Kuroko no Basket - 34

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The beginning of Seirin’s game against Kirisaki Daiichi brings us another intense episode of Kuroko no Basket!

Because of Seirin’s history with Kirisaki Daiichi, Hyuuga seems unable to make a shot.  He’s on edge and over excited, so he can’t focus like he should.  This has already and will continue to pose a problem due to their opponents’ dirty tactics, especially under the basket.

Taking a step back for a moment, I’d like to point out another little detail that’s included in Kuroko no Basket: the ongoing focus on Kiyoshi’s knee injury.  It would be incredibly easy to continuously mention it and leave it at that, assuming that the constant reminder that he injured his knee is enough to convey the severity of that injury.  However, this anime takes it a step further and shows him taping his knee before a game and makes sure that wrapping is visible throughout the game.  This is one of those little details that just adds to the series and gives it a bit of an edge in terms of accuracy.

What’s really terrifying about Kirisaki Daiichi’s game is that their foul play is basically their special ability.  They’ve taken the time to perfect this ability to pummel their opponents (quite literally) while keeping the referee’s attention off of it, even when this pummeling is going on at the center of the action.  One wonders what their team would be like if they focused not on how best to injure their opponents without being caught, but instead on becoming better at the actual sport of basketball.

Throughout both seasons of Kuroko no Basket, I don’t think the audience has ever been so one-sidedly in favor of Seirin winning a game before.  It seems to me that Kirisaki Daiichi’s dirty tactics put them at odds with literally everyone, and rightly so.  Whether or not the members of Touou and Kaijo want Seirin to win simply because they don’t want to face a dangerous team like Kirisaki Daiichi is unclear, obviously.  But I like to hold out hope that they dislike the way the dirty team does things and want Seirin to win because they actually focus on playing basketball, rather than simply causing injuries.

Kuroko no Basket Episode 35 Preview

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