Netflix’s ‘best ever’ film has perfect Rotten Tomatoes rating | Films | Entertainment

A glowing review for The First Slam Dunk simply states: “There isn’t much more that needs to be said other than you should watch this movie ASAP.” This succinct praise might just sum up the essence of Takehiko Inoue’s animated sports masterpiece.

The 2022 Japanese film, inspired by Inoue’s own Slam Dunk manga series, hit theatres in Japan in December 2022. With Inoue at the helm as both writer and director, the film clinched the Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year in 2023.

The movie was a box office juggernaut, raking in an impressive $279 million globally.

Diverging from its manga roots, The First Slam Dunk focuses on Ryota Miyagi, the point guard of Shohoku High School’s basketball team, whose passion for the game is kindled by his elder brother, Sota.

Ryota, alongside teammates Takenori Akagi, Hanamichi Sakuragi, Kaede Rukawa, and Hisashi Mitsui, takes on the formidable inter-high champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School. The film brings to life the manga’s intense final showdown, while weaving in new flashbacks and an epilogue that delves into Ryota’s personal journey, reports Surrey Live.

The First Slam Dunk has proven to be a commercial titan. According to IMDB, it stands as the 12th highest-grossing Japanese film ever and the fifth highest-grossing anime film in history.

Boasting an impeccable 100 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a staggering 99 per cent audience score, The First Slam Dunk is being hailed as a masterstroke in cinematic storytelling. One fan wrote: “Takehiko Inoue’s The First Slam Dunk is a sports movie done right, with one of the best climaxes of the year that’s guaranteed to leave you fist-pumping the air.”

Another said: “The First Slam Dunk is one of the best basketball movies you could ever see. It’s a suspenseful and emotionally gripping film that balances a story of achieving sports greatness and coping with grief.”

Praise was also directed towards director Takehiko Inoue, with another reviewer saying: “Heart-pounding and heartrending, first-time director Takehiko Inoue’s adaptation of his own manga proves that he has the skills of a pro.” Another viewer wrote: “No movie has so literally reduced basketball to ‘just a game’, and no movie this side of Hoop Dreams has so ecstatically conveyed why it’s also so much more than that.”

Another review said the movie had made them “stand up and cheer”. “This movie gets what makes basketball great,” they said.

“I was so into the game that I was sweating and my heart racing while I watched. I would say that I was at the edge of my seat the whole time, but that’s not true. I actually stood up to cheer and pump my fist as I watched.

“I can say all the sports movie review cliché stuff about this film, and it is all true. The music is great, the characters are great, and the story is great. If this movie does not pump you up, you do not have a pulse.”

Another audience member said: “One of the greatest movies I’ve seen in my life. I’m not kidding. Amazing animation, amazing soundtrack, amazing story all amazingly executed. And the best part is that it’s a movie for everyone. Even if you don’t like anime. Even if you don’t like basketball. Even if you don’t care about sports. Enough said go watch it!!!”

Another viewer wrote: “Animation was incredible, I’m not even a huge fan of basketball but this was such a gripping story I was on the edge of my seat the entire time.” And another fan said: “Like the title says: a total slam dunk.”

The First Slam Dunk is available to stream on Netflix.