10 Manga You MUST Read

The monumentally tall Hanamichi Sakuragi is introduced us to as a real piece of work. An aggressive, stubborn and unpleasant gang leader, Sakuragi is less than liked by the opposite sex and likes to sort his problems out violently.

Sakuragi is forever changed by his interactions with the charming young Haruko Akagi. Noting his impressive height, Akagi wonders aloud if he’s a basketball player. Desperate to impress, Sakuragi presents himself as a master of the game and hopelessly attempts a slam dunk, one of the sport’s most impressive moves.

Despite the humiliation of this initial failure, a string of fortuitous events leads Sakuragi to join his high school’s struggling basketball team. Immersed in mastering the skills of the game, he commits himself to becoming a phenomenal player that even Haruko could fall for.

Widely regarded as Japan’s most influential sports centric manga, Slam Dunk remains a favourite and was credited in inspiring many Japanese high schoolers to take an interest in basketball. Takehiko Inoue’s stunningly realistic art provides graphic detail for the intensity of basketball and its players. A seminal story of sport and romance, Slam Dunk is, well, a slam dunk.