The previous year, Takato also coached the team to the semifinal of the national championships, which they lost to Sannoh. In the anime he is voiced by Takeshi Kusao in Japanese and Robert Tinkler in English.[5]. Later when he went home, he found his dad lying unconscious. Ryu (竜, Ryū) is one of the non-Shohoku members of Hisashi Mitsui's gang and the only other non-Shohoku member besides Tetsuo given the most depth. On the team, Sakuragi meets Haruko's older brother, Takenori Akagi, who is also Shohoku's captain, and two other players with violent pasts that caused them to leave the sport, Ryota Miyagi and Hisashi Mitsui. His three-pointers help Shohoku catch up when they are 12 points down against Shoyo, and again when the team was 20 points down against Sannoh in the national championships. His greatest weakness, though, is his lack of stamina due to his long break from basketball. Because his team already has several scoring players, he is allowed to focus on rebounding. The Slam Dunk Contest champion had 23 points in the finals and later played at Kansas and in the NBA. He is the only starter shown to wear glasses, though they are knocked off his face when Sakuragi commits his fourth foul, and Hanagata plays the rest of the match without them. Yasuharu Yasuda (安田 靖春, Yasuda Yasuharu) is one of the minor players from Shohoku. Both men are still friends, but are also rivals. Sakuragi's gang, also known as The Sakuragi Legion (桜木軍団, Sakuragi Gundan), act like a Greek chorus. Shinichi Maki - Might be Magic but kinda like the Big O as well. He is voiced by Unshō Ishizuka. He tries to get Hanamichi Sakuragi join the judo team because he considers his fighting skills exceptional, and to achieve this, "bribed" him with some photos of Haruko when she was younger. Battle Mode lets users compete with other players online in half-court 3v3, full-court 3v3, full-court 5v5, 2v2, and one-on-one matches while Ranked games are fixed in half-court 3v3. In the anime he is voiced by Ryotaro Okiayu. A player leaks out early, and gets a dunk with no resistance. Maki plays mostly as a point guard, although he has the all-round skills to play in virtually any other position. This event led to Sakuragi wearing the number 10 jersey for the remainder of the series. He is able to read and control the flow of the game quite well and always plays with a calm and cool demeanor, looking to exploit any flaws in the opposing team. 1] However, his basketball skills advance throughout the series. Published 2019-07-16, Powered by  - Designed with the Hueman theme. During the game against Ryonan, Yohei seems to be the only one to realize how Sakuragi felt humiliated after a lopsided loss to Fukuda. He is a short, out-of-shape, and bespectacled guy. How the best-dressed basketball players DESIGNED their OWN suits with menswear retailer Indochino for the 2020 NBA draft By Pandora Amoratis For Dailymail.com Based on the world popular Japanese manga and anime series, Slam Dunk, the game’s production is supervised closely by Toei Animation. In the anime he is voiced by Masaya Onosaka. This carries over to the preparations he makes for the match against Shohoku even though they are ranked low as a C in comparison to Sannoh's AA ranking. Toyotama's captain, Tsuyoshi Minami, known as the "Ace Killer" (a reference to Ace Killer from Ultraman Ace), injured Fujima in a match resulting in his removal from the game due to his injury. He is often referred to as the "super-rookie" and the "ace of Shohoku". Ryonan coach Moichi Taoka saw potential in both Fukuda and Sendoh starting from when they joined the team together. Veterans in the NBA provide crucial guidance for younger players, assisting them to understand the intangibles described in this column. Kakuta is a second year student who plays as a center. He is voiced by Nobutoshi Canna. In junior high school, he faced Mitsui's confidence as well as his own inability to beat him in a match. The remaining starters for Ryonan are the guards Tomoyuki Uekusa and Hiraoki Koshino. His catchphrase is "gotta check it," aside from shouting "Unbelievable!!!" See more ideas about slam dunk anime, slam dunk, dunk. Possibly because of all the rudeness he used to be treated with, Fukuda loves to be respected and praised. He also attended Wakoh Junior High with Sakuragi. Sawakita beat Sendoh when they played each other in junior high. The Slam Dunk Contest is always the main event of NBA All-Star Weekend as some of the league's most athletically gifted players take centre stage to show off their hops and creativity. At the end of the manga, instead of preparing for the college entrance exams he stays with the team for the winter tournament in an attempt to earn an athletic scholarship because he feels he is not smart enough to pass the exams. Kainan's training regimen is so tough that it weeds out half the incoming players within the first week, and another half within the first month. by Jeremy Schoolfield, Managing Editor, Walt Disney World Resort Public Relations. He even bursts into tears when the crowd cheers him on against Kainan. Kenji Fujima (藤真健司, Fujima Kenji) is the point guard and coach of Shoyo. Masahiro Nobe (野辺将広, Nobe Masahiro) does not stand out for scoring abilities, but is a great rebounder. "Flaming Man"). She confronted Sakuragi when she mistakenly thought that he had attacked Rukawa, and she also defended him many times from his most rabid fangirls (one of them even knocked her to the ground in the anime series). Masashi Kawata (河田雅史, Kawata Masashi) is considered the top high school center in Japan. It is also worth noting that Tatsuhiko has had a crush on Haruko since they were young. He mixes strength and tactical skill in his playing, being able to easily avoid defensive play. For those who know about Slam Dunk, it may have been the reason why you started playing basketball. When Shohoku meets Sannoh in the national championship, Akagi is completely outplayed by Masashi and concedes that Masashi is the better player. It tells the story of Hanamichi Sakuragi, a teenager who falls in love with Haruko Akagi after being rejected by 50 other girls. Ryota Miyagi (宮城 リョータ, Miyagi Ryōta) is the point guard of the Shohoku team and Hanamichi Sakuragi's closest friend on the team. He is voiced by Kōzō Shioya in Japanese and Bill Houston in English.[5]. If content deals were basketball plays, Rock Hill Media Ventures’ partnership with the National Basketball Players Association (NBPA) has the makings of a slam dunk. However, he thought that he could encourage Fukuda by criticizing him while at the same time praising Sendoh. He has a habit of making fun of other players by giving them various nicknames, as he rarely calls his teammates or opponents by their real names. At the beginning of the series, Sakuragi is a slacker, good for nothing other than fighting. Thus, Kogure is forced to make adjustments to accommodate Sakuragi, leaving Sasaoka with no jersey to wear. Take control of your favorite characters from the Slam Dunk series and live the anime! Slam Dunk was serialised from 1990 to 1996, and later became one of the best-selling manga in Japan. As a coach and off the court, he is calm, mild-mannered and friendly, but he becomes confident, high-spirited and even ruthless when on the court. Despite being the runner-up representative for Kanagawa, they are ranked as a C-class team and placed into a tough tournament bracket during the national championship, facing Toyotama and the reigning champion Sannoh. As his height increased he played different positions. They have gone on some (what Sakuragi considers) non-official dates and have occasionally trained together. 3rd year Hiroshi Morishige* All-Star Ace tier The next four are extremely hard to rank but i'd put them in this order; Masashi Kawata of Sannoh - Best Center in all of Japan by his third year. Riki Takato (高頭 力, Takato Riki) is Kainan's coach and a contemporary of Ryonan's Moichi Taoka, who is a year older than he is. The team has mastered the full court press defense and can trap even the fastest point guards and immobilize their opponents' offense. The main mode in Slam Dunk is a real-time 3 vs 3 competitive game with Iishi is also a bench player, playing as a guard. Utilize each player’s unique talents and skills to dominate on the court; unleash sky high hooks, nail-biting fadeaways, and ground-shaking dunks! Mitsuyoshi Anzai (安西 光義, Anzai Mitsuyoshi) is the overweight and beloved coach of the Shohoku basketball team, and one of the best coaches in Japan, with even the coaches of other teams calling him "Anzai-sensei" with respect. The Ryonan High School (陵南高校, Ryōnan Kōkō) basketball team is considered one of the top teams in Kanagawa Prefecture along with Shoyo and Kainan. NBA Slam Dunk: Birth of New Guardians is an upcoming animated series based on NBA teams from Cool Orchid Productions. The second is underestimating Sakuragi's drive to win the game in its final seconds and discounting him as a result of his injury. In addition, their supporters constantly yell, swear at, and threaten the opposite team. Kaede Rukawa (流川 楓, Rukawa Kaede) is the small forward of the Shohoku team, and Hanamichi Sakuragi's rival. Five years passed and Anzai learned from the press that Yazawa died in a high-speed head-on car collision, reportedly under the influence of drugs. The manga and anime series Slam Dunk features a cast of fictional characters created by Takehiko Inoue. Unlike Uozomi however, who starts to get emotional in encouraging his teammates to bring Ryonan further the next season, Ikegami is cool and collected. Against Shohoku, he is able to block the last shot of Mitsui, which would have sealed the game for Shohoku. When Fujima is not on court, he takes the role of captain, being responsible for psyching up the team. Looking for information on the anime Slam Dunk? Minami however makes up for it later, as the night before the match against Sannoh, he gives Rukawa an ointment to help his eye heal and warns him about Sawakita. They have known each other since high school, when they themselves played for their respective schools, forging a fierce rivalry since that time. However, he also injured his back during the match against Sannoh when saving the ball from going off the court, and underwent rehabilitation after Shohoku's subsequent loss to Aiwa Academy. Eiji Sawakita (沢北栄治, Sawakita Eiji) is the small forward and also the ace of Sannoh and best all-round player in Japanese high school basketball. Yazawa's mother gave Anzai a letter written four years prior, in which Yazawa expressed profound regret about his rebellious decision to leave, and was depressed as a result of the unsupportive American college basketball culture. When Kakuta is matched up against him, he succeeds in blocking Kakuta out of his position and exhausting him, although Kakuta is only on the court for a few minutes. Normally cool and collected when his team is dominating, Takato becomes very agitated and anxious when they get pressed, when he starts to yell at his players. 2] though she does not confess it and he himself is completely unaware of her feelings. NBA 2K15 is angling for a slam dunk with an innovative new way to put players in the game.. In the end, Hanamichi Sakuragi's gang and Mitsui's friend Norio Hotta voluntarily take blame for the fight. Mikio has a habit of apologizing to his brother whenever he does something wrong. However, as Haruko is in love with Kaede Rukawa, a popular and talented basketball player, Sakuragi decides to join the Shohoku High School basketball team to surpass Rukawa and make Haruko fall in love with him. He has his players watch some game footage of Shohoku and has his current team play some of his former players who are now basketball stars in college and comprise the current all star team, while wearing jersey numbers corresponding to their Shohoku counterparts to simulate the upcoming match. Despite not thinking too much of Hanamichi Sakuragi (who addresses him as "Gori" due to his immense physical presence) at first, he realizes Sakuragi's potential as a basketball player. players endured as much whiplash as Jones in 2020. During Mitsui's attack on the basketball team, he is matched up with Kaede Rukawa, giving him a bloody head wound with a broken mop head, but in turn gets knocked out by Rukawa. In the anime he is voiced by Yoku Shioya. As with Haruko Akagi, he recognizes Sakuragi's potential early on and decides to make him a starter even though some of his basketball skills are not yet up to par. He is voiced by Nobutoshi Canna in Japanese and Tim Hamaguchi in English. Sakuragi is probably the first opponent who beat him on rebounding by psyching him out and with his timing and jumping ability, scoring an alley-oop dunk over him. They are considered the top high school team in Japan and have been a dominant force in high school basketball for years. There’s a long rebound after a miss. Jin has a very mild personality and always looks calm and agreeable. Haruko Akagi (赤木 晴子, Akagi Haruko) is Takenori's younger sister and Hanamichi Sakuragi's love interest. He is likely based on former NBA player, Craig Hodges They both wore the no. In the OVA, as Shohoku heads to a friendly match against Ryokufu, Kuwata meets a former classmate and has the opportunity to learn more about Ryokufu's basketball team, thus giving Akagi some ideas. The character seemed to be short and gives comic relief as he appears. Toyotama's main weakness is the replacement of their previous coach, Kitano (北野), who nurtured the team's offensive philosophy and is widely respected by the players. Due to Uozumi's physical build, Sannoh basketball team player Masashi Kawata mistook Uozumi as Akagi's father when he saw him encouraging Akagi to continue playing during the match between Shohoku and Sannoh. He accepts Mitsui as an athlete, reaffirming the latter's decision to rejoin the team. Based on the cover of the manga, I expected a basketball story. His skills are typical of a point guard: strong passing, dribbling and stealing, as well as an understanding of the game that allows him to be a floor leader. Toyotama High School (豊玉高校, Toyotama Kōkō) is the runner-up team from Osaka in the national championships, having lost to Daiei. One example of this is when Anzai sent Yasuda into the match against Toyotama in place of Sakuragi after all five starters were infuriated by Toyotama's provocative tactics. Along with Kogure, he is the only other player who stayed on the Shohoku basketball team for all three years. LaVine, Paul George or Glenn Robinson III may bust out a 360 or windmill on occasion. Mikio Kawata (河田美紀男, Kawata Mikio) is the younger brother of Masashi Kawata and the largest player in high school basketball. Kiminobu Kogure (木暮 公延, Kogure Kiminobu) is Shohoku's vice-captain, backup shooting guard, and a good friend of Akagi and Mitsui. He also knows how to use his teammates effectively. He and his friends provide the muscle again after Miyagi returns, and they join Mitsui in his attack on the basketball team. 2]. RELATED: 10 Unconventional Sports Anime That’ll Make Your Heart Race In some way, Sendoh also contributed Rukawa's growth as a basketball player: Coach Anzai pointed out to Rukawa, that he is below Sendoh, causing Rukawa to think about his playing style. Shinichi Maki - Might be Magic but kinda like the Big O as well. Like Rukawa, Hanamichi Sakuragi was inspired by a member of the '90s Chicago Bulls team, specifically Dennis Rodman. When Akagi is outplayed and discouraged in the match against Sannoh, Uozumi is able to restore Akagi's spirits. The most famous quote from the series is Anzai's trademark saying "If you give up, the game is already over." Hanagata holds his own in the Shohoku match against Akagi, but is totally outclassed by Sakuragi in rebounding. An easygoing person, Sendoh usually has a smile on his face whether on-court or off. NBA 2K15 is angling for a slam dunk with an innovative new way to put players in the game.. Serious and disciplined, Akagi's dream is to lead Shohoku to the national championship. In the anime he is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa in Japanese and Scott McCord in English.[5]. It was revealed in the anime that he is inspired to become better at basketball because of Sakuragi and Rukawa's success as newcomers in the team. Anzai is also very charismatic and able to inspire his players to greater heights. They have mastered the run and gun style of play and divide their effort between 80% offense and 20% defense. However, an injury to his left knee in a training session in his first year at Shohoku interrupts his basketball career. Before the Inter-high match against Ryonan, he put a picture of Anzai on the bench and prayed to it when Anzai was unable to come due to a heart attack to the dismay of Takenori Akagi and Sakuragi. Toyotama's ace is Minori Kishimoto (岸本 実理, Kishimoto Minori), who earns not only Hikoichi's enmity for Toyotama after he dismisses Sendoh's abilities as a player, but also from Sakuragi, who spends the first half under intense pressure and can not perform well enough, being substituted for by Yasuda early in the match.