The First Slam Dunk anime film drops English-dubbed trailer, US and Canada premiere announced

On Thursday, June 29, GKIDS Films announced that The First Slam Dunk movie will hit the screens in the US and Canada on July 28, 2023. The movie will arrive with an official English dub, whose trailer was recently posted by GKIDS' official Twitter account. The voice cast for the English dub was also revealed.

Laced with nostalgia, The First Slam Dunk is much anticipated among the fans of the original 1993 anime. Written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue, Slam Dunk, is arguably one of the greatest sports manga ever written.

It was first published in Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump in October 1990 and ran for 276 chapters before concluding in June 1996. The equally successful anime adaptation by Toei Animation, which consists of 101 episodes, ran from October 1993 to March 1996.

---

The First Slam Dunk arrives in the US and Canada on July 28

As mentioned above, GKIDS has unveiled the English dubbed trailer and the voice cast for the dub of The First Slam Dunk, the theatrical production of Takehiko Inoue’s basketball manga Slam Dunk. The trailer also reveals that both the subtitled and the dubbed versions of the movie will be released in the US and Canada on Friday, July 28, 2023.

The First Slam Dunk will be brought to the States and Canada by GKIDS, which has acquired the license for distributing the film. Its official Twitter account, @GKIDSfilms, posted a tweet on June 29 listing the voice actors for the English dub and the newly dubbed trailer.

Here is the English voice cast lineup and the respective main characters they will be playing:

• Paul Castro Jr. as Ryota Miyagi
• Jonah Scott as Hisashi Mitsui
• Aleks Le as Kaede Rukawa
• Ben Balmaceda as Hanamichi Sakuragi
• Aaron Goodson as Takenori Akagi
• Zeno Robinson as Kiminobu Kogure
• Kelsey Jaffer as Ayako
• Mike Pollock as Mitsuyoshi Anzai
• Adam McArthur as Sota Miyagi
• Alicyn Packard as Kaoru Miyagi

The movie The First Slam Dunk was originally released in December 2022 in Japan. It is directed by the mangaka Takehiko Inoue at the Toei Animation studios. Inoue also provided the screenplay, with Yasuyuki Ebara at the helm of character designs and Daiki Nakazawa directing the CG.

The new movie brings Ryota Miyagi back to the screen, and we are given a glimpse into the life of his older brother Sota Miyagi, who had inspired the former.

GKIDS has also provided an exciting introduction to what the movie has to offer.

"Shohoku's “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. Born and raised in Okinawa, Ryota had a brother who was three years older. Following in the footsteps of his older brother, who was a famous local player from a young age, Ryota also became addicted to basketball," the introduction reads.

"In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the Shohoku High School basketball team along with Sakuragi, Rukawa, Akagi, and Mitsui as they take the stage at the Inter-High School National Championship. And now, they are on the brink of challenging the reigning champions, Sannoh Kogyo High School," it adds.

The original Slam Dunk anime is available for streaming on platforms like Prime Video and Crunchyroll, but it must be noted that it is not available for all regions.

---

Stay tuned for more anime and manga updates as 2023 progresses.