Everyone wants to get going with the unofficial match, but not everyone is actually on the team yet.
What They Say:
No episode summary provided.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
While it’s not a series that blew me away at the start, it was a show in its first episode that set up the theme of it well and hit all the right bits when it comes to a sports anime for the high school set. It’s something of a guilty pleasure as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed several basketball series over the years and enjoyed the way the sport itself was presented here with some good animation and a cast that can easily be brought into play in a good way. With Production IG behind the animation, it’s something that could have some really neat tricks along the way as well. But it’s the cast that has to sell it and we got something intriguing with a potential pairing that could be utilized to enhance one over the other, willingly, to become something more.
With how things played out, it’s no surprise that both Kagami and Kuroko are keen on playing the unofficial match that has been organized. Kagami in particular is eager to play against some of those from the Generation of Miracles, but he’s having a hard time understanding what happened with Kuroko. While he’s understood what it is he’s capable of, odd as it is when it comes to playing basketball, it’s still something where the rest of those from that generation have gone off to other schools after middle school and have made real names for themselves and are the driving force. But the two young men are intent on moving forward and reaching glory, but they still have the first big problem of being more than just applicants and must become official players first.
While all of this gets hashed out, we do get some good growth on the characters themselves, largely through Kagami and Kuroko, as they talk about what basketball means to them. But these new players are getting a chance to shine in a few ways and showing their love of te game and what will drive them further. Of course, there’s also the past which comes into play as some like Kuroko have gotten featured in magazines before which the others can see. Rather than create resentment though, it’s good to see that it’s a bit of admiration and that Kuroko is pretty humble about it all. So when the team does start to work together within practices, they’re all on the same page of just wanting to bring some victories to themselves and to their school, to make their own name and be the dark horse surprise out of nowhere. We get a cute little nod with one of Kuroko’s former teammates showing up and that just reinforces it.
In Summary:
The basketball itself isnt too strong here overall, but it gets an appropriate piece towards the end that shows off the skill of the Generation of Miracles. The continued references to them as that may get old quickly, but the status placed upon those from that group definitely gives everyone else a goal to achieve and something to strive for and compete against. Whether that will last when they actually start playing against people from that group is another matter. But for this episode, the focus is about getting everyone that’s going to make it onto the team in the right place and to slowly strengthen the bond between them all, especially Kuroko and Kagami. Kuroko gets a bit more attention here as well because of his position with those from the Generation of Miracles as well and that continues to shape the dynamic here in an interesting way.
Grade: B
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Sony KDS-R70XBR2 70″ LCoS 1080P HDTV, Dell 10.1 Netbook via HDMI set to 1080p, Onkyo TX-SR605 Receiver and Panasonic SB-TP20S Multi-Channel Speaker System With 100-Watt Subwoofer.