Netflix Is Finally Streaming One of the Best '90s Anime

Netflix is now streaming one of anime's best sports series, Slam Dunk.

By Megan Peters

Netflix is called the home of streaming for a reason. From foreign dramas to classic films and kids television, the site has it all. In the past decade, Netflix has made it clear that certain lanes are worth the investment, and anime is chief amongst them. A mountain of anime content has joined Netflix in the last year as proof, and now, the industry's greatest sports anime has joined the list.

Oh yeah, that is right. We are talking about Slam Dunk. This week, Netflix kicked off September by adding the classic anime to its catalog. You can now watch the sports anime here on Netflix, and the addition could not come at a better time.

What Is Slam Dunk Exactly?

For those curious about Slam Dunk, you should know the series came well before The Prince of Tennis or Haikyu and Blue Lock. The series, which Takehiko Inou created under Shueisha, hit pages back in 1990. The basketball anime was not the first sports anime in the game, but it quickly became the most popular after its launch. Today, Slam Dunk is seen as the grandfather of sports anime, and we have guys like Hanamichi Sakuragi to thank.

Slam Dunk tells the story of Sakuragi, a high schooler who would rather spend time with his gang. The delinquent spends his time drifting through life while trying to impress girls, and he is pointed towards basketball after meeting a classmate named Haruko Akagi. At first uninterested in sports, Sakuragi finds himself invested in basketball as he tries to impress all the girls who rejected him in at school. Along the way, he comes to love the game of basketball, and Sakuragi finds himself thriving with new friends and rivals.

Why Is Slam Dunk So Iconic?

From the outside, you may wonder why Slam Dunk – a story about basketball – has become an anime classic. Pro sports are popular for a reason, but in the end, what does this series have to offer? Besides its incredible action sequences, Slam Dunk has become an iconic anime because of its nuanced characters. Characters like Sakuragi are high schoolers, but their adolescence goes beyond surface level. From their dreams to their convictions, the characters of Slam Dunk make the series special. Its basketball drama is fine, but it is what happens off-court that matters the most.

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The anime's arrival on Netflix is timed perfectly as Slam Dunk is having a special renaissance. In 2022, the world was given a new look at Slam Dunk as the anime hit theaters. The First Slam Dunk marked the anime's first outing in years, and its innovative animation caught the eyes of fans. The movie earned nothing but praise upon launch, leaving The First Slam Dunk to become the fifth highest-grossing anime film of all time. Not long ago, Netflix added the movie to its catalog, so interest in Slam Dunk is at a high. So if you want to see how the anime started out, you are in luck!

What do you make of this latest Netflix license? Are you ready to check out Slam Dunk? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

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