The next round is up and Seiho is unlike any team they’ve faced before.
What They Say:
Seirin first major game is against the invincible defense of Seiho. The unorthodox manor in the way Seiko moves is finally understood, but is it too late?
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Kuroko’s Basketball worked rather well for me the lsat time around as it dealt with several games in one episode, hinting at some, showing bits of others, and generally just moving things along so that we can get to where they want to be. The downside to this kind of quick movement is one that is definitely holding the series back in that we really don’t know these characters. It’d be the same no matter the sport, but the comparisons to Slam Dunk are easy and obvious. While that series dragged out its matches too far at times, it did spend a lot of time with practices and character building. We learned a lot about each of them during both practice and game, but here we get just a sliver as to who they are. It’s more that we know what they’re competing against than anything else, which is unfortunate since this has such a great look to it and could be so much more.
The show brings in some down time at school here, which is good, as it allows us to see the boys being boys and having some generic conversations even if they do touch on the sport they all love as well. Still, the focus here is basketball and team performance, which is definitely going to be tested as the group goes up against their first really big match with Seiho. With what we’ve heard of them and then what we see of them with their size and power, it set up a pretty ominous match, especially when practice starts off showing the Seiho team all in black. I’s a psychological edge that definitely makes them look more imposing and threatening, even when you have one or two players from that team that are a bit goofy. There’s an intensity about them that stands out in a significant way even from the brief time we see them before the match.
When the show gets to the game, it’s just a portion of the second half of the episode after we get some of the interpersonal strain going on as both Kuroko and Kagami aren’t sure how this game will go. The game itself is similar in a way to what we saw last episode in that it moves quick and deals with certain parts of it rather than looks at it as a whole. Because of Seiho’s position in the rankings and their long track record, they’re definitely a difficult team to go up against and it’s made clear very early on that they’re intent on not holding back. What’s intriguing about the way Seiho plays is that, as Seirein’s coach reveals, it’s done using a form of old school martial arts when it comes to movement, energy and defense. Discovering it is only half the issue though, but it’s the first part to overcoming the second part.
In Summary:
Kuroko’s Basketball takes an interesting approach to how it goes against Seiho, when they do actually get to it, since they’re not a normal team like we’ve seen before. The previous teams have had their quirks or star players that draw attention to themselves, but here the team as a whole comes across very differently for our Seirin players. This provides a good balance to the first half where we get some day in the life material and a look at the team themselves as they practice, but it’s still not enough of the character material we really need, either on the court or off the court, to make them really accessible characters. The show continues to be fun and has some really good moments, but it’s all still very superficial when it comes to those that are running the court.
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.
