First Impressions / Kuroko no Basuke

「最高じゃねーの?」 (Saikou Jyaneeno?)
“Isn’t It The Best?”

I too wondered what Kagami was thinking by entering the Zone straight from the opening buzzer.

Like a Bathtub

I never thought the concept of the zone was something that was overly complicated but after trying to chat about last week’s episode with a friend, I realized just how wrong I was. Which in itself isn’t a bad thing because I never thought about this concept from the perspective of someone who’s never played in a competitive match before. Luckily, Aomine had a perfect analogy that involved a bathtub and a cute rubber ducky which was super easy to understand and clearly explained that staying in the Zone for too long has its drawbacks. All I know is that the next time someone asks me how to describe it, I’m totally using Aomine’s example.

The Flow of the Game

As the seasons have come and gone, the one thing I’ve missed has been watching the players play actual basketball. What used to be episodes of watching the players exhibit their basketball skills with an occasional fancy move thrown in for good measure has slowly been reversing into a show full of fancy moves and the occasional basketball. This episode though felt like a throwback to the good old season one days where all that everyone had was their fighting spirit — a time where you just had to grit your teeth and keep dribbling forward.

Most of that feeling though probably came from Akashi’s insane ability to control the court down to the exact position someone shot from on the court. I mean, fancy power moves are fun to watch and can definitely change the momentum of the game but what good are they when someone else can control what you do without you even realizing it? In any case, it was extremely fun getting to see everyone actually run around the court while showing us their mastery of the fundamentals.

Kuroko v2.0 and Looking Ahead

The last few minutes of the episode were probably the hardest to watch. Because when you thought things had hit rock bottom for Kuroko when he realized how much he’d messed up his ability to be his team’s hidden shadow, Akashi had to throw salt into the wounds by revealing his new secret weapon — a Kuroko with all upgraded stats known as Mayuzumi Chihiro. Better than Kuroko in every aspect when it comes to raw stats, it literally felt like the show was trying to tell us Kuroko had absolutely no point in being the game anymore.

But what’s awesome about all of this, even though things seem really bad for Seirin as they stand, is just how positive the entire team was even when faced with such a dire problem. Not even wavering for a minute, everyone rallied around Kuroko as he tried to figure out what to do. While the surprised looks at the end of the episode may have been out of the sheer amazement that someone like Kuroko exists, I can’t wait to see just what role the other players who’ve been benched this entire team play as Kuroko attempts to find the answer his team is looking for.

Anyways, after an intense episode like that I’m ready for a nap. Catch you guys next week!

 

Preview

42 Comments

  1. Finally, it’s here!! I’ve been waiting a long time for this! Phantom 6th Man V2!!! But, damn, that cliffhanger though…!
    https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2038.jpg

    First, we have lightning coming from eyes…
    https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2007.jpg
    …and now, we have lightning coming from balls?
    https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2026.jpg

    Red HeartGold ZX
    Reply

    1. https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
      Akashi: What?! Me the Emporer, being passed? Hell no.
      https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
      Yeah, not happening. Kagami you must understand….
      https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2018.jpg
      …that my red hair is better than yours. Therefore I am more OP. Therefore I am absolute.
      LOL

      Nadester
      Reply

    2. ”By learning how to shine halfheartedly, you can no longer become the shadow.”

      What a great line. I loved it. I don’t know why I didn’t figure it out sooner but it makes perfect sense for Kuroko lose his ”shadow” skills after learning all those new moves. And I understand why Akashi kept him from learning to shoot. It wasn’t out of spite.

      esdesu
      Reply

    1. I saw it coming. The way he was ignored and unnoticed since the Akashi vs Midorima game was the same reaction people have towards Kuroko but this time, we were seeing it from their perspective instead of Kuroko’s.

      Aschente
      Reply

    2. Another Kuroko interesting? Though I did suspect Kuroko would start losing his effectiveness once the crowd started noticing him. Animation of the meteor jam looked a lot better this episode than last week. And I’m getting fond of Akashi. That speech he gave Kuroko was quite chilling.

      James
      Reply

  4. Kagami was probably thinking “I need the Zone to beat Akashi.”

    Even with the Zone he couldn’t touch Akashi. It was so systematic too. First Akashi beats the Zone indirectly to make Kagami think he has a chance and then he breaks Kagami’s puny ankles personally just to drive home the point that he’s better than Kagami, Zone or not.

    He’d probably own Aomine the same way too.

    Akashi’s a beast.

    emd23
    Reply

  5. “He has the same traits as Tetsuya, but the basic specs are all one notch higher. In other words, Tetsuya is the previous model. Chihiro Mayuzumi is the new model for the phantom sixth man.”

    Kuroko the visible man? Kuroko has finally found a true rival. He’s never had that since Season 1.

    https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2039.jpg

    ”Let’s say you filled a bathtub with water. When you enter the ZONE, It’s like pulling the plug on the drain. The hot water drains out in no time.”

    Aomine’s bathub theory made me lol. Oh Aomine, never change.

    https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2003.jpg

    Silke
    Reply

  14. Finally finished marathoning the previous episodes and jumped right away to the latest episode…I love the view to my gorgeous baby <3
    Now I gotta brace for impact…~ Next episode will be harsher!

    Miyuki
    Reply

  15. https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2035.jpg
    Kuroko’s resolve to win can’t be shaken off that easily. not when he has such a great team backing him up.
    https://randomc.net/image/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke/Kuroko%20no%20Basuke%203%20-%2018%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
    Plus, this is a good chance for Kuroko to hone a new original style of his own and show one up to Akashi (thinking he knows Kuroko and his play so well).

    random viewer
    Reply

  16. I end up reading the remainder of the manga after watching this episode.

    All I can say is that the first quarter is only the tip of the iceberg. Akashi is a total BEAST, a DEVIL, in every possible way.

    Can’t wait for those to be animated. 6 more episodes to go, mates!

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Reikakou
    Reply

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