In the universe of the anime "Kuroko's Basketball", all the characters in the central storyline have distinctive features. The plot revolves around Japanese high schools competing in a basketball tournament. Once upon a time there was a “generation of miracles” - a team of the five most powerful players that no one could resist. With the transition to high school, the group scattered and now consists of different teams. The story touches on the relationships of the characters on and off the court. You can read about the most important anime personalities in this material.
Stealth as a Weapon
In the Kuroko's Basketball series, the characters are unique, but it is one of the main characters, Tetsuya Kuroko, that deserves special attention. The Generation of Miracles team consisted of five strong players, but there were legends about the sixth member of the group. He was called a phantom basketball player, because opponents could never feel his presence nearby. This is what became Kuroko's main weapon. On the court, he could not stand out with feints, technique or excellent throws. Instead, the hero used stealth to intercept the ball and make precise passes to his allies. This is why Tetsuya has always been considered a phantom player. In life he is a quiet and kind boy. His weakness lies in cute animals; Kuroko behaves respectfully with girls, which surprised his friend Kagami. This is not even hampered by a strange understanding of humor. Kuroko is completely satisfied with the position of assistant, because he loves the game.
Fury and power
In season 1 of Kuroko's Basketball, the second main character also enters the arena of action. He is given a significant place in the plot. His name is Kagami Taiga - a native of Japan moved to the USA, where he studied in high school. He is very interested in basketball, and in his homeland he was attracted by the level of local athletes, including the “generation of miracles.” Kagami wanted to surpass these talented players. He was greatly surprised by Kuroko's presence in that unique and invincible group. Taiga has developed the ability to sense the strength of his opponents.
When he first met Tetsuya, it seemed to him that the guy had no skills at all. However, he was accepted into the team and so was Kagami. The guy was tall and could make high jumps over long distances. This helped in attack and defense. Only the most skilled basketball players were able to throw Taiga's block. His goal in life is to compete for the first position among all high school players in Japan. To do this, he needs to beat everyone from the legendary “generation of miracles.” He and Tetsuya have incredibly different personalities. In life, they constantly tease each other, but on the court they are distinguished by well-coordinated team actions. Kagami Taiga is a bad student and even has trouble passing English tests. The guy lives alone and is an excellent cook. He had to learn cooking because of his monstrous appetite.
Music
The musical component is traditionally considered one of the most important in sports titles, and, as a rule, it turns out to be of quite high quality. Fortunately, the creators of Kuroko no Basket did not neglect traditions and paid significant attention to music. It harmoniously mixed classical and rock motifs, which is optimal for sports titles. Of course, up to the level of the same Haikyuu !! It’s not up to par, but it’s hard to call it bad: the background music does an excellent job of recreating the necessary atmosphere, be it the feelings of defeat, the joy of victory, or the tension of a match. However, the openings and endings turned out to be especially successful, in all three seasons: there was never a desire to rewind them - everything was very dynamic and on topic. And the visual component in them is at a high level.
Openings:
#1.1: Can Do by GRANRODEO (episodes 1-13);
#1.2: RIMFIRE performed by GRANRODEO (episodes 14-25);
№2.1: The Other self performed by GRANRODEO (episodes 1-13);
#2.2: Hengen Jizai no Magical Star by GRANRODEO (episodes 14-24);
#3.1: Punky Funky Love by GRANRODEO (episodes 1-12);
#3.2: ZERO by Kensho Ono (episodes 13-16);
#3.3: Memories performed by GRANRODEO (episodes 17-25);
Endings:
#1.1: Start it right away performed by Hyadain (episodes 1-13);
#1.2: Catal Rhythm performed by OLDCODEX (episodes 14-25);
No. 2.1: WALK performed by OLDCODEX (episodes 1-13);
#2.2: FANTASTIC TUNE performed by Kensho Ono (episodes 14-24);
#3.1: GLITTER DAYS by Fo ' xTails (episodes 1-12);
No. 3.2: Ambivalence performed by SCREEN mode (episodes 13-16);
#3.3: Lantana performed by OLDCODEX (episodes 17-25);
Two craftsmen
Among all the characters in Kuroko's Basketball, many fans like Aomine Daiki. In the Generation of Miracles, this guy's incredible gaming skills began to emerge before anyone else. When the second gaming year began, no one could even come close to Daiki. He was fond of streetball since childhood, and transferred the movements from this game to the professional court. His style is unique, because Aomine chooses his movements during the confrontation. He has hundreds of combinations in his arsenal, his movements are difficult to read, which is why opponents simply give up during the game. Daiki's skills reached such heights that he could beat teams single-handedly.
The fighting spirit was gone, and Aomine had the desire to play his favorite basketball. Everything changed from his first meeting on the court against Kagami. One of the main antagonists in the anime "Kuroko's Basketball" was Seijuro Akashi. This guy has a talent for leading people, which allows him to become a leader. He was captain of the "Generation of Miracles" for three years in a row. With the transition to high school, Akashi assembled a new team. At that time, he was so accustomed to victories that he considered them to be a natural course of events. For him, winning came naturally. He severely punished those who challenged him with his talent for deceiving the eyes. Only the first defeat in his life made Seijuro understand what he had been missing all these years.
Talented heroes
All the characters in Kuroko's Basketball are associated with the sports game of the same name, but only members of the "Generation of Miracles" had innate talents. Others developed their skills through hard work. Shintaro Midorima didn't need this. The vice-captain of the former legendary team has uncanny precision. This player could easily throw the ball into the basket from any distance, he just needed to aim. He makes his “shots” with his left hand, and therefore always keeps it bandaged. He explains this by the need to be fully prepared.
Midorima hates fooling around, but he regularly gets into ridiculous situations thanks to his friend Takao. Shintaro believes in the horoscope's predictions about himself, and for a mysterious reason they always come true. He doesn't like the company of people, but he hates even more to show feigned kindness when necessary.
With him on the Teiko team, so called the “generation of miracles,” was Atsushi Murasakibara. This big lover of sweets played the position of center back. His enormous height and broad shoulders made it easy to block any attacks from opponents on the court. He was able to play basketball without effort, and Atsushi was irritated by other people's attempts to succeed at the expense of working hard in the game. He became famous for his steely defense and complete seriousness on the court. Outside of it, Murasakibara behaves like a young child. This often unsettles his interlocutors.
Life on the set
In the anime Kuroko's Basketball, the final member of the Generation of Miracles is Ryota Kise. This favorite of the public, especially female representatives, stands out for its appearance. Blonde hair, a great sense of style, a bright smile - this helps him find fans. He is not shy to say that he was the weakest player on that legendary team. Kise started playing this sport only in the second year of high school. He was inspired by Aomine's phenomenal abilities. The guy's main weapon is his impeccable copying technique. It is enough for him to see the enemy’s technique once, and he already masters it himself, adding new elements or feints.
Ryota cannot copy only unique skills. For example, he could not inherit other members of Teiko's team. He is a kind and sympathetic person, and has always treated Kuroko well. This is how Kise behaves on the stage, and his complete opposite is Hanamiya Makoto. This guy is one of the “uncrowned generals”. These are five powerful players who were a year older than the Generation of Miracles. They differ in their own abilities. In Makoto, the trick is to play dirty. The guy puts pressure on his opponent, forces him to make mistakes, inflicts invisible physical damage, and the team helps him with this. Hanamiya received the nickname “spider” because he catches opponents on the court in his web.
Plot
Do you know why I love basketball? For its entertainment and unpredictability . Entertainment, because athletes demonstrate the pinnacle of using a trained body. They jump higher, run faster, throw more accurately and think better. They must be able to do absolutely everything. Unpredictability because in basketball it is not clear who the winner will be until the last whistle. History knows a huge number of cases when teams came back from seemingly impossible gaps and won the match. And the score sometimes remains equal until the last second, and the matches smoothly flow into a war of endurance in overtime, of which there can be an unlimited number in basketball. This is a complex, spectacular and unpredictable sport, so it is not surprising that in an anime about basketball I expected to see all its best qualities on display. However, everything turned out to be not so simple.
in terms of entertainment in Kuroko no Basket - the matches are literally filled with bright passes, powerful slam dunks, duels and long-range hits. In addition, many characters are equipped with unusual abilities, the unfolding and collision of which I found interesting to watch - all in the best traditions of shounen. In addition, the fate of most matches here is decided, as in life, at the moment of the last throw. Perhaps, it is precisely because of the entertainment that Kuroko no Basket , despite the endless streams of pretentiousness and talkativeness, looks quite easy and relaxed - after all, it’s been a long time since I binge-watched an anime.
On the other hand, the unpredictability in Kuroko no Basket is at a level close to zero . At a certain point, it began to seem to me that I was watching Groundhog Day, in which different matches with different people proceed according to exactly the same scenarios. Firstly, this concerns the results of the match - by God, in watching all three seasons I was wrong with my prediction once (and that was because a draw is a rare result). It’s time to go to bookmakers and become a millionaire. You don't need to be a psychic to predict the outcome of matches in Kuroko no Basket - the most standard plot cliché for sports titles is used here, when a team of promising newcomers first somehow copes with their opponents, then encounters the first impassable obstacle, loses, cries, and then returns stronger in order to take revenge and move further in the tournament bracket. And this is repeated as much as necessary.
Predictability concerns not only the outcome of the match, but also its flow. At a certain point, I began to notice that a couple of seconds before the event, I already knew its result. Why? Yes, because they are implemented according to the most common templates, which only change places from match to match. Did the player learn some new super move that can't be stopped? This means that in a match he will use it successfully a couple of times, and then the enemy will still find a way to stop him. If the team starts to rejoice before using the technique, that means that’s it, the technique will be 100% a failure. Conversely, if a team suddenly loses hope, then the next action of its player will be successful. If the team’s game is not going well, Kuroko will come out and reduce the gap with a new wonderful tactic. Kuroko's game isn't working? This means that it will 100% go to his comrades, who previously kicked oblong objects and could not do anything. And in the fight for the rebound, the player who screams the loudest will make it. The match will be won by the players who tell their opponent one more time that they will not lose! This, in a nutshell, is the recipe for success from Kuroko no Basket - I'm giving it away for free! Go ahead and implement it on the basketball courts.
Probably someone will now start arguing and say that all sports anime are predictable, because the result in sports can only be victory and defeat (sometimes a draw), and there are few options here. To some extent, this is true, and I took the predictability of match results in Kuroko no Basket calmly. However, the predictability of each individual action, be it a throw, an interception or a pass, is usually not inherent in high-quality sports titles, as they kill any intrigue. Essentially, it's like seeing spoilers a couple of seconds before the actual event. Considering the already leisurely pace of the story, significantly diluted by useless chatter, the lack of surprises in Kuroko no Basket turned out to be a serious drawback for me.
However, there is of Kuroko no Basket that I seriously disliked. What’s curious is that if I were an ordinary viewer, I would hardly have paid attention to her. However, it just so happened that I follow basketball, am actively interested in basketball and play basketball, and therefore this fact could not hide from my eyes. The fact is that not enough is said about basketball itself in Kuroko no Basket , which plays a serious role in the case of sports anime. Of course, I’m not talking about some superficial things like throwing a ball into a hoop, and whoever hits the most wins. They are demonstrated quite clearly Kuroko no Basket First of all, I mean the terminology, as well as the theoretical component of basketball. But there was definitely something to talk about here! It’s not for nothing that in professional teams, and especially in the NBA, there are entire analytical departments for which expensive software is written. If, watching Haikyuu !! or the conventional Yuri on Ice , I learned something new about the sport described, but I can’t say the same Kuroko no Basket Hell, there are practically no scenes in the title where the entire site is demonstrated with the tactical arrangement of the athletes - there is no talk about any depth of the chosen topic here.
This is sad, because in fact, basketball is one of the smartest games, in which, in addition to powerful muscles, you need to have a clear head. A well-played combination can be no less spectacular than an explosive dunk, as various NBA teams have proven more than once on the way to the championship (for example, the Spurs ). I can forgive Kuroko no Basket for being unrealistic when each match consists of a series of highlights that rarely happen in real basketball - after all, without these exaggerations and super moves, the anime would be boring. I can forgive the constant pretentious conversations during matches, which completely destroy the dynamics of the narrative - without this, shounen would not be shounen. But I was very disappointed to see that in Kuroko no Basket the depth of basketball was not even fifty percent explored. Perhaps the fact that I am a basketball fan somewhat spoiled the viewing experience. But how many references could be made... How much information to add... Eh. And here they didn’t even mention Michael Jordan once - that’s necessary...
A few words about the second and third seasons. Basically, they give you exactly what you expect from them: revealing familiar secondary characters, adding a couple of new heroes, techniques, jokes, and a few predictable matches. The first season seemed frankly weak to me; the second is a little better, largely thanks to the epic confrontation between Aomine and Taiga; and the third turned out to be even better due to increased dynamics and approach to the finale. If it weren't for the third season, I would have been disappointed. Speaking of jokes, the humor in Kuroko no Basket turned out to be as simple and intelligible as possible. This includes scenes about Kuroko’s invisibility that are repeated throughout the plot. And jokes about the trainer’s small breast size. And Taiga’s bickering with everyone around her. And Midorima's good luck symbols. Unobtrusive, simple, and even funny at times - all in the best traditions of shounen.
Team of main characters
In Season 1 of Kuroko's Basketball, the main story is revealed to center around Seirin's team. This is a team with its own interesting history. It has room for players with different characters. This list includes Rinnosuke Mitobe. This guy never talks, he prefers to remain silent and not show his emotions. Only Koganei can understand his thoughts in some unknown way.
Mitobe was born into a large family. As an older brother, he tries to keep an eye on all his relatives and help them. The guy has a penchant for cooking; all his dishes have an exquisite taste. The hero has proven himself to be an incredible hard worker. Although he has no talent for the game, he strives to improve his skills, constantly trains and wants to win with his team. He excels at putting pressure on opponents with stronger physical attributes and making hook shots.
Teppei Kiyoshi has enormous authority in the Seirin team. It was he who founded the basketball team here, but did not appear in the anime right away. He was absent due to an injured knee. The guy can play great as a center and point guard. For some time he combined positions, which no one had managed before. His main skill is perfect planning. Cunning and insight help in this matter. All the time he is on the court, he reads the actions of his opponents, and his passing often gives a positive result. Teppei loves the role of the clueless fool, but he is respected in basketball circles, even by members of the “Generation of Miracles.”
Characters
Like all team sports anime, Kuroko no Basket a lot of characters. This is not surprising - each team must have at least five main team players + bench players. How many teams will Seirin play against in all three seasons? I think there will be ten teams in which we are shown at least a couple of players. So consider it. Of course, among all this variety of characters, about twenty are important. The truly bright ones... I would single out three. Firstly, I liked Daiki Aomine , the ace from Generation of Miracles, Kuroko no Basket In principle, the rest of the players from Teiko also turned out to be quite interesting, but it was Aomine who turned out to be the best developing and most changing character, who does not lose his charm throughout all three seasons. It was really interesting for me to watch him. The second, oddly enough, I’ll single out the captain of Seirin – Junpei Hyuuga – who is quite far from the image of an ideal captain, and therefore interesting. And third, perhaps, I’ll highlight several antagonists who are best revealed in the second and third seasons and do an excellent job of evoking negative emotions - they are really easy to hate.
In Kuroko no Basket, there are two main protagonists who are pitted against each other more than once throughout the plot, like Yin and Yang. Kuroko , on the one hand, is not a bad protagonist, however, he did not evoke . However, everything here is completely individual - Kuroko is definitely not bad. He is a sort of eminence grise who has the most influence on the course of Seirin's matches. It would seem that this is not a very common type, which can even be called unworn. However, I still didn't like him. I guess I just don't like amorphous characters who, for some reason, are made unreasonably strong - there is no single explanation for why he deserves the power he has. He's just strong because he loves basketball and trains hard, that's all. And don’t give a damn that all the other characters also love this sport and work hard at training - it doesn’t help them much. The second protagonist, Taiga Kagami , is much more straightforward. I'm somehow tired of such noisy characters, twisting everything in their path. But at least he really tries to gain strength, which can inspire a certain degree of respect. No, not interest - just respect. In general, to summarize, there are a lot of characters, but only a few of them seemed interesting to me.
Harmonious work
All the characters from Kuroko's Basketball that appeared on the screens at one time or another do not bind the audience to them. The main attention is paid to the central characters. Among them is Junpei Hyuga. This player plays the position of a forward and is distinguished by his three-point shots. He achieved amazing results entirely on his own. His hobby is collecting figurines of ancient Japanese warriors. If there is a mistake during training, Hyuga destroys one of the valuable exhibits of the collection. This helped develop powerful shooting skills even under heavy pressure.
The guy is kind by nature, it’s nice to start a conversation with him, but sometimes he is no stranger to pride and arrogance. Hyuga is the player who leads Seirin's team forward. He is able to set the right pace for the game, although at one time he almost quit basketball due to failures in high school. Teppei managed to return the desire to fight to him through his persistence in creating the club.
Another member of Seirin's team is Shinji Koganei. This guy is versatile in the game, which is why he cannot achieve true success in one position. The club coach always says that he performs poorly in any activity. Shinji has good throws from any distance, although his accuracy is slightly lower than Hyuga's. Off the basketball court he often gets into stupid situations, even though he is one of the best students in the class.
The remaining members of Seirin's team
The last player in the squad founded by Teppei is Shun Izuki. On the court, this guy is always distinguished by his sober mind and excellent strategy. He insures Teppei and sees with his “eagle eye” the movements of any opponent. Xiong always uses his sharp mind for the benefit of the team. Off the court, the guy constantly makes jokes using puns with similar or identical meanings. Because of this, he often remains misunderstood, and sometimes gets reprimanded for it. No other shortcomings were noticed in him; in communication, Izuki shows himself to be a good conversationalist.
The head coach of the Seirin team, Riko Aida, received a lot of screen time in the anime. The girl only at first glance appears to be an ordinary student. A glance at a guy is enough for her to assess his potential. If he is bare to the waist, the result will be as accurate as possible. From early childhood, the girl helped her father, who also worked as a sports coach. This is how she developed the aforementioned ability. It is extremely strict with its wards, demands maximum dedication and creates training regimens itself. If the player drives Rico into a rage, she will use force moves on him. Nature did not deprive her of beauty, but rested on her forms, which led to some kind of complex. Rico is an excellent trainer, but in terms of cooking, she is the leader from the bottom of the list. The dishes she prepared are impossible to even taste.
Worth mentioning
In the anime Kuroko's Basketball, a huge number of players appear on the screen. Some are the main focus, others play the role of secondary characters, and others act as the background to the main events. Yukio Kasamatsu belongs to the second category, because the captain of the Kaijo school team is very dedicated to the game. The guy is used to expressing emotions in an aggressive manner; he never holds back. Yukio demonstrates excellent ability as a point guard. The player trains hard and approaches matches too fanatically. His dissatisfaction is often expressed by beating other allies.
Nevertheless, Kasamatsu tries exclusively for his comrades, because he sees potential in them and wants to lead them to victory. Another strong player is Iwamura Tsutomu, captain of the Seiho club. He is distinguished by a large physique, with which he performs graceful movements. It is almost impossible to fight him under the ring. He excels in tackles and interceptions. With these skills, Iwamura became famous throughout Japan as one of the best centers. On the court and in life, he prefers to remain calm and think soberly.
Panache
Basketball is one of the most dynamic sports disciplines existing in the universe. It is constant movement, athleticism and demonstrating the limits of human performance. This is an incredibly fast and beautiful sport, in which every second of delay is worth lost points, and sometimes even a lost game. Of course, based on the above, when watching an anime about basketball, you expect to see a lot of high-quality animation, because the theme of the title provides a huge number of prerequisites for this. These include slam dunks, alley-oops, screens, crossovers, and coordinated movement of team players with precise passes. In general, my Kuroko no Basket Unfortunately, they were not fully justified.
On the one hand, I was pleased with the design of the characters - they are easy to remember, and their appearance suits the characters quite well. Even the notorious unnatural hair colors in this case do not cause rejection, because they fit well into the theme of basketball - just remember Dennis Rodman, who dyed his hair crazy colors. In addition, I was pleased with the graphic effects used when the characters use their special abilities (like Kuroko’s passes). On the other hand, there is too much static . Unforgivably a lot. In all the episodes of the first season, there were at most two or three scenes in which I could truly feel the dynamics of the movement of the ball and the movements of the athletes around the court. For a sports anime, animation quality is key, and I think Kuroko no Basket has some issues with that. Not critical, but noticeable. Now imagine what the title would look like if the matches in it were drawn in the same way as in the first opening of the second season? Even if not all, but at least the key points? It would be a completely different level. In Haikyuu !! , which Production I.G released just two years after Kuroko no Basket , the dynamics of volleyball are conveyed much better. Apparently they got it wrong. Although this is noticeable within the framework of Kuroko no Basket - for example, the third season is expectedly drawn much better, and comes closest to graphical expectations.
Important Persons
Not all of the characters in Kuroko's Basketball actually take to the court, but they are connected to the game to one degree or another. This concerns Satsuki Momoi, who was previously the manager of the Generation of Miracles team. She has impressive abilities, even Riko has to admit that. The girl is phenomenal at determining the player's power level through information gathering. Satsuki only needs to observe the character to learn all the important data about him. Because of this, she was given the position of manager at Too High School.
Kuroko was very interested in Momoi at one time, because she could not determine his real strength. The girl has sincere feelings for the main character and constantly seems to be his chosen one. She went to Too School only because of Aomine, with whom she has been friends since childhood. There was also room in the plot for sophomore Tatsuya Himuro. He also lived in America, where he met Kagami. It was Tatsuya who showed him basketball, which he later began to live by. Their friendship cracked when Taiga surpassed Himuro's level, but decided to give in. This greatly offended Kagami's mentor, although in the anime their relationship improved again.
Ratings
Characters – 7.5. There are a lot of stereotyped heroes, but there are also quite interesting personalities like Aomine.
Plot – 7.0. There is no question of any originality - the standard storyline of sports titles.
Drawing – 7.0. For a sports anime, Kuroko no Basket has too few action scenes. Basketball's potential is only partially being realized.
Music – 8.0. Excellent musical accompaniment that copes with its tasks.
Season 1 – 6.0. The story took a very long time to gain momentum and could not hook me either in design or meaning.
Season 2 – 7.5. Here Kuroko no Basket gains momentum and becomes a much better work with all the same semantic problems.
Season 3 – 8.5. A much more dynamic and interesting show compared to the first two seasons, smoothing out the overall viewing experience.
