Aug 24, 2018
Alright, now that I've finished all seasons I'll let my honest opinions on the series as a whole and individually as a season:
Overall, Kuroko's Basketball is a nice Anime. It's not particularly outstanding in any field and very generic in every way a shonen Anime can be, but if you watched season 1 and got hooked like I did you have a chance of being entertained for all three seasons.
This will 100% rely on whether or not you like the characters and their struggles. The characters are likable to me, each with their own hurdles to face and enough entertainment value that I didn't
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feel any particular disappointment when any of them switched out during a game. However, many - especially the enemies - can come off one-dimensional with lackluster personalities that start to blend as the creators try to place them as the enemies of our heroes. However, no one is really ever portrayed as being above redemption and it's easy to start liking them once they stop being assholes. I usually have a hard time doing that but I was pleasantly
Right off the bat I was hooked with Kuroko, whom I found cute and a prime character to root for as a below average guy with a hidden talent he could use for TEAM play. His teammates shined as season 1 progressed and I was pleasantly surprised by the atypical stop of their journey at season 1.
Season two is the hurdle you have to face with this series, imo. It's where the typical shonen tropes stand out with intense DBZ-style power-ups and asspulls right at the perfect moment. Yet, while I definitely shook my head at the ridiculousness of it all and rolled my eyes and how predictable some of these moments became I still found myself cheering for Seirin - despite being asspulls they felt natural and not as cringe as in other series. I believe this is because of the tone the series already had set at season 1. Yes, it tries to be serious and tackles some real drama that can 100% apply to life, but in the end it's a series meant to lift you up and give a positive message. The trippy moves and fancy titles are there for entertainment.
Once I passed season 2 THAT's where I worried because I sure as hell didn't make a commitment to watch a 70+ episode series to be disappointed. I spoiled myself on the ending lol Which isn't really surprising, really, if you know how shounen series go and that this is the final season. Once settled on that I went ahead with this season and this is my conclusion:
Pros:
-GREAT animation. Season 2 upped the animation a bit but this season made it clear Production IG saw where it could go with this series and allowed their budget to shine. Some of the emotional scenes and art - and especially the animation during important plays - are a stark contrast to the plain look from season 1. I was pleasantly surprised.
-The music is repetitious as they use the same 3-4 (great) intense tracks for every game but works perfectly with each scene. Kiiinda makes it predictable what will happen at certain points in the game but if anything it gave me peace of mine haha. However, the OPs this season were superb. I think it had 4? Each a little more emotional than the last. The music was ok but the actual OP was great.
-ASSUMING you didn't watch any of the specials before this, THIS is the season we get to really see into the GoM's past and I really enjoyed it. If you finished season 2 you may have worried about fatigue with this season only covering few matches but they did well with delaying that until they got those stories out. Season 2 got some parts in but season 3 is where it fits together chronologically. I loved it.
Cons (most of which apply to the series as a whole):
-Standard Shonen. Lots of screaming, lots of "Impossible!" moments and random additions to a character's backstory that come out of nowhere for the #drama. However, if you didn't get sick of it by season 2 it probably won't be an issue for you at season 3. That said, the matches WILL get repetitious because - and I'm not even joking - at some point they end almost exactly the same. You'll start to notice how immediately. Honestly, you could skip to the end and not miss a thing other than some flashbacks.
-Not very accurate to basketball from what I've read. . . it's very gimmicky with all the special powers so if you're a basketball fan I don't know how you'll enjoy the unrealistic scenes of characters constantly talking and thinking for 1+ minutes while holding the ball.
-As a Kuroko fan who was very aware the show was named after him . .. Kuroko doesn't get much story outside of his relationship with the GoM, especially compared to his teammates. This is an overall criticism of the series, not just this particular season. Like stated before we do get his backstory with them in this season, but outside of those episodes his presence in the games sometimes felt forced. As if the animators remembered the MC was playing and added one shot of him looking series just to make sure he was included. He does get to shine as the MC in this season, regardless.
-After hyping up the GoM season 2-3's battles past Aomine felt a little easy. Season 1 handled it well, I think, but since they obviously had to 'make it' going after the rest - especially Akashi - didn't feel as intense. Torturous, but not as much of a strain.
-Because there are so many characters involved as a result of having to introduce each player on the opposing team and give them some importance you sit there wondering . .. do we really need their backstory? They try to give almost everyone one and by the last half it's like you realize some of them were just unnecessary and added to give the episode more meat. I love Seirin's coach, too, but at times it felt like she just observed and it was her players coming up with ideas. I sometimes asked myself "Why are you even there?" These were the only real flaws I found annoyed me with the characters.
- EVERYONE analyzes the matches as they happen this season. EVERYONE. It's a shonen trope but I found it a bit ridiculous at times.
-The season ends with the match and a few scenes after, but some key elements with certain characters are never really touched upon afterwards . . . I really wanted to know more of Akashi's personal life post-game but they don't bother going over that, even though his personal life is what made him like that. That said,
A LOT of really neat backstory/side stories are featured in OVAS. I HIGHLY recommend you watch them, especially the one set after this season featuring Kuroko's birthday. I feel that should have been the final episode instead of just ending it how they do in this season.
Despite all the flaws I personally enjoyed this series at a 9/10. That OVA made me feel satisfied and almost teared up.
As a series it's about a 8/10 ONLY if you don't take it seriously. It's 100% meant to be a feel-good typical shounen Anime. Focus on the characters and you'll be fine.
For someone who isn't into basketball I think this is an entertaining Anime, definitely made me care to look up basketball rules and such lol, and worth a watch if you can make the commitment. The music is great, it can be funny and light at times, they put enough personality to the characters that I didn't end up disliking anyone (save for the truly villanous a-holes that weren't supposed to be reoccurring anyway) - which is a feat for me lol
To summarize:
Story: 7 - very standard but fun. The GoM backstory is simple but interesting. I became invested.
Art: 8 - gets better as it goes. Starts off very plain but by season 3 it definitely has some eyecandy.
Sound: 7 - personal preference but the music was good, just generic. Nothing special imo aside from the first two OPs and some really good OSTs for the intense moments of a match. It's repeated, though, so while it works to get you pumped it's still noticeable that they had a budget. I will be downloading some of the OST.
Characters: 9 - all fun. Didn't hate a single reoccurring one. Each gets time to flesh out with the exception of new characters in season 3 for obvious reasons.
I rate my personal enjoyment over any technical flaws it may have so my verdict for the series is a solid 9.
I loved it. You may love it. Give it a chance!
With that I'm off to see the 4th movie!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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