Hanamichi Sakuragi

Takehiko Inoue's Slam Dunk, a sports manga, was written and is illustrated by Hanamichi Sakuragi. Hanamichi Sakuragi, a juvenile offender who has been rejected an astounding fifty times, is immensely unpopular with girls. In his freshman year at Shohoku High School, Sakuragi develops feelings for Haruko Akagi, who invites him to the basketball team after noticing his agility. Sakuragi is first hesitant to join the squad, but he quickly shows that he is a natural athlete and decides to do so, mostly in an effort to win over and gain Haruko's favor.

He rarely refers to his teammates or opponents by their real names, thus he has a habit of poking fun at them by giving them other nicknames. Sakuragi gains notoriety for his amateurish basketball abilities and propensity to foul out of every game. His basketball abilities do improve over the course of the series, though.

Hanamichi Sakuragi was a 1993 and 1994 Anime Grand Prix nominee for Best Male Character. He is listed as one of the best athlete characters in anime. Hanamichi Sakuragi is prominently featured in a new pair of Jordans that Inoue collaborated on with Nike. The two sneakers pay respect to the lead character with limited-edition styles and manga-paneled shoeboxes. The crimson uppers of the Air Jordan VI sneakers come with iconic manga images and Sakuragi's jersey number stitched on the outside heel. Sakuragi received 19th place in a 2012 Fuji TV poll ranking the finest heroes.

Anime: Slam Dunk