What Movie Did You Just Watch

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

So, originally I was planning to see The First Slam Dunk on Thursday, but got sick and ended up having to skip it, and unfortunately had to work over the weekend and couldn't get time to go. Luckily I was able to catch a screening at my local theater this evening which was the last show-time available, and I'm so glad that I managed to see it. The movie was fucking excellent. I didn't have the time to do a re-read of the manga like I wanted to before the movie, but getting to see the legendary final match between Shouhoku and Sannoh animated in it's fully glory has motivated me to read the whole damn thing over anyways.

What was interesting, though, is that from a writing perspective this actually had the core story play out from Miyagi's perspective as well as showcase his backstory throughout the film and solely his. This actually does make sense since, if I recall correctly, his backstory either wasn't touched on or barely even referenced in the original manga and he was the last fleshed out of the core five characters, so it was like Inoue Takehiko giving his boy his due. It was also an interesting choice to have the play-by-play mostly go through in real-time rather than being dramatized like in the manga and anime, but it was a smart decision for a movie since it kept the movie moving at a razor-sharp pace.

The music was also fucking rad. I'm biased in saying this, but this is easily my third favorite movie this year behind Oppenheimer and Spider-Verse, and still one of my favorite sports series of all time.

Also, for the record, if you have the ability to see it then I highly recommend it. Even if you have zero knowledge of the series prior to this, the movie does an excellent job of giving you everything you need to know about the characters to make everything make sense. You will still have a great time.

[Avaitor]

I was able to sneak The First Slam Dunk in for $5 Tuesdays at my local Regal, and I'm glad I did. It's a terrific film that works just as well as an introduction to the franchise as it does for fans. It definitely reminded me of my admiration for the series, and while I'd like to read the manga again, I think that I'll give the anime a shot after I finally finish Berserk 97.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Yeah. You can clearly feel the love Inoue poured into this film. The fact that he directed it himself just blows my mind with how multi-talented he is as an artist and creator.

It's a shame that this movie hasn't generated much buzz in the states, but then again Slam Dunk was never that popular over here. I remember an old video from The Omnibus Collector where he pointed out how this series had just been localized a bit too early for it's own good, and missed the boom in popularity that sports manga and anime would experience in the early to mid 2010's with stuff like Haikyu!! and Kuroko no Basket.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Yeah, Slam Dunk's presence in the West or lack thereof is something I was always a little confused by. I remember having some Slam Dunk merch as a little kid and even though I didn't watch much of the show, vaguely remember seeing old VCDs of it, I just assumed as a child that it was on somewhere in America. And even when I was old enough to know better, it was still weird since there were a couple nearby anime-themed stores at the time that sold Slam Dunk merch next to the Yugioh and Pokemon shit.

[Avaitor]

I think that if someone took a chance on the anime during the early 2000's, Slam Dunk could have been a hit on Toonami. Honestly, it's kind of surprising that it took them nearly a decade to try out a sports title until they got to Prince of Tennis during the Saturday run, and that didn't catch on because the block was well past its heyday when relative oddities like Tenchi or Outlaw Star could have caught on. Also, from what I've seen and read, Prince of Tennis is no Slam Dunk.

From what I can tell, sports titles don't tend to do as well in the states because of how niche and nerdy anime and manga is here, or at least was back when the series was translated. But even if it remains kind of obscure stateside, I don't think Inoue or Shueisha really mind.
From what I've read, First Slam Dunk is already in the top 5 grossing anime movies worldwide, and that's despite the franchise being inactive for decades. One smaller market isn't going to take away its momentum elsewhere.

At the same time, at least the whole series was translated and I believe still in print over here. That's better than plenty of other titles.

[Rynnec]

Toonami airing Prince of Tennis out of order on its first run didn't help its chances either.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I think that if someone took a chance on the anime during the early 2000's, Slam Dunk could have been a hit on Toonami. Honestly, it's kind of surprising that it took them nearly a decade to try out a sports title until they got to Prince of Tennis during the Saturday run, and that didn't catch on because the block was well past its heyday when relative oddities like Tenchi or Outlaw Star could have caught on. Also, from what I've seen and read, Prince of Tennis is no Slam Dunk.

From what I can tell, sports titles don't tend to do as well in the states because of how niche and nerdy anime and manga is here, or at least was back when the series was translated. But even if it remains kind of obscure stateside, I don't think Inoue or Shueisha really mind.
From what I've read, First Slam Dunk is already in the top 5 grossing anime movies worldwide, and that's despite the franchise being inactive for decades. One smaller market isn't going to take away its momentum elsewhere.

At the same time, at least the whole series was translated and I believe still in print over here. That's better than plenty of other titles.

Checked Rightstuf and yeah, I can confirm it's still in print with a couple of volumes here or there being on backorder but not listed as out of stock.

The funny thing is that Sports anime has seen an increase in popularity in the states. Not as popular as Naruto or Dragon Ball or something like that but enough to where multiple series have been localized here and done relatively well.

[Avaitor]

I think that if someone took a chance on the anime during the early 2000's, Slam Dunk could have been a hit on Toonami. Honestly, it's kind of surprising that it took them nearly a decade to try out a sports title until they got to Prince of Tennis during the Saturday run, and that didn't catch on because the block was well past its heyday when relative oddities like Tenchi or Outlaw Star could have caught on. Also, from what I've seen and read, Prince of Tennis is no Slam Dunk.

From what I can tell, sports titles don't tend to do as well in the states because of how niche and nerdy anime and manga is here, or at least was back when the series was translated. But even if it remains kind of obscure stateside, I don't think Inoue or Shueisha really mind.
From what I've read, First Slam Dunk is already in the top 5 grossing anime movies worldwide, and that's despite the franchise being inactive for decades. One smaller market isn't going to take away its momentum elsewhere.

At the same time, at least the whole series was translated and I believe still in print over here. That's better than plenty of other titles.

Checked Rightstuf and yeah, I can confirm it's still in print with a couple of volumes here or there being on backorder but not listed as out of stock.

The funny thing is that Sports anime has seen an increase in popularity in the states. Not as popular as Naruto or Dragon Ball or something like that but enough to where multiple series have been localized here and done relatively well.

Right, you mentioned Haikyu!! and there's also Yuri on Ice. Anime seemingly getting bigger than ever has opened up the door for sports titles to catch on, but I don't see Slam Dunk doing as well as those unless it gets another series. It's a little too old and missed that window.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just saw Godzilla Minus One and loved it. Easily one of the best Godzilla movies and probably one of my favorite movies of the year.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So Killers of the Flower Moon deserves all the praise it's gotten. A parable on the evils of greed and the complicity of those who look away.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Just watched The Iron Claw. Brilliant performances and a good overall movie, but they really glossed over a lot of the Von Erich's history to the point where the movie may have been better served as a limited series on HBO or something like that.

It's not quite up there with Spider-Verse, G -1, or Slam Dunk as my favorites of the year and is at least slightly edged out by Oppenheimer, but still one of the better movies I've seen this year overall.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Watched The Holdovers. You know those 90s network TV shows that only last 1 season but get a huge cult following years later like My So-Called Life or Undeclared? This movie feels like a condensed version of that.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Meant to see Dune Part 2 on Thursday but got really sick and ended up missing that screening of it. Felt good enough to go see it last night and man was it a fucking awesome experience! I may slightly prefer part 1 (not really sure until I re-watch this one) but they probably both work better as one long movie anyways. But that movie had to still contend with coming out of the Pandemic and Day and Date tactics by the old WB regime fucking up it's Box office attendance, so you couldn't really see it in a packed theater like it was meant to be viewed in. This movie is proof of what a missed opportunity that was. I haven't felt this way about watching a movie in theaters in a long time.

[Avaitor]

A couple of theaters here are showing it in 70mm, and I went on Friday. A hell of an experience, but I can see the first film being better.

Honestly though, the casting is great all across the board... aside from Zendaya, who always sounds kind of disinterested in everything I've seen of hers.

Spoiler

Also not sure about Anya Taylor Joy being the voice of Alia, but oh well

[close]

[Avaitor]

I saw Furiosa earlier this week and haven't been able to get it out of my mind since. I'll admit that I wasn't sure about it at first, if we really needed a prequel story for the character or to replace Charlize Theron with Anya Taylor-Joy, but that's what I get for doubting George Miller. The movie only helps to enrich Fury Road, already an all-time fave, while ATJ gave a worthy performance as a younger Furiosa, although Chris Hemsworth may be the real MVP. I really like his Thor, but I haven't seen him delightfully chew up this much scenery before.

I'm sad that unless it does really well this weekend, we probably won't get another Mad Max. I know Miller has plans for another, and I can tell that he has at least one more in him (while there's the clarity of a man pushing 80 behind Furiosa, it still has the energy of a much younger director behind it), but not during Zaslav's era.