FOR A basketball country like ours, Slam Dunk had it all: underdog drama, snappy comedy, three point shots that stretched out for entire weeks (thanks, Boy Labo!).
It also had a solid collection of kicks featured prominently in many of its scenes — like the Air Jordan 6 ‘Varsity Reds’ Sakuragi infamously bought for only 30 yen. Oh, and there’s this scene with the AJ1 ‘Breds’, which took a dig at the collector culture that was already swirling around sneakers at the time.
Still, the anime undoubtedly influenced an entire generation of sneakerheads.
Pop culture and sneaker site Modern Notoriety has dipped into its archives with a throwback post of some choice screencaps of many of the shoes featured in the anime. Take a look.
Swipe through the IG post to see the complete collection. Can you identify all the sneakers?
The Air Jordans are easy enough to spot: the AJ 8 ‘Aqua’, the AJ 3 ‘Fire Red’, and of course, the AJ6 that’s been immortalized in Slam Dunk lore. The Converses and the Reebok Pump, though, are a bit harder to ID. (Likely suspects include the Converse Aero Jet RS2 or the Converse Pro Conquest Hi.) Comment below if you’ve got the definitive answer!