The First Slam Dunk movie continued where the anime left off two decades ago. Just when fans thought they would get the closure they wanted, the full-length movie gave them another mystery to solve: what happened at the end of The First Slam Dunk movie? Let’s uncover the mysterious epilogue below.
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How The First Slam Dunk Ended
The movie focused on two aspects: Shohoku’s game against Sannoh and Miyagi Ryota’s backstory. As a refresher, Ryota did not receive much screen time in the anime compared to the other characters.
Making him the star of the movie shed light on many loopholes in the anime, including his connection to Mitsui and Akagi.
Throughout the film, Ryota’s struggle as a basketball player is showcased along with his family issues. His drive to continue playing basketball came from his older brother, Sota.
It was also revealed that Sota wanted to beat Sannoh as they were considered the top basketball team. This makes Ryota’s story perfectly complementary to Shohoku’s game against Sannoh.
Towards the end of the movie, Shohoku wins against Sannoh (thanks to the miraculous shot by Hanamichi). The Miyagi family was then able to let go of Sato’s death and move on.
Eiji Sawakita, Sannoh’s ace, was also shown playing in the United States. This indicates that despite Sannoh’s loss to Shohoku, Eiji continued his career and was still considered one of the best players in Japan.
This was expected of Eiji as he was known as Japan’s best point guard in the past.
What caught the viewers' attention is that Ryota is on the opposite team, challenging Eiji’s team.
This indicates that Ryota is now a college player in America. But what does this mean? How did Ryota become an overseas player?
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The First Slam Dunk Movie Ending Explained
In the game against Sannoh, Ryota showed everyone that he is an exceptional player. He is not only quick, but he also knows the best strategies to score a point.
He might have struggled because of his height (as most players are tall), but Ryota never gave up.
Moreover, a Slam Dunk manga sequel was released after the original manga ended.
Entitled 10 Days After, the sequel revolves around Ryota developing his skills. He even became the team captain after Akagi.
In line with that, his leadership skills and talent might have paved the way for him to become an international player, as seen at the end of the movie.
Hopefully, the manga sequel will be adapted into an anime soon, along with the remaining chapters of the Slam Dunk manga.
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