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Posted May 27, 2013 by Elaine Cepeda in Anime/Manga
 
 

Anime Review: Kuroko no Basket

Title: Kuroko no Basket
No. of episodes: 25
Genre/s: Shounen, Sports
Synopsis:

From MAL
The Teiko Middle School Basketball Team: The class that produced three perfect seasons in a row, with five once-in-a generation players, called “The miracle generation”.

However there was another player who all of them respected… A legendary 6th player. An up-and-coming power player, Taiga Kagami, is just back from America. When he comes to Seirin High School, he meets the super-ordinary boy, Tetsuya Kuroko. Kagami is shocked to find that Kuroko isn’t good at basketball, in fact, he’s bad! And he’s so plain that he’s impossible to see. But Kuroko’s plainness lets him pass the ball around without the other team noticing him, and he’s none other than the sixth member of the Miracle Generation.

Kuroko makes a pact with Kagami to defeat the other members of the Miracle Generation, who have all played basketball at other schools. A battle of light (Kagami) and shadow (Kuroko) begins!

If it weren’t for my friends who always flooded my timeline on Twitter, Tumblr, and even Facebook, I wouldn’t re-think of my decision not to touch any anime for a while. But I’m glad I did.

Kuroko no Basket is about Kuroko, the rumored phantom sixth man from the legendary basketball team of Teikou Middle High, the Generation of Miracles. Due to his lack of presence, he could go unnoticed by most people. Around the same time he joined Seirin’s basketball team, another first year joined too. He is Kagami Taiga, a huge guy with lots of raw potential and comes from America. After hearing how strong the Generation of Miracles are, Kagami is determined to crush all of them. Only to be discouraged by Kuroko with a straight face (pfft). From here on, they decided to make Seirin the number team in Japan!

Kurobas, as some fans call it, is a very straight-forward anime. Right off the first episode, the main objective of the leads have been presented. It assumes that the viewer already knows the rules and whatnots of basketball and doesn’t dwell more about it. For the better part of the story, it focuses on Kuroko’s ability (no, not the disappearing effect lol) and Kagami’s exploration of his talent as they face Kuroko’s former teammates.

From the title itself “The Basketball that Kuroko plays”, you’ll get what it is about. Kuroko is the unconventional lead. He is no arrogant prodigy. Most of the time, he is poker-faced and rarely speaks. He is only good in passing and that alone considering he is from a legendary team. Mind you, he is even short; the shortest player in this anime I think (because everyone is gifted with growth hormones). Despite that, he loves basketball and wants to help the team with his passing skills. I loved how imperfect he is even if he have the special ability of passing. He has the passion in playing basketball and what’s left is to hone his other skills.

The other protagonist, Kagami, seems to be a self-centered guy at first. However, he proved it wrong as the story progresses. Despite being unable to do anything than passing, he still acknowledges Kuroko. Kagami shows some unexpected sides of him which I find cute even if it doesn’t suit him (Kagami in an apron… 8D). He has a sensitive part as well though not apparent at first. Oh and he provides fanservice later in the anime.

While the protagonists are interesting, the side characters proved to me equally interesting too. Starting with Seirin basketball team members, the other members have their ‘abilities’ as well. They have their own specialization and personality in which you can differentiate them from other characters. There are no exactly ‘villains’ who wants nothing but cause harm to other players etc. If the main leads grow, so are they. It is always nice to see their wistful expressions as if catching a glimpse of their inner thoughts and not just the fierce side we’ve always seen inside the court.

The premise is simple but with this interesting set of characters, there is never a boring episode. There is always a good amount of laughter even in crucial games but no, it doesn’t ruin the story thankfully. I find each characters likeable (yes even the girls :Db) and their relationships intriguing (no, I’m not saying this with a yaoi goggle on). You can’t help but cheer on them, feel frustrated when they lost, among other feelssss.

There are exaggerated moves, the kind of move that defies gravity. But hey, fiction is fiction. If you want a more realistic basketball, watch NBA or other basketball-oriented show. An animated basketball sounds boring, yes? Those seemingly out of this world moves makes the entire show thrilling. It’s keeping the hype of the game. It is entertaining which I think serves the purpose of being an anime. Please, this isn’t the first time you’ve seen characters having a special skill in a sports anime. And real-life players don’t talk while in the middle of the game for who-knows-how-long. On the contrary, the intro about Teikou’s Generation of Miracles which is continuously shown for 19 episodes is boring. Wow. You’ve removed it when there is only 6 more episodes for the anime. Moreover, the intro is replaced by a 2minute recap which feels unnecessary. I don’t know what they’re thinking for doing that.

Although I’ve addressed this in my manga review, the shading kind of bothers me at first like they have double chins or something. In terms of animation, it is a little stiff for the first few episodes. Nonetheless, they grow on me later on. And the last episodes have a good animation. Since it’s Production I.G, it’s a given that I liked the landscapes. Good job on that as always. Not to mention the endcards every episodes which is another plus point for them.

Oh and the music is superb (welp that’s quite an exaggeration xD;;)! The songs are upbeat. Op songs puts you on the mood at the very start of the episode. Ed songs are equally good, as if living at the hype of the previous ep.

Is this recommended? YES. All the hype for this anime is not only for show or exaggeration of fans. Although I can’t say that this is the best sports anime out there, this is definitely worth checking out!

 

Note: Season 2 will air this September!


Elaine Cepeda