Kuroko no Basket: Tip Off

English.
I think this episode is one of the best in the first season without a doubt, it gives us a small taste of what the generation of miracles is or was in their high school days and how each one lived together from the perspective of Ryota Kise, but this is why it makes the character special, he was the last to join the generation of miracles and also the one who had to work harder than the others in this.
It is totally worth watching the entire episode, I really recommend it, it gives a lot of context to what the generation of miracles was, ... in addition to the fact that you will understand much better what this basketball group was.

Español.
Creo que este episodio es uno de los mejores en la primera temporada sin lugar a duda, este nos da una pequeña probada de lo que es o era la generación de los milagros en la época de secundaria y el como convivía cada uno desde la perspectiva de Ryota Kise, pero esto mismo es el porque lo hace especial al personaje, fue el ultimo en integrarse a la generación de los milagros y también el que se tuvo que esforzar mas que los demás en está.
Vale totalmente la pena ver el episodio completo en verdad lo recomiendo mucho, le da mucho contexto a lo que fue la generación de los milagros ademas de que vas a comprender mucho mejor lo que fue este grupo de basket.

How to make a side-story prequel 101.
I just love how much they manage to say with showing so little. As we know, two particular members from the generation of miracles haven't really shown what they are capable of doing in the parent show and yet they managed to be a big part of this episode, you'd think you will finally see them on a game, but no, not yet.

Kise as a device to tell the story is, not going to lie, better than Kuroko and Kagami. The dude just has a unique protagonistic feel to him, very chill, not too care-free, and uses a great ... deal of thinking and rational when he plays. This episode really puts the relationship the generation of miracles used to have in the spotlights, building up for something id to come.

Kuroko's Basketball: Tip Off is an episode-length special included with the home video releases of the first season. What's interesting is that this little extra story is actually a flashback to the days of the Generation of Miracles playing together as Teiko's basketball team, and if you're watching this after episode 22 like intended then it's the most you've gotten to see of the old Teiko team and the previous relationship between the GoM members which is fairly exciting.

More specifically though this special focuses on Kise joining the team for the first time and discovering Kuroko's hidden talent. This is a nice little addendum to ... the backstory of these two characters, but disappointing compared to finally seeing the chemistry between the old Generation of Miracles. There wasn't really much of a need to address the beginning of Kise and Kuroko's relationship - for all we know from the series, Kise could've seen Kuroko's ace passing in the first Teiko game he saw and would've been his fanboy we see in the series right there. This special answers something that was never a question in the first place, yet we've had the vaguely defined past of the GoM hinted at us repeatedly through the whole first season. It still manages to deliver highlights for the latter, it's just unfortunate the best part of the OVA isn't its actual focus. The animation quality is about the same as the series and I didn't notice any new music, but since this is marketed as an additional episode that's to be expected.

Regardless, this is enjoyable and adds to the series and characters, if not enough to really be called essential. If you have access to Tip Off and haven't seen the whole first season yet, it's recommended you do watch it after episode 22 as it very slightly defines more of a character relationship that's the center of the final match of season one. If you didn't watch Tip Off first it's a marginal difference anyway, but it still has its moments to make it worth experiencing on its own merits as a Kuroko's Basketball fan.