Slam Dunk, Volume 2 »

Takehiko Inoue is the creator of one of the most popular manga of all time, Slam Dunk, which has sold over 100 million copies worldwide. He followed that series up with two titles lauded by critics and fans alike--Vagabond, a fictional account of the life of Miyamoto Musashi, and Real, a manga about wheelchair basketball. Inoue is the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Tezuka Osamu Culture award and the Media Arts Festival Award. In addition to his work on manga, Inoue has worked on television commercials, character designs for video games, and is the founder of a scholarship to foster Japanese basketball talent.

Slam Dunk (by Inoue Takehito): Also premiering in June, Slam Dunk is the internationally popular basketball story of the Shohoku Prefectural High School basketball team, and their newest star player Sakuragi Hanmichi, who's also the newest freshman delinquent. A novice on the court, and in love, Sakuragi learns to master the game and will play to bring the national championship to Shohoku and true love to his heart.

Sakuragi Hanamichi, self-proclaimed next captain of Shohoku High's basketball team, returns with plenty of talent, spirit and attitude...

Publishers Weekly

In this series' first volume, readers met Sakuragi Hanamichi, a tall, athletic, self-centered dimwit who's jealous of the attention the Shohoku basketball players get from the girls. But after meeting the irresistible Haruko, an adorable, basketball-loving female classmate, red-haired Sakuragi develops a huge crush and decides he's going out for the team-even though he doesn't know the first thing about the game. Haruko asks her brother, Akagi, the feared and respected team captain, to give Sakuragi a chance to make the team-and he does after making an improbable slam dunk over Akagi during practice. That's where the fun and action in this thoroughly enjoyable manga begin. Sakuragi possess strong athletic ability, but he's much more interested in impressing Haruko than in learning how to play. Plus, he's insanely jealous of Rukawa, the cool, slick-playing star freshman guard that all the girls, including Haruko, swoon over. The hapless Sakuragi is constantly trying (and failing) to upstage Rukawa on the court, leading to one comical basketball mishap after another. In this volume, Sakuragi finally gets in an intrasquad game that's been dominated by Rukawa's thrilling play, only to learn the hard way that there's a lot more to basketball than being able to dunk. A hit in Japan, the book is credited with creating a national basketball craze. Takehiko's b&w drawings are comic and vivid-he captures basketball's dynamic action and vibrant physical postures-and his story is a delightful send-up of high school life that American readers will enjoy. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.