Kuroko no Basket | Basketball Anyone?

Who would have thought that basketball looked so good, well in Anime form that is. That is what today’s blog post will be about, Kuroko no Basket an Anime about basketball. I personally, enjoyed it because it did something that I thought was really masterful, it made you want to play basketball – am I right?!

In this Anime Review, we will be covering the first season to this series; so without further adu, let us get on with the show!

Teikou Junior High School’s basketball team is crowned champion three years in a row thanks to five outstanding players who, with their breathtaking and unique skills, leave opponents in despair and fans in admiration. However, after graduating, these teammates, known as “The Generation of Miracles,” go their separate ways and now consider each other as rivals.

At Seirin High School, two newly recruited freshmen prove that they are not ordinary basketball players: Taiga Kagami, a promising player returning from the US, and Tetsuya Kuroko, a seemingly ordinary student whose lack of presence allows him to move around unnoticed. Although Kuroko is neither athletic nor able to score any points, he was a member of Teikou’s basketball team, where he played as the “Phantom Sixth Man,” who easily passed the ball and assisted his teammates.

Kuroko no Basket follows the journey of Seirin’s players as they attempt to become the best Japanese high school team by winning the Interhigh Championship. To reach their goal, they have to cross pathways with several powerful teams, some of which have one of the five players with godlike abilities, whom Kuroko and Taiga make a pact to defeat. – MyAnimeList

Story:
Once upon a time, there was a basketball team that demolished each and every competition they came across: the all-star team of Teiko Junior High. The team consisted of 5 basketball players with each an astonishing amount of talent, and their own unique specialty: the Generation of Miracles After junior high school ended, the team naturally broke up – the prodigies all joined different high schools with great basketball teams. However, fairly unknown is that there was actually a 6th player which played in the all-star team of Teiko Junior High: Kuroko Tetsuya. This so-called “phantom” player joined a new school, with an unknown basketball team, unlike the other prodigies. At this school, Seirin High, Kuroko meets Kagami Taiga, a natural basketball talent who has just returned from America. Together, they are aiming to beat the generation of miracles, and become the strongest in Japan.

Overall it’s just a very solid storyline, which is able to keep the viewer interested over the course of episodes, but it’s not stunning either. It isn’t a very complex storyline which leaves the viewer thinking, but rather a very simple storyline which is enjoyable to watch. The show does not have much in terms of filler, and this was a huge plus for me. It was a very refreshing watch; a show I could really enjoy without putting too much thought into it. The pace is very good, as I found myself blowing through episodes one after another.

However, I was a little disappointed at the predictability of some (or maybe most) of the matches, and the story as a whole. But that does not take away the fact that the story is very enjoyable. Most people who dislike KnB do so because of its unrealism – but I don’t agree with that. It’s the unique abilities and unrealistic shots that keep the viewer thrilled. I think the majority of the people would not like watching very plain basketball games as seen in real life. In short, Kuroko no Basket features a simple, yet very enjoyable story.

Art:
Nothing astonishing here, nothing bad either. It is not a visual masterpiece, but some episodes really had a nice atmosphere to them due to the excellent animation in them. The drawing style is nothing to complain about either. Overall, I’d say that given the budget, they did a great job on the art: it is more than decent.

Sound:
The sound is one of the aspects in which KnB really shines. The openings and endings are very good (and fitting), but even more impressive is the soundtrack during the episodes. They really manage to enhance the atmosphere of the matches and make episodes more thrilling than they already are. The sound acting is very well done as well – the sound as a whole is just excellent.

Characters:
As for the characters, logically, the biggest focus is on Kuroko and Kagami. They are thoroughly described, and made to be very likeable: they both have characterizing traits which perfectly fit their basketball abilities. The 5 “Prodigies” are very well done too – as far as the ones we get to know in season 1. Furthermore, we get to know a variety of characters in the high school basketball scene. While they weren’t all given the necessary description (for example, I think the other players in Seirin could have gotten more of a backstory), they were still decent enough to fulfil their roles.