Original artwork, not a still
Coach Anzai, I want to play basketball.
— Slam Dunk • 1993
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
It is the confession of a proud boy who has spent two years pretending he did not care. After all that bluster, the line is almost childishly simple, which is why it lands: he wants his old life back, and he says so to the one person who believed in him. It has become Slam Dunk's best-known line, and in Japan it stands for the courage to go back to what you gave up.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Slam DunkShow the scene
In Takehiko Inoue's Slam Dunk, Hisashi Mitsui was a middle-school MVP who joined Shohoku to play for Coach Anzai, but a knee injury in his first year ended his basketball and turned him into a delinquent. In chapter 71 (volume 8, adapted in anime episode 27, "I Want to Play Basketball!", aired 21 May 1994), Mitsui and his gang have stormed the Shohoku gym and Kogure tells the story of their past. Mitsui hits those who ask him to return, until Coach Anzai asks to be let in. Remembering the coach's old encouragement, Mitsui breaks down and says in tears that he wants to play basketball.
Sources (3)
- Slam Dunk Wiki: Basketball (chapter 71)SummaryReference checked
- Slam Dunk Wiki: Episode 27infobox and synopsisReference checked
- Slam Dunk Wiki: Hisashi MitsuiHistory and QuotesReference checked
Context reviewed
