Slam Dunk, Vol. 9

Slam Dunk [スラムダンク] #9

by Takehiko Inoue

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 year left to make their captain's dream of reaching the finals come true—will they do it? Takehiko Inoue's legendary basketball manga is finally here, and the tale of a lifetime is in your hands!

As luck would have it, the basketball team narrowly avoids suspension over the all-out-brawl incident when Yohei and Mitsui's friends take responsibility. Now, with Mitsui back in the lineup for the first time in two years, Shohoku quickly resumes practice in preparation for their upcoming tournament. As punishment for the lack of discipline they displayed in the fight, though, Coach Anzai decides on a starting lineup for Shohoku's game without Hanamichi, Rukawa, Ryota and Mitsui. Can Anzai's squad hold their own when their best players (and perpetual problem children) ride the bench?

Genres: Manga, Sports, Comics, Shonen, Graphic Novels, Coming Of Age, Comics Manga

200 pages, Paperback

First published September 4, 1992

About the author

Takehiko Inoue (井上雄彦) is a Japanese manga artist, best known for Slam Dunk and Vagabond.

Reviews

[Diz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more of a set-up volume. The team starts a tournament and they tear through the first few teams. Since the other teams aren't that strong, there is less tension than in past games in the series. The characters are still a lot of fun, though.

[Keiko, the manga enthusiast ♒︎ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The qualifiers for the Inter-High Championship has now officially started. The problematic children namely Rukawa, Mitsui, Ryota, and Sakuragi weren't allowed in the starting line-up first game with Miuradai because of the past gym incident. But with Shohoku's team in trouble, Coach Anzai finally changed the line-up.

Shohoku with Akagi, Rukawa, Mitsui, Ryota, and Sakuragi, as starters, led the team to the quarter-finals. But it wasn't as smooth sailing as one would think even though the power team is already together and getting stronger. Sakuragi's rookie-sh mistakes led him to the total of 20 fouls in the start of each game, making him disqualified four times with 0 points. These disastrous moments in his basketball history are starting to crash his ego and he's beginning to think that he might not really be a genius.

I dunno but I'm loving Sakuragi's hilarious failures. It's just so realistic, and he truly needs a lot of experience to smoothen things out. Also, I love Mitsui. That encounter will Tatsuo is just so touching. I dunno but seeing him playing makes me cry good tears.

Up next is Shohoku vs. Shoyo!!

[Himanshu Karmacharya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slam Dunk is a mixture of amazing contents; humor, drama, thrill. Takehiko Inoue manages to deliver them all.

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quite an underwhelming basketball debut for Sakuragai, eh?

This volume is (as with all previous Slam Dunk volumes) is funny as hell and has all those postcard-ready shots as the Japan Interhigh Basketball preliminary round commences, but not as thoroughly engaging as before. It's just the first game after all.

Or maybe, I just don't want Sakuragi to fail, and this volume's has a handful of such flops.

[milena🧚‍♀️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5

[Angel 一匹狼 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The team is ready. After Mitsui asked to join the team at the end of volume 8, the starting 5 is decided: Akagi, Hanamichi, Rukawa, Mitsui and Miyagi (one has to wonder why Hanamichi and not Kogure, but then, this is Hanamichi's manga).

But the team, before going to the last 4 in the region, has to go through the preliminaries. And that is what this volume is about. Random games that help to introduce new characters: Shouyou or Kainan's and see Ryounan's again. It also gives us the chance for some humor: Sakuragi still has a long way to go before becoming a good player. Some other good points are the teamwork between the characters and the group identity that exists between them. It is, though, a little bit over the top. For example, the need for the different 'good' teams to destroy their rivals: a 160-57 score may happen in real life, but makes no sense. Especially if only the 'stars' play. In real life, a good coach would rotate their players (Anzai, Anzai...).

Another transitional volume.

6.5/10

(Original Japanese Version)

[Tiagoツ · Rating 5 out of 5]

quebrei demais com esse volume

[Azriel Najeh · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars ⭐️

[J.M · Rating 5 out of 5]

The trouble group! Hahaha this volume’s exciting with the start of the tournament and so funny with the team’s antics and Sakuragi’s slam dunk to the opponent’s face!

[kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd time reading this and knowing exactly how it’s gonna go so idk why tf am i nervous

[Brianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just love Sakuragi, he genuinely makes me laugh every time.
This volume is more of a set up for what is to come.
And it’s nice seeing Shohoku come together as a team.

[Koichi Mashita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this volume is one of the best though Slam dunk. Shohouku, the main them in this manga, is changed since last volume. Mitsui came back to the team, Teammate thought that his skill of basketball dropped because of blank. However he was still a good player. Finally the primary called "Interhigh". Shohouku won the first game thanking for Rukawa, Akagi, Miyagi, Mitsui. Sakuragi recently left from the game. In the last of this game, Sakuragi tried to do Dunk, but his dunk is not succeed, he hit the head of opponent captain by a basketball. It was the most fun scene for me. Let's check it.

[Toshi]

Slam Dunk, Tome 10Slam Dunk, Tome 11Slam Dunk, Vol. 12Slam Dunk, Tome 13Slam Dunk, Vol. 14Slam Dunk, Tome 15
I read through volumes 9-15 from the series slam dunk. I also watched the anime, as I progressed through the chapters. In this part of the series, Shohoku contends for the Inter-High Prefectural Qualifying. Progressing through the chapters, I really thought that Takehiko Inoue really structured the story so that conflict would build-up, especially when Shohoku fought against the very strong teams. I believe that he managed to achieve that without boring the reader as well. Even though one match (Shohoku vs Kainan) was as long as 4 books, it really did not bore me, but instead wanted to make me read more. Takehiko Inoue also does well writing the story so that the ending is not obvious, again from the Shohoku and Kainan match, I thought that Shohoku was going to make a comeback win, but they lost in the last few seconds. I really thought that this series was enjoyable to read and I recommend it to anyone interested in sports or teamwork because I truly believe that this series is a beautiful piece of work by Takehiko Inoue.

[Ben Truong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slam Dunk, Vol. 9 continues where the previous tankōbon left off and contains the next nine chapters (72–80) of the on-going manga series.

When other teachers from Shohoku High School enter the gym, Hanamichi Sakuragi's gang and Norio Hotta, one of Hisashi Mitsui's gang members, jointly claim responsibility for provoking the fight to prevent the team from being suspended.

Mitsui stops being a delinquent and rejoins the team. Some days later, the Interhigh Tournament starts and Shohoku faces Miuradai High School. However, Mitsuyoshi Anzai, the coach, does not allow Sakuragi, Ryota Miyagi, Kaede Rukawa, and Mitsui to start as punishment for fighting. With Shohoku down by ten points, he allows them to play on the condition that they will never fight again.

Their presence, along with Takenori Akagi, allows Shohoku to catch up, but Sakuragi fails to score on any of his free throws. Rukawa enables Shohoku to take the lead. Although Sakuragi gets fouled out, Shohoku easily wins the game. They win the three following games, but Sakuragi gets fouled out in all of them. Shohoku is then set to play against Shoyo, and Sakuragi becomes determined to avoid fouling out again.

This tankōbon is written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. For the most part, I really liked the direction of the narrative. Shohoku participates in their first tournament – Interhigh Tournament. Shohoku High School goes rather far, but Hanamichi Sakuragi seems to be foul out consistently, which he is beginning to hate.

All in all, Slam Dunk, Vol. 9 is a wonderful continuation to a series that seems intriguing and I cannot wait to read more.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the time of this review, I have read volumes 1-17 back-to-back. As always, I will try to only focus on the current review.

Can we take a moment to respect Mito and company? While I still contend that Sakuragi is Danny Zuko and Mito is Kenickie, the opening pages reminded me of Thunder Road from Grease. Instead of Kenickie agreeing to race and then switching to Danny Zuko, it was Danny Zuko agreeing to the race and then switching with Kenickie. That is what this was. For chapter 74, we see artwork before you turn the page to start the chapter. You see Sakuragi, Mitsui, Miyagi, and Rukawa sitting on the branch. Welcome to Shohoku's Problem Children Squad! Yet, these four are beneficial to the team, including Captain Akagi. Yet, Captain Akagi has his hands full with this crowd. Also in this volume we are introduced to another character from another team and I was like "He looks like a crooner." Sakuragi runs into some trouble in this volume, but near the end he goes to Captain Akagi for some advice. Mitsui runs into Tetsuo, who really reminds me of Leo, the leader of the Scorpions from Grease.

Verdict: This was a good volume. I am glad that we seem to have moved a way from the brawling.

[Yoji Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really easy to read. I finished it in 20 minutes. This book starts when the head coach finds out there was a fight at their school and they would get suspended from the game. However, lucky enough one of the gang members covers for them so they can go to the tournament. At the tournament, the coach decides to punish many of their best players by putting them on the bench. Because of this Shohoku goes behind by a lot. When the coach sees the score, he finally the best players in the game including the main character, Hanamichi. As usual, Hanamichi tries to show off but keeps on failing. He gets mad thing Rukawa keeps on scoring points. Every game from that game, he keeps getting fouls and being sent off.

[Cait · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not expect this series when I originally picked it up, but at every turn, it has shown a storytelling mastery that runs laps around other sports manga. Somehow, the characters have more dimension than those in other series like Haikyu. Moreover, they somehow master the art of the tournament arc. Do you even know how many other series feel the need to show too many panels of each and every match in a tournament - perhaps in the interest of being able to power-scale properly? Too many. But, nah, we'll give you the highlights cause Sakuragi keeps getting kicked off the court for maxing out fouls and that would be boring to drag out. Also, did you catch the maxing out fouls lingo? I don't even care about basketball generally, and I'm spitting regulatory bars. Ain't that telling.

[Joseph R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Shohoku High team is in the playoffs, thanks to some non-team fans taking the most of the blame for the fight that broke out in the last issue. The coach still thinks some players need some discipline, so he benches Hanamichi, Rukawa, Ryota, and Mitsui. At least, they are benched for the start of the first playoff game. The boys still have issues to work out and Hanamichi needs to figure out two things: how to shoot free throws and how not to foul out of games.

The story is definitely improving since the last issue, with more focus on basketball and less on personal dramas. The comedy works well too.

Mildly recommended.

[Jared Pangier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Takehiko Inoue cleverly finds ways to increase tension. In this volume, the players who were involved in the gym brawl have not been allowed to start, making the first game in the tournament much closer than it should have been. Will Shohoku lose out in Round 1? That is the situation the author sets up as he also demonstrates the importance of character to coach Anzai who values the lesson more than the win. I will be very sad once I get to the end of this series. Super enjoyable for ALL readers (not just basketball fans!).

[Kristin Katsuye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was is kinda filler for the story. They by pass a lot of games. More telling than showing what happens. Wasn’t bad just, not as fun to read compared to actually watching them play. Like watching a live game on tv compared to actually being there. It’s just better, you cheer along with them. Getting the recaps is less exciting.

This one did sneak some important previews into the coming manga. Another character & some pondering Sakuragi has to do in order to progress in the game.

There were scenes that had me completely laughing out loud though. Knee slap & all.

[Brandon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's good to see Sakuragi actually get to play, and Shohoku come together, but I wish we actually got to see more basketball being played. Instead of fast-forwarding through time, we just see snippets. There's no real tension since yeah we want our boys to win but we also don't get to see them playing and learning as they go. Sakuragi is a novice and while we're invested in his journey it's rough to see him accomplish almost nothing due to his inexperience and lack of game knowledge.

[James Rodrigues · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that the brawl is over, it is time for Shohoku to take part within the tournament. To see this team complete and working together is fantastic, as the relationships and back-and-forth excel throughout. In the middle of all this, Sakuragi finds himself struggling to hold it together during the matches. It is sad to see him falling behind as his team perseveres, but this feels like set-up for something marvellous to come.

[Yani Daniele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una de las escenas que más me gustan de este tomo, es la de Rukawa con su bicicleta, sobre todo porque una vez ví a alguien que le pasó eso y me recordó a este manga jajaja.

Otra razón por la cual me gusta, es porque aparece otro de mis personajes favoritos... Hanagata <3

Risas y más risas, tanto como se rie Nobunaga jajaja

[N.E.C.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sakuragi is learning the rules of basketball the rough way, it's really funny but at the same time i feel sorry for him. Also, why no one taught him those kinda things? hahaha.

I have mix feelings about this volume. Don't get me wrong, i liked it a lot but, i feel like they went through the games pretty quickly. on one hand, is nice that they didn't waste time but on the other, i would've like to see more basketball.

That been said, it was a really nice volume and the team is very solid and plays well. The next match it's gonna be a tough one.

[Andrea De Gouveia Dias · Rating 4 out of 5]

¡Por fin! Le ponen los pies sobre la tierra a ese pelirrojo. Uno de los tomos más gracioso.
El encanto que le consigo a los mangas de sport es reluciente en este tomo, soy fan del trabajo en equipo, de las interacciones de los personajes en la cancha y de las faltas del pelirrojo.

P.D: Anzai, ese gordito, sinceramente, intimida.

[Albert]

I really liked this book because it demonstrated that you can sometimes discover something new in yourself. The high schooler hated basketball and he didn’t even realize that he started playing it and enjoying it. One day bullies came into the practice and started to bully the everyone because the leader of the bully band hated basketball but the coach made him like it

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the more iconic of sports manga. It's the first series where I actually both read the manga and watched the anime. It has flawed protagonists, growing up pains, colourful characters, and beautiful meaningful relationships, all neatly wrapped around the context of college basketball.

[Ahmad Hossam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hanamichi's revelation that he may not be a genius after all was a powerful moment for him, and I expect it will be for the series as a whole (though it happened in chapter 80, eighty chapters too late if you ask me, and after he'd been disqualified from 4 games out of 4)

[Pranta Dastider · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is rare to have a main character as the main comic relief! Sakuragi is great because he can make you laugh just by being himself. So, for me this was a gem. I liked how he interrupted the games just to stand out and failing miserably in the process.

I will continue reading.

[Belén Carton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Me gusta que en el último capítulo se haya mostrado un mayor crecimiento en cuanto a Hanamichi, pero más allá de eso creo que claramente a pesar de que la historia me esté encantando, en este tomo debo decir que no sentí un gran ritmo, tampoco lo odié, le di ⅗.