Slam Dunk Volume 13 cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Rated “T” for “Teen”

Takenori Akagi is the captain and starting center of the Shohoku Prefecture High School basketball team.  He has dreamed of making it to the finals of Nationals since he joined the team, and this year the team has the talent to do it.  However, the new players include superstar first year, Kaede Rukawa, and basketball novice, Hanamichi Sakuragi; both are problem children. Sakuragi even nicknames Akagi, “Gori,” short for gorilla.  So do they have the dedication and discipline to be the best?

Slam Dunk, Vol. 13 (entitled Unstoppable) opens and finds Shohoku down big to the “Kings” of Kainan.  Now, a shocking mid-game injury to Gori puts a comeback in doubt.  Well, it’s in doubt until Rukawa unleashes his natural B-ball abilities and goes Michael Jordan on Kainan.

THE LOWDOWN:  With a good cast and excellent depictions of basketball games, Slam Dunk is a success.  Once again, I’ll write what I do after each volume of Slam Dunk I read:  it captures the speed, precision, fluid movement, and passion of basketball.

For all its determination at getting the action of a basketball game right, Slam Dunk is equally humorous.  Creator Takehiko Inoue does not ignore the comedy in “action comedy,” so reading Slam Dunk is like having a great time at a big game or having a blast watching it on television.  Inoue can create humor even while depicting the oh-so-serious, win or die/lose and go home basketball tournament game.  The sound effect “SLAM DUNK” even makes a delightful appearance.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for a topnotch sports manga, a great basketball comic, and/or a really good comic book for young readers will find that in Slam Dunk.

A+

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