(Reaper): Hello, it’s your friendly but dangerous neighborhood Reaper here and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Let us continue the saga of Kuroko’s Basketball.
*Plays project*
(Nitsuj): Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Our full time out is up so let’s continue looking at Kuroko’s Basketball.
Opening and Ending Theme
The opening for the second half is “Hengen Jizai No Magical Star” by Granrodeo (are you seeing a pattern here?). Now, out of all the openings this is the one that many consider the weakest and yeah, I have to agree with them. It’s not a bad song, it just doesn’t get you hype or excited like the previous openings and the ones that come after it. The opening just feels slow and out of place in the anime. I feel as if this opening should be used for My Hero Academy or Boruto. The ending is “Fantastic Tune” sung by Kuroko himself, Kensho Ono. Now letting VAs sing the opening or ending theme is nothing new. In fact, a lot of animes have their openings and endings sung by VAs as it just adds a certain charm to the anime and this ending is no exception. The ending is epic as you can hear and feel so many emotions coming from the character of Kuroko. There’s a hint of sadness he feels that his old teammates have become distant from each other and become bitter rivals who only care about winning but there’s also a hint of determination to move forward, keep playing, and restore the bonds he had with his old teammates while building and keeping the bonds he has with his current teammates. Kuroko goes on record saying he doesn’t hate his old teammates, he just didn’t like the direction the team went and feels like crap that he couldn’t do anything to save them despite being part of the team. On top of all this Kensho is a great singer. I actually had to double check to make sure that the singer and the VA were the same guy because it was such a drastic change but as I kept listening to the song the more it felt right to hear Kuroko sing.
Episodes 12-18
We get some down time in episode 12 with the team relaxing at a hot springs and they take full advantage of this scenario. We start off with tons of laughs such as Taiga not dressing properly, Kuroko giving Number 2 a bath, Taiga attempting to scrub Hyuga’s back, and the boys peeping (scene here: https://youtu.be/PxQtGZQltWY). After that Riko gets a visit from Momoi (scene here: https://youtu.be/fqpoRlEQGp0) and not just her but the rest of Touhou is there as well to relax after practicing for the Winter Cup and also tell them that their first opponent in the Winter Cup is them (wow, when I first read this series I was expecting this rematch to be the last game of the series. This is great). The next day they begin their training for the Winter Cup where Riko has called in her dad, Kagetora (who also used to be a good player back in the day. What team did he play for you ask? Oh just a little team called the national team of Japan. As in this guy was one of the best players in Japan and played on their Olympic and FIFA team) to help them get stronger (and the first question he asks is who saw his daughter naked? Scene here: https://youtu.be/YuwBI0Tbgzg, so Riko is surrounded by idiots 24/7. Sounds like me except replace the idiots with insane AIs. (Mira): You know we can hear you right? (Nitsuj): I know, I just wanna get that out in the open). He has them play tag in the mountains in order for them to become accustomed to their new bodies and then tells them that in the next month they’ll develop their own individual skills to be ready for the Winter Cup. As he tells them this Kuroko notices that Taiga isn’t here and Riko tells them he’s gone back to America to train with the person who taught him basketball (the sages of Basketball shall be his teacher).
The training continues in episode 13 where Kagetora says their training is going well however he’s not sure what to do with Kuroko. He’s never seen a player like him so he has no idea what to teach him (you could start by teaching him how to shoot. I’m just saying it’s been a few games and I have yet to see him take a shot. I appreciate the assists Kuroko but even Chris Paul knows when he has to shoot for his team). After a month of training the Winter Cup begins with the opening ceremony and Taiga not there yet because he forgot the time difference (that’s so Taiga). Kuroko receives a message from Akashi summoning him (well somebody has an ego). He goes to the meeting spot where he’s followed by one of the first years and we see everyone from the Generation of Miracles are there as well (this is some reunion). We finally get to meet Akashi captain of the Generation of Miracles and point guard voiced by the man whose voice gives the women orgasms and puts girls through puberty Hiroshi Kamiya (Levi from Attack on Titans). Now, out of all the character in the series this is probably the most popular character (no doubt because of his VA and the fact that he has red hair which automatically makes him hot). Taiga shows up and Akashi tells him to leave but he refuses so Akashi grabs Midorima’s scissors and tries to stab him but he dodges just in time (what the hell man, that was attempted murder, you could go to jail for that shit). Akashi than cuts his bangs and takes his leave saying that it was nice seeing everyone and that he will win because he always win (scene here: https://youtu.be/24MEIgQ6x-Y, what a crazy guy). After this the game between Seirin and Touhou begins where Touhou draws first blood with an alley-oop (I think Seirin’s gonna need a blood transfusion after that play).
Episodes 14-18 is the game between Seirin and Touhou (and it’s as intense as you can imagine). Seirin quickly score using Kuroko’s new pass a faster version of the ignite pass the ignite pass kai a pass so fast not even Aomine can stop it (scene here: https://youtu.be/2L3ibt590KE). From there it becomes an outside game between Hyuga and the apologizing mushroom guy (I’m sorry, I don’t know his name and I don’t feel he’s too important to be remembered). They go back and forth making all of their shots with Hyuga showing his new skill the step back jump shot (and it is beautiful. Michael Jordan would be proud). At the end of the first quarter the score is tied and Kuroko busts out the vanishing drive at the start of the second quarter which is bad because Touhou figured out the secret to stopping it. The secret to Kuroko’s vanishing drive is that he directs the player’s attention away from him using Taiga’s presence and in that split-second Kuroko gets pass his players (if you wanna stop the vanishing drive, eliminate Taiga’s presence). Aomine guards Kuroko and steals the ball by closing his eyes and sensing Kuroko’s movements with his breathing (yeah I’m gonna call BS on that. Out of everything in this anime why is this the one thing I’m calling BS on?). In an act of shock and frustration Kuroko uses an ignite pass before everyone is ready and Aomine steals the ball once again. Seirin calls a time out and pulls Kuroko out where he actually cries a little (Yume and Yin-Yang: Awwwww~) but Taiga tells him not to give up and to sit there and watch him play (scene here: https://youtu.be/YnlXxWz8494?t=2m7s). As the second quarter goes on it becomes a battle between Taiga and Aomine where they’re an even match with each other however Aomine hasn’t gone all out yet while it seems Taiga is. At the end of the second quarter Seirin is down by two and Kuroko comes back in where Aomine has decided to kick it up a notch against Taiga (you have the law’s attention). He manages to get pass Taiga but gets called with a charge thanks to Kuroko (if Aomine can predict Kuroko’s moves than Kuroko can predict his moves). Thanks to training everyone can now catch Kuroko’s ignite passes (which now gives him more options on the court) but this doesn’t faze Touhou as they put Zoro on Kuroko who completely immobilizes Kuroko because Momoi figured out the secret to Kuroko’s misdirection, it’s all in the eyes. Kuroko’s misdirection depends entirely on his teammates. Before using his misdirection he makes eye contact with the teammate he’s coordinating with which serves as a mirror that reflects him (https://youtu.be/2-WPlvZguZ4, in other words Kuroko is tricking the defender to look at the teammate he’s coordinating with. If you want to stop Kuroko don’t look at him because the more you do the more you fall into his trap). Under normal circumstances a player wouldn’t be able to predict Koroko’s gaze however, Zoro is a master at reading the minds and behaviors of his opponent which makes him a pretty dangerous person. Momoi also manages to shut down Hyuga’s shooting saying that it hinges on his center of gravity (don’t focus on his upper body. Focus on the toes of his pivoting foot). Despite Touhou shutting Kuroko down Seirin is not scared as this now opens the door for them to use misdirection overflow (and yes it is awesome). Kuroko gets everyone’s attention onto him and this allows everyone else to use the vanishing drive and get back into the game. The only problem is this technique has a consequence and that is Kuroko will not be able to use his misdirection against Touhou ever again (why? Because he’s made his presence known on the court. In the past, his presence was always hidden with Taiga and the others but now he’s allowing his presence to be notice by everyone. Once you’ve felt his presence there’s no forgetting it. Scene here: https://youtu.be/vuBrIlDAEAo). With the fourth quarter beginning Seirin is down a few points and Aomine has returned to his former self (and if you thought he was good before, you ain’t seen nothing yet) with Taiga unable to stop him. As the clock continues to tick away Seiren manages to close the gap where they’re down by 3 points and this forces Aomine to enter what’s known as the Zone (or the Focus as I like to call it) a state of absolute focus where a player becomes totally absorbed in what they’re doing (in the hands of a skilled player like Aomine they become unstoppable). With Aomine in the zone all seems lost for Seirin until Taiga finally reaches that state where he says enough is enough and wants to win not for himself but for his team and he enters the Zone as well. With both Aomine and Taiga in the Zone everyone pretty much becomes useless and it all comes down to a battle between the aces where they stop each other but Taiga finally pulls away and scores against Aomine. In the final seconds Seirin manages to be down one point but Aomine scores an unbelievable shot (that’s going on the Top 10 plays of the day list) bringing Touhou up three but Taiga manages to do an aerial pass to Kiyoshi who scores with an and 1 (that means your basket counts and you get one foul shot). With only 5 seconds remaining and down by one point Seirin decides that they have to miss, get the rebound, and score (now this is a very tricky and risky play. Everybody has to do their job, if one person is off than everything falls apart and they lose. This is a play that requires you to have complete trust in your teammates to not only get the rebound but make the shot as well). Kiyoshi misses and Taiga gets the rebound where he goes up for a dunk but gets blocked by Aomine (nooooooooo~). As the loose ball runs down the court it seems like Zoro will catch it (try not to get lost chasing it) but Kuroko is there (yeeaaaaaaaaah~), ignite pass to Taiga, and he dunks over Aomine to win the game for Seirin (woah~! Scenes here: https://youtu.be/Ky0W00kxEM0, https://youtu.be/2Ek1XPs1zOk?t=2m20s, and https://youtu.be/RFv6_S6S_E8).
Episodes 19-25
After the intense game in episode 19 the team decides to celebrate their victory. Since they don’t feel like eating out (because it’s Japan and it’s expensive) they decide to eat at Taiga’s place which is very nice and Riko cooks them some nabe mixed with vegetables and fruits (wow, you are making chefs all over the world cry). Despite this strange mix it actually tastes good and they all enjoy it until the food poisoning takes affect because she added in supplements (scene here: https://youtu.be/21remjFa-Pc). As everyone is about to leave (and surprisingly still alive) Koga asks to use Taiga’s restroom but he enters the wrong room and finds a hot blonde (holy crap Taiga’s been holding out on this). This lovely lady is Alex the master of Taiga and Tatsuya who trained them in the ways of basketball. In the past, she actually played in the WNBA but due to an illness which started to affect her eyesight she was forced to retire. Not wanting to accept this she vented out her frustration in street basketball (couldn’t you have just worn sports goggles to help with your vision?) where Taiga and Tatsuya begged her to be their master. At first, she was reluctant but eventually gave in (their too cute to say no to). She’s here in order to watch her two students play each other and see who’s the best (scene here: https://youtu.be/3XTv3N1M4F8). The next day they go see a few games where Shutoku manage to win and Alex is blown away by how good the Generation of Miracles are. She drags Taiga away and tells him how that in his current state he won’t be able to stop Tatsuya so she begins teaching him a new technique. While that’s going on Kuroko goes to Aomine to learn how to shoot (finally! This should have been done along a time ago. I mean, who plays high school basketball and not know how to shoot? Scene here: https://youtu.be/Gt6h8TFguKI).
In episode 20 it’s the third day of the Winter Cup and Seirin is playing against some mid-card team where they’ve decided to rest Kuroko and Taiga (smart move). In the game Seirin is struggling not because the other team is good (boy, how embarrassing would it be if they lost here?) but for two other reasons. First off, they’re still recovery from the game with Touhou, everybody gave it 100% if not more that game. Second, their confidence is slowly becoming arrogance. There’s a big difference between confidence and arrogance but there’s also a thin line between them. Confidence is having complete faith you can do something or something is going to happen. Arrogance is not having faith in what you can do but pretend you can do it in order to save face instead of admitting you were wrong. Now that’s not to say Seirin isn’t taking this other team seriously or playing sloppy, they’re just becoming too relax on the court and you don’t want to do that. Take a goalie in soccer/futbol for example. If a goalie is too relaxed while the game is going on they’re not gonna pay attention to what’s going on, the other team is gonna score, and he’s gonna look like an idiot for letting the other team score such an easy goal. This line of thinking can apply in basketball or any other sport for that matter. Seirin is becoming too relaxed around this game and needs to remember that becoming the best isn’t easy (if it was I would have done it a long time ago) and even if you are the better team that doesn’t mean you’ll automatically win. They need to be reminded that everyone here is aiming for the same goal as them but in the end there can only be one and nobody is going to take it easy on them. Kuroko notices the team struggling on the court and tells Riko to call a time out where Hyuga pretty much tells everyone what I just said (only shorter and more basketball related) and asks Riko to slap him to get his mind back in the game (scene here: https://youtu.be/igkrSMRw3z4). With this talk and slap Seirin get back in the game and win without Taiga and Kuroko and win their next match to move on to the quarter-finals (or the Elite 8 for you NCAA fans out there) where Seirin will be playing against Yosen who just beat a team 81-0 (that’s unheard of. I once played against a team where we didn’t let them score in the first quarter at all but I’ve never seen a team go a full game without scoring at least one basket. The only logical explanation I think of is that Yosen has the best defense of all time or the other team can’t shoot worth shit. And I’m low-balling it here). Alex meets up with Tatsuya to say hi where he straight up goes evil on us calling Taiga his enemy and disrespecting Alex (dude, what the hell? Look I know you’re upset about the whole going easy on you thing but still don’t you think you’re taking this a little too seriously? Even Taiga admitted he was stupid for his action and regrets it. This is like me boycotting every state in the country just because they voted for Trump in last year’s election. Yeah, I’m disappointed in the results but I’m not gonna go all evil and hate half the country for it). The day of the game comes where we see Yosen has some tall players (they’re orgres. It’s like looking up at a titan from Attack on Titan). The game begins where Seirin gets the ball after a jumping violation and try to penetrate their defense using speed but it fails. Atsushi keeps on blocking because for a big guy he’s fast and can cover the court no problem (it’s the sword versus the shield and unfortunately this shield has no weak spots).
The final episodes of season two is the game between Seirin and Yosen. The first quarter ends badly for Seirin scoring no points and being down 18 points. But they still have a lifeline in rebounding thanks to Kiyoshi using his new skill the vice claw where he grabs the airborne ball with just one hand and secures it. At the start of the second quarter they manage to get their first points thanks to Kuroko (and he’s become the most dangerous player on the court. He has no presence, excellent passer, can use his misdirection to make his teammates have no presence, and now he knows how to shoot. He’s a scary player) and his new phantom shot (scene here: https://youtu.be/tnCLbBvJSo4, I would like to say that in real life that shot would have been blocked). With Kuroko’s shot the offense begins rolling again and Seirin is able to start scoring. At the end of the first half it’s 17-29 Yosen (it’s better than being down by 18 points). The second half starts with Kuroko getting benched and the keys to winning this game lays in Taiga being able to stop Tatsuya and Kiyoshi getting pass Atsushi (aka the 5th wall). The second half starts off bad with Taiga unable to stop Tatsuya and his mirage-like plays (he does them so smoothly that you can’t help but admire them) so the pressure now falls on Kiyoshi where they do a move so crazy that if a professional team did this the coach of said team would kill all the players and he would be fired. They make the center their point guard on offense (you’re out of your fucking mind). Surprisingly against all odds and reasoning this plan actually works. Kiyoshi actually scores a three to get everyone back into the swing of things and after provoking Atsushi they manage to get past him. Taiga comes back into the game and manages to block one of Tatsuya’s shots but he gets blocked by Atsushi at the other in. Seirin manages to close the gap and make a momentous play with Kiyoshi dunking over Atsushi with a throwback dunk (ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh~) and this doesn’t sit well with Atsushi as he finally awakens to his inner monster (scene here: https://youtu.be/FDv_ZGPDRNY, congratulations, you awoken the titan and he’s pissed). With Atsushi awaken he unleashes Thor’s Hammer upon Seirin and talks about his philosophy of basketball which is the game favors big players (somewhat true) and those who come up short are stupid for playing. With one powerful dunk he brings down the entire hoop and the game has to be put on hold while they get a new one. He even uses the vice claw on Kiyoshi and tries to crush his spirit yet again (scene here: https://youtu.be/zepqswmHSPQ). Kiyoshi gets taken out and Kuroko comes back in where he manages to get a charging foul called on Atsushi. After a dunk from Taiga and a three from Hyuga, Seiren does a new defense formation, full court man to man stealth defense. Basically, this formation gives Kuroko the highest chance to steal the ball and score. The new formation works perfectly (scene here: https://youtu.be/tJce5cxcK2s, way to be a killjoy ref). Despite this short run it doesn’t last long in the fourth quarter where Yosen increase their lead again and Taiga tries to enter the Zone again (Taiga, the Zone isn’t something you can just enter at random. The Zone decides when you may enter). Kise manages to talk some sense into him after a loose ball and Taiga returns to normal where he manages to block Atsushi (and that’s no easy feat. Did I mention the guy is a titan?) and he enters the Zone (you have permission to enter the Zone). Once in the Zone he blocks Tatsuya (take that you revenge obsessed maniac), scores a 3 (Midorima style), stops Thor’s Hammer (Marvel has been denied), and then he dunks over Atsushi (scene here: https://youtu.be/N1hTN7o4yrA, okay Taiga needs to stay in the Zone every game). Seirin is down by 4 points with only 3 minutes remaining and Atsushi says he’s done and wants to be subbed out (and I would kill him right there on the spot. This motherfucker wants to stop when the game is so close because he can’t stop one guy). Tatsuya punches him and tells him to keep going but Atsushi rebukes him saying he can’t stop Taiga which he knows. Tatsuya’s no fool, he knows that in the end Taiga is the better player and that he’ll never get up to his level but even so he still wants to try and win. His words manage to reach Atsushi who ties up his hair and decides that he wants to win not for himself but for his team (scene here: https://youtu.be/zw-T2yZhAq8). It becomes a battle between the aces as Seirin relies on Taiga for offense and Yosen plays team ball on offence (oh the irony here is enough to build a replica of the Titanic). Kiyoshi returns to the game after recovery mentally and physically where he manages to get an offensive rebound and give it to Hyuga who scores a 3 pointer bringing them down by 1 point. Atsushi enters the Zone (he was on the list) and tries to dunk but gets blocked by Taiga and Kiyoshi. Just when Seirin has a fast break Atsushi manages to beat them down the court (scene here: https://youtu.be/CNEbU97V5hA, holy crap he’s some kind of ninja) and Taiga pushes pass his limits and does a meteor slam dunk where he doesn’t dunk the ball he just throws it into the hoop like nothing (scene here: https://youtu.be/aZShRdkrRag). With this shot Seirin has the lead but there’s still 4 seconds left in the game and Atsushi has a clear path to the rim but his legs are done and he can’t jump (oh that sucks). He tries to just toss it in but Kuroko (of all people) comes in and blocks his shot (woah~ that’s pretty funny) giving Seirin the win (well this game’s MVP goes to Kuroko. He made his first baskets and blocked a man twice his size). After the game Atsushi says he’s quitting basketball but in truth he’s crying the tears of a clown as for the first time ever he lost at something he really loved but was too stupid to admit it (scene here: https://youtu.be/DiJYWZBuMkg). After the credits Kuroko tells Taiga that it’s okay for him to still be brothers with Tatsuya as well as rivals and he runs off to go see him (scene here: https://youtu.be/AP0KCDGt3A8).
*Project Ends*
(Reaper): And that’s all he wrote. But don’t worry, there’s still one more season left so be sure to come back and see it. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj.
*All videos, clips, and music are not owned by me and belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved*
Thanks for reading. As always feel free to leave a comment in the comment section or send your comments, feedback, or request to iamprojectnitsuj@gmail.com