pays attention to, because of his ability to score about 30 points (10-15 baskets) in a game. Rukawa always shows up to practice and is hardworking.

Rukawa and Sakuragi don’t get along at all. They refuse to pass to each other and they hate working together, but they have to close this gap to win games and play together.

The rest of Shohoku is also well written. The captain, Takenori Akagi, is the pillar of Shohoku. He can raise the spirits of the rest of the team with his strong spirit. He keeps the morale of his team high, with beautifully written bond/friendship with Sakuragi, that grew constantly throughout the story, as Akagi relies more and more on Sakuragi.

The other two key members, Mitsui and Miyagi, are also delinquents. Miyagi is a point guard with a playful personality. Since he’s the point guard, he’s the shortest player on the court at most times. You see him overcome each obstacle alongside everyone else with his ability to jump high and outspeed everyone else on the court. He also can pass extremely well, and makes the right calls.

Mitsui is someone who quit basketball after suffering a leg injury. This caused him to hate basketball and join a gang. When he comes back to the team, you see him grow and surpass himself from junior high, into someone strong and able to consistently shoot threes.

Mitsui and Miyagi had a bit of a rough relationship in the past. A year before the show, Mitsui’s gang ganged up on Miyagi. Miyagi knew that he couldn’t take them all, so he only focused on beating up Mitsui.

These five characters come together and become one of the strongest basketball teams in Japan. They all grow and bond together, and they attempt to conquer Japan. They all grow through Sakuragi and become stronger together. They are well written and build a strong connection with each other throughout the story.

The basketball in Slam Dunk is somewhat realistic. Everything that they pull off in Slam Dunk is possible in real life, but wouldn’t be possible for a high school player to do. It’s not impossible, but you wouldn’t see high schoolers able to pull off the stunts they do in Slam Dunk. The way the players respond to fouling is well written, as they slow down and play safer when they get three or four fouls. The rules are accurate though, as Inoue is a big fan of basketball.

In Slam Dunk, everyone works together. The entire team plays basketball, and are strongest as the full team. It focuses on the bond everyone builds, rather than (using Kuroko no Basket as an example) just Kagami and Kuroko.

The art in Slam Dunk is pretty good. It is one of Inoue’s first drawn works, so it isn’t too “exceptional.” The moments that were supposed to be impactful were incredibly drawn and you can tell that Inoue put extra time drawing those moments.