Slam Dunk Manga Buying Guide
VIZ's Slam Dunk runs to 31 paperbacks. Start at Vol. 1, know where the Sannoh game sits, and do not confuse Japan's 20-volume reissue.
Buy Slam Dunk from Vol. 1 of VIZ's 31-volume English paperback run; the publisher marks Vol. 31 as the final volume. There is one English print line in the inventory we checked, so the main decisions are how much to buy at once and how to check a used set.
Identify the books
| Book | ISBN-13 | Released | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vol. 1 | 9781421506791 | September 2, 2008 | Where the story starts. |
| Vol. 25 | 9781421533322 | December 4, 2012 | The Sannoh game begins. |
| Vol. 31 | 9781421533384 | December 3, 2013 | VIZ: "Final Volume!" |
VIZ's pages for Vol. 1 and Vol. 31, rechecked October 14, 2026, both list $11.99 and a 5 × 7½ inch trim, at 208 and 192 pages. Our Slam Dunk catalog records $11.99 as the list price for all 31; that is the publisher's price, not a shop's offer. The run came out over five years, from September 2008 to December 2013, which is worth knowing when a seller's "complete set" mixes printings of different ages.
The season before the nationals, by volume
VIZ's synopses divide the earlier books cleanly. The practice game against Ryonan runs from Vol. 4 to Vol. 6. Vol. 9 brings Mitsui back as Shohoku prepares for its tournament; Vols. 10 and 11 hold the game against Shoyo, and Vols. 12 to 15 the game against Kainan. Vols. 16 and 17 fall between the Kainan and Ryonan games: VIZ's synopses cover the scrimmage that leads to Sakuragi's daily shooting target before a game against Takezato, and the game between Ryonan and Kainan that Shohoku watches from the sidelines. Vols. 18 to 21 are the game against Ryonan that decides a place at the nationals, and Vol. 22 covers the ten days before the national tournament begins in Vol. 23. A buyer who wants the whole Kanagawa tournament in one purchase needs Vols. 9 to 21.
Where the film's game is in the books
The First Slam Dunk centers on Shohoku's game against Sannoh, which Netflix's promotion calls the final match depicted in the manga. In VIZ's synopses, Vol. 24 ends the previous game with Sannoh waiting "in the next round," Vol. 25 opens the Sannoh game, and Vol. 31 begins with "only a minute left." So the film's match is roughly the last seven books.
That makes Vols. 25 to 31 a tempting purchase for someone who has just seen the film, and a poor one. The film is built around Ryota Miyagi, and its North American distributor's synopsis sets up his family and his past; the books follow the season the way the series always has, with Sakuragi at the center. Read the game in the manga after the 24 books that make its stakes, or treat the film as a separate version of it. The Slam Dunk watch order places the film against the television series.
A Japanese edition with different numbers
The film's official site notes a 2018 Japanese reissue (新装再編版) in 20 volumes, with all-new cover illustrations and the volumes re-divided at the story's turning points. Its numbering does not match VIZ's 31. If a listing gives a volume count of 20, it is not the English VIZ edition. The ISBNs above begin 978-1-4215, VIZ's prefix for this run.
Buying a used set
Two things in a used lot may not match the current VIZ books. Raijin Comics, a magazine run by Gutsoon! Entertainment, published an earlier English Slam Dunk: Anime News Network's 2024 history of the series in North America says its first collected volume came out in June 2003 and its fifth, in April 2004, was its last before the magazine ended that July. Those five books are a different translation that stops early, so they do not stand in for VIZ's numbers. The same history notes that VIZ's early volumes first carried full-color NBA spreads that recent reprints have removed, though the contents page still lists them, so two copies of one VIZ number can differ. Gaps cannot be filled digitally either: the history describes Slam Dunk as print-only, and VIZ's product page offers it only as a paperback.
Count the spines and check the numbers against the catalog before paying for "complete": 31 books, Vol. 1 to Vol. 31, with no repeats. Vol. 31 is the one a set can least afford to lack. If only a few numbers are missing, price those singles separately against a second bundle. For the characters the run follows, see Sakuragi, Mitsui and Akagi.