The Problem with Kuroko no Basket...
THE SUPERPOWER-SPORTS SUB-GENRE is representative of a big part of the wider sports genre, and for good reason too. The superpower-sports genre, (I'm calling it SPG), fits into the niche category between Shonen and sports. It's a power scaling system in other words.
The Shadow and Light
The driving plot of Kuroko no Basket follows the generation of miracles, the prodigy basketball team that dominated while in middle school. In high school, the five choose to go their separate ways, promising to meet at the inter-high to decide once and for all who is the greatest amongst them.
Each of the generation of miracles, (Kise, Midorima, Aomine, Murasakibara, and Akashi) have their own special talents. Even the phantom sixth man, Kuroko, who, for unknown reasons, left the Generation of Miracles during the final tournament of their middle school career. He joins Seirin high school to play for the inter-high.
Kuroko, the protagonist, the phantom sixth man, is unique amidst even the generation of miracles because his talent is not physical, not even tactical. Simply put, he has zero presence. People simply forget he's there. In other words, he's a master of misdirection, a magician.
The prominent theme that is built upon over the course of the story is the "light" and the "shadow." The stronger the light, the longer the shadow. Simply put, the stronger the player Kuroko teams up with, the more significant impact he can have on the field.
At the same time Kuroko joins Seirin high school, a foreign transfer student, Kagami transfers to Japan. Immediately, it becomes clear that Kagami isn't your average Joe. He's got a massive frame for one, and his height is no joke.
It soon becomes clear that Kagami, just like the generation of miracles, possesses a special talent of his own: his jumping prowess. The duo begins working together, with Kuroko in the backstage, supporting Kagami and the team (does this remind you of Haikyuu? #HinataKageyama). Although common, the dou complementing each other is one of my favorite tropes in the sports genre.
Power System Super-power sports genre (SPG)
Don't get me wrong, this is no easy problem to solve. Mangaka take a variety of approaches when addressing this. In Seven Deadly Sins for example, a numeric power system correlates to increases in character strength (this is actually one of my least favorite approaches). Haikyuu, for example, takes the much harder approach of showing rather than telling. As any writer worth their salt will tell you, this is one of the core principles of creative writing. It's the same when it comes to manga.
Haikyuu is a perfect example of power system scaling done right. The audience is perfectly in tune with the development of Hinata and Kageyama as characters and author, Haruichi Furudate, does a fabulous job demonstrating how the duo have evolved. For example, the inception of the series hinges on Hinata, an over zealous spiker, who hates receiving. He loves the surreal feeling of smashing the ball with full force. It's a consistent problem the more experienced, Kageyma brings up numerous times. Unable to change Hinata however, the team soon adapts to compensate for his flaws.
That is until a fateful summer training camp Hinata attends. After watching one of the players he sees as a rival play, he realizes that being a completely self-sufficient player is the definition of freedom. He practices receiving because he recognizes that being able to bring the ball up on his own will not only make him stronger, but the team as well. But it goes deeper than that. Hinata loves being a spiker because he loves the freedom of midair combat. And so, Hinata realizes that by learning to receive, he can become more free.
The flaw in Kuroko no Basket then, is twofold. One, each generation of miracles character has an absurd special power. Let me explain. Midroima for example, can literally shoot a three pointer from anywhere on the field with a guarantee that he can make it. Seriously, he can shoot the span of the entire court. This ability is so singularly broken that it doesn't make sense in basketball. Then there's Aomine:
And, the captain of the Generation of Miracles, Akashi can literally see the future. No joke. The problem is that each of these powers are so unrealistic; the audience gets transported to that mystical land of Shonen once more. The second problem is the scaling system behind these powers. Simply put, how do you measure a character's growth? Look at Midorima for example. He can literally shoot the ball from anywhere and make a three. How does he improve? What does improvement look like? Long story short, when I was watching Kuroko no Basket, I was left feeling like I was in make-believe land.
That's not to say the manga isn't interesting. But it didn't even come close to captivating me like Haikyuu.
No Surprises
I felt like Hari Seldon from Foundation as I watched this series. That is to say, I could predict literally everything that happened. I can confidently say that there were no plot twists, no drastic changes that I couldn't foresee. In other words, plot is not a driving factor in this anime. Which to me, makes this subpar.
In Foundation, Hari Seldon is a near god level expert in the field of pscycho history, a mathematical science that can be used to predict the behaviors of large population groups thousands of years into the future. From the beginning, it was super obvious that Seirin would eventually win the tournament (don’t complain, it’s not even a spoiler) through the classic trope of "we worked harder than anyone else." The fact that this trope has been repeated over and over, in literally every sports manga, makes me flinch whenever I see it. Let me clarify, I flinch if that's the only plot driver. Kuroko no Basket makes me flinch.
Overall, there isn't a huge discrepancy between the manga and the anime. Say one thing about the anime, say it was loyal to the author's intentions which I can't unfortunately say for a lot of series. Take Tokyo Ghoul for example, an all time personal favorite of mine.
The manga is definitely A-tier material. The anime, not so much. Now that I think about it, Tokyo Ghoul is the most severe example of an anime totally deviating from the author's wishes and suffering as a result.
All in all, Kuroko no Basket is by no means a horrible anime. For what it intends to accomplish—an SPG sports manga that's entertaining if not revolutionary—it does. It's a show designed to pass the time, to sit back, and not pay too much attention to.
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