Slam Dunk

Hanamichi Sakuragi is a tall, hot-tempered first-year who has been dumped fifty times and joins his school's basketball team only because the girl he likes asks if he plays. Slam Dunk, serialized from 1990 to 1996 across 31 volumes, follows him from clueless brawler to genuine player as the team chases the national tournament. It is funny, then it is not: Takehiko Inoue slowly drops the comedy and lets the games carry real weight. The art is the reason it endures. Inoue draws bodies in motion with an athlete's understanding of weight and balance, and the late games are choreographed so clearly you can follow every possession.