Full-time comic artist

Maki Shinichi hasn't even stepped onto the field yet, and many of the main players haven't been revealed. The mysterious Hainan team, which has only shown a small part of its strength, is already incredibly powerful. Its true strength must be even more astonishing.

So the next match is sure to be a thrilling and tough battle!

Sakuragi Hanamichi is still a half-baked player, Mitsui Hisashi lacks stamina, Rukawa Kaede is a lone wolf, and Shohoku is still not well-coordinated. Will they be a match for Hainan?

With that in mind, he was already very much looking forward to it.

……

Another Monday.

In a supermarket in Bunkyo Ward, Riko Kuraki, a student at the University of Tokyo, stood listlessly at the checkout counter, working part-time to buy a collector's edition of "Sailor Moon" DVDs.

"Why would a top student from Dongda University work at a supermarket?" The store owner was quite puzzled at the time.

“Because I hate trouble,” Kuraki Riko sighed, “it’s more convenient and faster to work at a convenience store.”

Having been exposed to the sea breeze of Kanagawa for so long, she became a lazy bum, only doing odd jobs on Mondays and Tuesdays, and had no desire to find a more valuable job.

She looked sullen as she listened to the ticking of the wall clock, looking forward to lunchtime.

Just then, the doorbell rang, signaling the arrival of guests.

"Welcome." She smiled, adopting a professional business smile.

The person ignored her and went straight to the comic book magazine shelf, and soon returned to the counter.

"Hello, that's 230 yen in total."

The other person then laid out five coins, took the jump, and left.

"It's only eight o'clock in the morning, why are you in such a hurry?"

She patted her stiff face and complained.

She wanted to relax a bit.

After this guest left, guests came in one after another.

Bunkyo Ward isn't usually this busy. It's near a university campus, where students are either attending early classes or still sleeping in. What are they doing getting up so early to go to a convenience store outside the campus?

She was busy until nine o'clock, and she didn't have a moment to rest.

The muscles in my face were tense, and my throat became dry.

At ten o'clock, at eleven o'clock, she hadn't had a moment's rest all morning, and Kuraki Riko was about to go crazy.

She just wanted an easy part-time job, but she ended up working herself to the bone.

I finally managed to sit down and catch my breath, but the motion-activated doorbell rang again.

Welcome!

Kuraki Riko could only stand up again, her lips twitching as she spoke.

The customer walked to the inner shelf and then returned to the checkout counter shortly afterward.

"Which shelf is Weekly Shonen Jump on?"

"I'm sorry, sir, Jump is sold out," Kuraki Riko replied.

"Hey! They're sold out here too? What happened? They were all gone before noon..."

The other person left complaining and disappeared from Kuraki Riko's sight.

Not only him, but Kuraki Riko was also very curious. Although she had never read Jump, she knew about this manga.

This magazine wasn't nearly as popular when I was a cashier.

People flocked to buy Jump magazine early in the morning; even college students who should have slept in got up early to buy the magazine.

Kuraki Riko was so tired this morning because of Jump.

Those who managed to buy the magazine were very excited, their eyes practically sparkling.

Those who couldn't buy the magazine were dejected.

With her elbows propped on the cashier's table and her bangs blowing in the wind, Kuraki Riko stood lost in thought in the sunlight.

"Why is that?"

A few minutes later, more guests arrived.

Kuraki Riko stood up. It was Sakata Junko, her college classmate, who looked at her anxiously.

"Riko-chan, do you have Jump?"

It could only disappoint her; Kuraki Riko shook her head.

"How could this happen? A bunch of beasts, buying my Jump so early!" Junko Sakata complained.

Kuraki Riko was surprised. "Eh? Junko, you like reading shonen manga too?"

“Of course,” Junko Sakata replied matter-of-factly. “Rukawa and the others are so handsome. The way they play basketball so seriously is especially charming.”

She started rambling on, "But my favorite is still Sendoh Akira. It's been so long since he appeared. Ryonan High School, their match against Takezato is coming up soon, I'm really looking forward to it. Why isn't there a manga magazine anymore? What a shame."

Ryonan High School?

Kuraki Riko blinked, feeling a sense of familiarity, as if she had heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place it.

"By the way, Riko-chan, I remember you're from Kanagawa, right? Slam Dunk is about the story of high school basketball teams in Kanagawa. My favorite Ryonan High School basketball team is in Kamakura. You should watch it, it's really relatable."

Upon hearing this, Kuraki Riko suddenly realized what was going on, and her clever little brain found the memory in some obscure corner.

It was March 1996. Riko Kuraki, who was on her way home for spring break, overheard someone belittling the sea view of Kanagawa on the Enoden train.

She angrily went up to argue, but as they talked, she discovered that she actually had a lot in common with that person, so they ended up talking for a long time.

The other person said he was there to gather material for a manga and was going to her hometown, Kamakura. Surprised, she asked him which work it was, but he dodged the question.

It's a very romantic thing to think that one day you might unexpectedly come across a work set in Kamakura and be reminded of him.

Kuraki Riko was very happy at the time, but more than a year has passed and she has forgotten about it for a long time. If Sakata Junko hadn't brought it up, she would never have remembered it.

Kuraki Riko's mind was spinning as she thought, "So... that person named Higashino... or Nakano... is the author of 'Slam Dunk'?"

The work that is so popular with so many readers and loved by so many people was created by that seemingly unserious person?

It's hard to imagine that I've ever bumped into a great writer.

However, it's also possible that it isn't, since there are works set in Kamakura.

"Riko-chan, I have to go now, I need to look for something at another supermarket! Bye-bye!"

"Bye-Bye."

Junko Sakata ran away in a flash.

She came and went in a hurry, but she left Kuraki Riko's mind in complete disarray.

"Ah! I really want to watch 'Slam Dunk'!"

She gave Nakano the photos she took of Kamakura in the summer, and he probably used them, right?

If you watch "Slam Dunk" carefully, you'll be able to draw that conclusion!

With six hours left until she gets off work, all she can do now is wait patiently.

"I'll buy the Slam Dunk manga first; I'll have to wait for Sailor Moon." She gritted her teeth.

Riko Kuraki has a deep affection for Kanagawa, and she finds it more interesting to watch works set in her hometown than to watch her own hobbies.

Chapter 186 Hainan vs. Shohoku

In late June 1997, the Slam Dunk manga series reached the long-awaited storyline of Hainan vs. Shohoku.

When Takehiko Orimo of the Toyota basketball team was practicing in the morning, he had already bought the magazine, unlike other readers who were anxiously searching for Jump magazines.

Because of the Japanese basketball league in April, he hasn't had time to read "Slam Dunk".

It's also related to his work.

Professional basketball players often find watching high school level games lacking in impact.

Apart from the episode where Mitsui Hisashi is reborn from the ashes, he hasn't felt any exhilarating excitement.

He easily achieved what the Shohoku basketball team aimed for: reaching the national tournament. He was even the top scorer in his senior year of high school.

Takehiko Orimo University made up for his high school disappointment by winning the national championship.

So, aside from the fact that it helped promote the development of basketball in Japan, this book, "Slam Dunk," rarely caused him any major emotional fluctuations.

However, at least he can reminisce about the past, which makes him miss the years when he was involved in basketball and worked hard, so he hasn't given up on it.

Looking at the cover of Jump featuring Slam Dunk's Sakuragi Hanamichi, he opened the magazine. Jump's first manga was "Slam Dunk".

……

Kiyota Nobunaga, a newcomer from Hainan, is a character reminiscent of Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Full of confidence, he casually calls himself the number one newcomer in Kanagawa, and has excellent jumping ability and abundant stamina.

Like Sakuragi Hanamichi, he also sees Rukawa Kaede as a rival and often acts silly.

The comic strip didn't last long before the competition officially began.

The game started with a jump ball, where Akagi Takenori, who is 197 cm tall, had a great advantage and easily passed the basketball to Miyagi Ryota.

Meanwhile, before the Hainan basketball team could react, Rukawa Kaede took up a favorable position.

Miyagi made a quick long pass, and the basketball flew through the crowd, landing perfectly in Rukawa's hands with a "thud"!

This is Shohoku's fast break; they're incredibly fast right from the start.

"Wow, that was a really good pass." Takehiko Orimo nodded, noting that it was quite remarkable for a high school student.

With no one guarding him, Rukawa Kaede dribbled the ball and sprinted towards Hainan's basket. Even when he was still far from the hoop, he jumped high, intending to dunk.

"He dunked!"

The audience shouted excitedly!

But at that moment, Maki Shinichi jumped up and blocked Rukawa Kaede's dunk.

I don't know when, but he ran to the basket to defend.