First Impressions: Kuroko's Basketball

For a video version of this first impression please go here.

At the beginning of each episode a clip is shown about the Generation of Miracles. This is a group of five basketball players that all went to the same middle school and swept their league. However, there is a secret sixth member of the group who is rarely mentioned. I assumed this would be the main character (I was right).

I’m going to take some time to talk about the opening. The opening song of an anime is important because it is often the first thing you see about the show and helps set up the basic plot and characters of the anime. I enjoyed the opening and thought it was well done. It was nice to see the characters both on and off the basketball court. Right away I noticed two characters that the opening seemed to be showcasing. One was tall with red hair, while the other was shorter with blue hair (obviously main character material here). I also made the guess that the girl that kept popping up was the manager of the team (I was wrong - she is actually the coach).

The show starts out at a private high school's club fair. The red haired guy is introduced as Taiga Kagami, who spent the last few years studying in America. I thought it was funny how they comment on how he ‘learned from the source.’ America kind of owns basketball, but it’s not like we are experts or anything. The blue haired guy shows up as well. His name is Tetsuya Kuroko. Both Kuroko and Kagami apply to join the school’s basketball club.

The next day they join the club’s practice for the first time. The coach has the ability to tell how good a player is just by looking at them with their shirts off (a weird ability, but it has its uses). She pegs Kagami right away as being an exemplary player. After getting to the last new recruit she looks down at her list and sees that Kuroko hasn’t shown up yet. He is from the famous middle school where the Generation of Miracles originated, so they are all excited to see what kind of player he is. She asks if he is there, but apparently no one has seen him all day. Suddenly Kuroko pops up claiming to have been there all along. It’s almost as if he has a negative presence!

The coach is surprised to see that his potential is a little below average. This bothers her as she travels home from school, wondering how a player with such little potential could have played with the Generation of Miracles. Meanwhile, back at school Kagami and Kuroko are facing off in a game of one on one. Kagami realizes immediately that Kuroko isn’t that great of a player. I kept thinking, there has to be a catch somewhere. He has to have some sort of skill. At that moment Kuroko said something vague, but also really cool. He said, “I am a shadow.” I still didn’t know what the catch was, but I bet it had something to do with that statement.

At practice the next day Kuroko finally reveals what his skill is. He uses his negative presence to his advantage so he can slip in and steal the ball and pass it to other members of his team. At the end of the episode Kuroko proposes to help Kagami beat the other members of the Generation of Miracles and become the best basketball player in Japan.

I thought that was a nice change from the multiple ‘I’m going to become the best ____  in all the world!” anime. Instead, the main character is helping someone else become the best. I also really liked how Kuroko and Kagami contrast. They have the potential to be really good friends, but they are complete opposites. Kagami has a short temper and is outwardly passionate about basketball. Kuroko is more laid-back. He tends to keep a straight face most of the time.

All in all, I enjoyed the first episode of Kuroko’s Basketball. I laughed outloud at multiple points and am curious to see what Kuroko and Kagami will do next to achieve their goal.