"Ye Qing Hui" has been used too many times, but not every reunion with youth can regain happy memories. And the just-released "Slam Dunk" is truly worthy of the audience's waiting for it for more than 20 years.
The shōnen basketball-themed manga "Slam Dunk" created by Yuhiko Inoue was first published in 1990. After being made into an anime by Toei Animation, it immediately received an enthusiastic response.
How many people's youth memories have been occupied by that grinning, arrogant and impulsive red-haired teenager Sakuragi Hanamichi? And how many girls like the tall and handsome, cold outside and hot inside?
The answer is, not counting!
Therefore, after the announcement of the upcoming release of the film version of "Slam Dunk", the number of people who want to watch it on major ticketing platforms has risen rapidly, accumulating more than 1.5 million. And the film's reputation did not disappoint the audience, with a rating of 9.2, which is enough to make it enter the list of "classic masterpieces".
As a netizen said, "Slam Dunk" is not a "theatrical version", but a real movie.
Even if you already know the ending of the match between Xiangbei and the mountain king, because the film's tension in the story, the portrayal of the characters, and the control of the rhythm have been done to the extreme, you will still be involuntarily affected by the plot.
This may be the appeal of a good movie.
The film places the main story line on the body of Miyagi Ryota.
In the original TV version, Miyagi Ryota's sense of existence is not high. Without the title of genius, the lack of growth arc, the most tortuous experience, may be falling in love and being dumped repeatedly.
But this time, Yuhiko Inoue, who is both the original author and director, filled in the previous blank.
The opening scene of the movie is Miyagi Ryota's childhood experience.
His older brother, Sota Miyagi, is a junior basketball player who learned to play under his brother's tutelage. But with the death of his father and his brother's death at sea, Miyagi Ryota's former happiness is gone.
Leaving Okinawa and moving to Kanagawa, Miyagi Ryoda, who was isolated and bullied in a completely unfamiliar environment, gradually became a cold and arrogant, stubborn and fierce bad boy hiding in his inner pain.
Joining the Shonhoku basketball team, especially the national competition against Sanno, is the process of letting go of his heart, reconciling with his past and mother, and forming the best team with Takeshi Akagi, Hanamichi Sakuragi, Kaede Rukawa and Mitsui Shou.
The narrative method of the film is a double line.
The bright line is a match between Xiangbei and the mountain king.
The dark line is the Miyagi Ryota memory line interspersed in the game.
Among them, including his past with his family, his grudge with Mitsui Shou, and his early relationship with Takeshi Akagi after joining the Shonobi basketball team.
This dark line is like a character's motivation annotation. Whenever the game enters a small climax, memories appear appropriately, becoming the driving force for the selection of key moments of the characters, and then pushing the plot and emotions to new heights.
It's like a leather band, pulled down in order to make it bounce higher.
And superb film techniques and excellent audiovisual effects are not the biggest highlights of "Slam Dunk". What really immerses the audience in memories and drowns in surging feelings is the "Five Tigers of Xiangbei", which is highly consistent with memories but not the same.
Perhaps some people don't quite understand why Inoue Yuhiko chose Ryota Miyagi as the protagonist.
In his memory, he is short and has average talent, neither Takeshi Akagi's ambition, nor his own aura like Kaede Rukawa, nor compared to the "basketball genius" Sakuragi Hanamichi who is brainless and impulsive, but can always create miracles.
Even his love for basketball is not as pure as Mitsui Shou.
It's just that when Inoue Yuhiko used this film version of "Slam Dunk" to fill in Miyagi Ryota's experience and enrich the psychological growth line of the characters, this character, which was once ignored by many people, finally had a light.
Miyagi in the movie is distressing.
His brother, Sota Miyagi, is the light in Miyagi Ryota's life, but he is also a shadow. After Zong Taihai's death in a shipwreck, he wanted to be like his brother, but he played ball with all his strength, and he was still far behind in the eyes of others. I want to share my mother's worries, but I always make her sad and angry.
In the face of the obstacles in front of him, worrying about messing things up is Miyagi Ryota's heart. Therefore, when he stood on the field that his brother once wanted to stand on and broke through the opponent's interception at a critical moment, it was the first step for him to eliminate the obstacles in his heart and enter his true life.
Rukawa Kaede, who was called "stupid fox" by Sakuragi Hanamichi, is probably the "anti" side of Miyagi Ryota. He has a good family, is handsome, has outstanding ball skills, and is a light existence wherever he goes.
It is also because of this that his "independence" has been created.
Therefore, when Kaede Rukawa, who has always fought alone in the arena and never passes the ball, passes the ball to his teammates, even Sakuragi Hanamichi, who has always been at odds with him, will make the opponent dumbfounded and let the audience rejoice. Especially the high-fives of the two at the end, and the scene where they immediately turn around and return to the state of "looking at each other, two disgusted", is even more loved.
Takeshi Akagi has always been obsessed with "dominating the country", and even if his teammates are rotten and leave one after another, he has not given up. Until they met Miyagi Ryota and formed a new team.
But when Xiangbei faced the mountain king, the score was far away, the game was in a difficult situation, and he fought back with his teammates to break the game, he found out what he really wanted.
Not to be number one in the country, but to be able to play side by side with like-minded teammates.
Therefore, when Takeshi Akagi grabbed the ball and fell to the ground, and was fooled by the "devil villain" in his confusion and could give up, he would not hesitate to smash it with a punch.
From the sunny and cheerful boy in white to the long-haired gangster on campus, Mitsui Shou appeared in front of Miyagi Ryota in a completely different appearance. After that, he was arrogant and domineering, in order to be able to play basketball again, he shaved off his long hair, went to the court, and bowed his head to the coach.
On the court, it is clear that he has fought until he can't lift his arm, but he can still shoot accurate three-pointers, which makes the opponent stunned.
And Sakuragi Hanamichi, who entered the competition after only four months of study and always prides himself on being a genius, is undoubtedly the cutest of several people.
Grabbing daddy's face, standing on the referee's table to cheer for yourself, playing with mental power, complaining and complaining on the field, shouting teammates nicknames... But all kinds of commotion are constant, no matter how unreliable he is, but he is the key to the Xiangbei team winning the game in the end.
"My most glorious moment is now!"
This "layman" who is not bound by rules is pure and hot, as hot as the color of his hair, and as hot as fire.
With such a "Five Tigers of Xiangbei", which is both restored and breakthrough, coupled with the film techniques and audiovisual effects mentioned earlier, even if the painting style changes, "Slam Dunk" is still a beautiful return of youth.
For that alone, it's worth 5 stars.