Kuroko no Basuke

Kuroko no Basuke (黒子のバスケ) is a Japanese manga about basketball written and illustrated by Fujimaki Tadatoshi. Started in December 2008, Kuroko no Basuke tells the story of a high school basketball team trying to make it to nationals.

Plot
Once upon a time, the basketball team of Teikou Middle School rose to distinction by demolishing all competition. The regulars of this team became known as the "Generation of Miracles". After graduating from middle school, these five stars went to different high schools with top basketball teams. However, a fact few know is that there was another player of the "Generation of Miracles", the phantom sixth player. This mysterious player is now a freshman at Seirin High, a new school with a powerful, if little-known, team. Now, Kuroko, the sixth member of the "Generation of Miracles", and Kagami, a naturally talented player who spent most of middle school in America, are aiming to bring Seirin to the top of Japan, taking on Kuroko's old teammates one by one.

Seirin High
Founded only the year before, Seirin High produced a basketball team of freshman who made it all the way to the final league in that year's inter-high school tournament. This year, Seirin's team includes the newcomers Kuroko Tetsuya, previously of the "Generation of Miracles", and Kagami Taiga, a born natural who previously played in America. (VOMIC)
 * Kuroko Tetsuya (黒子テツヤ)
 * Position: Small Forward
 * Jersey: 11
 * Height: 168 cm
 * Weight: 57 kg
 * Once the phantom member of the "Generation of Miracles", Kuroko is Seirin's new secret weapon. Although he was an essential member of his middle school basketball team, unlike his former teammates, Kuroko is unknown. This is largely because he is so small, frail, and easy to miss. While this means even his friends won't notice him until he is talking to them directly in front of them, Kuroko uses this to great effect on the court by stealing the ball and shifting the trajectories of passes to suit his team without being noticed by the opponents.


 * As a single player Kuroko is amazingly weak, but as a member of a team he can sneak past opponents and get the ball to his teammates with great accuracy. He can also use his skill to increase the speed of the passes to the degree that only the best players can receive them. Unfortunately, Kuroko's near-invisibility also has its disadvantages. After a while, players adapt and start noticing him. This means he must take time off in the middle of the game to continue to play effectively. His invisible nature also makes Kuroko likely to be injured by other players accidentally, as happened when he was struck in the head by Kise during the Seirin-Kaijou practice game.


 * Because of his largely complementary skill set, Kuroko considers himself a "Shadow", whose goal is to help his "Light" achieve greatness. He also has a tendency to speak and act completely deadpan, and a recurring joke involves his teammates, thinking they are alone, talking to themselves only for Kuroko to answer them, having been in the area long before they arrived.

(VOMIC)
 * Kagami Taiga (火神大我)
 * Position: Power Forward
 * Jersey: 10
 * Height: 190 cm
 * Weight: 82 kg
 * A naturally gifted basketball player, Kagami easily makes his way into Seirin's regular line-up as a freshman. When he first returned to Japan, he was disappointed by his homeland's relatively low level of basketball compared to that in the States. However, since starting high school, Kagami has been spurred on by his desire to compete with the "Generation of Miracles". While he is a powerful all-around player, Kagami's unique skill lies in his ability to jump to great heights. This skill facilitates not only his most common move, the dunk, but also allows him to defend well against taller players; he even uses it to break Midorima's perfect shooting. As Kuroko has chosen Kagami as his new "Light", Kagami is also bolstered by Kuroko's techniques. His zodiac sign is Leo.

(VOMIC)
 * Aida Riko (相田リコ)
 * Riko, the team's coach, is a second-year student. One reason for her unique position as a student coach is her ability to immediately scan and evaluate the physical capabilities of players at a glance. She gained this ability from going to work with her father, who works as a sports trainer, and spending her time looking at the muscles of athletes and their related data. She is very devoted to her job as coach, so she diligently researches other teams to devise strategies against them. Riko even uses her father's sports facilities for the team's unique training, which eschews weights for activities like practicing in the pool and drilling basics. Nevertheless, while extremely intelligent, her emotions are often flighty, switching from intensely heated to happily nonchalant at the drop of a hat.

(VOMIC)
 * Hyuuga Junpei (日向順平)
 * Position: Shooting Guard
 * Jersey: 4
 * Height: 178 cm
 * Weight: 68 kg
 * Captain of the Seirin team, Hyuuga is a clutch shooter, his capabilities escalating immensely when the team is in a pinch. Along with Hyuuga's change in skill comes a change in personality; when the team in not in a pinch, Hyuuga is a collected and calm individual, but when it is, he becomes heated and rude. Nevertheless, he is the best shooter on the team, regularly making three-pointer shots throughout the course of a game.


 * Izuki Shun (伊月俊)
 * Position: Point Guard
 * Jersey: 5
 * Height: 174 cm
 * Weight: 64 kg
 * Acting as the team's on-court tactician, Izuki is always calm and collected. While he has no special physical abilities, he has the "Eagle's Eye", a mental skill that allows him to perfectly visualize the court from any point of view. Because of this, he is skilled in manipulating other players and the overall set-up of the court to suit his team. He loves puns, making them quite frequently much to the chagrin of his teammates, a habit shared with his mother.


 * Mitobe Rinnosuke (水戸部凛之助)
 * Position: Center
 * Jersey: 8
 * Height: 186 cm
 * Weight: 78 kg
 * A stalwart player, Mitobe is a quiet and reserved player. Although he is never shown speaking, his teammates seem to understand him perfectly. A hard worker with excellent defense skills, he is also an accomplished hook shooter. He lives in a small house with a very large family, and is tasked with making and serving breakfast.

(VOMIC)
 * Koganei Shinji (小金井慎二)
 * Position: Small Forward
 * Jersey: 6
 * Height: 170 cm
 * Weight: 74 kg
 * Considered a jack of all trades, master of none, Koganei is a fairly skilled all-rounder. This is driven home when his coach denotes his special skill as 'being able to shoot from any point on the court, with a so-so accuracy rate'; a decidedly normal ability. He is, however, quite intelligent, ranking in the top 20% of his class, though he does not excel in any particular subject.


 * Tsuchida Satoshi (土田聡史)
 * Position: Power Forward
 * Jersey: 9
 * While a more regular member of the team in his first year, Tsuchida has seen little game-time thanks to the addition of Kuroko and Kagami. Good with rebounds, he is apparently not quite as skilled as the other regulars, but remains a key component of the old team's playing style.


 * Kiyoshi Teppei (木吉鉄平)
 * Position: Center
 * Jersey: 7
 * Height: 193 cm
 * Weight: 81 kg
 * The progenitor of Seirin's basketball team and its ace, Kiyoshi is the last of the original Seirin team members to be introduced, due to a hospitalization for unknown reasons. Rumored to be very capable, his preferred position is that of the point guard, but since their team lacked any other player with the body size to play center, he offered to fill that hole. On Koganei's suggestion, he apparently tries to play both, despite the inherent impossibility. While goofy nearly to the point of stupidity, he is very shrewd and is almost always plotting something, though it is rarely what others would inherently conclude. His true talents are still untested, but the ace of one of the Three Kings of Kanto claims that had he not been hospitalized prior to the inter-high school championship last year, they may have gone much further than they had.

Kaijou High
Kaijou is a National-level school that makes it to the interhigh tournament each year. Although it is the first team Seirin plays, it is not in the Tokyo district like Seirin, Shuutoku, and Shinsenkan.
 * Kise Ryouta (黄瀬涼太)
 * Position: Small Forward
 * Jersey: 7
 * Height: 189 cm
 * Weight: 70 kg
 * Now a freshman at Kaijou High, Kise was the rookie of the "Generation of Miracles." Since he only started playing basketball in his second year of middle school, Kise was his team's least experienced member, and notes himself the weakest of the five. Kise's unique skill is his ability to mimic the moves and plays of other players. The only moves he cannot copy are the special skills of truly exceptional players, like the other members of the "Generation of Miracles". Beyond being a strong player in his own right, Kise respects Kuroko's abilities and wishes to play with him once again. He seems to have a slight obsession with Kuroko, believing that they were the two who got along most in middle school (though Kuroko said they didn't) and often blurting out random facts about him (mentioning that Kuroko was an Aquarius, even though Kasamatsu was talking about Midorima). Because of this, Kise's interactions with Kuroko tend to come off like Kise is flirting with him, even though they are talking about basketball. Also, he's a model in his free time, so girls are always mobbing him. He add "-cchi" to the name of the person he acknowledges, like calling Kuroko "Kurokocchi."


 * Kasamatsu Yukio (笠松幸男)
 * Position: Point Guard
 * Jersey: 4
 * Height: 178 cm
 * The captain of Kaijou's basketball team, Kasamatsu is a nationally credited point guard. Like many members of Kaijou's team, he is also jealous of Kise's reputation in basketball and his skill with women. He normally expresses his envy by physically beating Kise.

Shuutoku High
Shuutoku High is one of the three "Kings" of Tokyo, along with Seihou High and Shinsenkan High- three teams that have made it to the final league, and thus represent Tokyo in the finals, in the interhigh tournament every year for the past ten years. Beyond the Tokyo finals, in the Nationals they made it to the Final Eight. Last year, the newly established Seirin High was defeated by Shuutoku by three times the points. Now, with a member of the "Generation of Miracles" playing for the team, Shuutoku is more powerful than ever.


 * Midorima Shintarou (緑間真太郎)
 * Position: Shooting Guard
 * Jersey: 6
 * Height: 195 cm
 * Weight: 79 kg
 * Once a member of the "Generation of Miracles," and now a freshman at Shuutoku High, Midorima is his new team's trump card. With his great height and unwavering calm, his skill is a super-accurate shot that can be taken from anywhere on the court and almost never misses. Because his shot is so accurate, and it can be sent from far away, he does not have to wait for the ball to go in the hoop before heading back for defense; this allows him to retain energy and prepare a defense before the other team has even started its offense. Even among the great "Generation of Miracles", Midorima is the top shooter. Midorima is so dedicated to basketball that he tapes his fingers when not playing, presumably to protect them for game time. Beyond this, Midorima believes in the absolute nature of fate, so he frequently checks the horoscope and follows its predictions and recommendations to the letter.


 * Midorima's superstitions and their resulting miracles extend even to his normal life. Beyond being lucky in games of chance, like the flipping of coins, Midorima owns a carved pencil, which he uses on tests. Rolled randomly to give an answer to a multiple choice question, the pencil is correct the vast majority of the time. Midorima's Zodiac sign is Cancer.


 * Takao Kazunari (高尾和成)
 * Position: Point Guard
 * Jersey: 10
 * A freshman at Shuutoku High, Takao is much like Kuroko in that he is a passing expert. However, unlike Kuroko, Takao has none of Kuroko's invisibility. Instead, Takao is an almost perfect match for Kuroko because he has the "Hawk's Eye", a mental skill superior even to Seirin's Izuki's "Eagle's Eye." The main difference between the "Hawk's Eye" and the "Eagle's Eye" is scope; the "Hawk's Eye" has an even wider range of vision, allowing the player to see everything without focusing on anything. Because of this, Takao is not fooled by Kuroko's misdirection, which utilizes both Kuroko's naturally invisible nature and techniques to divert the attention of those trying to focus on him in particular. Takao's "Hawk's Eye's" only weakness results from when Kuroko purposely draws attention to himself, which forces Takao to unconsciously focus on him. This allows Kuroko to use misdirection successfully and disappear from Takao's view.


 * In his free time, Takao likes to hang out with Midorima, as he is constantly seen driving Midorima around in a trailer for his bicycle. Although they always flip a coin to determine who will drive the other, Midorima wins every time.


 * Ootsubo Taisuke (大坪泰介)
 * Position: Center
 * Jersey: 4
 * Height: 198 cm
 * Weight: 98 kg
 * A third year at Shuutoku, Ootsubo was the team's powerhouse last year. Although he has become even more powerful, he is still outshined by Midorima.

Touou High

 * Aomine Daiki (青峰大輝)
 * Position: Power Forward
 * Jersey: 5
 * Height: 192 cm
 * Weight: 85 kg
 * Aomine was the ace of Teikou's team, embracing an aggressive and liquid style, made even more powerful by Kuroko's misdirection. In fact, Aomine was once Kuroko's "Light", before Kagami. However, other players like Kise dislike him, and his style of playing in particular. Incredibly fast and versatile, Aomine's strength lies in his unpredictability, as well as an uncanny ability to shoot from virtually any position. Though he loves basketball, he has grown sardonic and unenthusiastic toward the sport, skipping practice and even arriving late for important matches. This is due to his frustration in not being able to find an opponent capable of matching his skill.


 * Momoi Satsuki (桃井さつき)
 * The ex-manager of the basketball team at Teikou. She seems to have enrolled in Aomine's school and is often seen with him. Moreover, she has stated that she once loved Kuroko. Her reasoning for loving Kuroko is that he once gave her a coupon for an extra ice cream, although he only did this because he was already full.

Chapters

 * 1. "I'm Kuroko"
 * 2. "Monday, 8:40 on the Rooftop"
 * 3. "I'm Serious"
 * 4. "He Might Not Be Normal"
 * 5. "It's Not Just for Show"
 * 6. "Unbeatable is Just Right"
 * 7. "Revenge is On You!"
 * 8. "I'm Off"
 * 9. "I Promised"
 * 10. "Man Proposes, God Disposes"
 * 11. "Your Basketball"
 * 12. "Go Get It Please?"
 * 13. "Let's Go!"
 * 14. "Two Things"
 * 15. "Helluva Lot Stronger"
 * 16. "We Get to See Something Amazing"
 * 17. "Doesn't It Fire You Up?"
 * 18. "I'm Gonna Take a Look"
 * 19. "It Reminded Me"
 * 20. "It Will Be Alright"
 * 21. "We Got Over It"
 * 22. "Don't Worry"
 * 23. "In Order to Win"
 * 24. "It Even Died For That Sake"
 * 25. "Well Then..."
 * 26. "It Would Be a Problem"
 * 27. "He's a Veteran"
 * 28. "Sorry"
 * 29. "That Ain't All, Is It?"
 * 30. "I'm a Leo"
 * 31. "I've Gotta Win!"
 * 32. "What's 'Victory'?"
 * 33. "Let's Go!"
 * 34. "That Is What I Mean By 'Man Proposes'"
 * 35. "Just As I Thought"
 * 36. "Let's.... Play Again"
 * 37. "Idiots Can't Win"
 * 38. "I Came"
 * 39. "They're So Alike"
 * 40. "Don't Make Me Laugh"
 * 41. "That's Tea"
 * 42. "Just an Appetizer"
 * 43. "I Got It"
 * 44. "That's Not What They're Like"
 * 45. "Well, Let's Start"
 * 46. "Not Bad"
 * 47. "Leave It To Me"
 * 48. "Just a Bunch of Losers"
 * 49. "Let's Finish This"
 * 50. "Your Basketball"
 * 51. "No Way!"
 * 52. "A New Challenge"
 * 53. "Who Are You?"
 * 54. "That's Why I Can't Stand Him"
 * 55. "That's Talent For Ya"
 * 56. "Throw It Away"
 * 57. "Not 'Want to'"
 * 58. "Leave It To Me!"
 * 59. "Let's Start"
 * 60. "Don't Make Me Laugh"
 * 61. "Try Jumping"
 * 62. "I Know What I Need!!"
 * 63. "I'll Win if it Kills Me, Though"
 * 64. "Hell No Am I a Grown-Up!"
 * 65. "Who Do You Think I Am?"
 * 66. "Let Me Give You a Warning"
 * 67. "I Quit"
 * 68. "It Wouldn't Be Odd"
 * 69. "I Wonder What'll Happen"