Japanese animated sport film “The First Slam Dunk” had a grand screening on Saturday (August 3) at the Shanghai Film Art Center, to celebrate its re-release on the Chinese mainland.
The film’s first release in China last year reaped around 660 million yuan (US$92.5 million). Many viewers were moved to tears by the athletes’ team work and never-yielding spirit in the basketball competition.
The grand screening at the SFC Dolby Auditorium of Shanghai Film Art Center attracted around 1,000 viewers.
Japanese rock band 10-Feet, who sang the theme song of the movie, attended to meet with local audience members after the screening.
Directed by Inoue Takehiko, the film centers on the life of 17-year-old Ryota Miyagi, who struggles to accomplish his late older brother’s dream of becoming a basketball star.
The film’s original comic and TV series have developed a large fan base in China in the passing decades. A lot of people have been touched by the movie’s diverse elements of youth, brotherhood, and perseverance in the pursuit of one’s dreams.