Anime Ltd. and Toei Animation announce 30th August release for best-selling author Takehiko Inoue’s directorial debut.
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, 31 May 2023 – Get court-side seats to this summer’s must-see anime blockbuster! Anime Ltd. and Toei Animation Europe are excited to announce that new and lifelong fans of the influential manga artist Takehiko Inoue will be able to experience the heartfelt and intense basketball drama of THE FIRST SLAM DUNK, exclusively in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 30th August 2023.
Following the underdog Shohoku High School’s basketball team through the eyes of point guard Ryota Miyagi as they face stunning rivals in the National High School Tournament and simultaneously explore the tumultuous pasts of its protagonists, “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK” will excite new fans and lifelong SLAM DUNK diehards alike.
Produced by Toei Animation, the film was written and directed by Takehiko Inoue, the creator of the original SLAM DUNK manga, a beloved series serialised in the pages of Weekly Shonen Jump from 1990 to 1996 that received countless accolades and awards, in addition to sitting high on the list of the best-selling comics of all time, with over 170 million copies in print.
Director Inoue brings his creative vision 30 years in the making to the screen with a unique perspective rarely found in cinema, as both the original author and the filmmaker adapting what the South China Morning Post says features “some of the most exhilarating basketball sequences in the history of cinema” with its unique “hybrid animation” that combines the best of cutting-edge CGI and hand-drawn 2D animation, while still maintaining the heart of the larger story of the young men at its centre, delivering “both a sports film and a compelling character drama.”
“THE FIRST SLAM DUNK” has already received incredible accolades in Asia. The film took home the coveted “Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year” in a highly competitive year as well as the “Okawa-Fukiya Award” at the Niigata International Animation Film Festival in its home country. In South Korea, “THE FIRST SLAM DUNK” has the distinction of being the country’s highest-grossing anime film of all time, with over 4 million tickets sold in a country of 51 million.
Synopsis:
Ryota Miyagi and basketball have always been one thing. His love for this sport was transmitted to him by his older brother Sota, who died in an accident at sea when Ryota was still very young. He is the point guard of Shohoku, a team from the Kanagawa prefecture which gained a spot at Inter-High despite being unknown. Ryota is ready, together with his teammates, to face the “unbeatable” Sannoh, the champion team of the local tournament.
THE FIRST SLAM DUNK will be released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland from 30th August 2023.
The film will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles, as well as an English language dub.