Kuroko no Basket - 41

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Seirin loses some ground against Touou in the latest episode of Kuroko no Basket.  How much longer can this game possibly last?

Imayoshi begins covering Kuroko, which shuts down his misdirection completely.  It shouldn’t be that surprising that someone has finally figured out how his misdirection works, since he’s played plenty of games now with people trying to figure it out.  That doesn’t make it any less of a blow to Seirin’s ability, though.  What can a team really do without its trump card, after all?

Among the onlookers are the members of Kirisaki Daiichi.  Watching the game, Hanamiya implies that Imayoshi may be an even crueler player than he himself is, but for a different reason.  No, Imayoshi doesn’t intentionally try to injure other players but, in Hanamiya’s own words, “When it comes to doing things people hate, no one can beat him.”

Aside from Kuroko’s misdirection being shut down, Momoi has apparently figured out Hyuuga’s Barrier Jumper, as well, and has told Sakurai how to stop it.  It’s beginning to look more and more like Seirin won’t be able to beat Touou after all, which builds even more tension in this game.

However, Kuroko isn’t about to give up, and as the heart of his team, that means Seirin won’t back down, either.  And this is what makes me love Kuroko no Basket.  Kuroko isn’t the most skilled when it comes to basketball, nor does he possess any inherent talent that would generally be associated with the sport.  But he understands the game ridiculously well and his focus on team play rather than narcissism helps him understand it that much more.  Spurred on by the knowledge that Kiyoshi can no longer play basketball after the Winter Cup, he allows his misdirection to run out so he can unleash the Misdirection Overflow technique.  This ability draws the opposite team’s attention toward him and away from the rest of his teammates, allowing them to use the Vanishing Drive.

Of course, this technique comes with risks.  It will only last for a limited amount of time.  And, unfortunately, using the Misdirection Overflow draws the opposite team’s attention to Kuroko so effectively that he can never use misdirection against them again; they get too used to seeing him.  But the members of Seirin only care about beating Touou at this point.

Hopefully that’s exactly what will happen in the next episode!

Kuroko no Basket Episode 42 Preview

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