Real (リアル) is a Japanese wheelchair basketball-themed manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue. It has been serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Young Jump since October 1999, with the chapters collected into 16 volumes as of August 2024. The series has been irregularly published in the magazine. In North America, the series is licensed for English release by Viz Media. By November 2020, the manga had over 16 million copies in circulation. In 2001, Real won an Excellence Award at the fifth Japan Media Arts Festival.

Plot

The story revolves around three teenagers: Nomiya Tomomi, a high school dropout, Togawa Kiyoharu, an ex-sprinter who now plays wheelchair basketball and Takahashi Hisanobu, a popular leader of the high school's basketball team who now finds himself a paraplegic after an accident. Real features a cast of characters who find themselves being marginalized by society, but are all united by one common feature: a desire to play basketball, with no place to play it in. Nomiya, being a high school dropout, has no future in his life. Togawa, being a difficult personality, finds himself constantly feuding with his own teammates. Takahashi, once a popular team leader, now finds himself being unable to move from the chest down. Real also deals with the reality of physical disabilities, and the psychological inferiority that the characters struggle against. The characters break through their own psychological barriers bit by bit.

Characters

Main characters

Supporting characters

Publication

Written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue, Real started in Shueisha's manga magazine Weekly Young Jump on October 28, 1999. Its chapters have been collected by Shueisha into individual volumes, with the first one published on March 19, 2001. As of August 19, 2024, 16 volumes have been published. After an indefinite hiatus started in 2014, the series resumed on May 23, 2019; since then, the series have been published sporadically, with the latest chapter released on August 8, 2024. In North America, the series is licensed for English language release by Viz Media, who announced the acquisition in November 2007. The first volume was released on July 15, 2008.

Volumes

Chapters not yet in tankōbon format

Reception

By November 2013, Real had 14 million copies in circulation. By November 2020, the manga had over 16 million copies in circulation. Real won an Excellence Award in the Manga Division at the fifth Japan Media Arts Festival in 2001. Citing the reason for the award: "Takehiko Inoue is well-known for Slam Dunk a serial comic on the subject of basketball. Real is another sports comic, but one whose story revolves around the novel theme of tough guys and wheelchair basketball. All of the Adjudication Committee members could hardly wait to read the next installments and had to content themselves with awarding Real the Excellence Prize. It would have been no surprise if Inoue had followed his success with Vagabond by winning the Grand Prize for the second year in a row with this terrific manga". A review at The Comics Reporter noted that "all of the skills that Inoue displayed in Slam Dunk have evolved for the better in Real", going on to conclude that "the emotional content is presented with a poise and certainty that's really nothing short of breathtaking." The series has been praised for its "realism", and how it "breaks away from conventional portrayals of the disabled as innocent people who are weak in every way." Kazuyuki Kyoya, a wheelchair basketball player, has also expressed his approval of the series: "The manga calls for understanding of people not only in wheelchair basketball but also with various other disabilities. I’m impressed that the scenes in which Takahashi undergoes rehab are elaborately expressed." About.com's Deb Aoki lists Real as the best new manga of 2008.