Real (manga)

Real
Cover of the English translation of volume two of Real, illustrating the subject matter of wheelchair basketball
リアル (Riaru)
Genre	Drama, Sports
Manga
Written by	Takehiko Inoue
Published by	Shueisha
English publisher	NA Viz Media
Demographic	Seinen
Magazine	Weekly Young Jump
Original run	1999 – present
Volumes	14

Real (Japanese: リアル, Hepburn: Riaru^?, stylized as REAL) is a manga series written and illustrated by Takehiko Inoue that deals with wheelchair basketball. It has been serialized in Weekly Young Jump since 1999, with the chapters collected into 14 tankōbon volumes to date by Shueisha. By 2013, the first 12 volumes had sold over 14 million copies in Japan alone.

Although not as popular as Inoue's Slam Dunk, Real is a more serious take on basketball with more character development in a realistic setting. It is also aimed at a more mature audiences, being a seinen manga series serialized in Weekly Young Jump.

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.