Kuroko no Basket

When a manga is set in the real world with no supernatural elements, that is how it should be kept... REAL! When a professional athlete in the real word goes through an entire career without ever experiencing "the zone", this manga has teams full of high school kids who enter it in every game, one did it for like 3 games straight, with one of them doing it four times, there's another one who can do it at will and they are capable of plays that would make Michael Jordan look like a kid with special needs. They speak of an unknown character for the first time and he makes his coincidental appearance on the same chapter... how convenient. No buildup, no setup, no hype... nothing.
This being a sports shounen does not excuse all the flaws it has, we have seen good sports shonen before and those "kept it real". The main character is extremely forgettable, contradictory, and more than once, straight up useless. At least they are aware of the fact the aren't normal... I mean they do say "powers" not "abilities" there's this one kid who is bipolar, and instead of getting help, they wanna play it like he has two powers? the main character's "love interest" has THE MOST ridiculous reason for liking him in history of fiction (he gave her a Popsicle). The series also emphasizes how hard work is nothing compared to sheer talent. And even has kids attempting to murder each other in and off the court.
The one thing I can think right now to praise from this series, is that there is a friendship between a boy and a girl, and that is all it is friendship... for some reason they did not go cliche and have romantic feelings for each other (tho i won't be surprised when it happens). And that's it, there is nothing special with ANY character except for maybe Murasakibara who is quite peculiar, and even that we've seen before. This series has so much potential and it's a pity to see it ruined by the ridiculously impossible and unrealistic situations happening in every chapter.

I will make my review as short & informative as possible.

Will divide into 2 parts :

First Part :- Touhou Defeat

Manga was great till this part. As I did not read this manga during its official publishing period, I read through everything in one go. Things were really packed and twisted during this part and after that defeat, it literally touched heart. From character development to story-line, side characters; everything felt very close. They used almost every character during this part and I must say mangaka used it PERFECTLY!! Things were so simple and great that mangaka didn't need anyone to explain the situation or what actually was happening. I enjoyed this part to the fullest.

I give this manga for THIS PART :

Story - 8
Art - 9
Character - 9
Enjoyment - 10
Overall - 9


Second Part :- Winter Cup

This is where things fell really flat with some weird power-ups, things that are beyond explanation, ignoring some characters completely and lack of character usage. Before Winter Cup, everything was about everyone but during this part, it was so much centered around few people that at some point I started to feel sad for those characters; how they were left behind and abandoned miserably. I think at some point even mangaka felt bad which resulted a rushed use of some benchwarmers in the final match. Below, I will give ratings and some small explanation behind it in written form.

Story - 3

Story had no creativity. It was repetitive to its finest. It's all about false hope from the opponent's team. Sometimes mangaka showed so much frames on opponent's life and story AND his confidence on winning that at some point you won't even feel fair and comfortable to see them loosing.

Art - 6

Art went drastically bad after each chapter on Winter Cup arc. I have nothing to say here. Completely disappointed.

Character - 3

Mangaka ignored Riko Aida, one of the most important character of this manga, she had really less frame time.

Almost all 1st year students were ignored including some 2nd year students except for Kuroko and Kagami. Winter Cup was an excellent chance to weld leftover characters, using them to counter some specific side characters from the opponent's side. Also mangaka showed at some point that Rika's father giving them training to open inner potential but all went to null and void. Even opponent's side characters had better character development than Seirin's side.

Rika's father, after training them hard for a month, went missing completely. There was absolutely no sign of him after the match or whatsoever.

Everything was about Kuroko and Kagami and even they fell flat many times.

Alexandra Garcia, Kagami's master was not there at all even though mangaka showed a promising entry of that character. 4 chapters of her character development but she only showed a 20 second trick which didn't even last properly and I did not get at all what trick she actually showed which resulted her to isolate Kagami from everyone and teaching him a trick on a random street basketball court which Kagami barely used it during that tournament. I guess she was there for some nudity and teasing.

Lastly, Kuroko. God damn(!!) they used this character so poorly during this tournament even though this manga (also anime) is named after him. He was not enjoyable to see during this tournament at ALL.

Enjoyment - 5

Didn't enjoy it at all (this part only). Thumbs down. Sorry guys.

Overall - 4.25

Final verdict. This manga is not about Kuroko. Everything's for only one character and that is for Kagami. Some weird zoning, opening door, aura oh man! This part is actually straight Harrypotter out of nowhere. I could not sit properly while reading till the end. I rather felt annoyed and irritated. Managaka failed to sell it to his fans and made it as annoying as possible.

Sypnosis: There was a basketball team of five prodigies who was given the name “Generation of Miracles”. They were undefeated. But, there are rumors of a sixth member that surpasses the Generation of Miracles. Who is this sixth phantom player?

Story: 8/10
While I am not that fond of sports manga, I have fallen in love with Kuroko no Basuke. While most of the “heroes” in sports mangas are those buff and muscular guys, Kuroko is completely different. He is very short and doesn’t have that many muscles, instead of changing, he uses this to his advantage. And, instead of trying to be the one to shine, he realizes his limits and instead, helps his friend to get to the top. This is very different from the regular sports mangas, and that is what makes it so unique.

Art: 7.5/10
In most sport mangas, the artists seem to focus too much on the anatomy and the…well, muscles. Because of that, it isn’t very attractive to us…girls. Kuroko no Basuke, while keeping up with the body shape and muscles, also makes the art attractive and appealing to the eye.

Characters: 8/10
They are all interesting, at times I find myself forgetting that this is a sports manga and start drooling over some of the guys. Anyway…I love how they build characters and introduce their personalities, it leaves you misjudging them sometimes though. :|

Overall: 8/10
Kuroko no Basuke has a good mix of everything: Action, comedy, slice of life, and even a little romance. Whether you like basketball or not, you will find yourself enjoying this manga. :)

Just finished Kuroko No Basket manga …..this is probably the first ever sports manga I have ever read and have to say…

It provided me with a pleasant surprise, this particular series just opened my eyes to what I was missing, it just drew me in from the first chapter. The character design is well done, this series is much more than just basketball and some crazy guys playing sports.

Each of the characters are actually well developed and you actually end up learning a huge lot about each of them, from personality to reasons why they enjoy the game and what gives them that extra edge when playing. The story progressed nicely and had a nice flow to it with really intense matches and some lighthearted comedy. I'd say the only downside is that it's somewhat predictable, but don't get me wrong, it's still a very interesting story. There weren't any parts of the manga that really stood out as lacking or rushed to me.

At times, due to it being a manga it felt compelling to keep on reading, as I wanted to see more and know more on what was occurring, reading the manga allowed me to truly get a feel for what was happening through their minds and how it must take a toll to even get so far in doing something that kills you inside, but at the same time, ignoring the pain and striving to succeed.

Though at the end of the day, to me, the ending was a bit of a let down, not entirely though, since it felt warm, it felt like I wanted to cry, since at every moment I felt for each character, but the only thing that really lacked, was closure of each character, since that the thing that I wanted to know, what was each characters future, would they end up in the NBA or going against the world in a world tournament, or if Kuroko could even go into the Zone….

Overall, I really did enjoy this series and I'd recommend it to anyone unless you absolutely detest sports, in which case this may not be the manga for you as they do play basketball a lot. But if you are unsure how you feel about sports manga and want to give one a try, this series is a great start. Kuroko no Basket will definitely be added on to my list of favourite manga!!! So awesome!!!

But if you are one of those, watch the anime as well, the anime does justice to each chapter and combined with the soundtrack and art style, its an amazing adventure and I can’t wait for season 3 of the anime in december!

Note: Some minor spoilers. Beware.

The summary on MAL is a little confusing so I'll try my best to make a more coherent one.

In middle school, there was a certain basketball team whose players had immense talent. This caused them to be dubbed the "Generation of Miracles". After finishing middle school, they all went their seperate ways but talk remained of a mystery 'phantom player', their 6th man.
The story starts with Kagami Taiga, a returning student joining the Seirin high school basketball team. Another person who joins is Tetsuya Kuroko. He's weak, can't shoot and has no presence on the court but herein lies his secret...

Story: 8/10
An interesting premise that is well executed too. It progresses nicely thus far and there's real development in both the plot and the characters. And it's nice to see a manga like this that isn't all victory and glory all the way, there's some real issues Seirin runs into along the way and watching them deal with these is interesting. There are some things I'd like explained sooner rather, such as the oath Akashi mentions at one point that was apparently made when they split up after middle school but up until this point has not been elaborated upon. But hey, ongoing manga so plenty of time to get that taken care of.

Characters: 9/10
Let's start off with the main character, Kuroko. He's quiet, always calm (to the point where I'm wondering if the author has been watching a few too many Christopher Walken movies), bad at basketball. However, his strong point is helping others by way of his completely and utter lack of presence on the court (something that quickly turns into a running gag off-court where his team mates will think they're alone until Kuroko actually says something). He's neutral but not boring. He's calm but not a pussy. Disliking Kuroko as a character is difficult because he always puts other people's needs ahead of his own.
Kagami (or to call him by my favorite nickname for any character ever, Bakagami) is the second main character and, as mentioned, a returning student from America. He's as blunt as a hammer, he is self-centered, he's a bit of an ass, so you could be forgiven for disliking him at first. But Kagami is a good example of character development in Kuroko no Basket. What starts off as a self-centered douche with all the subtlety of a brick to the face turns into a real team-player. He quickly finds Kuroko teaming up with him to help him and while he does so somewhat reluctantly, this helps him not only discover Kuroko's magic abilities but discover that teamwork can be far more efficient than going at it solo. He becomes more involved with his team mates and caring more about their individual skills and how they can help the team.
The side cast is a joy too. There's Riko, their second-year coach who has the magical ability to learn a player's skills and potential just by looking at their shirtless bodies (because what is shounen without some sort of absurd abilities), Hyuuga, the likable team captain and 3-point shooter and of course the rest of the Generation of Miracles.
They have distinct personalities, some of them funny and a joy to 'listen' to (Kise's fairly one-sided admiration of Kuroko never gets old), some of them a bit rotten (Aomine, looking at your general direction, just saying) and others are downright weird (Murasakibara, are you not secretly shizophrenic?) but they're all well-written characters.

Art: 8/10
Say what you like about KnB but it looks good. Characters look great with plenty of detail and the environments (and the courts in particular) are also easy on the eyes. The amount of sweat on the characters during matches did distract me a little bit at times but this is a sport manga so I'm going to call this a case of 'par for the course'.

Enjoyment: 9/10
186 chapters read and furiously awaiting the next one every week. Yep, sounds like enough enjoyment in my book!

Overall: 9/10
A solid sport manga with good story, interesting characters with development to go and a healthy dose of comedy mixed in. I'm calling this one a must-read for anyone interested in basketball or sports manga in general.

A miscellaneous note on KnB's portrayal of basketball:
I've heard some people call KnB over-the-top for its sometimes ridiculous display of matches (and reading chapters with matches against Aomine, I can definitely agree with that), making it too dumb to read. You have to take into account 2 things here. For starters, shounen targets kids aged 10+ so it just needs a lot of action to keep the attention of the target demographic. Second, and this is speaking as a basketball fan, having realistic depictions of basketball would be boring. KnB basically takes the best bits in basketball matches (fast attack, great defense, slam dunks, impressive plays) and throws out the rest and you know what? That's fine. I don't want to be flying through pages to get to the exciting bits, I want the exciting bits now! Preferably 5 minutes ago. Yes, it does get BEYOND over-the-top as mentioned before and you won't get arguments proving the opposite from me there. Kise's 1:1 copying of player's abilities, Midorima's ridiculous shooting range, Kuroko's vanishing and (the biggest offender in my book) Aomine's suspension-of-disbelief-butchering shooting, they're indeed over-the-top but they help keep everything fresh and original rather than every member simply being another good player to beat.

Story 10/10
Isn't it weird? The Generation of Miracles are full of strong people who have surpassed regular basketball play, yet the phantom sixth man, Kuroko, is much weaker than them. How is he even considered part of this? What does he hide? And as the story progresses, everyone finds out about Kuroko and his strength. Though he is weak, he is a key player in Seirin. As matches go on and as the Seirin team encounters the Generation of Miracles, they grow, but not just them so do the Miracles. My favorite part of the overall story is how each player learns to enjoy themselves. Losing and winning, that's what the game of basketball is. Everyone needs to taste defeat sometime and hopefully it changes their way.

Art: 8/10
Only because some scenes can be exaggerated with the drawings. However the details in the artwork are a key in making the manga so exciting to read. The sweat drawn and the way the players execute their moves are well drawn and it gives a sense of how hard they are working.

Characters: 10/10
I love the characters. I really really do. They are all silly in their own ways, and yet they are so serious when it comes to the game. I love how they change throughout the story too. Basketball isn't just a game anymore, it's something much more for them. Some characters do scare me, I do know that there's something more about them, so I'll wait. They may not scare me anymore.
It's not just the development I love, it's how they interact with each other, how they play off each other, and how they can joke with each other. It's great.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I love reading this. I hold my breath during some matches because of how intense they are. I get emotional when Kuroko gets serious. I laugh at the silliness in the manga. I just can't stop to put it down. (Well I have to right now gotta wait for the updates! LOL) But this manga is a page turner for me.

Overall: 10/10
It's an amazing manga. A great story and funny characters and games that can keep you on edge. Even the back stories keep you on edge. This manga is just thrilling to read and I cannot wait for the next update!

Story: Kuroko no Basuke (Kuroko's Basketball) to sum it up without spoilers is a basketball manga about a boy named Kuroko Tetsuya wanting to show people, the "Generations of Miracles" (a group of Kuroko's previous team-mates) in particular his way of basketball, hence the title Kuroko no Basuke. Reading into it you'll discover how deep the plot gets as you go along introducing new characters and threats to Kuroko's basketball team Seirin, the deuteragonist: Kagami Taiga is "the light that illuminates Kuroko" meaning he is the person who Kuroko practises with and makes plays with. Kagami himself wants to defeat every single player of the "Generations of Miracles". Up until now Kuroko no Basuke never ceases to amaze me with it's great execution, allowing you to experience the character's emotions and feeling also that winning isn't easy, you have to struggle and learn from your defeats. Great story that just keeps getting better and better. 9.5/10

Art: Though some panels can be overly exaggerated and unrealistic in some matches you're still able to grasp the current situation. But for the most part the manga is clear, well drawn and at times very realistic, not to mention FUCKING EPIC. 8/10.

Character: Now this is were every manga/anime needs to shine, and Kuroko no Basuke is one of those series that has some of the best character development ever, for characters such as Kise, Kagami, Kuroko, Teppei and Hyuuga they're the ones who have made me proud the most with their overall goals, attitudes and accomplishments. Kagami with his will to not give up and monster-like jumping height, Kise for his attitude in matches and rivalry with Aomine, Hyuuga and Teppei with depth towards their back story and Kuroko's goals and accomplishments. Now this are just my personal favourites, all in all great characters. 9/10.

Enjoyment: You'll be craving your weekly dose of Kuroko no Basuke's awesomeness, even if you're not into sports I'm pretty sure you'll enjoy this, hell I myself am not even into sports and It's one of my favourites. The enjoyment will only build-up as you go along reading it, That's my time. 9/10

Overall: 9.5/10