Full-time comic artist

"Is that line, 'Damn it...why...why did I waste so much time?'?" Higashino Hibiki said in a low, emotional voice, "Mitsui turned over a new leaf; he hates his former self."

Entering the national tournament was just around the corner, but in the end, Mitsui, whose abilities had reached their limit, was filled with resentment and regret.

This character has been given more depth once again.

“Yes, yes!” the audience member exclaimed. Someone glanced at him, and he apologized quietly before turning to Hibiki Higashino and saying, “The character is so well-developed. Mitsui Hisashi is a true ‘Man of Flame.’”

……

After a short rest, Mitsui returned to the competition venue, barely managing to keep his body upright, to cheer on his teammates.

Ryonan was only one point behind Shohoku, with two minutes left on the clock, and Ryonan launched their attack.

Sendoh passed the ball to Fukuda, who was open, and Fukuda jumped up to shoot.

“Shohoku has no chance anymore.” Maki Shinichi shook his head.

But no one expected that at this moment, Sakuragi Hanamichi, the source of Shohoku's unease, would unexpectedly block the shot.

When Sendoh dribbled past Rukawa, Sakuragi Hanamichi appeared again and intercepted the basketball from Sendoh's hands.

Thanks to Sakuragi Hanamichi's performance, the situation finally stopped deteriorating, and Rukawa and his teammates cheered and began to defend closely.

The intense competition on the field finally changed the audience's mindset, no longer overwhelmingly cheering for Ryonan. Instead, cheers of "Shohoku!" and "Ryonan!" echoed throughout the stadium.

"Coach Taoka saw Sakuragi as Shohoku's weakness and defensive vulnerability, but he never expected that it was precisely Sakuragi's unpredictability as an outsider that would save Shohoku at the crucial moment!"

The plot here is really exciting; that audience member was practically spitting as they talked.

Akemi Akemi was watching the match intently when she was startled by the sound.

Hibiki Higashino squeezed her hand and laughed with the audience beside him, saying, "It's quite amusing that Coach Taoka has been wondering about this repeatedly: 'Why? Why did Sakuragi suddenly appear from that place?!'"

"Yes! Young man. You are truly a loyal reader of 'Slam Dunk'." He was as excited as if he had met a kindred spirit, his face flushed with excitement.

Akemi Akemi burst out laughing, covering her mouth as her shoulders trembled.

"What's wrong with your girlfriend?" he asked in surprise.

Hibiki Higashino glanced at Akemi Akemi, "She's happy for me, please continue."

“Oh,” the audience member nodded, not caring about that anymore. His tone was excited: “Anyway, the stuff Tori Akino Mirai has been drawing lately is so interesting, it’s all storylines I love!”

……

Taoka Shigeichi's strategic planning finally came to an end with Sakuragi.

He became uneasy.

During the intense competition, Taoka came up with a solution, which was related to another worrying factor in Shohoku's situation: Shohoku's substitute players were all very weak.

So, with one minute left, Taoka said to Ikegami Ryoji, "Watch out, if the ball gets to Akagi or Rukawa, you guys go and double-team him."

"We can ignore Kogure for now."

……

"It was because of Taoka Shigeichi's decision that Sendoh and the others went to defend Rukawa Kaede. Outside the three-point line, Kogure Kiminobu shot a three-pointer without any defense."

Both Kogure and Akagi joined the basketball club when they were in Kitamura Junior High School.

He trained very hard every day and almost couldn't keep going, but Kogure gritted his teeth and persevered until the third year of junior high school.

Although he didn't get good results in the end.

But his love for basketball lasted throughout his three years of junior high school.

During high school, he and Akagi came to Shohoku and unexpectedly overheard that MVP Mitsui Hisashi had also joined the Shohoku basketball team.

Mitsui and Akagi gave everything hope.

However, his good fortune didn't last long. Due to a leg injury, Mitsui quit the basketball team and became a delinquent.

The freshmen who followed Mitsui in their first year also left the basketball club one after another. With Akagi's strict requirements and hard daily training, in the end, only he and Akagi were left.

In her second year, Ayako joined the basketball club as manager, and Ryota Miyagi, a first-year student, followed her there.

Then came the genius Rukawa Kaede and that Sakuragi Hanamichi.

Mitsui Hisashi went to the gymnasium to provoke them, but in front of Coach Anzai, he finally had a profound realization and rediscovered his original aspirations.

So, after finally getting here, six years of hard work and youthful struggle have reached a crucial moment—

"Bang!"

Kiminobu Kogure, the third-year substitute and vice-captain underestimated by Shigeichi Taoka, has made a three-pointer!

……

"In the recent popularity poll, Kogure was fourth, right?" the viewer remarked. "I didn't expect so many people to vote for Kogure, just like me."

"He doesn't have Sakuragi Hanamichi's physical abilities or Mitsui Hisashi's talent; he's just like any other ordinary person like us. But through his relentless perseverance through blood and tears, he finally shone brightly in the finals."

"I was deeply moved," he said, his eyes even welling up with tears.

"In terms of character development, besides Mitsui, I think Kogure Kiminobu, who doesn't have a high appearance rate, is the most outstanding in Slam Dunk."

Higashino nodded, "His experiences are the ones we can best relate to."

In his first year of high school, all the freshmen left the club, and only Kiminobu Kogure trained with Akagi.

"His love for basketball is no less than anyone else's."

……

In the final chapters of the Slam Dunk manga series, exciting content was drawn one after another.

The continuous climaxes and constant thrusts were incredibly exhilarating.

"It's been more than two months. The manga is very interesting, with a dramatic plot, intense battles, and the characters' emotional journeys." The audience next to Higashino Hibiki breathed a sigh of relief. "After watching the game between Shohoku and Ryonan, my excited heart finally calmed down. Waiting for the serialization every week was really hard to bear."

Also, after watching the climax of the story, your tense nerves can relax and you won't be so worried anymore.

With 58 seconds remaining, Ryonan is down by four points.

"Even when the outcome of the match was already decided, Akino-sensei drew Sendoh scoring a goal. In the end, the result was left hanging again. Akino-sensei really knows how to keep people in suspense."

Seeing the complaints of the people around him, Higashino Hibiki felt an itch in his palm.

It turned out that Akemi Akemi had tickled him with her little finger.

“Hehe,” Hibiki Higashino said with a mischievous grin as she looked over.

So she'd been listening all along, and now she's the first to come and make fun of Higashino Hibiki.

Higashino held her hand tightly to stop her from acting up, then turned to the audience member and said, "This kind of arrangement is more interesting."

"That makes sense." He nodded thoughtfully.

"That's why that dunk was so amazing," Higashino Hibiki added.

……

With 30 seconds left, the game became uncertain again.

Akagi Takenori missed his shot due to Fukuda's obstruction.

As Fukuda battled for the rebound, a figure radiating tension, number 10, loomed over him, obscuring the reader's view.

Under my gaze, there is only player number 10!

Sakuragi Hanamichi had never been so powerful. He jumped high, displaying his rebounding prowess, grabbed the basketball, and slammed it into the basket.

"Honestly, when I saw those frames of the comic, I really hallucinated the roar of fighter jets. It was so powerful, and my heart was filled with excitement," the audience member murmured to himself.

Sakuragi Hanamichi's dunk left an indelible mark on his heart.

"Mitsui's unwillingness to accept defeat, Kogure's brilliance, and Sakuragi's dunk—I will never forget these three storylines."

"Tori Akino's illustrations, perfectly matching the storyline, completely drew me in, allowing me to feel the characters' joys and sorrows. It's truly remarkable."

Hibiki Higashino nodded silently, "It was indeed very hard work to draw."

The audience didn't pay attention; he was sharing his feelings.

"Immediately after the dunk, Sakuragi shouted, 'Get back on defense! Sendoh is coming!'"

"In the practice match against Ryonan, Shohoku lost because they let their guard down at the end."

"Sakuragi has always held a grudge against it and kept it in his heart."

"So he didn't become arrogant or complacent, and instead focused on defending steadily."

"It's not just his basketball skills; Sakuragi's inner self has also grown."

"This is a detail that moved me to tears."

"Teacher Tori Akino is really meticulous."

Higashino waved his hand, "There's no need for the last sentence."

Under Sakuragi's command, the Shohoku players immediately retreated to defend under the basket.

When Sendoh got the basketball, they were down by four points, and there was still time left:

3...

2...

1...

"The match is over!"

Even Sendoh is powerless against the current Shohoku team.

……

We won!

We won!

"The match is over!"

Cheers erupted from the basketball court.

Hibiki Higashino and the audience around him suddenly realized that the match had already ended without them noticing.

Takehiko Orimo scored the winning goal in the final moments, securing the victory by two points.