TCG. Serious and disciplined, Akagi's dream is to lead Shohoku to the national championship. Hanamichi Sakuragi (桜木 花道, Sakuragi Hanamichi) is the main protagonist of Slam Dunk, serving as Shohoku's power forward. "Old man") and has the habit of jiggling his fat when hyped, which makes the other players, Mitsui in particular, upset with him, as this is considered disrespectful. Despite not thinking too much of Hanamichi Sakuragi (who addresses him as "Gori" due to his immense physical presence) at first, he realizes Sakuragi's potential as a basketball player. In the anime, Ryu challenges Tetsuo's leadership by recruiting new members and targeting him after Mitsui rejoins the basketball team. The previous year, Takato also coached the team to the semifinal of the national championships, which they lost to Sannoh. Toyotama High School (豊玉高校, Toyotama Kōkō) is the runner-up team from Osaka in the national championships, having lost to Daiei. He is Hanamichi's deputy commander. Because of this, they prefer to play their own way rather than listen to their new coach, who they threatened with violence. He considers Takenori Akagi his rival, but has never managed to personally beat him, although Akagi considers him to be better. Sakuragi becomes infamous for his poor basketball skills as a beginner and his tendency to foul out of every game.[ch. He is so untypically for manga characters (either totally emo or totally perfect) and comics in general, I love that guy. She is voiced by Yuko Nagashima. He also makes some key mistakes in the game against Shohoku because he underestimates both Sakuragi and Kogure. The character himself is based on the author Takehiko Inoue and voiced by Yoku Shioya. He was hospitalized for a while after his fight against Hisashi Mitsui's gang. He comments on players on the court, explaining actions of players, and the flow of the game. Still, Sakuragi refused, saying simply, "because I'm a basketball player" (actually because he knew he would actually be closer to Haruko if he stayed with the basketball team). He is known as the "Ace Killer" (エースキラー, Ēsu Kirā) and lives up to this nickname by hitting Rukawa in the face with his elbow as he once did to Kenji Fujima from Shoyo, leaving him with a black eye for the whole second half of the game (the incident with Fujima consequently led to Shoyo's defeat). Kainan's training regimen is so tough that it weeds out half the incoming players within the first week, and another half within the first month. He is Ryota's close friend, and thanks to his mild and calm character he can manage to calm things down when the tension on the court starts to heat up. Kakuta is a second year student who plays as a center. Although he hasn't played in a single game, Kuwata can be a reliable person for the team. Devastated over the loss of Yazawa, Anzai resigned from college basketball coaching and changed his strict attitude to his now mild temper, for which he is now known as the "White-Haired Buddha" (ホワイトヘアードブッダ, Howaito Heādo Budda). Masahiro Nobe (野辺将広, Nobe Masahiro) does not stand out for scoring abilities, but is a great rebounder. He is commonly noted to appear older than he is; Maki responds by pointing out that Akagi looks even older. Toyotama's ace is Minori Kishimoto (岸本 実理, Kishimoto Minori), who earns not only Hikoichi's enmity for Toyotama after he dismisses Sendoh's abilities as a player, but also from Sakuragi, who spends the first half under intense pressure and can not perform well enough, being substituted for by Yasuda early in the match. In the past, a talented player named Ryuji Yazawa trained under him and was highly regarded. They have known each other since high school, when they themselves played for their respective schools, forging a fierce rivalry since that time. Shoyo High School (翔陽高校, Shōyō Kōkō) is considered the main rival of Kainan. He is also known for having a blond and bushy hair. In the anime he is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa in Japanese and Scott McCord in English.[5]. Yazawa's mother gave Anzai a letter written four years prior, in which Yazawa expressed profound regret about his rebellious decision to leave, and was depressed as a result of the unsupportive American college basketball culture. In the past, a talented player named Ryuji Yazawa trained under him and was highly regarded. He is also the most academically talented starter and is considered a model student. He has also been in his fair share of off-court fights, but can hold his own. He can be lazy at times and has a reputation for arriving late to practice sessions and matches. Takenori Akagi (赤木 剛憲, Akagi Takenori) is Haruko's older brother, serving as Shohoku's captain and center. The other players include Mitsuaki Iwata (岩田 三秋, Iwata Mitsuaki) (center), Kyohei Yajima (矢嶋 京平, Yajima Kyōhei) (shooting guard) and Daijiro Itakura (板倉 大二朗, Itakura Daijirō) (point guard). This resentment continued until their present age, where their feud is over which team will be National Champion first. It was his pass that led to Sakuragi's buzzer-beating shot, winning the match. He has not played in a single game. Off the court, Maki can be found almost every game, often serving as a commentator. The character sheet for the famous basketball anime/manga series Slam Dunk. In the anime, Sasaoka often blurts out comical statements that make Sakuragi react and bully him or the other first year students. [5], Nozomi Takamiya (高宮 望, Takamiya Nozomi) is one of the members of Sakuragi's Gang. Against Kainan, Sendoh is deployed as a point guard to match-up Maki, but transforms himself into a deadly scorer when the game is on the line. Characters Starring. His determination is shown in the match against Kainan during the Kanagawa Interhigh Tournament, where he played on despite a serious injury to his ankle. Taoka is a good coach, but has makes mistakes in judging his players and the opposition. Despite her emotional denseness and sweetness, Haruko is a pretty good student, helping Akagi tutor Sakuragi and Rukawa as well as the other two starters when they had to retake some tests they had failed or be disqualified from the National Tournament, and is not afraid to stand up for others when needed. "Flaming Man"). 2] though she does not confess it and he himself is completely unaware of her feelings. Uozumi's size and power are unmatched in high school basketball. Both of them have known each other since high school. Being one of the smallest in the team, as seen in the first year tryouts, he was reassigned to the guard position by Akagi.