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Jan 31, 2016
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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.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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