Kuroko no Basket

The most common criticism I've seen so far of Kuroko no Basket has been how unrealistic it is. I myself am an avid basketball fan who plays regularly and watches NBA games. I can understand the criticism as this anime has a lot of spectacular dunks, blocks and flashy passes, the stuff you usually only see in highlight reels, but occurs regularly throughout the games in here. There's also the shounen elements with the special powers of Generation of Miracles members and other things such as the "martial arts" Seiho employs.

That being said, I am completely ok with this. Why? Because it makes it ... interesting. Think about it. As a basketball fan, it'd be great to see the teams run plays like the triangle or pick and roll, but you can't expect the average viewer to understand what's going on. Plus, trying to explain this and other technical terms would eat up screen time and bore a lot of viewers.

This is first and foremost entertainment. Kuroko no Basket is great to watch BECAUSE of these elements. Watching Kagami slam the ball down or Kuruko go ninja and make an amazing pass is far more exciting than watching a player hit an open jumpshot from good ball movement. It's the same reason why many people label the Spurs in the NBA as "boring" despite their well-oiled offense. If you really wanted realistic basketball, you'd watch an actual game. What Kuroko no Basket excels at doing is showing how exciting basketball can be to a mainstream audience. I have yet to be disappointed by any of the episodes, as they have all left me with a big, goofy grin on my face from the thrilling games or cliffhangers at the end of each episode. Look around and you'll see that many viewers are not basketball fans, but love this anime. This is great because it's garnering interest in basketball in people that would have never noticed the sport were it not for this anime. This is especially true in Japan, where basketball is nowhere near as popular as sports such as baseball or football (soccer).

As for the anime itself, it captures your attention with epic scenes, likeable characters, and funny comedy. Kuroko's sudden appearances that startle every character out there is a running gag, opponents with names like "Papa" and Kagami's Engrish "THIS IS JAPANESE LUNCH TIME RUSH!" keeps things interesting. The story is your classic sports anime, with the Seiren basketball team aiming for the top. However, if you were expecting some athletic, hot-headed knucklehead who excels in the sport...well, that's the deuteragonist Kagami. Kuroko is the protagonist here, and he's an unconventional lead for a sports anime. He's terrible at almost every aspect of basketball except passing and stealing. Together, he and Kagami form a exciting duo to watch reminiscent of real-world duos such as Stockton and Malone. The other characters aren't explored too much initially and I was afraid the other Seiren members would just become useless bodies, but slowly we've been introduced to their own unique skills. The only other characters that the anime really delves into are the members of the Generation of Miracles, who are all distinguished by their special powers and...colorful hair, Kuroko included. Here is where the shounen aspect of the show is most visible, with the members displaying everything from behind the backboard shots to full court shooting range (though I have to admit that's really pushing it). They are the equivalent of the boss characters you see in other shounen anime, as Kuroko, Kagami, and the Seiren team must find a way to overcome them.

The art and animation are solid, however, animation isn't as consistently fluid as I would've liked. The movement of players shooting or passing the ball feels too rigid or unnatural at times, as if they didn't draw enough frames (with the exception of Aomine's ridiculous handle). It compensates for this by having a lot of slow motion and close up shots of dunks, blocks, and steals which really help excite the viewer and make this anime so thrilling. It is definitely one of the better looking sports anime out there, which is part of what makes it so appealing to a wider audience. For the most part, the music consists of guitar-heavy tracks that come in whenever something notable happens, such as opponents being surprised by one of Kuroko's passes. The opening and ending feature rock songs that keep the same adrenaline pumping feel the anime has. The one thing that really bugs me though is how each episode starts off with a narrator introducing the Generation of Miracles story. It's understandable in the first few episodes, but past that there's no point in it, since viewers would already be familiar with the backstory (EDIT: They finally stopped this nearly HALFWAY through the season).

In short, Kuroko no Basket is an entertaining anime to watch, even if you don't like basketball. The thrilling games will capture your interest and many can relate to the story of going for the top and exceeding expectations, as the underdog Seiren team does time and again. Don't go into Kuroko no Basket expecting expertly executed plays like in real basketball. Don't go into it thinking you'll see a mirror image of a real game in anime form. Go into it expecting a thrilling game of dunks, blocks, and crazy passes, a lot of O.O faces from the characters, and competitive trash talking. Watch it for the determined characters, comedy, and overcoming special powers we've come to love in shounen anime. It doesn't portray basketball too realistically, but realism in this case would only drag a fun anime like this down.

Let me start by telling you that I'm 29 years old, and when I was 6 years old, I fell in love with an anime called Captain Tsubasa, not only because I am Portuguese and we generally love football, but because when you're at that age, everything is magical, you want to do the shots they do, you want to be Tsubasa Ozora on the field.

I've seen many sports anime after it, and none were good enough to create the impact that Captain Tsubasa caused on me, there were a few that I loved such as Miracle Giants Dome-Kun! and Ganbare! Kickers, but Captain Tsubasa ... would always have a special place in my heart.

To all the sports anime fans that grew up with this style of Shounen, the anime with the potential to dethrone the generally accepted king is finally here. The story is just what you expect from a sports anime, it's unrealistic? It's an anime. How many anime about sports are realistic? hell, other than slice of life how many anime about anything are realistic? and is that really what you are looking for when you're watching anime? realism? the answer is obviously no.

Despite all that, whoever wrote the anime and drawn the moves definitely knows his basketball since some of the plays are copy/paste from some of the greatest dunks, three-pointers or behind the hoop shots in real life, they know their technical therms, they know how basket works, and they made a damn good anime about it.

The generation of miracles is exactly what they said it is, miracles, players that usually are born in the united states, once every other decade, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James... except these were born in Japan, all at the same time, and now, they're all rivals. You will love them all.

The main character is not some overpowered monster that destroys everyone, no, he's very simple, you barely notice him, but you know he creates the biggest hype, and you can barely wait to see what he will be capable of in the future, but he faces hardships, real hardships, he's the underdog you like to root for. Right at the beginning of season 2, his potential will scare you.

His rivals are not only his rivals, they're his friends, you will get to know them, their traits, you will appreciate the anime as much for its school and story characteristics as much as you will do for the sports component. The character development is ridiculously good, and you will get acquainted with all players from the top teams in about 25 episodes, games last 2 or 3 episodes, which is just the right amount of time, it's packed with action, it's packed with story, it has just the right amount of each!

It keeps topping itself, over, and over, and over, and you get more and more excited, and not only for basketball or sports fans! No! You can like fighting anime such as Fairy Tail, Zetsuen no Tempest, Bleach, Naruto, and you won't be let down by the action of Kuroko no Basket, I guarantee it.

No one would ever thought an anime about basketball could be so interesting, so filled with adrenaline and action packed, no one would ever think it could have such an amazing story, but Kuroko no Basket will prove you wrong, your heart will race, you will laugh, you will get excited, you will root for your favorite characters, and you will watch another, and another, and another, until you inevitably surrender to the awesomeness of Kuroko no Basket.

As a sports anime, it gets a 10. As an overall anime, it still gets a 10 because it is that awesome!

If your a sports anime fan then 2 words automatically...no even magically came to your mind, Slam Dunk. However sports anime fans or not im sure realize just how awesome this anime is. This could very well be Slam Dunk Successor.

Story-9-Once upon a time, the basketball team of Teikou Middle School rose to distinction by demolishing all competition. The regulars of this team became known as the "Generation of Miracles". After graduating from middle school, these five stars went to different high schools with top basketball teams. However, a fact few know is that there was another player of the "Generation of Miracles", the ... phantom sixth player.
This mysterious player(Kuroko) is now a freshman at Seirin High, a new school with a powerful, if little-known, team. Now, Tetsuya Kuroko, the sixth member of the "Generation of Miracles", and Kagami, a naturally talented player who spent most of middle school in America, are aiming to bring Seirin to the top of Japan, taking on Kuroko's old teammates one by one.But along the way there gonna to have to fight teams that are just a strong without a GNOFM(generation of miracles). The 3 kings of Tokyo Seiho-king of the north,
Shinsenkan-king of the west and Shutoku-king of the east.

Art-9- is simply amazing. The CG on the hoops whenever they score is well done and the fights....er matches are fluid and crisp. The characters are in detail and very well.

Sound-10-this is were the anime excels. The music gives off a old school hip hop feel to it with a unique Japanese spin.

Character-9- i like how all the characters are different and talented int heir own way. It;s also great to see the series focuses on other characters besides Kuroke(epicness) and Kise(badass). Everyone awesome and likable especially Riko.

Overall this is easily, without a doubt one of the best anime ever.

“There's no such thing as useless effort.”
Kagami Taiga (Kuroko no Basket)

So, as I have nothing to waste, I will bring to you a review of the immensely praised show that is Kuroko no Basket. Even though it is not a very popular show (not even in the top 100), most people that have watched it are immensely positive about it, and it made me wonder why. After being encouraged to watch the show several times, I figured it was the time to do so – and I can say it delivered. I soon became one of the people “enchanted” by the show.

Story: 9/10
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 speciality: 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 (where he had lived for some years). 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 filler, yet is not too serious either – this was a huge plus to 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 that dislike KnB do so because of its unrealism – but I don’t agree on 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: 8/10
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: 9/10
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: 9/10
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 characterising 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.

Enjoyment: 10/10
I honestly enjoyed Kuroko no Basket as much as I was told I would. While the show definitely has some flaws and is not nearly as enthralling or well thought out as others (I’m looking at you, Fate/Zero, Steins;Gate), it still turned out to be a great source of enjoyment. The matches actually did manage to keep me on the edge of my seat, and managed to get me to play basketball myself! It made me want to try those fascinating shots in real life, and got me to look up more about basketball as well. In short, if you are looking for a refreshing (perhaps simple) anime, or just really like sports shows, then you should certainly give this show a watch – because that’s what Kuroko no Basket has to offer.

EDITED AFTER IT FINISHED AIRING (9/22)!

I've never written a review before, but this show is so good, I just had to voice my opinion. I am not a sports anime fan to begin with (well, more like I've never watched one before) but that didn't stand in the way of me loving this show. I started watching this show because everyone was talking about it. I couldn't understand why alot of my friends who are into dark and supernatural (or along the lines of) animes were watching something as random as a sport one. Overall, I found this show to be very funny and enjoyable. ... I seriously can't get enough. This show is definitely not overrated in my book.

Story: 10/10
I'm not going to bother summarizing because you can read that yourself everywhere else, but as a huge fan of the manga, it stuck pretty close. There are some minor differences and they cut out some scenes to make it go quicker, but the plot is still there. The story is exciting and even before I read the manga (I started after I watched a few episodes while it was airing), I literally craved the next episode. It is so exciting and kept me on the edge of my seat. The biggest thing in this show is probably the value of teamwork, sportsmanship and the cliche, "whatever you put your heart into and try hard, you will accomplish." Thats what I got out of the first few episodes, and being a sports anime, you would think everything in the plot is obvious, but it's not. There's a couple of parts that will surprise you!

Art: 7/10
It's not the most beautifully animated show I've ever watched. I'm not too sure how to explain it, but it's just awkwardly drawn sometimes and it just looks strange. But it's not hideous either.

Sound: 9/10
Both openings and both endings are so nice. I even have it on my ipod! But the music during the scenes that are added for effect are kinda cheesy to me.

Character: 9/10
At the beginning, it seemed like there was not much room for character development in Kuroko, since he is one of the ~*~Generation of Miracles~*~. But that's wrong.

Enjoyment/Overall: 9/10
I personally didn't like was that the anime felt so fanservice-y, it was really annoying.

I know that the events in kuroko no basket during matches are extremely unrealistic. Like not noticing a player during a match or passes all the way across a court? I think that's what people who dislike this show say the most. But to me, fiction is fiction. They're supposed to be prodigies anyways, so what better way to illustrate that than by adding a little of the impossible. Just like when I watch spongebob, I find it very stupid that a starfish has a face on it's leg. But does it matter? It's still funny and doesn't change the fact that it's a great show.

I'm no sports anime fan... the most i have watched was Prince of Tennis.... but this anime just suprises me.

At the very start, it was the artwork that made me want to give this anime a try... so i watched it... but it has got me hooked from the 'mysteriousness' of the characters. Making you want to watch on to find out how good they are.....

The things that makes me want to watch on and recommend to all you people is the ups and downs of emotions that you get. At first, excited of what's going on.... then thinking that he's (Kuroko) just an idiot..... ... then finally another excitment of knowing that he is such an amazing and cool character...... THIS ANIME IS SOOOOO BREATH TAKING!! I litrally held my breath when i was watching it because the matches are sooooo intense and soooooo thrilling!! It has been sooooo long since i have seen an anime that make me think that "animes could be soooooo good!"

Additionally..... Their voices are just great!! the seiyuus (voice actors) for every characters fits their image perfectally....

I don't know what would happen later on (haven't read the manga) but just the first episode draws me (an anime fan that's not a fan of sports anime) into it..... so i expect later on, this anime would keep on suprising me and keep me watching.

Short Overall: Thoroughly enjoying, dynamic and engaging, and possesses characters that you will undoubtedly grow to love. Fantastic soundtrack to accompany somewhat seamless scenes, along with great visuals. Although it doesn't have a complicated plot with unexpected twists, Kuroko no Basket gives so much more than just your average sports series.



Previously, Kuroko no Basket had appeared in numerous threads and places whenever i was searching for something new to delve into. As a non-sports fan myself, i wasn't interested in this series until i read the reviews for it. Many of the people's comments stated that although they didn't like sports themselves, they found ... themselves enjoying the series thoroughly. So, why not try it out?

Characters: Over the 25 episodes, you're introduced to a wide array of characters that each possesses their own unique quality. They were all very likable, even if a few seemed difficult. The majority of them were given back stories that informed the viewer of their past, which was good for character development. Perhaps i would have liked to see a more thorough explanation of a few of the character's background.

Sound: One of the things i liked best about this series was the soundtrack. They were inputted perfectly and in the right scenes to give that bit an extra "oomph". Alongside this, there was a nice variety of different compositions to emphasize the atmosphere of the scene at the time. I especially loved the song near the end of the series, at the end of the last basketball match.

Art: The visuals were nothing special, nothing of say, a Shinkai masterpiece, but it was nevertheless pleasing to the eye. During some episodes the quality did fall slightly, but my best guess was that it was due to budget. Some of the animation in the scenes were brilliant, and made the movement of the characters seem much more fluent.

Story: As i said previously, this show does not contain many serious twists and plot changes that will have the viewer sitting on the edges of their seats. That being said, i fully believe that it doesn't need twists to be a brilliant series. The enjoyment i got from this series was not because the storyline was complex, but because it was easy to follow and easy to enjoy. Everything was explained smoothly, and very few plot holes were left.

Enjoyment: I was surprised - incredibly surprised- at how much i ended up loving this series. It was hilarious, exciting and really fun to watch and to engage yourself into. I ended up loving the characters and sympathizing with each of them. Kuroko no Basket is an engaging anime, and is one of the few i genuinely re-watch. It goes on my top 5.

Y'know, for a show which was pretty retarded a lot of times, it wasn't too bad. Now you may be thinking "he didn't give it a 10, what does this man know of this show's greatness". Well, let me explain what it did right and wrong. But first an explanation of the story.

The anime starts off by explaining that a team of 6 players were the legendary super saiyans that had the ability to slap their "special" (special is the keyword here folks) golden cocks in the faces of their opponents. Now let me translate, a middle school team dominated their league and their ... players were given the name the generation of miracles. Each player in the generation of miracles has their own special ability.

The plot focuses on the relationship between the two main characters, their relationship with their teammates and mostly how the team will win tournaments.
Kuroko's plan is the help Kagami achieve his goal by becoming his "shadow" whilst Kagami is his "light". Obviously Kagami's goal is to be the strongest player in japan.

So a fairly normal plot for a sports anime, but I mean c'mon, aside from being the strongest player or the best team or winning a tournament, what else can a sports anime do? Do you want them to turn evil and fuck everything up?

Now, what it did right, ahem:

1. Relationship between main two characters.
Now the main highlight of this anime is the relationship between Kuroko and Kagami shared as partners, almost like brothers. Majority of the time the matches would be decided because of the actions of their teamwork. They are the underdogs, you'd naturally root for those two to win the game. The concept of Kuroko being Kagami's shadow and Kagami being Kuroko's light was a fairly nice one and it was good that it was further explored later on in the show. Individually Kuroko is the most interesting of the pair, physically he is weak but he is mentally strong. He brings the best out of Kagami whilst also helping to drive the team forward, he feels more like a teamplayer whilst Kagami feels a bit like a lone wolf.
That's not to say Kagami isn't interesting as well, he may be a hot head but if it wasn't for him the show would lack a lot of it's "woah" moments.

2. Relationship between Seirin team overall.
Again, another thing this show did right as a sports anime was how they presented the main team to you, a group of likable characters with their own skills that contribute to the whole team.
Teamwork was the key here and even though it felt cliched at points in the anime, honestly, it's rather undeniably logical that teamwork is vital, even if it's constantly mentioned.
Seirin are the underdogs of this show, you'd think "oh those guys are way stronger than Seirin, they'd never lose to them", but secretly you want Seirin to win, think of it like a psychological thing, you know the odds of Seirin losing are high but it'd be pretty fucking sweet if they did win. Honestly this is the kind of thing I like about sports anime, they'll present you with odds which aren't in favour of the underdog team, yet they'll still pull through and win. The anxiety and suspense it builds up can really give you the feeling that you're part of that winning moment. Unless your name is Aomine and can just fuck up all the odds like a dick.

3. Sound and animation
Generally speaking this doesn't really contribute much to an overall score really, animation and sound aren't important as characters and the story. In terms of enjoyment it plays a role. But it did have pretty nice OP's and ED's. Good to see GRANRODEO back.
OST was good as well, not amazing though, considering they'd just play the same few good songs over and over. But it did play a major factor in the deciding moments of the game, you felt engrossed in the moment, it made it just a bit more enjoyable.
Animation was good, nothing special, there were noticeable drops in quality here and there but still, it did it's job.

Now let's talk about what it fucked up in:

1. Repetitive matches.
This is where the show starts to stumble, most of the time matches will consist of back and forth power ups. At one point one team will be leading, then Kagami gets annoyed and starts dunking like there's no tomorrow. Then the other team will power up to get the ball around Kagami and score more points. Seirin will start working together, again powering up, to get back into the game. Now you're probably thinking "well duh, they mention in the show that the flow of the game can easily be lost by the other team gaining momentum, the matches would be boring if it was just one team dominating, it has to be a bit back and forth". That doesn't excuse the fact that it's fucking repetitive and when something becomes repetitive it becomes boring. The only reason people aren't get bored is because the power ups get more shiny.

2. Poor power balance
This is where the show starts to become retarded, the generation of miracles are extremely overpowered. Midorima, a member of the generation of miracles has 100% accuracy on his shots so you are literally fucked, this guy literally fucks you over sideways. That's not a special ability, it's too off scale, honestly if it wasn't for Kagami in the team Seirin would just lose all their matches against the generation of miracles and there lies the problem. Aside from Kagami, no one else can stand up to the generation of miracles, Kuroko can only pass so he can't do much else. The other members of the Seirin team are nowhere near as good as the generation of miracles so if it was just their entire team vs Midorima, he'd still just win on his own.

3. Retarded power ups and overpowered characters
As I mentioned before the overpowered characters really fuck up the power balance but they ultimately make the matches less enjoyable. Characters become so overpowered that it's ridiculous, the shit they pull off is retarded. Aomine is the biggest fucker in the entire show, he is so overpowered that he can take on an entire team and not get tired, he'd rip them to shreds, why? Because he's Aomine that's why. You literally do not stand a chance against him. He just keeps on pulling shit from his ass and destroys the opposing teams. The same applies for Midorima with his 100% accuracy anywhere on the court, he could score 3 pointers all the time.
I understand that if this show was realistic it would be boring, but that doesn't mean it can be fucking retarded as well, there isn't a balance, the abilities the generation of miracles posses is just too unfair and ultimately hinders the enjoyment of the matches.

Individual Scores:

[Story: 5/10]
[Characters: 6/10]
[Art: 7/10]
[Sound: 7/10]
Overall: 6/10

"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships."

As a retired participant familiar with competitive high school basketball, I must admit Kuroko no Basket reminded me of the exact reasons why I fell in love with the sport. Adrenaline, leadership, endurance, and most of all, team work. In a world with so many instructed paths to follow, should one rely on team work, or their own skills in a sport like basketball? Surely, Kuroko no Basket tackles this question with considerable reflexes, not with constant waves of seriousness but with tremendously well organized comedy and series of basketball tournaments, which comprises of flashy to not-so-flashy ... shots. But, those of you experienced with the sport or have actively followed daily lives of NBA athletes know that made-shots can never be considered flashy, or absurd. Since, what essentially makes basketball such an exciting sport is scoring a hoop which one would've never expected to otherwise, without a whim of luck or practice.

Besides whim and practice, though, there's also something many labels as "talent", but can anybody even consider being skinny-boned, inconspicuous an advantage? Well, many could beg to differ, Kuroko included.

5'6 and 125 pounds, Kuroko is nothing short of an elementary school kid who lost his way on a school field trip compared to an average athlete. Although unable to achieve a standard masculinity, Kuroko obtains extraordinary skills of creating illusions and making expeditious passes to his teammates. He's an interesting character, and his unseen ability attracts five other mysterious individuals. The Generation of Miracles is a label given to these five apparent prodigies of basketball, and during their middle school careers they were enrolled into the same team as Kuroko. Due to disagreements on how one should proceed with basketball, however, Kuroko leaves his five reliable friends, and begins seeking for his own style of playing at Seirin High School.

Luckily, Kuroko immediately stumbles upon a hot-headed, ambitious American basketball player named Taiga, and their adventures of crushing the Generation of Miracles start there. What defines Kuroko no Basket as an exciting anime then is how they proceed to demonstrate how eccentrically one could play out basketball--not as simply a sport, but a fiery passion. Due to the focus on this element, the director purposely emphasized the amazingness of dunks, and how even difficultly-leveled (fade-away, etc.) shots were easily prosecuted. Of course, it does then leave out very uncoordinated, clogged dialogue in the middle of games and though trash talking between teams is common, I think they did drag out some of the excessive dialogue. But, even those flaws just as effortlessly get rampaged over by aggressive characters like Taiga.

Oftentimes bluntly assertive, Taiga is Kuroko's teammate, but also much more than a teammate. He oafishly overcomes major issues without much thought, but is at the same time someone who accompanies Kuroko in the worst of times. Although bearing only one simple ambition, Taiga embodies a colorful amount of energetic traits you'd want in anyone, which greatly constitutes the overall spontaneity in the team. And his egotistic self committing outrageous acts is just a genuinely hilarious element of Kuroko no Basket. Even among the side characters are several mentionable members with similarly strong aspiration, and where one can find the diverse ranks of this series. The Generation of Miracles especially, begin as merely two-dimensional enemies that Kuroko needed to face, but eventually progress into characters with intriguing insights of handling one's adeptness in any sports.

With regards to animation, the character designs are well-done. Animated action sequences were all smoothly and feasibly produced. Some camera angles really capture the correct atmosphere for the tense phases in games, while sometimes the focuses on long distance shots were mostly kind of awkward. Nonetheless, the major frameworks followed coherent transitions for the characters to move freely on the court. Although some of the jumps and passes (alley-oops, etc.) in Kuroke no Basket are "ridiculous" even if made by professionals, it fit all so well with the over-the-top nature of the show that Kuroko no Basket wouldn't be nearly as enjoyable without them. The so-called impossibly-made hoops don't actually distract from the story and thus are vigorously exaggerated slams more than anything.

The soundtracks all viably made the series more interesting as it progressed - with change of pacing of some notably well-done melodies of hard rock, alternative, to relaxing, chill music. The OP appropriately fit the momentum some episodes started with, though a repetitive introduction of the generation of miracles does drag on for more than half of the series, which they did finally decide to rid of with a renewal of an alternative, better OP. Likewise, the OST is appropriately integrated within the series.

Ultimately, the bizarreness and absurdity are often what makes Kuroko no Basket stand out even among its shounen precedents like Slam Dunk and TTGL. Every character who speaks a line obtains a certain role in the story, never disappear off the screen without substantial explanation, and makes every shoot, block, or pass worthy of paying attention to. The story never nags the audience with unnecessary material, and it doesn't rely on a supernatural setting to make its exciting action scenes work.

Above all, Kuroko no Basket is really nonchalant when it comes to presenting creative ways of playing basketball in real life, yet it speaks through its friendly characters the sweat and tears which someone would invest into the sport. Surely, Kuroko no Basket provides exhilarating visuals; but even more, it promotes the importance of sportsmanship, and is truly inspirational. I highly recommend this series to basketball enthusiasts and those looking for a spirited shounen anime at its best.

Like any other shounen Kuroko No Basuke tends to be very slow and with little character development .. It often relies on comedy like un-going gags or catchphrases ..

.. Even so usually the best part of shounen is the intensity and emotionally gripping moments it brings.. In my opinion Kuroko no basuke was 50% of the time far from tense and it seemed really forced and unappealing.. The characters are cardboard cuttouts that even with actual motivations honestly it isnt enough to make a certain character good..

The characters are predictable and with a one-dimensional personality.

The premise is quite original however they dont make really ... good use of it due to the stereotypical nature and the predictableness behind it..

First its about Kuroko helping kagami to become a good player at the level of the "kiseki no sedai" and then theres character arcs for Kise, Midorima and Aomine.. wich, SURPRISE, its the genki airhead guy, the intelectuall prick and the "THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN BEAT MYSELF IS ME" guy wich by that you´re already imagining that he is a total dick..

The show often relies on its good animation, like a big old fat man riding his ferrari around the town and still getting some.. If theres one way i can describe KnB is "good to look at" because other than that there isnt much else i can say about it..

The Sound is actually good it helped me to get trough the series has it kind of gave me hope..

Despite being a introductory season Knb 1 was still quite Mediocre ..

The comedy is actually appealing to say the least atleast it managed to pull of some giggles but if KnB wants to surprise me or change my Opinion the 2nd season needs to be way better and I am going to start watching whenever i can..

I give Knb a medium-prority and if you arent into sports then you probably wont like this, but try it anyway its not like my opinion is the ultimate best you´ll find.

Ive never really watched sports anime but im giving this the full 10!!!
Its full of action, great soundtrack with brilliant and more importantly suitable voices for the characters.

I like how the main character, Kuroko, is more of a shadow that people can easily overlook (often comically) but still let people know he's the main character without being all 'in your face' about it which isnt what you often see.
Speaking of the Kuroko, he brings so many light hearted comical scenes into the anime from where he'd just appear out of nowhere or disappear which greatly balances out Kagami's fiery personality.
The key characters of this series, ... the generation of miracles. Having had read the manga beforehand, im aware of how each of the five are portrayed and I cant fault the series to how they have developed and portrayed them so far.

Yes, it does bring into question how a kids around the age of first year high schoolers can be over 6ft tall but that is the beauty of 2D world, anything can happen.
If you are one of those who are pedantic about these petty details and decided to make a pass on the series then youre definitely missing out.

Every week, you just cant wait to see the next episode to be aired just to get more exhilarating action.
In my opinion, this IS one of the best series to be released and i hope it gets more episodes as it is just pure enjoyment.

Summarise why this series needs to be watched:
- Great animation quality
- Great art style
- Great characters
- Great soundtrack
- Great voices
- Great story
- Great enjoyment
You cant miss out on something with that many greats in :)

Note: this is my first review on this site but I'm pretty confident that this will be helpful.

You don't have to know how to play Basketball if you want to enjoy this show or watch the NBA- though you should try just to see what it's like in real life but Kuroko no Basuket, also known as Kuroko's Basketball is an anime that will keep you glued to your seat from the first episode. Now, I have to say that I wasn't a very big fan of sports anime, in fact I disliked the whole lot of it, or I just didn't really have any ... interest in them. I have watched (The prince of tennis) before and it was average to me. I've heard of (Slam Dunk) and other sports anime that were famous but they sounded boring to me(not anymore). Kuroko to Basuket was the first sports anime that I gave myself a chance to watch, and I'm VERY glad that I did.


Story: 9/10
The Teiko middle school basketball club. An incredibly strong team with over 100 members and 3 consecutive championship wins. Amongst their brilliant record, the generation of 5 prodigies was known as "The Generation Of Miracles." However, there was a strange rumor concerning the Generation Of Miracles. Despite being relatively unknown and lacking a game record, there was one more member recognized by the 5 prodigies. A phantom sixth man... (You'll recognize this soon) The story of Kuroko and Kagami and of course their team (Seirin) struggle and getting stronger and aiming for the top throughout the series is just absolutely amazing, because there is more than that of course. And with a great mix of comedy at times like the old classic joke when Kuroko suddenly appears and disappear and Kagami's English speaking skills. Now, I won't spoil anything so you can watch the series for yourself, but If you don't like the first few episodes, then you'll probably drop the series sooner or later. The development of the story is normal paste and they adapted the manga very well.


Art: 9/10
With Production IG doing the animation, expect it to be nice and fluid (Have you seen Guilty Crown?), but not always. They can't just go changing the art style that the original creator of the manga (Fujimaki, Tadatoshi) did. But don't get me wrong, this kind of art is perfect for a sports anime, as for a sports anime the characters at many times are always moving around and that is not easy to animate though it can be rigid at times. They did a very good job in my opinion. This art style really brings out the aspects of the characters. It's not the best, but I like it. Overall the animation is great.


Sound: 8/10
Alright, I swear that I heard dubstep tracks in many episodes, not hardcore like Skrillex of course. The other tracks are pretty good but not outstanding. The score does a good job when telling the way the game is drifting and the emotions of players. (Has anyone ever heard Guilty Crown OST?) - No, the sound track of Kuroko to basket is good and has a nice pace.


Character: 10/10
Throughout the series, you get to see the different factors of major characters, what they went through, how they get stronger, and by all means... They never give up. This is what made them who they are today, look at Serin for an example, but I don't think this applies for Aomine and maybe some of the [GOM] \(*[]*)/ Anyway, you will find that from the beginning to the end the characters change, some little and some drastically, like Kagami.


Enjoyment: 10/10
I just love this show from the bottom of my heart. To tell you the truth, I'm not a very active person. I don't play sports or exercise much, and I know this is only an Anime, but this show inspired me to go outside and actually DO SOMETHING! - No I am not a hikikomori, and plz don'th think I'm pathetic cause I don't exercise! So... all in all you really will enjoy this show;)


Overall:
This show is great and I think most people will really like it. It's not a masterpiece, but it's VERY close to it. Hope there will be a season 2, maybe there will because of the profit the company's making since this is a hit anime in Japan WOOOOOOOO! Thanks for reading my review if you did :D

What makes a good basketball player? There are many attributes to consider here, but most of them amount to the same thing: athletic ability.

Kuroko Tetsuya lacks it. He's small, he's slim, he cannot dribble, he cannot shoot, and he has no stamina. In fact, everything about him is so incredibly unremarkable that he is practically invisible both on court and off. Thus, he considers himself "a supporting actor, a shadow", one whose goal it is to help another one achieve greatness, or, as he puts it, "to make the brightness of a light stand out".

Originally the rumored phantom sixth man of the "Generation of Miracles", ... a middle school team who used to demolish the competition, he is tired of his previous teammates' way of playing. With the only recently formed Seirin High School Basketball club and his newly chosen "light" Kagami Taiga, Kuroko aims to take on the former members' of the Generation of Miracles new clubs one by one, and in doing so prove the importance of team spirit. That is "Kuroko no Basket" – "Kuroko's Basketball" – the way of playing Basketball which Kuroko firmly believes in.

Just like Kuroko possesses the skill of misdirection, each player, coaches and managers not excluded, has a special ability. These abilities are not something a basketball player of flesh and blood would be realistically able to perform and feel like super powers from a battle shōnen. One might be fooled by the large portion of BL-themed fan art for the show, but Kuroko no Basket is a typical show of its demographic. In addition to fast-paced action and silly comedy, interpersonal relationships are important only inasmuch as the importance of friendship and camaraderie within a sports team is shown.

All the more of a bummer is it that with the exception of Kuroko and Kagami, the players of Seirin High remain oddly flat and feckless during these first 25 episodes, while the Generation of Miracles whose haughtiness Kuroko has come to detest slowly turn out to be the true stars of the show. This discrepancy is even reflected by their character designs: the Seirin players, with the exception of Kuroko and Kagami, all have relatively realistic hair colors, whereas the members of the Generation of Miracles have flashy unnatural hair colors most of which resonate with their names. It often seemed to me as if the show was contradicting its intended message by making the remaining Seirin players feel like extras in comparison.

I was rather disappointed with the humor in Kuroko no Basket. I thought it was cheap and felt forced, but in the end, humor, even more so than anything else, is a matter of personal preference, and while I was especially annoyed by Kagami's Engrish, others have deemed it the highlight of the show. The highly suspense-packed, fast-paced basketball matches on the other hand were a joy to watch, and are the reason I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for a second season.

Other reviewers have already covered the "unrealisticness" of Kuroko no Basket, so I'm going to get right into the anime itself; what makes it so good. And what make it so good?

Its storyline and characters.

The storyline is essentially Seirin High School's basketball team trying to be the best of its kind. It contains two of the story's main characters: Kuroko Tetsuya and Kagami Taiga. What makes Kuroko no Basket's characters so interesting is how diverse they are; the story’s main characters, Kuroko and Kagami, could not be more different. This of course, makes the anime interesting, as you get to see the same experiences ... told with two different perspectives. Strangely enough, while Kuroko and Kagami have completely different personalities and views on the game of basketball, they share the same goal: wanting to push Seirin High School to the top. They start on rough terms; however, it is immediately noticeable that if Kuroko and Kagami are able to achieve perfect teamwork, they would form an effective offensive partnership that would be impossible to stop.

Their goal is not easily attainable by any means, a point that is driven home with each successive game they play. There is simply so much talent within their competition; especially so with the teams containing any of the Generation of Miracles, “a generation of five players with talents that you would see once every ten years”. Despite Seirin also containing one of the Generation of Miracles in Kuroko, he is seen as somewhat of an underdog. Seirin also possesses Kagami; however, he is portrayed as a reckless hot-shot who still has much to learn. As a result, Seirin is characterized as an underdog school. However, that characterization only serves to make the story more enjoyable, as it creates situations where Seirin emerges as the dark horse within the competition.

Watching an underdog improve, learn from its mistakes, and surpass its superiors is extremely rewarding. Why would anyone want to watch a set of unquestionably superior individuals squashing their competition, with little to no challenge? And that is the crux of Kuroko no Basket’s greatness. It is a story about a group of underdogs who are on the rise to stardom, wanting to be the best; a story of trials and tribulations, success and failure. Watching Seirin's group of guys trying to achieve their ultimate goal only leads to a feeling of satisfaction; if you don't like Kuroko no Basket, you don't like anime.

After being told over and over again by a fried that i needed to watch this show i finally caved in, and gave it a shot. I was pleasantly surprised by the show and enjoyed watching it from start to finish. Everything about the show was done very well. As someone who as played basketball up the varsity level it was pretty funny to see all of the classic stereotypes make an appearance in the show.

*if you don't want a summary of the show skip the first paragraph

Just a short summary before we start, Kuroko no Basket follows the story of a High school ... basketball team that has only been established for 2 years. At the beginning of the school year they were able to recruit two freshmen who were exceptionally talented, and figured that they would have a good shot at winning a championship that year. The only problem is this year the "generation of miracles", which is a team of 5 players who were believed to be unbeatable, also entered high school the same year. Each of the miracle players went on a different team and each has their own unique talent. And all of them went to a different school that the main team would have to play against in order to win a championship.

One aspect that was done especially well was the character development. While some of the back-stories of a few of the players were left out, each of them had their own traits that made them unique. That being said despite the fact that all the characters were unique, the show decided to focus primarily on 2 players in particular. This doesn't hurt the story too bad, but it definitely leaves you wishing some of the other players would get just a little more screen time.

The other thing i liked about this show was the fact that team that the story followed didn't take and extreme side of the spectrum when they started off. This is sadly pretty common in any show including a team of some sort, where one of 2 things happens. Either the team is sucks and losses every game until a magical transformation near the end, or the worse of the two, when the team simply put never looses. Thankfully Kuroko no basket doesn't take one side or the other.

Lastly, the show had an interesting way of pacing its self. I liked the way they presented the story, where they would give the thoughts of every character whenever the chance was presented. This was nice because it helped further aid the character development and give you a good idea of what was going through everyone's head at a given time. But this same thing that made the show good, was also something that bugged me a little bit. This was because it didn't stop even during games. This lead to the pace being slowed down drastically during what would normally be very fact paced, or instantaneous events. and then while it really wasn't a huge deal it is worth mentioning that some of the "abilities" that the players from the generation of miracles had were blown a bit out of proportion which while they weren't meant to be funny i did find myself getting a good chuckle from time to time even during scenes that were suppose to be serious on behalf of these near super human basket ball skills.

In the end Kuroko no Basket was a very good show that i would recommend to anyone who enjoys sports anime or even a good laugh once in a while.

I wasn't expecting much from this but so far it has blown me away. Each episode is exciting and suspenseful. Even if you're not a sports fan you could be hooked in very easily.

You could say expect the unexpected and it's true.

*The story line is great.
*The characters each have their own personality and skill.
*Funny.
*Full of action.
*Gets you pumped.
*Soundtrack is Amazing!
... *Art is definitively a favorite part.

I highly highly recommend this! Everything's just flat out amazing~

Hi, this is my review for Kuroko no Basket. If you decide to vote "Not Helpful", please tell me why you did so on my profile as I always look to improve and please, read the review.

Story: 4/5 Plot, 1/5 Development, Total 5/10

Kuroko, now a junior high school student starts his semester Seirin High School, a team in it's 2nd year. What the other players at Seirin soon find out is that he was a player on the legendary Teiko Middle School team, and was known as the "phantom sixth man". Along with Kagami Taiga, Kuroko decides to beat the "Generation of Miracles", Kuroko's old ... teammates which are all split up among schools around the area. Reason why, is because Kuroko thinks they no longer know what it is to play basketball as a team.

The story of Kuroko no Basket is not very exceptional, but it's also unique in a way that the main characters don't only seek to be the best, but to beat 5 specific people. As the story unfolds we have few sidesteps from the main story and most of it is predictable. However, the plot keeps you going since you always want to see Kuroko's other teammates and learn about them.

I am a person that can continue watching shows even after they are spoiled for me, but if you really can't handle knowing most of what will happen in the next episode, you might want to skip this show.

Art: 5/5 Art, 4/5 Animation, Total 9/10

The art and animation is detailed and thoroughly done. The animators, drawers, whatever they're called making this animation and art have really outdone themselves. I mean, I really have nothing to complain about. However, when watching I noticed that some of the animation might've been missing some frames.

Sound: 3/4 Voices, 2/2 OP/ED , 4/4 OST, Total 9/10

I can't complain a lot about the voices except for a few unfitting ones on a few of the supporting characters, however these don't really matter and the voice actors for Kagami, Midorima and Kuroko I think are exceptional.
The OP and ED of Kuroko no Basketball are definetly not lacking and work really well for introducing the episod eand ending it. Can't complain.

Now for the OST, we have Gyakushuu, Kagami Taiga, Misdirection and ofcourse Sessen. If you haven't heard Sessen or missed it in the anime, then I beg you; seriously. Go listen to it. Right now. The OST collection this anime has is one of the best if not the best. Seriously.

Character: 3/5 Design, 4/5 Development, Total 7/10

The characters are kind of simple and clichè, but they got nice details to them and the fact that they represent a color of their own(Each have a color in their name) is really neat. Though the characters might seem clichè, I know the original mangaka put a lot of work into them. I can't see why people would dislike any of the characters for a bad design. The team is enjoyable to watch and even the simple talk is great, there's even more development further which makes me really like this show.

Our two main characters and a description:
Kuroko - strongwilled though silent, a bit of a smart type MC
Kagami - probably more of a MC than Kuroko, eats a lot(cliché), musclehead

And also, plot twist: The girl is the coach, not the manager!
Throughout the anime we have nice development arcs and we have deep insight in what the characters feel and think. The characters are never left alone once in the spotlight and the anime does a good job at the development(for a shounen anime!).

Enjoyment: 9/10

I really enjoyed this anime, though I maybe liked the 2nd season a bit more. There are neatly placed puns and jokes inbetween the serious matches and the anime is both full of action and full of great humour.

Overall: 8/10

8/10 for very good. It is a good anime to watch but it's not a must see though it gives sometimes a good laugh and sometimes scenes so serious you think you're playing basketball yourself. I recommend it to everyone with the random thought "I should watch a sports anime"(the case for me). And if you've already watched it, you should watch "Haikyuu!" which probably is my favourite sports-and overall anime.

Kuroko is supposed to be a sports anime, but it isn't even about the sport. Despite there being basketball games that take place, there is no real portrayal of basketball to be found. It is just a generic rule of cool anime that happens to involve basketball. The concept of superpowers in sports completely takes the point away from the sport in the first place. It makes the side characters irrelevant, and it completely destroys the foundation of the sport. Instead of placing the focus on the intricacies of the sport, we are focused on random superpowers. The characters are bland and uninteresting, and there ... are no stakes present in this anime whatsoever because of this.

Characters:
There is no reason to care for the characters on their journey because there is no reason to like them in the first place. We hardly see them in their personal lives, and we don't see them make relationships with anyone outside of the team. They don't have any real motivations except that Kuroko wants to prove that he is valuable to the other members of the generation of miracles for some reason. This doesn't make sense in the first place because Kuroko is constantly asked by the other members to leave the team he joined to join them, proving that they saw him as valuable the whole time. Even if they didn't, he is already one of the 10 best players in the entire world because he was born with superpowers, so of course, he would be valuable. Kuroko is a shy person who goes unnoticed by most of the people around him. This is literally just what his ability is. He goes unnoticed on the court because of the fact that he doesn't do much, and he uses this to his advantage. Except he actually does do stuff on the court, such as passing, so you would think that the opponents would begin to learn of this cliche and not let it happen over and over again, but yet he still goes unnoticed. When your entire personality can be defined in a simple ability like Kuroko's can, that's the sign of a generic self-insert character.

Kagami is just along for the ride and doesn't have many real motivations outside of the generic wanting to be number one by surpassing the generation of miracles. This is literally impossible due to his ability being almost completely useless, if not the most useless in the anime. This would be a fine underdog story normally, but in this anime, the concept of getting better through training is completely nonexistent. This means there is no point in watching this anime because the main character will either achieve his goals through plot armor and bad writing, or he will never achieve them at all since he was born unlucky.
The side characters pretty much have no involvement in the games since all of the main characters have superpowers. This is a terrible way of nullifying all side characters since they were born unlucky, and they are only there as filler players. The games might as well be 2v2 games instead of 5v5. Outside of that, they only serve as comedy and fan service.

The rest of the generation of miracles are just stereotypes with broken abilities with different hair colors. When you pick a favorite character in this anime, you don't pick them because you like their character more; you pick them for their hair color and their abilities. All of the main characters who have abilities are defined by simply having a different hair color from one another, and that's it. Aomine is a poorly written-character as well. He was growing tired of competing since he was better than everyone else around him, so why didn't he just move on and play against bigger competetion? This happens all the time in real life, where younger people play up. It was Aomines choice to play against worse competetion, so why does he still play in the lower leagues? I found myself not caring about a single character because nobody is playing for anything meaningful. The main 2 characters are trying to get attention for how lucky they were for being born with basketball abilities; Kise doesn't even like basketball and also just wants to be cool like Aomine. Aomine thinks he is better than everyone and also doesn't want to play the sport, and we don't even know what Midorima is playing for. The only characters with some sort of actual motivations happen to be the side characters, who will never even be useful on a team no matter how hard they train.

Powers:
The generation of miracles is a poor concept, to begin with. These people all happened to go to the same school at the same time, and all happen to have superpowers? It doesn't make sense that they all go to the same school, and nobody else outside of this school had any superpowers, except Kagami, of course, because of plot convenience. Why are these people even competing at the high school level at this point? Midorima can literally shoot 100% from 3. This is not only impossible but Steph Curry, who is the best 3-point shooter of all time, only shoots 42.8% from 3, so why isn't he playing at a much higher level already? This concept is so poorly thought out, and if the writer wanted to force abilities in this badly, they should've made them less overpowered and more subtle, so it would at least be fair. The players and coaches seem to be self-aware of these abilities, yet they aren't at the same time. They are never implemented into the game plan at all. The abilities are often inconsistent, to the point where even the author doesn't know how they work. There is no consistency or use of strategy integrated within the abilities that add to the sport. You would think that, at least with the power system, the author would include this as a strategic way of playing through the basketball game, but even with these powers, there is still no strategy involved, and it is just random dunks with barely any planning or teamwork.
The author was attempting to mix normal basketball play with overpowered abilities, but this creates an infinite number of problems such as: If Midorima can shoot 100% from anywhere on the court (even full-court shots somehow, which is physically impossible), why don't they just set screens or create ball movement in order to get him more open? Why doesn't Kise just copy whatever ability he needs at any moment in time whenever he needs that exact ability? Why does Kuroko go unnoticed still even though people know that his quirk is going unnoticed? Why does Kagami's ability defy the laws of physics? Why is Aomine so overpowered to the point where he can seemingly do anything he wants? The author was attempting to still have the characters play normal basketball even with these broken abilities, but the author didn't realize just how much these abilities change the core function of how the sport is played. Instead of going all the way and changing it fully, he mixes it with traditional basketball, and he uses the abilities as a cheap way to let us know who the important characters are instead of being able to come up with actual crafty basketball skills that normal people have in real life.
Even the Coach has a random inhuman ability for no reason, which normally serves as plot convenience to use it as an excuse for her to know when Kagami should play or not whenever he gets injured. Instead of having a medical team like in real life and having to make a life-altering decision such as deciding whether to risk it all and play for the current time and risk making your injury career-ending or to suck it up and let it heal by ending the current season. Instead of being faced with tough decisions, the coach just magically knows exactly what Kagami's health status is and if he should continue playing or not. Why doesn't she become a doctor or something and actually do something more important than being a basketball coach with an ability like this? Could you imagine how helpful she would be? But no, she is just a basketball coach for a random school for some reason. The powers create infinite problems, and this was one of the biggest downfalls of the anime.

Games:
The games do a good job of building suspense, and it captures the intensity of the games really well at times. The soundtrack also does a great job at keeping the viewer interested along with the overall competitive environment. On the first watch, Kuroko can be thrilling and intense for anyone who manages to care about the characters. However, the games themselves are very uninteresting if you take the emotions out. Rewatching a game in Kuroko is almost completely pointless, and it's just plaing boring unless you're watching out of pure nostalgia. Rewatching a real NBA game, even when you know the outcome is very rewarding because you can dissect so many little things all of the players do and the strategies involved within the game to learn more about the sport and to learn how to get better at it yourself. You can really see everyones intent and purpose in the game. In Kuroko, there is no real strategy. It's just a rule of cool, with random shooting, running around, dunking, and overpowered abilities. This is why it’s so easy to get into this anime for people who don’t play basketball because it’s not actually basketball. The games are too lackluster and don't have enough strategy to be interesting to anyone who isn't just satisfied with seeing random dunking. There are never any stakes because we are never invested in the characters, and nobody is playing for anything meaningful.

In Summary:
In sports, everyone has to constantly work on their game to improve it no matter the sport. This is how you get better than others. In real life, anyone can be as good as they want to be at any sport if they work hard enough at it and learn what their strengths and weaknesses are. This isn't the case in Kuroko because no matter how hard they train, the side characters will never come close to touching the skill of the main characters. Therefore the message of this show is to hope you get lucky and are born with the best genetics. So, if you aren't born as a 7-foot-tall male with a 50" vertical that can also shoot consistently from anywhere on the floor efficiently and play defense at a high level, you might as well just not play basketball in the first place unless you want to be an irrelevant side character.
There is no sense in attempting to get better at the sport, there is no strategy, and we aren't shown the intricacies of the sport in the slightest. I was able to enjoy something like Initial D even though I was never interested in racing in the slightest because the author bothered to show the viewers the intricacies of the sport, and I was able to really appreciate racing once I finished it. I learned a lot about racing after completing Initial D, However, with Kuroko, this isn't the case. The concept of the abilities takes what is good about basketball out and turn it into something it isn't and should never be. If you don't know anything about basketball, don't expect Kuroko to teach you a single thing. Kuroko doesn't capture the struggle of being on a team, having to put in the actual effort, and suffering loss as a team while overcoming that loss and getting better. It fails at even showing the most simple aspects of basketball on a fundamental or rudimentary level, and it doesn't have that much of an interesting plot outside of the basketball games. The characters are bland for the most part, with no real motivations of their own. Kuroko is bad in many aspects, and the only people I would recommend it to are those who enjoy turning their brains off and watching Rule of Cool action. It isn't a complete disaster and has some positives, but there are other anime more worth your time.

To be honest I never expected that I would fall that much in love with this serie. I first didn’t see potential in a basketball game. I couldn’t imagine how they could make such a game exciting. But started since I had been recommended it so much and Hajime no Ippo was the only sports anime I had seen yet. What is about boxing so it is still as much similar to fighting as to sports. So I decided to give it a chance and you cannot believe how happy I am that I saw this serie. However the serie isn’t finished yet, it has ... become one of my top 5 anime with the potential to jump to number one. If the serie keeps evolving itself, like it is doing now.

But what was so good about it? well I would say everything. But lets starts with probably the best part of the serie the characters. The character development is very well done. The way every character is introduced and developed during a game. The order and the timing of how you learn the characters. The way you are starting to appreciate or even admire almost every player, even when you disagree with their way of thinking. This especially on the (ex)members of the generation of miracles. Then the characters on there own are so good and so original. Lots of them really inspired me with their thoughts. The combination of all of them gave me that much motivation that I play much better since then. I don’t even play basket but hockey is a teamsport of 5 players so it is kinda the same. Especially the thoughts of the generation of miracles and of course that of serin itself motivated me. Really everything of this serie could’ve been made just by the wonderful characters with wonderful spirits but it even got support on top of that. The drawings of the players when they play basketball with all their movements are really well done and detailed. It has a great Ost that fits the serie perfectly. Especially the rock guitar solos for in the game are good however the sad music is also good. The voice acting wasn’t bad either but most of the voice actings are from superb level in anime. All this made it very enjoyable. I was suprisely never bored while watching it what is pretty rare in my case. The way the series just keep becoming better is just like a car that accelerates if it keep going like this with the end as absolutely climax. It will become without doubt my favorite serie ever.

Kuroko No Basket is an anime that was recommended to me by a very good friend of mine who, like me, is a basketball enthusiast. I didn't take his recommendation too seriously when I read the description and found out that this was a sports anime. I never truly had an interest in sports anime since it didn't have a natural appeal to me. Anime were too me, a way to explore new realities, new universes where the laws of logic and (for some reason) gravity doesn't count. Places where you can be a ninja or a soul reaper, even a pirate. A place where ... even the whiniest loser can find love and romance. A place of fantasy that can sometimes be shattered by reality.

To me anime was that special place, so when I thought about sports anime, I just dismissed it as "probably boring", or "not going to work well or be factual", or " can't be better than the real thing, aren't sports anime competiting with the real sport??...seems like a losing battle"

These were my prejudgment about sports anime, and may or may not be fair judgments. After a while, my friend checked up on my list and saw that Kuroko No basket was never added. He then pleaded with me to give the anime a try and just to watch the first two episodes, if I didn't like it, he would leave me alone and never speak of it again. I agreed. I watched the two episodes and..boy, was I blown away!

Story:

This anime is extremely intriguing and catches your attention straight from the get-go. The prelude before the opening already gives a feel for the mood and storyline of the show. You are curious to see who this mystery sixth man is, and what kind of player he is.

At first glance, Kuroko seems weak and shy, but he is in reality very confident. You consider that he may be small, really quick and a good point guard. However, you then found out that he cannot even make the simple of layups, cannot dribble, and has no jumper. Then you come to the realization that this guy is a loser, and probably the whole show will about him learning JUST how to shoot a normal jumper and make a simple layup. Your heart drops at the idea of a slow, non fulfilling anime..again

By the end of the episode though, you see the real extent of Kuroko's ability and you are simply amazed..amazed enough to go the second episode in which the story line then takes over.

This being my first sports anime, it is easy for me to say that the story line is original, I mean, who's heard of a middle school basketball team that contains five basketball phenoms (all with unique abilities) and a phantom sixth man whose the incarnation of Rondo and Steve Nash. Some may say the story line isn't original, but those aren't my sentiments.

You are immediately enthralled by the notion of these five phenoms, of the so called "miracle generation", you want to see them play and see how they stack up against Kagami who's been to America.

The way that these miracles are introduced, and used are in my opinion perfect. I was captured by every moment of it. In that sense, I give the story line a 10/10 for outstanding job creating a mood and suspense.

Art:

The art is good, not the best anime art that I've ever seen. I've said I've never watched a sports anime, but there's been scenes in other animes where basketball was played namely true tears..and the basketball scene in there was more crisp, fluid, and dynamic. Of course, I don't expect Kuroko no Basket to pull off this kind of art for an entire season, but maybe one or two moves of this kind of animation would have been fine.

I don't have any great regret or criticism about the art, some of it was done extremely well but for a show this recent, I would have liked more fluidity.

The characters design were well done, and I was able to recognize most of the players in every scene. I like how most of the main characters all had different hair color to help us differentiate between them. A show about sports is bound to have a lot of characters so I enjoy the uniqueness of each char and they add to their personalities. I'm still amazed that some of these character can play full games with normal glasses on...not that I haven't seen that in real life.

8/10, overall very good art and animation.

Sound:

Anyone who has read previous reviews of mine knows how much of an importance I put on bgm music and the quality of sound in a show. The background music has the ability to make or break a show. The most important scenes can be altered dramatically by the music piece that they choose to use as background music.

That said, I really liked and enjoyed the bgm of Kuroko no basket. There was a particular case I remember when I thought a better piece might have been used..I won't state the case since it would spoil and reveal for some people, but those who has watched the show may know which scene I am talking about.

I really liked the piece that starts off most episode, the prelude, it really sets the semi-serious tone that this is all business and that the miracle generation are the main guys running things.

During the game scenes the sound used to portray aggression, intimidation, desperation were all used very greatly and this only added to my enjoyment of Kuroko No Basket.
9/10

Characters:

The characters make this show. If it wasn't for the intense personality of Kagami, or the calm confidence of Kuroko, then the enjoyment of this show would drop significantly. They are a great complement to each other and have an interesting and intriguing dynamic.

They aren't the only ones with interesting dynamics, it seems that every player from the "miracle generation" have a or teammates that complement them and make it fun to watch them in the locker room. The teams really do feel like real teams, it's not always lovely dovey, teammates can really get in each other's nerves and this portrayed well in that sense.

Speaking of the generation of miracles, at this point we are only formally introduced to a few of them, but the few that we know are well written characters, have perks about them and are overall good to watch.

I wish that we would have at least a character that is American come into the show, someone from New York, or North Carolina that can also play basketball. It would bring a whole new dynamic to the show since now we can actually measure these "basketball miracles" to the real deal (the American youth greatly out measures the world in basketball...this is different when we start talking about the adults).

I was patiently waiting for an American to be featured but this didn't happen, we got something close to that..but he wasn't American and thus didn't bring the same level of intensity that I would like. Maybe this will done in the future, but the goal of the characters in Kuroko No Basket is to be the best players of Japan, not necessarily the world.

Overall, I love the characters and they brought the uniqueness and the intensity to the show that captured from episode 1 up.
10/10
Overall:

I've played four years of high school basketball, and planning on playing college basketball. So the sport is something that I hold dear to my heart and has been a part of my life for a long time. I didn't think an anime could portray the passion that I have for the sports but surprisingly it did.

As Kobe Bryant would call it " The love of the game" is strong in this show. Kagami comes to mind when I think of that. I was just like him when I was younger and playing in high school, I couldn't sleep the night before games. I was always excited to play better competition and better athletes than me.

Watching Kuroko no basket gave me goosebumps by how riveting and how exciting and hype it made me.

Yes, a lot of the game play were unrealistic but this is an anime, and they should be able to defeat the restrictions that we have in this plane of reality. Yes, it is impossible to shoot a 100% from the floor but don't we all wish we did? Yes, we wish we had the ability to copy every move from every player that see..( some people can do this to some extend) but we cannot so why not give these abilities to fictional players and see how much more pressing a game may become. If we all wanted realistic plays, we could just go to youtube and watch a regular game..we watch this as entertainment and I would be gravely lying if I said I wasn't entertained.

10/10 for Kuroko No Basket and I recommend this to anyone.