Shohoku has erased their massive deficit. Can they keep the pressure on in the second half?
Creative Staff
Story: Takehiko Inoue
Art: Takehiko Inoue
What They Say
Winning isn’t everything in the game of basketball, but who wants to come in second? It takes dedication and discipline to be the best, and the Shohoku High hoops team wants to be just that. They have one last year to make their captain’s dream of reaching the finals come true–will they do it?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Hot streaks are by their very nature short-lived. When one expires, something else has to pick up the slack. What picks up the slack for Shohoku is the injured Akagi’s return to the game. Akagi is putting a lot on the line by playing hurt–he could damage his ankle permanently. There’s a lot on the line for him, but there was a lot on the line already. He steps up, Sakuragi steps up…and the other team steps up.
There’s a lot to like about this volume–hey, it’s Slam Dunk we’re talking about here–but I’ll only single out one thing. My favourite thing about this volume is that it pauses for strategy. Coach Anzai has been a serene, almost cherubic presence on the sideline. Occasionally he makes an offhanded remark or substitutes a player. We’re allowed glimpses of his genius as a coach, but we don’t get to see him do a lot of coaching. Until now. Watching him call a crucial timeout, alter the game plan, reassign defenders, and then seeing the results play out is the highlight of the book. I’ll bet it’s just a foretaste of what he has in store for his team–and us–later on.
In Summary:
Look, I’m not going to fool you. This volume is all but the last two minutes of the second half of a basketball game. I’ll resist the urge to pad this review out to something like the normal length. The important thing is that this is the 14th volume of Slam Dunk. That means you need to read it.
Content Grade: A
Art Grade: A+
Packaging Grade: B+
Text/Translation Grade: A+
Age Rating: 13+
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: February 1st, 2011
MSRP: $9.99
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