Slam Dunk's Movie Is Causing Basketball Fever in Asia

Slam Dunk recently made a major comeback overseas with a brand new feature film written and directed by the original creator, and it turns out it has been such a hit that there's been a rise in basketball fever in Asian territories as a result! Takehiko Inoue's classic sports series is still highly regarded to this day, and the franchise recently returned with The First Slam Dunk, the first new anime project for the long running franchise in quite some time. Introducing new takes on the classic series with a full 3DCG animated production, it's been a huge hit overseas. 

According to a new report from Yahoo! Japan, The First Slam Dunk has been such a success with its run in theaters in South Korea that it's creating a major boom for the series as a whole. Interest in basketball has increased as well with a noted 488% increase in basketball sneaker sales in the country, and basketball sales have increased by 350% overall. This has helped with the manga too as sales of the original series have jumped by 1,057%. 

How to Watch Slam Dunk's New Movie

The First Slam Dunk has done so well in South Korea that it has crossed over 1.67 million viewers since it hit theaters over there earlier this month, and it has since the become the fifth most successful Japanese animated project in the country overall as a result. Unfortunately for fans in other territories, it has yet to be revealed as to whether or not the movie will be getting a fuller international release outside of Asian territories. Original Slam Dunk creator Takehiko Inoue actually wrote and directed The First Slam Dunk himself for Toei Animation and DandeLion Animation Studio, so that might explain its success. 

He's joined in the staff by Yasuyuki Ebara as character designer and animation director, Daiki Nakazawa as CG director, Yuta Ogura as CG producer, Kazuo Ogura as art director, and Yota Tsuruoka and Koji Kasamatsu as sound directors. The main cast for the movie includes the likes of Shugo Nakamura as Ryota Miyagi, Jun Kasama as Hisashi Mitsui, Shinichiro Kamio as Kaede Rukawa, Subaru Kimura as Hanamichi Sakuragi, and Kenta Miyake as Takenori Akagi. 

Are you hoping to see The First Slam Dunk when you get the chance? Can you believe its success in South Korea? Let us know all of your thoughts about it in the comments! You can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!

(via Yahoo! Japan, h/t @MangaMoguraRE on Twitter)