Can’t get enough of SenRu? Well apparently mangakas & doujinshikas everywhere can’t get enough of the luvin' either! There are so many other animanga, that echo the shounen-ai madness of SenRu! Below are a few of the cutest and most lovable shounen-ai couples I've found to manifest SenRu in more ways than one! Check 'em out! If you love SenRu, you’ll certainly love them too!

Disclaimer: The following are only comparisons on how characters in some animanga seem to resemble or remind us of Sendoh & Rukawa from Slam Dunk, although I do state that there are possibly instances where some characters may have been “inspired” by characters from the said series, I am in no way accusing them of deliberately copying Sendoh and Rukawa or any of the characters from Slam Dunk or any other animanga series. Respective disclaimers apply.

Warning: I refrain from describing the series too much but still it can’t be helped in some of the titles included so beware of spoilers!

Notes: Click on the images for a larger view.

X & characters belong to Clamp

Now this is a classic manifestation of SenRu! Kamui is a darling version of Rukawa, Clamp style, and he even sounds like Rukawa, thanks to the beautiful bishounen voice of seiyuu Suzumura Kenichi. Fuuma looks and acts a lot like Sendoh with the spikes and many bangs falling. Junichi Suwabe provides his sexy voice, and their voices are so compatible! It's a heartbreaking S&M love story for these two. If you haven’t watched the series yet, look out for the part when they play basketball. Plus there are lots of yummy yaoi & shounen-ai hints scattered all throughout the animanga.

Note: Junichi Suwabe & Suzumura Kenichi provide Fuuma & Kamui's voices in the animated series but sadly not in the movie.

Ragnarok-Into The Abyss & characters belong to Lee Myung Jin

This is another undisputed manifestation of SenRu! The spunky and cutely naive Assassin Loki is a striking twin of Rukawa, only with a much more tamed hairstyle, but the face, the built, the attitude! Whoa! It’s Rukawa in an new age Norse mythology adventure! Want to see what Rukawa would look like in stunning tight-fitting assassin-type duds? Or in princely robes? Hurry to the nearest comic book store and pick up a copy of this priceless manwha! And if that ain’t enough reason for you, feast you eyes on Chaos Balder, the Rune Knight whose life Loki seeks! Chaos definitely has those trademark gravity-defying Sendoh spikes, only given an exciting Lee Myung Jin twist! The art, the plot and the Chaos x Loki interactions definitely make this manwha worth it! And I’m not sure of this but, in volume number 5, look up Lee Myung Jin’s tete-a-tete and you’ll find him kneeling in front of a pokemon-like creature with the name Prin underneath! Coincidence? Or could he be a Deep Purple fan as well? ^^

Tennis no Ohjisama & characters belong to Takeshi Konomi

Want to know how Sendoh and Rukawa would’ve fared if they’d met a bit earlier and were into tennis instead of basketball? It’s a safe bet that they’d turn out to be Momoshiro & Echizen from The Prince of Tennis! In terms of appearance, I needn’t explain further. Ryoma Echizen is like a bratty little Rukawa Kaede, your irresistibly cute and politely unsociable little devil, who suddenly finds friendly, sexy and suave sempai Momoshiro Takeshi and viola! They become best friends! The hints between these two are ones that no other can contest! You’ll love every moment of it!

NARUTO & characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto

Many fans would probably think of this as more of RuSaku than SenRu. I coudn't argue that Sasuke is in many, many ways like Rukawa, but I think comparing Sakuragi to our fiesty protagonist is a big insult to Naruto, who isn’t anywhere near as ugly or as much of a terrorizing menace as Sakuragi. Besides these two are willing to cooperate for a common goal, they’ve been best friends since they were kids and they stick up for each other, so how can that be RuSaku? It's totally off. Naruto isn’t like Sakuragi who hates Rukawa out of sheer stupidity, in fact he doesn’t hate Sasuke at all. Sasuke on the other hand really cares about Naruto, which is totally the opposite of RuSaku because Rukawa doesn't give a *toot* about Sakuragi any more than teammates. The SenRu factor comes in there, the moment the shounen-ai came into existence, and where shounen-ai thrives, RuSaku can't possibly be possible!

Dear Boys & characters belong to Hiroki Yagami

This is like Slam Dunk all over again, with a happy-go-lucky Rukawa as the protagonist. The series is also about basketball, only more character-driven, and the lead character Aikawa can’t help but remind you of Rukawa (even his name sounds like it) with Sendoh’s carefree personality. Fujiwara on the other hand, may not resemble Sendoh as much, especially in the manga, more in the animated series, but he has that Sendoh-like aura about him, only with a more jaded Rukawa personality. They have a touching story to tell, although at first the numerous girls didn’t bother me, they eventually killed my interest. It started to feel like Slam Dunk meets Boys Be... I feel that this shoujo overkill factor is what caused this series to flop. Girls aside though, the boys are okay, and their friendship is beautiful. You might also want to check out the adorable Miura, who reminds me of Fujima from Slam Dunk and Fuji from Prince of Tennis.

I’ll / CKBC: Crazy Kozou Basketball Club & characters belong to Hiroyuki Asada

This is another series that focuses on basketball, and two boys brought together by it. When I first saw Hiiragi (he's the one in the foreground with the snowy hair), I fell for him. He reminded me of a young and lost Rukawa, wanting to play basketball so much but having to live in the shadow of his brother. Then along came Tachibana, a free-spirited rival who helps him realize that he doesn’t have to be in that dark place all alone. Sweet ne? They may fight often at first and some fans might say that it’s more of Rukawa & Sakuragi, but when did Sakuragi and Rukawa ever act this sweet towards each other? Sharing apartments, practicing together and just spending some quiet time talking? Never. So quit it. It's not RuSaku! Tachibana may be as feisty as Sakuragi, but he certainly ain’t nowhere as ugly and stupid. And he's good in basketball, as in for real! Dig this: In the first issues, Tachibana’s jersey number is 7 while Hiragi’s is 11.

Buzzer Beater & characters belong to Takehiko Inoue

Buzzer Beater is a hilarious and fun look into the future of basketball in an intergalactic level! I probably like this series better than Slam Dunk for the simple reason that Sakuragi or anyone who's as much of a nuisance doesn't exist here hahaha! There are two bishies here who look a lot like Sendoh, that is: DT & Han. But in terms of attitude I guess DT cuts it (He's the one below with the yellow & blue tight- cap). He’s the number one point guard on the Earth's team and he was even shown fishing in the animated series! Also when he’s not wearing his yellow & blue bumble-bee cap ^^, you'd see what Sendoh would look like without his hair all spiked! While there are also two candidates to fill in your Rukawa fantasies in this series. One is Cha-che, who'll unquestionably remind you of Rukawa not only in appearance but also in attitude. The messy hair, the fiery twinkle in her eyes and her unmatched shooting prowess! Don’t miss the red and black arm band! Hee! :p She's cool enough to work her way into the Earth's team even if she's a girl! Second is the mysterious Lazuli (the one on top). Yup, that guy who looks strikingly like Rukawa is Lazuli! Though he officially professed that he likes Cha-che, DT openly and unreservedly expressed interest (a very naughty kind of interest at that ^^) for Lazuli regardless of his gender! And boy did I die when I read that juicy canon piece of info! *squeal* I love that twist! :) Such a yummy love triangle!

Well that's it for now, but maybe next time I'll have more in store!

Know of any more SenRu manifestations? Share your thoughts with us! Do e-mail me! Domo minnasan! :D

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