Slam Dunk

This manga is very old and is critically acclaimed aswell so it has no shortage of good reviews but I felt like collecting my thoughts about it and ended up writing all of this so please bear with me.
This is one of the best things I've read and I'll also state that I've never been interested in Basketball at all and even someone like me had a blast reading this.Honestly it has one of the best endings I've seen in modern times. What Takehiko Inoue-sensei achieved with Slam dunk is nothing short of phenomenal, This manga is flawless and everyone, whether they like basketball or not should give it a read.

I first started watching the Slam dunk anime on a whim because I randomly bought a shirt with the main character (Sakuragi Hanamichi) on it. I then decided to watch the anime and I ended up really liking it but unfortunately it never had a complete run. Fast forward to a few years after that and I finally decided to read this manga after putting it on hold for years and boy was it worth every single minute. Without spoiling much, all I can say is that while this is a story about an underdog but it several layers to it and it's not as simple as the readers would think when they start. I certainly was surprised when I read the final chapter, in a good way.

Let's start with the story here, Sports manga don't need to have a good story in my opinion. All they need to do is portray a realistic impression of the sport that they're based on and Slam dunk does exactly that. It's one of the best depictions of Basketball you can find in anime/manga.
It's a really grounded story, with heart and charm. It follows the antics of Sakuragi Hanamichi who is a newbie to basketball like how I was to basketball when I started this manga but the journey that he goes through to learn and play basketball is absolutely breathtaking. Won't spoil much but it's a simple story done to perfection.

Now let's come to the art of Slam dunk. You won't find any crazy or wacky stuff here, instead what you'll find here is simple panels which portray human emotions filled with so much details that it's honestly mind-blowing how good the art is.
The art is one of the highlights of this, surely. A little information about the author of this manga >If you don't know who Takehiko Inoue is then you should because he's one of the most revered and popular Mangaka of modern times. He still is currently publishing a series at the time of writing this post.

What Slam dunk truly excels at, is the portrayal of Humans trying their absolute best at what they love. How Takehiko Sensei uses his main character to express emotions and thoughts is really worthy of credit. The main character is one of the goofiest and savage I've seen in any Shounen. He's basically the opposite of how Shounen main characters are supposed to be but this story truly uses him to the max. What Takehiko Sensei teaches us via this manga and his main character is the lesson of persistence, determination, willpower and courage. Even at our absolute worst, what do we have? We have ourselves and our efforts that can once again take us to the peak of our lives.

I think the message of this manga is very beautiful and inspirational. I can't even imagine it's impact on people who play or enjoy basketball but even to an average Joe like me, his message came across wonderfully.

Keep trying, Day after day. One day you'll surpass the people who you look up to because at the end of the day, they too are humans and so are we. So it's all about not giving up and how well you handle your mental state of being and perspective.
This was no short of a masterpiece and I had so much fun reading it that I finished it a bit too fast lol. It was an exciting and thrilling read all the way through and had some really exciting games aswell. The last match was jaw dropping and I actually felt the emotion conveyed at the end of it.

This one deserves nothing short of a 10/10.