Kuroko no Basket - 36

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This week’s episode of Kuroko no Basket brings us the conclusion of the Seirin versus Kirisaki Daiichi game!

To start things off, a little bit of reflection leads Hyuuga to calm down a bit and actually start making some shots.  When he comes to the realization that he should be focused less on simply beating Hanamiya and more on helping Seirin become the best team in Japan, he’s able to calm his nerves and focus.  The three-pointer he finally makes gives Seirin some momentum.

Like all of the episodes so far featuring Kirisaki Daiichi, this episode focuses a bit on Seirin’s previous game against them.  There are shortened versions of flashbacks from Kiyoshi and Hyuuga that we’ve already seen, and a new flashback from Riko.  In this new flashback, Riko recalls Kiyoshi saying that he “just has a feeling” that Seirin will get better and be the best in Japan.

Growing frustrated with Seirin’s growing momentum, Hanamiya attempts to get aggressive with Kuroko.  However, Kuroko actually manages to avoid Hanamiya’s elbow.  This shocks the heck out of Hanamiya, but not too much.  He still manages to be a manipulative jerk immediately afterward in order to get an easy shot in.  The ease with which he makes his teardrop shot, though, shows just how skilled he is as a basketball player, begging the question of why he feels the need to be a complete jerk the majority of the time.  He could easily win on skill alone, so the foul play and dirty tactics are really unnecessary.

Hanamiya Makoto aside, Kuroko’s passing and Hyuuga’s shooting manage to give Seirin enough momentum at the end of the game to finally beat Kirisaki Daiichi.  What’s really interesting about the end of this episode, though, is the fact that Aomine actually looks and sounds excited about playing basketball again.  It’s pretty obvious that watching Kuroko play, and play to darn well with new tricks up his sleeve, has sparked something in Aomine that he hasn’t felt in a long time, probably not since he and Kuroko stopped playing together.  What’s more, his teammates notice the change in his mood, too.

Things should definitely start getting interesting as the all-out war with the Generation of Miracles begins in the Winter Cup!

Kuroko no Basket Episode 37 Preview

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