Slam Dunk 12

Takehiko Inoue – Viz – 2010 – 31 volumes

It’s been awhile, but I’m definitely ready for some basketball again.

This volume contains most of the game between Shohoku and Kainan. Kainan’s a tough opponent, and of course there are players from another school sneering from the sidelines about how Kainan’s no match for their legendary team in the playoffs, but for the time being… this is some pretty thrilling basketball.

The blocking and offensive strategies are looked at in some detail, and I promise that’s not nearly as boring as it sounds. Inoue, like the author/artist pair of Eyeshield 21, has a gift for making even the most mundane tactical aspects of his chosen sport absolutely fascinating in manga form. It’s unbelievable that manga about football and basketball can hold my interest so well, and even more amazing that this manga is remarkably fresh for being… 20 years old at this point. The only things that date it is some of the bancho stuff, which doesn’t translate into English anyway, so it makes me happy to think of kids picking up this series and getting sucked in as much as I have.

Of course, a big part of the fun is Sakuragi’s showboating, and he gets to do it in front of a particularly cocky opponent this time. It’s pretty humorous considering he still has no real idea how to play basketball, and that’s actually his downfall here as his showboating comes to a stop as soon as the opponent figures that out. Sakuragi’s second match-up in this game had me absolutely rolling, not only because it was such an unlikely pair, but also because that kid was legitimately great at basketball, too. I liked that character a lot.

On to the next volume! I think the releases for this series are starting to slow down, which is a shame since this is the type of manga that needs to be consumed at top speed. It’s great. I still prefer Eyeshield 21, but this is a pretty close second.