Kuroko's Basketball

Kuroko's Basketball (Japanese: 黒子のバスケ, Hepburn: Kuroko no Basuke, The Basketball Which Kuroko Plays in Japan) is a Japanese sports manga series written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki. It was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 2008 to September 2014, with the individual chapters collected into 30 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha. It tells the story of a high school basketball team trying to make it to the national tournament.

Kuroko Basketball
Cover of the first volume
黒子のバスケ
(Kuroko no Basuke)
GenreComedy, sports[1]
Manga
Written byTadatoshi Fujimaki
Published byShueisha
English publisher
ImprintJump Comics
MagazineWeekly Shōnen Jump
DemographicShōnen
Original runDecember 8, 2008 – September 1, 2014
Volumes30
Light novel
Written bySawako Hirabayashi
Illustrated byTadatoshi Fujimaki
Published byShueisha
DemographicMale
Original runMarch 4, 2011 – May 2, 2014
Volumes5
Anime television series
Directed byShunsuke Tada
Written byNoburo Takagi
Music by
  • Ryosuke Nakanishi (season 1)
  • R・O・N (season 1)
  • Alpha Eastman (season 1)
  • Yoshihiro Ike (seasons 2–3)
StudioProduction I.G
Licensed by
Original networkMBS, Tokyo MX, BS11
English network
Original run April 7, 2012 – June 30, 2015
Episodes75+3 OVA
Manga
Kuroko's Basketball: Extra Game
Written byTadatoshi Fujimaki
Published byShueisha
MagazineJump Next!
DemographicShōnen
Original runDecember 29, 2014 – March 3, 2016
Volumes2
Anime film series
Kuroko's Basketball: Winter Cup Compilation
Directed byShunsuke Tada
Written byNoburo Takagi
Music byYoshihiro Ike
StudioProduction I.G
Licensed by
Crunchyroll
ReleasedSeptember 3, 2016 (Part 1)
October 8, 2016 (Part 2)
December 3, 2016 (Part 3)
Runtime90 minutes[2] (Part 1)
88 minutes[3] (Part 2)
90 minutes[4] (Part 3)
Anime film
Kuroko's Basketball The Movie: Last Game
Directed byShunsuke Tada
Written by
  • Noburo Takagi
  • Tadatoshi Fujimaki
Music byYoshihiro Ike
StudioProduction I.G
Licensed by
Crunchyroll
ReleasedMarch 18, 2017
Runtime90 minutes

It was adapted into an anime television series by Production I.G, which aired for three seasons from April 2012 to June 2015. A sequel manga by Fujimaki titled Kuroko's Basketball: Extra Game was serialized in Jump Next! from December 2014 to March 2016. An anime film adaptation of the Kuroko's Basketball: Extra Game manga premiered in Japan in March 2017. A stage play adaptation opened in April 2016 followed by more stage adaptations.

The manga has been licensed for English-language release by Viz Media in North America. As of November 2020, Kuroko's Basketball had over 31 million copies in circulation.

Plot
Main article: List of Kuroko's Basketball characters

The Teiko Junior High basketball team rose to distinction by demolishing basketball teams within Japan, winning the junior high Nationals for three consecutive years. The all-star players of the team became known as the Generation of Miracles. After graduating from middle school, the five star players went to different high schools with top basketball teams. However, a fact known to few is that there was another player in the "Generation of Miracles": a phantom sixth man. This mysterious player is now a freshman at Seirin High, a new school with a powerful, if little-known, team. Now, Tetsuya Kuroko – the sixth member of the "Generation of Miracles", and Taiga Kagami – a naturally talented player who spent most of middle school in the US, aim to bring Seirin to the top of Japan and begin taking on Kuroko's former teammates one by one. The series chronicles Seirin's rise to become Japan's number one high school team. The Generation of Miracles include Ryota Kise, Shintaro Midorima, Daiki Aomine, Atsushi Murasakibara, and Seijuro Akashi.

Seirin High team fought Ryota Kise's team first in a practice match. Although Kise was capable of copying all of Kagami skills with added strength and speed, Kuroko's abilities helped narrow the distance and eventually, Seirin won this game. They then met Shintaro Midorima in the preliminaries of Interhigh. The game was much more difficult, not only because Midorima and the last three members of "Generation of Miracles" are considerably stronger than Ryota Kise, but also Kuroko's ability of misdirection was completely shut down by Takao's Hawk Eyes. They managed to defeat team Shutoku but their winning streak ended after they lost badly to Touhou Academy, whose basketball team contained the Ace of the "Generation of Miracles" - Daiki Aomine. After this game, they lost their remaining two matches against Senshinkan and Meisei and were eliminated from the Interhigh. However, a new player arrives to join Seirin - Kiyoshi Teppei, the man who formed the Seirin Basketball team. They spent the entire summer training for the Winter Cup, even coincidentally meeting Shutoku while training.

In the preliminaries, they met team Shutoku again. This match ended into a tie, so Seirin needed to defeat team Kirisaki Daichi. Kirisaki Daichi's captain was Makoto Hanamiya, a member of the Uncrowned Kings well-known for his underhanded methods to win a match. However, they won and gained a ticket to the Winter Cup.

Media

Manga
Main article: List of Kuroko's Basketball chapters

Written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki, Kuroko's Basketball was serialized in the manga anthology Weekly Shōnen Jump from December 8, 2008 to September 1, 2014.[5][6] The chapters were collected and published into 30 tankōbon volumes by Shueisha, the first on April 3, 2009 and the last on December 4, 2014.[7][8] A crossover chapter between the series and Kawada's Hinomaru Sumo, with a script written by Ichirō Takahashi, was published in the magazine on November 9, 2015.[9] Kawada was formerly an assistant to Fujimaki on Kuroko's Basketball.[10]

Fujimaki began a sequel titled Kuroko's Basketball: Extra Game (黒子のバスケ EXTRA GAME) in Jump Next! on December 29, 2014.[11][12] On December 27, 2015, Tadashi announced that he will end Kuroko's Basketball Extra Game manga in the next issue in early March 2016.[13] At their New York Comic Con panel, North American publisher Viz Media announced their license to the manga.[14] They began releasing the series in 2-in-1 editions in 2016.

Anime
Main article: List of Kuroko's Basketball episodes

An anime adaptation based on the manga was produced by Production I.G.[15] The series premiered on April 7, 2012 and ended on September 22, 2012. On April 5, 2012, Crunchyroll announced that they would simulcast the anime as part of their spring lineup of anime titles. As of September 22, 2012, the anime ended with a total of 25 episodes. The second season premiered on October 6, 2013[16][17] and ended on March 29, 2014, also with 25 episodes. The DVD and Blu-ray version of the second season was released on June 20, 2014, along with an episode which was designed around a specific chapter in the manga by Tadatoshi Fujimaki by working on chapter 124, and a bonus CD with an audio drama starring Satsuki Momoi.[18][19] The third season premiered on January 10, 2015[20] and ended on June 30, 2015, with a total of 25 episodes. Three compilation films that compiled the anime series' Winter Cup arc opened in Japan in 2016. The first compilation film opened on September 3, 2016, titled Winter Cup Compilation ~Shadow and Light~, the second compilation film opened on October 8, 2016, titled Winter Cup Compilation ~Beyond the Tears~, and the third compilation film opened on December 3, 2016, titled Winter Cup Compilation ~Crossing the Door~.[21]

An animated film adaptation was announced at the KuroBas Cup 2015 event on September 20, 2015.[22][23] The film, titled Kuroko's Basketball The Movie: Last Game, will adapt the Kuroko's Basketball: Extra Game manga.[24] It was released in Japanese theaters on March 18, 2017.[25][26] The staff and cast from the previous seasons returned to reprise their roles in the film.[27]

On October 19 2020, the SAG-AFTRA listed and approved an English dub for the series under the "Netflix Dubbing Agreement".[28] The English-dubbed first season debuted on Netflix on January 15, 2021.[29]

Light novels

Five series of light novels have been written by Sawako Hirabayashi called Kuroko's Basketball: Replace and illustrated by Fujimaki.[30] Each light novel focuses on the members of the Generation of Miracles. The first light novel Replace was released on March 4, 2011.[31] A manga adaptation of the novel series illustrated by Ichirō Takahashi began on Shōnen Jump+ in January 2015.[32]

Audio CDs
Main article: Kuroko's Basketball discography

The music for the Kuroko's Basketball anime series were directed by four different composers. Ryosuke Nakanishi, R・O・N, and Alpha Eastman (21-25) were in charge of the first season[33] while Yoshihiro Ike was in charge of the second season.[34]

Video games

Three video games based on Kuroko's Basketball have been released. The first game Kuroko's Basketball: Kiseki no Game (黒子のバスケ キセキの試合, Kuroko no Basuke Kiseki no Gēmu, Kuroko's Basketball: Miracle Game) was released on August 9, 2012 for PlayStation Portable.[35] A second game Kuroko's Basketball: Shōri e no Kiseki (黒子のバスケ -勝利へのキセキ-, Kuroko's Basketball: The Path to Victory) was released on February 20, 2014 for the Nintendo 3DS.[36] Shōri e no Kiseki sold 45,681 copies in its first four days on sale.[37] A third game Kuroko's Basketball: Mirai e no Kizuna (黒子のバスケ 未来へのキズナ, Kuroko's Basketball: Bonds for the Future) was released on March 26, 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS.[38] Kuroko also appears as a support character in the Jump crossover fighting game J-Stars Victory VS.

Stage plays

A series of 2.5D musical stage plays began in 2016.[39] Kensho Ono reprised his role as Kuroko from the anime series.[40] Additions to the main cast included Yuuya Asato as Taiga and Shota Onume as Aomine. The plays were directed by Norihito Nakayashiki, who also directed Hyper Projection Engeki Haikyu!!.[41]

Year Dates & Locations Title
20168 April – 22 April (Tokyo)Kuroko no Basuke The Encounter[42]
201722 June – 9 July (Tokyo)
13 July – 17 July (Osaka)		Kuroko no Basuke OVER-DRIVE[43]
20186 April – 22 April (Tokyo)
1 May – 6 May (Osaka)
11 May – 13 May (Tokyo)		Kuroko no Basuke IGNITE-ZONE[44]
201930 April – 1 May (Osaka)
4 May – 5 May (Aichi)
7 May – 13 May (Tokyo)
18 May – 19 May (Fukuoka)		Kuroko no Basuke ULTIMATE-BLAZE[45]

Reception

The Kuroko's Basketball manga series sold nine million units in Japan by September 2012.[46] As of 2013, the manga had over 23 million copies in circulation,[47] a number that grew to 27 million by April 2014.[6] As of November 2020, the series has over 31 million copies in circulation.[48] Individual volumes frequently appeared on Oricon's weekly lists of the best-selling manga in Japan,[49][50] and many of them were some of the best-selling manga in the year 2012.[51][52][53] Kuroko's Basketball was the third best-selling manga series of 2013, with 8,761,081 copies sold in a year.[54] DVD sales of the anime series have also been featured on Oricon's weekly Japanese anime DVD rankings various times.[55][56][57]

Kuroko's Basketball is often compared to Weekly Shōnen Jump's earlier basketball-themed manga Slam Dunk. But Azusa Takahashi of Real Sound pointed out whereas Slam Dunk was very realistic, the newer series is more focused on entertainment, and is strongly based in fiction with each character having a "special move."[48]

Controversies

After the anime began airing in 2012, the series became popular with dōjinshi circles, particularly for yaoi dōjinshi, though there is no yaoi in the series itself. Several events at which dōjinshi of the series were to be sold, as well as several other locations linked to the series and the author Tadatoshi Fujimaki, including a television station airing the anime, a convenience store chain selling items of the series, and Fujimaki's alma mater Sophia University, received threatening letters containing a powder or liquid substance. It is still unknown if it is one individual behind all the threatening letters, nor is the reason for the threats known.[58][59] Multiple doujinshi events, including Comiket, banned content related to the series, barring creators from selling Kuroko's Basketball-themed doujinshi at their events.[60] The suspect, who was later revealed to be a 36-year-old man named Hirofumi Watanabe, was eventually caught and was arrested on December 15, 2013.[61] Due to the loss of Kuroko's Basketball dōjinshi because of the threats, there was a special event that specifically focused on dōjinshi related to the series affectionately named Kuroket, organized by the Comic Market Preparatory Committee, held during the Comiket Special 6 – Otaku Summit 2015 on March 29, 2015.[62] The event hosted approx. 2400 dōjinshi circles.[63]

See also

References
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  2. 黒子のバスケ ウインターカップ総集編　～影と光～(2016) [Kuroko's Basketball Winter Cup Compilation ~Shadow and Light~]. allcinema (in Japanese). Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  3. 黒子のバスケ ウインターカップ総集編　～涙の先へ～(2016) [Kuroko's Basketball Winter Cup Compilation ~Beyond the Tears~]. allcinema (in Japanese). Retrieved November 10, 2016.
  4. 黒子のバスケ ウインターカップ総集編　～扉の向こう～ (2016) [Kuroko's Basketball Winter Cup Compilation ~Crossing the Door~]. allcinema (in Japanese). Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  5. Loo, Egan (November 21, 2008). "Muhyo & Roji's Nishi to Launch Bokkesan Manga". Anime News Network. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  6. "Kuroko's Basketball Manga to End". Anime News Network. Retrieved 27 August 2014.
  7. 黒子のバスケ/1 [Kuroko's Basketball/1] (in Japanese). Shueisha. Retrieved March 2, 2013.
  8. 黒子のバスケ30 [Kuroko no Basket 30] (in Japanese). Shueisha.
  9. "Kuroko's Basketball, Hinomaru Zumō Get Crossover 1-Shot". Anime News Network. August 14, 2020. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  10. "火ノ丸×黒子の読切が次号ジャンプに、「キセキの待ったなし対決！」". Natalie (in Japanese). November 2, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
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  12. ""Kuroko's Basketball: EXTRA GAME" Manga Previewed". Crunchyroll. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
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  27. "Kuroko's Basketball Last Game Anime Film Reveals Teaser Visual, Story, Returning Staff". Anime News Network. September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2016.
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  29. Adriana Hazra (December 20, 2020). "Netflix Adds Kuroko's Basketball Anime on January 15". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
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  37. Handrahan, Matthew (27 February 2014). "Knack beats Yakuza to Japanese number one". GamesIndustry.biz. Gamer Network. Retrieved 1 March 2014.
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  58. "20+ Kuroko's Basketball-Linked Locations Receive Threats - News". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  59. "Japan's Manga-Hating Domestic Terrorist is Still at Large". Kotaku.com. 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  60. "Comiket Loses 10 Million+ Yen Over Kuroko's Basketball Threats - News". Anime News Network. 2012-12-24. Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  61. "Suspect Arrested in Kuroko's Basketball Poison Threat Case". Anime News Network. 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2014-06-28.
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  63. "開催のご報告 - 黒子のバスケオンリー同人誌即売会「くろケット」". cmksp.jp. Retrieved 2015-09-17.
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