Kagami takes the fight to the other team in full force and fury.
What They Say:
The pressure of the game is causing Kagami skills to rapidly increase; he continues to score keeping Seirin in the game. But his thoughts are turning darker and self-serving
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The match against Shutoki was always going to be a difficult one on a lot of levels and seeing how the team is coming together as best as they can has been a lot of fun. Kuroko’s managed to help keep things somewhat even for a bit even though they’ve figured out ways past him with their eagle eye view, but what’s proven the hardest for Seirin to deal with is the fact that Shutoki’s main player can shoot – and score – from his own basket all the way down the court. That’s something that can definitely change the dynamic and he’s intent on taking down SEirin practically on his own at this point in order to show them how different their levels really are.
With the first half out of the way, the half time break in the locker rooms are pretty different. For Shutoki, they’re just being told to shut down Seirin going forward since they know they can dominate them and to just stop playing around. For Seirin though, there’s a dark nature about things which isn’t a surprise either as they try and figure out in their own heads the way to move forward. While there is that side to it, it’s also very welcome to see some lightheartedness enter the room as the guys joke about different ways they can win the match, such as a meteor hitting just the Shutoki players or all of them coming down with stomach aches. It’s the kind of simple humor that you’d expect from guys of this age in this kind of pressured situation.
When the show shifts back to the game in the second half, there is a dynamic change that isn’t quite so apparent at first, but is huge in the end. Kagami’s been quiet in the half time break but he comes out of it with a kind of intensity that’s really fun to watch as he takes the game to Shutoki completely, and Midorima in particular. Because of his long shot capacity, he forces some different approaches to try and box him that ends up working really well. With Kagami pushing them towards a second half comeback, it seems like it takes on a whole other feeling since he pushes himself so far, so personally, making it almost a vendetta to win the game by himself. Of course, that leads to potential penalties on his part as well as simply pushing his body and spirit too far.
In Summary:
As the game goes on, there’s a lot to like here as we see Kagami really take the center stage and force the game in the direction he wants, though not without consequences. The team building side of it is certainly suffering, but there’s a sense from the others that they can turn it around with him if they can get through to him. While we haven’t had a lot of material that’s really made this a team, when we do get it, it works well. Kagamis’s playing without Kuroko shows a different side and it’s becoming clearer that the two really do balance each other out while also finding ways to involve everyone for the overall go. With only one quarter left to go, things are getting more and more precarious for the team, but there’s also a sense that it’s all finally coming together.
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.