The BEST use of 3D I've ever seen in my life. The CGI in this movie is by far the best I've seen in any anime, it's not distractingly 60fps smooth, but it's not trying to be a choppy 2D anime either, it strikes a perfect balance and actually enhances the experience. I rarely comment on soundtracks simply because I just never really notice it unless it's crazy good, and this movie forced me to notice it, it was just banger after banger and really helped carry the countless hype moments this movie had. This movie's absolutely phenomenal, and you do not need to be a basketball fan to enjoy it fully. Even at pure face value, the quality of animation this film flaunts is amazing. You might have genuine issues distinguishing this film from reality. It's just that well animated. The final sequence is one of best sequence I've ever watched in my entire life. I'm an official Slam Dunk fan now. Slam Dunk/10

The animation style is very unique, it may feel strange and even look bad at first sight, but you'll grow to appreciate it. It's been in the works for 13 years, unfortunately in 2022 I think it's a bit late to the trend compared to other works, with Arcane and especially Spiderverse out, but still it's a piece of art. The directing and timing and sound design of every scene is top notch. Every movement and every action is crystal clear. They also managed to minimize the usual 'endless talks' of animes, which don't make sense in a realistic time flow, but here it's acceptable and everything flows quite well. The balance between the match and the flashbacks is well tuned, maybe towards the end you'd want less flashbacks as you get more invested in the match, but still it's fine. The very ending of the match is amazing - sound, timing, and especially animation. It's so amazing that it makes you think why they didn't use that animation more throughout the movie. Maybe in the late stages they tried to experiment more, but it's so different in style that it almost makes the rest feel boring.

Perfect drawings and animations that complements ideally the manga. Ty M. Inoue

Pretty cool & distinct animation style, but I doubt I’ll remember much from this in the long term. As a story it’s simply way too formulaic, it uses every coming of age & sports movie trope in existence. On top of that I couldn’t get into the heavy-handed score and cheesy, overblown direction. It’s a game of basketball, we don’t need to pretend it’s the most epic thing ever with all the slo-mo, dramatic close-ups, inner monologues and J-rock. The interweaving flashbacks do a good job at fleshing out the characters, but again, it quickly becomes predictable and stale. The script reads like a draft a writer would come up with before they start experimenting with structure or arcs. I don’t know, maybe it hits harder for the intended teenager demographic, because I mostly see an empty film that tries way too hard to be cool and meaningful. 5/10

"Once you give up, the game is truly over." Last year I watched the anime and I really enjoyed my team with Shohoku High School's basketball team. The show is so damn funny, I always enjoy the way 90's anime was animated and Ryota was always one of my favorite characters. So the First Slam Dunk having him at the center of the story is fantastic and the match against Sannoh Kogyo High School is fantastic. The animation is unique but it works and it looks fantastic. I still laugh a lot every time Sakuragi touches Coach Anzai's face. The high five between Sakuragi and Rukawa is epic. The flashbacks really add to the story. The way the First Slam Dunk deals with depression is beautiful. I want to know more about Sota. This movie made me love Ryota even more. His mother showing up at the end is amazing. The letter Ryota leaves behind made me tear up. The humor is still on point and the movie made me realize I really like everyone on the team. I think you can really enjoy the First Slam Dunk if you have never seen the anime because it really is an amazing movie but if you have seen the show before, knowing the characters will bring just a tad more emotion to every scene. The First Slam Dunk is a slam dunk.