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Kuroko's Basketball Season 3: Episodes 23-25 & 25.5 FULL LENGTH Reaction! (Patreon)

Published:
2023-05-17 13:01:00
Imported:
2023-06

Content

**SEASON FINALE HEADPHONE WARNINGS**  

This episode set had me SO tense, my heart is still pounding thinking about these final episodes! I'm glad we got SUCH a fan-service-filled OVA to round out the season, too! It has me INSANELY excited for the movie and everything else to come this summer with Kuroko's Basketball! We're far from over looking at this series, even if this is the end of the anime seasons.   

NOTE: I know I come off this reaction with some strong opinions about Akashi -- please note, I am not the type of person to easily change my mind, and will often buckle down if told I'm "wrong" or if you try to strongly convince me otherwise. I AM planning to do a "mental reset" when reading the manga and try to give all the characters a fresh look -- I definitely don't judge you if you love a character I don't though, so I look forward to hearing your takes, even if I don't agree. ^^   

LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/jEzbKYyR47nsRbZpA7bL39?

Thank you for watching with me and for all the support!

Files

Kuroko's Basketball Season 3: Episodes 23-25 & 25.5 Reaction! THE EPIC SEASON FINALE!

LINK TO REACTION: https://share.vidyard.com/watch/jEzbKYyR47nsRbZpA7bL39? **SEASON FINALE HEADPHONE WARNINGS** This episode set had me SO tense, my heart is still pounding thinking about these final episodes! I'm glad we got SUCH a fan-service-filled OVA to round out the season, too! It has me INSANELY excited for the movie and everything else to come this summer with Kuroko's Basketball! We're far from over looking at this series, even if this is the end of the anime seasons. I know I come off this reaction with some strong opinions about Akashi -- please note: I am not the type of person to easily change my mind, and will often buckle down if told I'm "wrong" or if you try to strongly convince me otherwise. I AM planning to do a "mental reset" when reading the manga and try to give all the characters a fresh look -- I definitely don't judge you if you love a character I don't though, so I look forward to hearing your takes, even if I don't agree. ^^ Thank you for watching with me and for all the support! Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RomaniaBlack My Anime: https://myanimelist.net/profile/RomaniaBlack Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/RomaniaBlack You can mail me a letter or anything (except food, please) at this address: Romania Black PO Box 768 Harrisburg, IL 62946 USA

Comments

Eli

God whenever I watch that OVA I want to cry. Kuroko is not only my favorite character in the series but also in general a character that I am until now very attached to (Like Hinata from HQ or Atsushi from BSD). Seeing him that happy on his birthday makes me sob every time. Also I get your reluctance towards Akashi but personally he is my second favorite character (I am also an Akakuro shipper) so I was just glad to see THIS Akashi back :,) I hope you had a great time with the series and take care

Arjo

I don't think there's any point in me defending Akashi or getting you to like him if you don't. But the series does some very masterful stuff in terms of Akashi's writing (specifically his turn), which I would like to highlight. In the very beginning of the Rakuzan match (Season 3, Episode 18), when Kagami was in the zone and was going up against Akashi, Aomine said something like "if you put out 100% of your capabilities and it doesn't work, it could throw you off completely". Kagami then proceeded to lose to Akashi twice (he failed to score on Akashi, and he failed to stop Akashi on defense) and started doubting himself, but was able to recover thanks to Mitobe and the rest of Seirin. Fast forward five episodes later (Season 3, Episode 23), Akashi is in the zone and loses to Kagami and Kuroko twice (he failed to score on them, and failed to stop them on defense) and started doubting himself, but this time no one was there to help him recover and so he just kept spiralling (it threw him off completely, as Aomine said would happen). I love that what ultimately caused the "other" Akashi's downfall was something foreshadowed in the very beginning of the match. A line stood out to me during Akashi's literal internal conflict, and that is "I tried to save it by winning- something irreplaceable. I didn't know what else to do." All his life, all he's known is winning. It's something instilled in him since his birth, basically. Even basketball, which is something that's supposed to keep him grounded with the memories of his mother, had the stipulation of "you can only play if you win". And because he's never lost, he's never had any reason to doubt this mentality. So when everything started crumbling down, both externally (with Teiko), and internally (his own fears and anxiety), he thought that as long as he kept winning, everything would fix itself somehow. Which is why when he was faced with losing (against Murasakibara), he turned to his other, more victory-minded personality. That was ultimately his mistake. Thinking about this then reminded me of something Midorima said during their match: "Don't talk like you know everything when you've only ever won." Cool foreshadowing, once again. This inner conflict sequence is also something I'm looking forward to seeing your perspective in the manga, since they do it a bit differently. It's funny, seeing as Akashi's true ability is making his teammates play to their full potential, you can argue he played a small role in the Generation of Miracles improving that much faster than him, which caused his switch in the first place. But another way of looking at it is that they probably weren't improving faster than him, it's just that having the ability to pass perfectly doesn't really help when playing a one-on-one against Murasakibara, so he was screwed in that game from the start. I don't know if it's been pointed out to you before (since you closed off Akashi-related discussion mid-season), but the two Akashi's address their teammates differently. The other Akashi (the one we see most of the series) addresses his teammates by their first names. He calls Mibuchi "Reo", Hayama "Kotaro", Nebuya "Eikichi", and Mayazumi "Chihiro". During his infamous first introduction, he calls each of the Generation of Miracles by their first names. When he first switched during the Teiko flashback and Kuroko asked who he was, he said "I am Seijuro Akashi, of course, Tetsuya." The original Akashi calls everyone by their last names. When he finally switched back to his original self and spoke to Kuroko for the first time, he says "It's been a while, Kuroko." And when he was commanding his team against Seirin, he called them all by their last names. "Pass MIBUCHI, it's a trap!", "Get Hyuga, MAYAZUMI!", etc. And during the OVA, he calls the GOM by their last names as well. Just a cool detail that the show never really pointed out but did not go unnoticed by fans. (Another thing is that apparently the other Akashi refers to himself as "boku", while the original refers to himself as "ore", but I've never gone through to check whether this is true or not, so...) The penultimate episode is my favorite episode in the series, for a lot of reasons. But the ending battle between Rakuzan and Seirin is incredible. Last set, you drew a very nice comparison between Akashi's zone trigger and Kagami's (in that they're the exact opposite in terms of relying on teammates). But there's also a very cool comparison between Rakuzan and Seirin in this episode. Akashi's power allows him to improve all of Rakuzan's performance, which lets them play at a level close to the zone. Meanwhile, Kagami's "true zone" is him coordinating with all of Seirin, using trust and teamwork to help Kagami get past his opponent. To put simply, Akashi is the one supporting his team- while on the other side, the team is the one supporting Kagami. The final two plays of the match is one of my favorite sequence in the series. Each starter of Seirin has a hand in beating Rakuzan. Not only that, but each of their moments lead into one another beautifully. IZUKI steals the ball and makes a perfect pass to HYUGA, who hits an Earth shot to give them three points + a free throw. He misses the free throw on purpose so that KIYOSHI can rebound the ball and give it to KUROKO, who fakes a shot and throw it to KAGAMI, who dunks the ball for the win. If that doesn't show the importance of team work, I don't know what does. And I would like to point out that after Kuroko lost his lack of presence and eventually got it back through overwriting, he never again tried to use the vanishing drive or phantom shot. He stuck to the shadows and only used passes the rest of the game. So Akashi was right (lol). I like Kuroko's last line "I am a shadow". Everyone expected him to shoot that last shot, even Akashi. But he's a shadow. That shot was never his to take. Although I won't try to change your mind on Akashi, I do want to share my own perspective on a moment earlier this season that you really hated. It's the moment of Akashi offering to gouge his eyes out if they lost. You won't agree with me, but I just want to explain how I saw that moment and why it didn't bother me at all: Season 3, Episode 6. Rakuzan held a very strong lead thanks to Akashi (twenty points in the fourth quarter), and Rakuzan thought they already won and relaxed, but then Shutoku came back at breakneck pace thanks to Midorima and Takao. Seventeen points. Fourteen points. Eleven points. And then eight points. The rest of Rakuzan were all visibly panicking during this and making mistakes one after another, which accelerated their comeback. The only person who never lost his composure was Akashi. I firmly believe that even if Akashi never shot on his own basket and made that "speech", Rakuzan would still have won pretty handily. Especially knowing Akashi could have forced himself into the Zone at any point. In fact, his teammates repeatedly making mistakes was the exact reason he entered the Zone against Seirin. If Shutoku had caught up in that game and Akashi entered the zone, there would have been nothing they could have done, and that would be that. But he didn't want this to be an issue they have to face in the future (*cough cough* in the Finals *cough cough*). He shoots on their own basket as a way to wake them all up and remind them to never lose focus, no matter how big the lead becomes. So, about the "eye gouging" comment... I won't deny that it's a very extreme thing to say, and almost everyone in the series treats it as such. Takao comments about how ridiculous it is to say about what is basically a school activity. Kagami starts pondering on whether or not he would even go through with it. And all of Rakuzan start trying to convince him not to go that far. But you'll notice that Midorima, the person who knew him the most, is not as surprised as everyone else. Because I think he understood what this actually meant-- that Akashi's not even seriously considering the idea of him actually losing. He's saying that it (him gauging his eyes out) absolutely won't happen, because they absolutely won't lose. It's not a threat, but rather a declaration of his confidence. It's less him saying "We better win this, because if we lose, I will...", but more "I'm SO confident that we'll win, that if we don't, I will...". And he choses the most ridiculous thing he can do (gouging his eyes out) to make his point-- that there is absolutely no way it'll happen. It's ghoulish overkill. He doesn't need to go through with it because it absolutely won't even come to that. You'll notice that when their lead starts dwindling against Seirin, Akashi never makes a similar statement to his teammates. One, he's already made his point once and none of them were taking it easy with the large lead. But also, I think he wasn't as sure of their victory this time, so he couldn't make a declaration of confidence like he did before (Mayazumi even pointing out how Akashi felt a bit off, just before he entered the Zone. He might have already been a bit worried at that point). But that's my perspective, as someone who shares the exact same MBTI personality as Akashi (INTJ) lmao. You don't have to agree with it but it's there. If I'm gonna be honest... even though you said you were (and I'm not claiming you weren't), it did still feel like you weren't at all open-minded about Akashi throughout the season. Though that's probably my bias talking. But there was a point near the middle of the season where I realised that no matter what happened, you probably still won't like him by the end of the series. Though maybe you will feel differently reading the manga and all the extra stuff (and the Replace Plus series, which you have to check out as well). I still enjoyed the reactions as a whole, it was so much fun! And I'll stay tuned in to the rest of the series, the movie as well. But I probably won't be commenting much, unless there's something I really have to say.

romaniablack
>>108740381

I appreciate your kind words and dealing with me and my dislike for Akashi -- I feel whatever anyone's argument is, I've provided my counter claims in the lengthy discussions I've done these sets, and I stand by my beliefs and opinions. But I am glad to hear anyone's views on why they like Akashi, even if I don't personally support or share them. :) I think that the more people kept trying to convince me that I would like Akashi, the more I started expecting there to be a LOT of substance on him, and I just didn't get it. Believe it or not, I'm INTJ too, hahahaha, and maybe that's my issue. I feel as a coach myself, I have a lot of issues with him as a captain and a competitor and I went to great lengths to talk about the plot holes that the anime does with his character at the end and how it just didn't give his character the proper depth and "breath" that other players in this series got, but I could rant about him all day, and I know several of you like him, so I'll leave that for my discussions. :) As I said in the video, I DO want to try and start the manga with a blank slate on everyone, since I viewed things out of order in the anime and people were trying to push their views of characters onto me without letting me experience it naturally for myself -- hopefully, looking at the source content from a fresh perspective will help me develop a more open-minded view of Akashi and the other characters, but he just completely turned me off as a character in this series. I can't explain it; he's just a character I don't like. But like I said, I won't judge anyone that enjoys him! I'm just probably not the person to gush about him to, hahahaha!! Thank you so much for the support! I CAN say, having just watched the Special and bloopers for next week, that I appreciated his character a LOT more in those, so maybe there's hope. :) I cannot WAIT for all the extra content to get to in this summer with Kuroko! It's going to be fun! <3 :) :)

romaniablack
>>108731120

I feel if I wasn't so HYPED during this set, it may have induced tears! I LOVE Kuroko, so seeing him so happy in this set was wonderful! I can see the connections to Atsushi and Hinata! What a treat, getting his birthday celebrated in the last episode! And I don't judge anyone for liking Akashi! He's just not for me! :) At least he's not psycho anymore, I guess we can revel in that. :) This anime was so much fun and there's still SO MUCH Kuroko content to go! I can't wait! :) Thanks for the comment and kind words!

Arjo
>>108740381

In the first place, it shouldn't even be an "argument". Everyone's free to like and dislike whichever character they want. I'm certainly not mad at you for disliking Akashi or anything. When I first went through the series, I was not as big of a fan of Aomine as a lot of people. I can't tell you why (it's been almost decade since Season 2 came out). But with multiple rewatches, and reading the manga, and watching reactions, and just reading through comments and forums and whatnot, he definitely grew on me. He's still closer to the bottom half of my Miracles ranking (vaguely), but I definitely appreciate his character and story a LOT more. Hopefully you can reach something similar with Akashi someday lol

Anime Annie

I'm totally with you for the names of the Uncrowned Kings, definitely have similar thoughts for the meanings. For Hanamiya's though my first thought was "Well there are flowers that are poisonous and toxic flowers, I can easily see him as one of them." And Nebuya's version of "I am Groot!" is "Muscles!". Though very interesting that Kiyoshi is the tree, whilst Nebuya is the roots beneath the plant. Crunchyroll when I watched had the OVA after the Season Finale, but when they changed their website/updated it that's when it changed and it's so stupid. Especially when Crunchyroll has the Autoplay function. Mibuchi's little move in the OP always makes me think he's curtseying after making that 3-pointer which feels a little bit conceited but I do still love him. Your realisation of what the requirements to enter the True Zone are was fantastic. KagaKuro heart just goes soaring with this moment...though my AoKuro heart hurts because Aomine pushed away his chance whilst Kagami embraces it. When you were so sure that Akashi was the one that would say "Why don't you give up?" I did laugh a little. It really does seem like the kind of remark he'd say and definitely not something that would come from Kuroko's mouth! And it leads us into a Sam/Frodo moment for KagaKuro. I love that it's Midorima talking about how Kagami completely trusts Kuroko to be there, especially because of all the Generation of Miracles he's the one that's also learnt to trust a certain teammate so wholly. I feel like as Akashi wasn't even allowed time to grieve his mother he clung to basketball even harder because she's the one that introduced him to it. And clinging to something too tightly can lead to you having a lot of unfounded fears, such as that he'd lose everything if Murasakibara had beat him during that Middle School one-on-one. Love them giving it to the point guards to explain why to anyone else Akashi might seem normal, but to someone in that position some of those passes and plays are pretty tricky to actually pull off so fluidly. I laughed so hard at you calling bullsh*t on the WiFi Zone! And Hanamiya's reappearance just to be a sh*t to Seirin. Ogiwara calling out to Kuroko and then his big smile and holding the basketball again gives me all the feels every time. Especially because they give us that glimpse back to how devastated he was when Teikou played them in Middle School. Also it's interesting that he's with his Middle School friend/teammate because he left that school before graduation. I just love seeing him so obviously in a better place now. Also *Aomine* being the first of all the Generation of Miracles to shout out his own version of support for them...my heart for this OT3! I love that Takao looks a little surprised at Midorima vocally giving his support too. And then Himuro knows Murasakibara so well already. He knows he's cheering for them but has to tease him over being more overt about it. We see that blush Murasakibara, you're not fooling anyone! Lot of people have had the same issue with the translation of that "Do you have a secy?". What it is is that in Japanese Kagami was very informal, veering almost on slang for saying that I believe. Would have been better to just translate it as "Do you have a sec?". Suwabe Junichi does an amazing job of breaking my heart for Aomine when he has his realisation that he abandoned the person that could unlock the True Zone for him. But the fact that he's just sat there unashamedly crying...I just want to give him the biggest hug. For the Nakama Zone the animation and art gets turned to an 11! Seirin transported the entire court into space for this one final play. Our boys are so determined and want to win so bad that even Mitobe is loudly mouthing (or potentially actually shouting) "Defence!" on the bench. Izuki is MVP. The way he managed to keep his cool and finally managed that steal. So so proud of the hardworking boy! And then manage to level up his pass to Hyuuga to make it a perfect pass for him. All the love for him. I will say Akashi is a good captain for telling Mibuchi that it's the wrong time to apologise. Apologising in that moment will just keep them thinking shoulda, woulda, coulda, during the final play which would definitely affect their ability to prevent Seirin from winning. Hayama was able to calm his own emotional state, and calm down Nebuya before, but we hadn't seen if Mibuchi is any good at doing the same (or if Hayama could calm Mibuchi's mind as easily as Akashi manages to). Kiyoshi getting Hyuuga all emotional by saying it's the final play. I love their relationship so much. But it really makes the final point so much more poignant. The focusing on Kiyoshi's leg gives me such KazeTsuyo vibes with Haiji's leg as he reaches the last part of the Hakone Ekiden. Just tearing my heart out in the final seconds of the game. The moment Kuroko said "I'm a shadow" I knew they'd be doing the alley-oop that Kagami and Kuroko have used since the practice match with Kaijou. That moment feels like he is showing that even though he's learnt these new things (Vanishing Drive and Phantom Shot), at heart he remains a shadow. I do like to say that Kuroko's a little bit petty though I honestly think it was just happenstance for him that Seirin beat each of the Generation of Miracles by 1 point (Shuutoku they beat by 1 point for the Inter High and then it was a draw for the Winter Cup) linking back to the 111-11 score with them against Ogiwara and his team. Akashi being about to cry but holding back and being able to approach Kuroko and congratulate him and his team reminds me a lot of Kaijou losing to Seirin in the semi-finals. Kise put on a brave face to congratulate them and tell them that next time he won't lose, but then he had Kasamatsu basically tell him it was alright to let it all out and he ugly cried his way off the court. And that moment I feel like is a big difference; Akashi doesn't have anyone approaching him and tell him it's okay to cry it out. Find it *very* interesting that the voiceover with Kuroko and then cutting to images of the teams leaving, the first team it cuts to (and as Kuroko says "daisuke" i.e. love) is Kirisaki Dai Ichi. The goodbye to Kiyoshi in the airport when all the other second years crowd in round him, Hyuuga's looking so awkward in the background. He's building up his courage to say his farewells (for now). I feel so bad for Kasamatsu, but you gotta love that Kobori's way to cheer him up is Kise! And now we can add Miyaji, Kimura, and Ootsubo to the list of older brothers. Which means Shuutoku is the team of siblings seeing as Midorima and Takao also both have younger sisters. It's such a little thing, but Murasakibara *sharing* his snacks makes me so proud of how far he's come. It means a lot from him and shows that he really is cheering on his senpais. Gotta love Hyuuga basically saying "Kagami, fetch!" to go retrieve Kuroko. Gotta finish off the series with the ED showing the Generation of Miracles and their long-suffering keepers. So the only parts of the letter visible in the OVA to translate are who the letter is addressed to (Shirogane) and who it's from (Momoi). But I love that she not only printed the photo for Kuroko but also for their old coach. Aomine's plan to lure Murasakibara whilst hilarious when he said "All you have to do is set out some bait" I always think "He isn't you Aomine!" Honestly love the little glimpse we get of Himuro and Murasakibara at their dorms in Akita. It looks so cosy just the two of them hanging out like that. The OVA occurs in a bit of a strange place. It's after Seirin won the Winter Cup but before the Third Years are prepping to graduate and are taking their University Entrance Exams. Midorima being seriously worried for his life is honestly so funny and adorable. But I love that he has Takao on speed dial and knows he can trust his partner to bring said Lucky Item to him. Also Takao dropping Midorima off like he's his kid, "Get out of the car and go play with your friends, Shin-chan!" It's so great that Momoi knows that the surest way to get Midorima to attend is to involve Takao. Akashi purposefully had a joint practice match called between Yousen and Rakuzan just so as Murasakibara would be in Tokyo and therefore come to Kuroko's birthday get-together. That's a whole other level of manoeuvring in comparison to what Takao and Momoi did to ensure Midorima would be there. I am definitely Momoi for the streetball games. Seeing their growth and their recognition that they've changed since Middle School is so wonderful. But you know my AoKuro heart just loves that Aomine is happy to be playing and getting passes from Kuroko again. And they did the fist bump! Aomine is a lying liar who lies considering back when Seirin beat Touou he said that that fist bump would be the last time. But yeah Aomine's smile is the most precious thing...until we get Kuroko's smile at the end. Having visited Tokyo I feel all the more bad for Himuro being lost because he can't just use Google Maps to try and get directions (which sometimes doesn't work the best for walking directions). As for the omiyage (souvenir) he brings Kagami, kiritanpo is a pounded rice snack that is popular in the Akita region. Although we don't get to see Momoi play I love them including her in this time. Really shows that for all she didn't play in the games with them, they all consider her one of them and really respect her. It's not just Akashi that has an outfit change. All of them including Kuroko are wearing nicer clothes. But we get no explanation on where they came from or where they changed into them. Takao is loving life with how chaotic the party becomes from the Generation of Miracles turning up. Guess we can firmly place him as a Chaotic Good. Midorima 'mothering' Murasakibara and making him huff, but when Himuro does it he agrees and goes to do what he's told. So for working out the hands of who's petting Nigou: Mitobe's holding him; Aomine you can tell whose hand is his; Momoi's booping him on the nose; then Akashi is petting him similarly to Aomine; and Kise is petting the top of his head. If you notice, Kagami was on the other side near where Himuro is sitting but when he saw the Second Years brought Nigou the next time we see him he's cowering behind Kuroko. I now get such Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji vibes from this. And yes this moment in the OVA definitely cements the AkaFuri ship. Like I said in the discord they each have qualities that could help their partner to become a better person. Again, when you were told about the ship you did seem to wonder potentially what was wrong with us shipping the precious bean with a potential psychopath, but the different moments they have along with that one AkaFuri End Card the ship really does grow on you. I did warn you that Kuroko no Basuke is the one sport anime that had my heart rate through the roof because it's so good at leaving you on the edge of the seat. And even at the end it doesn't let up. I feel like the difference for the immediate switch for Akashi and Himuro is that Himuro's felt more like your typical moody teenager. He got annoyed at Alex treating him like a child, yet had a somewhat childish ideal that he had to be better than Kagami in order to remain his big brother. The switch feels like a more natural progression of growing up and coming to the realisation that these things in his life that he was making such a big deal of really isn't that big of an issue in the grand scheme of things. Sounds like getting directions in America is very similar to here in NI. One of the houses I lived in one part of the directions was "Turn left at the lane after the 'Potatoes For Sale' sign." So glad everyone's kept mum about the movie. Looking forward to the special episode and bloopers next week! The Rakuzan End Card makes me think Mibuchi is telling stories, similar to Yuki talking to the JōJō twins in KazeTsuyo. And all bar Akashi are thinking "Not whilst we're eating breakfast!" The final extra scene for the EDs is Seirin playing Kick the Can I think. Nigou manages to scare Kagami out from his hiding place showing that he's still not great with our adorable puppy. Which links nicely with how he reacted to Nigou being brought to his place during the OVA. Yes! I'm glad you noticed Nijimura and Haizaki in Episode 75's End Card. I told you fist bump in this show equals ship, so the OVA's End Card is canon proof of my OT3!!!

Preetam Ozarde

As the comment above said, you've already made up your mind about Akashi and that's fine. I do have want to address a couple of plot holes that you pointed out in your review. I hope you read this, even if you ultimately don't agree or find them compelling enough and I definitely would like to know your thoughts. Some of them I tried to point out before, but you weren't reading Akashi posts at the time. Jeez, I'm so sorry this is so long. I hope you get the time to go through it whenever you're free. First, I agree with the above comment about him never being serious about gouging his eyes out and it stemming from his confidence that they were never going to lose that game. This is clear from Midorima's reaction to the statement. Even so, say that it's manipulation and making threats is not the way to inspire your team. I fail to see the difference between what he did and what Kiyoshi has done on multiple occasions, emotionally blackmailing Riko to get in the game saying he'll hate her forever. That's also emotional manipulation. Also, when he gets back on the court, you hear Hyuga feeling that he has to make the shot because if Kiyoshi goes for a rebound a lands awkwardly, he can't play anymore at all. That's also him threatening himself with bodily harm if he doesn't get his way. Also, Kiyoshi decided to skip surgery and sacrifice maybe a pro career (considering how good he would have been had to continued to play after surgery and the fact that if he doesn't his knees continue to deteriorate). It seems insane to sacrifice this to use your words 'just a high school game' for ONE more year. Riko has also done several questionable things so far. She has hit players on multiple occasions and has made them swear that they'll stand on top of the school building buck naked in the freezing winter if they lose stating multiple times how serious she is. This whole anime is basically a bunch of people taking basketball too seriously. Also, there is a similarity to Akashi using Mayuzumi to stand in Kagami's line of sight and Riko using the first years just as bait to lure Akashi inside so he couldn't ankle-break. So your comments seem too harsh in Akashi's case. All I'm saying is that being on the complete end of the spectrum in terms of your reaction for them doesn't make sense. From weeping and laughing when Kiyoshi and Riko do it to openly scoffing and hating Akashi when he does it. Second, it is pretty clear when the Rakuzan players are interacting with Akashi before the game that they definitely think he's fun to be around and they seem to enjoy his personality. There is never an instance where he treated his teammates badly or without respect, and I don't think anything suggested otherwise. The only one who could have a gripe is Mayuzumi for the way he was used. But even then, as I've pointed out several people including Kuroko (when he was using overflow) have been used that way. And at the end, Mayuzumi himself says that his first two years with the team were horrible but that the third year was good thanks to Akashi. So, none of them had a problem with his second personality. Similarly, I don't think that the GOM members had any problem with his emperor personality. They did not alienate Akashi because of this personality nor did they see this personality as 'evil'. It is you specifically who labeled them as good and evil. The characters made no such statements or even said anything particularly bad about his second personality. It is Akashi himself that pushed the other GOM's away after the change in personality and kept his distance from players at Rakuzan. All that happened at the end of the show was that the GOM players were happy that he was no longer pushing him away and Rakuzan players were happy that he wasn't keeping his distance. So, I don't really understand what exactly he was supposed to have owed them an apology for. Even after the final game of their third year, when Kuroko tells them that Ogiwara was his friend, what happens? Kise starts saying something along the lines of 'You should have told us before...' but Aomine cuts him off saying how it would not have changed anything and how exactly they were supposed to have a fair game when their opponents are so weak. And nobody argues, not even Kuroko. Also, you seem to think that Akashi was wrong when he said that Kuroko was asking for special treatment for his friend. The fact is, he only tried to intervene once and when Aomine and Kise asked how else they could stay motivated, Kuroko didn't have any answers. The rest of the year he said absolutely nothing until the finals when they were playing his friend. So, Akashi wasn't wrong in what he said even if it was wrong of him to not keep his promise of playing their hardest. You also said that he stopped telling them to play seriously because Akashi told him he would have to quit if he did so. I think your mixing up the conversations. In that conversation they were only talking about the new team policy (not taking matches seriously) which said that GOM players didn't have to practice. And Akashi said if you don't want to accept it, then you can quit. He also told him that he changed because the team changed and not the other way around. Could he have done more to salvage the situation? Yes. But so could Murasakibara and Aomine who were given a choice whether to come to practice and didn't, Midorima who was Vice Captain and did nothing and Kuroko who failed to convince Aomine to come back. Fact is, all the GOM's were just kids dealing with their own demons at the time. You say Kasamatsu and Hyuga would have done better but your comparing their third year high school version to a middle schooler. Let me remind you that Kasamatsu was only allowed to lead during his third year of high school and Hyuga needed all the help he could get from Kiyoshi and Riko to even play volleyball in high school let alone captain a team. So, again I don't think the GOM players needed an apology from him. They just needed him to stop pushing people away. The Rakuzan players already liked his emperor personality well enough, so all he needed to apologize for was his conduct during the Seirin game, which he did. And the reason they were happy at the end when he was praising them was not because he was always rude to them before (all prior interactions were pleasant), it's because he finally stopped keeping them at a distance. Coming to his emperor personality, you say he's a bully but he isn't. He intimidates people certainly but he isn't a bully. Also, watching the game against Shutoku, I don't know if the words cocky and arrogant apply to him. If anything, Midorima was more cocky and arrogant than he was. Akashi had a methodical approach to the game and kept a cool head throughout maintaining control. His emperor persona is full of himself, yes, but he treated Midorima and Shutoku as well as Seirin throughout with complete respect. Acknowledging that they were strong from the beginning, not relaxing even when they were up 20 before Shutoku started coming back, giving Midorima his respect and saying that he was strong and finally showing respect that not one of Shutoku's players gave up until the end. Him acknowledging that Seirin was strong from the start, him saying that Kuroko is one to never give up etc. None of that is him looking down on people. Meanwhile, the other Rakuzan players that you seem to like more were actually looking down on the Shutoku and Seirin players. That's why they started panicking when Shutoku started storming back because they were underestimating them. Finally, in terms of his ability, it actually makes complete sense if you really think about it. He definitely contributed to the fast development of all the GOM's because he was bringing out their full potential with his passes. So I don't really know why you say the moment when the other four go into the pseudo-zone isn't earned. It's his ability, isn't it? Just like all other GOM's and Kagami have their special abilities, he can draw out the full potential of his teammates. The point the show is trying to make is precisely that Akashi is using his extremely high basketball IQ combined with his amazing reflexes and observation skills to create these perfect passes. Meanwhile, Izuki who doesn't have any of that is able to use to the fact that he knows Hyuga so well to create the perfect pass during a clutch situation and the rest team who are not even in pseudo-zone are able to keep up with zone Kagami due to the bonds they have together. Anyway, I loved your reactions to this entire series and had a thoroughly great time re-watching the show with you

romaniablack
>>108740381

Thank you -- I totally get that -- I definitely can understand people not liking characters that I'm all about; you're right, I still don't have a "Complete" view of Akashi, even with the anime finished, so I'm excited with all the content left to go and how it can help shape the views of these characters even more! ^^

romaniablack
>>108759091

I definitely will admit that the discussion was me right off the trails of the reaction, so I’m interested in what you’re going to point out! For the first point, I just don’t like the idea of “empty threats” and manipulation. If he knew he wasn’t going to gouge his own eyes out or that Kagami wasn’t going to get stabbed with the scissors (as someone pointed out in the discord, defending him), then why do the action in the first place, except as a narrative decision to seem villainous? I would argue that Kiyoshi’s actions are far different in Akashi’s in terms of what we’ve seen with his character. We KNOW how Teppei is truly from all our time spent with him. We don’t have that time with Akashi – maybe you have more knowledge of him from the other media I have not seen yet that is influencing that view. But at the time watching each scene of him with the scissors and the eye-gouging out – I found his tone more foul because I can’t connect with his character plus the fact he’s been framed as a villain, whereas Kiyoshi is framed differently to us the audience. You do have a point about Kiyoshi choosing to not have the surgery – I admittedly am not a fan of that decision, either. But again, I personally feel that the decisions that Kiyoshi makes and that Akashi make affect those around them differently. But you are right that there are too many high school kids taking basketball too seriously – where are the parents, y’all?! I think based on what we’ve seen with Akashi, maybe I am being harsh on him, but that’s just how I feel about him. I won’t judge anyone that likes him, but I feel a much more personal connection with Kiyoshi and Riko from following them closer and seeing more into their lives than we do Akashi at that point in the series. We don’t see much of Rakuzan outside the court with Akashi but I will agree with you that he is probably okay with them - I think of the gym scene from earlier on in season 3. But I do take issue with how he treats them during the game, particularly Mayuzumi and the uncrowned kings at the start of episode 73 once he “abandons them.” I kind of laughed at that “the third year was okay with Akashi” because we literally saw no scenes of Akashi and Mayuzumi having a good time except on the rooftop because the show was so dedicated to keeping Mayuzumi a secret – I wish we had been given more “show” not “tell” examples to make me connect with that statement more. I don’t really think that it was a “second personality” either; I don’t want to spoil Mob Psycho 100, but there is a similar argument there. All it was is that Akashi made his anxieties, fears, and anger into a ‘persona’ but it wasn’t a split personality. At least not to me. I just use the “good” versus “evil” because Akashi himself says it’s “two personalities,” but I personally don’t get into it. I just feel the need to use the labels in th discussion for the sake of clarity. We saw in the Teiko flashback and how he behaved during episodes 13-16 that he did quite a lot of questionable and toxic actions, as I noted in the discussion. As a coach, I can’t describe them as “good.” I said in a previous discussion that the scene with Kise, Murisakibara, and Midorima was not real but all in Kuroko’s head – you can check back in last week’s discussion for my notes on that. Akashi also should have, as a captain, shut down the idea of the 11111 move against Ogiwara as soon as he heard it. It wasn’t good captain behavior, good sportsmanship, or being anything close to a friend to Kuroko in doing that when Kuroko only asked for them to play them seriously. I feel I’ve said enough on that in these last set of reactions, though. Also, go back and you can hear my notes about that situation with Kuroko in the discussion as well. I will disagree with you about the Ogiwara game and I stand to think I’m not wrong in my thoughts on that, but you are free to believe what you want. I believe he was wrong, unfortunately, so I will respectfully disagree. 🙂 I feel a lot of the arguments, I’ve pointed out my beliefs on them and I do stand by them and I don’t feel I will change my thoughts on them; perhaps reading the manga will enlighten me with something I missed. I am hoping to view the characters on a blank slate and hopefully everyone will let me engage in these characters without outside influence. :) We’ll see! 😀 I was comparing the actions of Kasamatsu as a captain, if he was a captain in middle school or high school – granted, I will admit Kasamatsu is older, but I was looking more specifically at HOW Kasamatsu functions as a captain compared to Akashi. I personally don’t like the way he talks to players - it sounds pretentious to me, but again, that is my own opinion. Telling people he’s “absolute” and to “kneel” gives off the impression of him looking down on people; can you imagine someone in real life saying that to a group of people at a game? They’d probably think he was rude. I respect Akashi for being a strategist, I just don’t like his character at this point, and stand by my beliefs, but I appreciate your defense of him and you are more than welcome to like him! 🙂 I just respectfully think otherwise. Thanks so much for the kind words and comment and I am excited to see the other media out there for KNB to come!

Preetam Ozarde
>>108764099

That's completely fine. You're welcome to dislike him. I'm not trying to change your mind, just trying to get you to understand him better. I have just wanted to have this discussion with you for a long time so I'm happy that we can do it, especially if you disagree with me because I love hearing about different perspectives. Oh I 100% agree with you that the entire Rakuzan and Akashi interactions could have been more fleshed out and would have been had the author not wanted maintain the mystery around them until the end. We have so much time with the other GOM's apart from Murasakibara (who comes in at the beginning of S2). So it's not really a surprise that those two are towards the bottom of your rankings because we spent the least time with them. But coming back to my original point, I think the way he treats them at the end of episode 73 is not completely unexpected to his players because he has told them that his trigger to enter zone is to abandon his teammates. So they know he has to abandon them if he wants to get into the zone. All I'm saying is that know he's going to play by himself once he gets into zone because he's warned them. Also, as I already said his emperor personality when he tells people to kneel or about being absolute is full of himself but not looking down on them. There is a different between the two, I think. Don't misunderstand me, I don't disagree with you about the Ogiwara situation where it relates to Akashi (that he should have shut it down immediately as captain) but I also stand by what I said about Kuroko during the aftermath and their interaction. Both things can be true, I think. Fact is, the two personalities had a different way of leading the team. If you remember the incident between Murasakibara and Midorima when they are fighting and Kuroko steps in, I believe that tells what kind of captain he was. That is specifically why that scene is there in my opinion. He encouraged team play, let people on the team have disagreements and trust that other people (like Kuroko) could better resolve certain conflicts. He didn't want to control every action like he was absolute or the one who knew everything best. He valued their inputs, trusted and believed in them. After his switch, his way of leading the team also changed. Because this personality was full of himself and was absolute, he thought he always knew what was best for the team and distanced himself from them. Anyway all that was not to say I disagree with your points about Akashi. I was just trying to point out was that the GOM players don't blame Akashi for their fallout even if you strongly do. That's why they don't have to 'let him off the hook'. Because in their eyes Akashi was never evil when he changed, just different. That's the point I was trying to get across. If they did blame his second personality for everything they would stated as such. Whether you believe he has a split personality or not doesn't really matter. The show says he does, so I'm afraid that you are required to see it as such😅. I don't feel as strongly about as you do. Maybe that's because I never saw his personalities as 'good' and 'evil'. You have seen the flashback of his youth and the pressures that were put on him. Here's my interpretation of it. After his mother's death, when he wanted reprieve to mourn and wasn't getting any, that gave birth to the second personality which could handle all of the pressures being put on him by being something that he couldn't be at the time because he was still mourning his mother. This new personality was full of himself and got things done in any way that he could. It was defense mechanism whenever he felt inadequate to handle pressure or thought he couldn't win (because he was taught winning is everything and wanted to keep playing basketball). All I've read about these disorders is that there are triggers for switches between personality. His trigger is when he thinks he's about to lose. This trigger remains the same during both his switches (first against Murasakibara and then against Seirin).

Kelsey

Finally got to watch the set. Phew I'm here and ready! Lol I know you said you didn't feel bad for Akashi when he was getting the shit kicked out of him in this game but I did 😭 I hate seeing people give up or so in the gutter the way he was. Yes he was cocky and he needed to be knocked down a peg but God damn my empathy lol. Multiple personalities in general is such an interesting topic to me. That whole mental illness is fascinating and while I personally believe he does have multiple personalities, its interesting that he separated out his insecurities. That's kind of how that works though I suppose. Trauma in childhood creates friction and severance in the mind to hold different traumas and trauma responses so people can get through their days without breaking down. The team zone thing definitely felt out of no where I agree with that. It makes sense to be pulled into that level of focus I suppose but it's funny that everyone knows the different layers of the real zone and then this pseudo zone that they had going on. Best thing you've said this whole series: "SHUT UP HANAMIYA" 🤣 I dont know why but that subtitle error with "do you have a secy" really sent me lol. It reads like he's trying to do some weird baby talk lol Ahhhh man my baby boy Aomine crying when he realizes that HE really hindered his own growth all along. He threw Kuroko and his team play to the side which meant he was never going to reach his full potential by going into that deeper zone. He's such a fully realized character and I love him so much. One of those scenes of the bench showed Mitobe yelling with everyone "DEFENCE" and now I'm wondering if that was his only time speaking and we didn't even get to hear it or if he was just mouthing it lol. Dammit Seirin bench let me hear Mitobe I'm in full agreement with you that Teppei and Alex would be an incredible ship. He could tone down her crazy and she could be a lot of fun for him lol The irony of Akashi saying to Mayuzumi (Sawamuras VA) "thank you for your hard work" does not escape me lol. Throwing daiya lines right back at him. I absolutely agree with you and understand your frustration with there being no Akashi confrontation with his Dad. There was absolute potential for something great there. Even more so if Kuroko went with him to discuss it or one of his Rakuzan teammates to really solidify those friendships. Although I will say a lot of those negative Akashi points are probably more negative mangaka points in the way he chose to write his story and leave out important things or make him have these random plot holes. I verbally cheered when you put Aomine at #3 in your rankings okay lol I'm so glad you appreciate his character development and his whole arc and story. He absolutely does have the most arc and the most development and you really so feel for him this whole time so i love that he made it up there lol As we know I'm not really a fan of the extra things for kuroko but I hope you have fun and love everything and I can't wait for the movie!! 🥰

Sara sky

I must say I do enjoy the Akashi slander 😁 He might be my favourite GoM but I do agree it seems totally rushed like "Okay, 3 episodes left we need to make up for the last seasons and make him over the top likeable now", especially when you binged the episodes. It would have worked alot better if we had another season and could see him aknowledge his mistakes openly or have an "Akashi goes to therapy OVA" or just give us something... Regarding the order of the rest of Kuroko material: I watched the Movie before the S3 Character songs and audio dramas and totally did regret that in the end. I felt like the movie spoiled some of the developments themed in them and I would have enjoyed them more if I would have not known how the series ends. It always felt like the movie should be really the last thing to watch before reading the manga. So just a heads up if you planing a different order that you maybe experience something like this if you are sensitive to spoilers like me 😀

romaniablack
>>108759091

Your reply didn’t show up on Patreon, but I wanted to reply to it! 🙂I am glad you’re not trying to change my mind – but yeah, I do appreciate the perspective on your end so thank you for that! I am hopeful that viewing the extra material surrounding him and reading the manga with a blank slate will help me see what everyone else sees or at least understand him better! I definitely think I hold a stronger resentment towards his actions than the GoM players do, and I expect more of him in that regard – I blame it on my experience as a coach, hahaha, but I appreciate the perspective from someone that likes Akashi as to how they see his actions. We all have interpretations of his flashback and I “get” what makes him the way he does – I just hold the story more accountable for rushing things and that hinders my appreciation of his character for now. Thanks for the reply!

romaniablack
>>108987256

I appreciate the perspective there! An Akashi epilogue OVA would be a DREAM - I am planning to listen to the character songs before the movie -- sadly there are literally 9 HOURS worth of audio dramas to get through, and I had slated the movie for after the character songs -- I hope that the audio dramas can still be viewed after the movie alright. Thank you for the comment and kind words and I will take that into consideration!

Sara sky
>>108987256

Totally get that, listening to all the audio dramas at all is a logistic Mountain to get to with daily life responsibilities! To put that in perspective if I scared you to much: There is nothing directly in the extras that get mentioned in the movie! Iam just a sucker for character analysis and I tend to look and judge different to their actions and development when I know things that timelinewise happend beforhand, even if they are not really relevant storywise and just daily life knickknacks for our extra entertainment. But yeah, I might be an extreme example of easily feeling spoiled, even if something dont fit the "standard-spolier-definition" so totally possible it works out better for you than for me, and anyways: I am happy that you going to the mountain of extra material at all!

romaniablack
>>108987256

OOOOHHH gotcha! I absolutely hear you! I'm usually the most stickler about spoilers but I'm excited that even with the movie if it's before the audio drama and manga there will be SO MUCH content to sort through and compare with the anime -- I'm SO excited! Thank you for the clarification on that and trying to help me not be spoiled! <3

romaniablack
>>108850631

Getting to your comment before I owe you a pizza, even though you don’t watch the extra stuff – I would encourage checking out the special and the bloopers since they’re animated – they were GREAT this season; my favorite all around! Maybe I channeled some of his “Give up, KNAVES” attitude when he was losing – aside from his “Sleep Now, Kings” speech to Shutoku, he hasn’t exactly felt bad for the teams that he was beating, so I guess I didn’t feel so bad when he finally got his comeuppance in this game. There are so many zones in this last act, hahaha! I’m honestly surprised that Kuroko didn’t get his own, but I guess he did in the “True Zone” in the end. :) And HA – Hanamiya, what a trash king. He was so smug! The baby talk with “secy” was hilarious, too! I do love that everything comes full circle with Aomine and he realizes WHY he could never unlock that door himself – will he one day with Touou? That would be amazing! OMG, WAS Mitobe screaming – I would laugh so hard if he was just mouthing it to show “team spirit.” That’s really funny to me! Since I love Riko and Hyuga, I’ll take Teppei and Alex – that could be a REALLY fun ship for all the reasons you listed! Oohhhh, Mayuzumi and Sawamura having those lines, bwahahaha – that’s great! I do agree with you that I think I’m more frustrated in the end with the mangaka and his decision to not have Akashi get a final confrontation with his father after making it a key reason for his actions. I should write him a letter. 😛 And yesss, Midorima is close, but I just came to really love Aomine in this and he rose so high in the ranks for me over this series, especially when his character came full circle – I definitely love his character so much in this show and he’s right up there with Kagami and Kuroko for me! I’m soooo excited for the movie – I want to get to it before I leave for my trip this weekend! 🙂 *fingers crossed*

romaniablack
>>108749856

Yeah, I’m still scratching my head with CR moving the OVA to before the series finale! And awww, Mibuchi curseying after sinking a 3 makes so much sense and is kind of adorable in a fun way! What a dynamic and symbolic moment, though, with the True Zone, right? Aomine pushed away his chance because he only wanted to believe in himself, whereas Kagami always embraced the idea of working WITH Kuroko and gets rewarded for it – at least Aomine knows for the future. Although, I just picture him trying to MAKE Sakurai and the others work with him to open the door and it’s too hilarious. Sakurai screaming, “I’m Sorry! I’m sorry I can’t help you get the door open!?” It would be RIDICULOUS. I also love that Midorima has learned to trust “a certain teammate” *COUGHCOUGH* wholly too, so it’s him saying that. My KagaKuro and MidoTaka heart couldn’t get fuller than with this set! But also, Aomine being the first to support them from the stands – we love to see it! I LOVE that Himuro teases Murisakibara so much! He’s not fooling ANYONE! <3 But yes, leave it to Junichi Suwabe to make us tug our heartstrings out! I just wanted to hug him, too! I was SO happy to see the smiles and happy tears with Kuroko and Ogiwara! <3 The WIFI Zone – god, yes it is. Hahahaha! At least the True Zone animation looks AMAZING! I loved the literal SPACE JAM vibes! Kelsey noted that about Mitobe – it would be HILARIOUS if he was just mouthing, but if he’s actually shouting? TEASE, SHOW! Izuki was TOTAL MVP! I love the focus him, Furihata, Mitobe, and Koganei got in this game! And the work Hyuga and Teppei put in was beautiful as well. <3 I am also kind of rooting for the Teppei and Alex ship to take form in the future (when he’s out of high school) now that I’ve stewed on it. Kuroko’s “I’m a shadow” moment was BRILLIANCE. I was so happy in that play! It was everything to see Kagami and Kuroko work together for that last point! And OH, I don’t think there was ANY premeditation with beating Shutoku and Rakuzen by one point – even comparing it to the garbage move the GoM did to Ogiwara’s team makes my blood boil, hahaha! *helicopter blades blare in the distance* I feel the voice over saying “love” as it cuts to Hanamiya’s team is a jab at him, hahaha, who wants to deny all those lovey-dovey feelings and basketball! ;) The phrase “long suffering keepers” with the GoM is actually hilarious, too! Shutoku as a team of siblings makes so much sense; they all know how to handle one another! And it is good to see growth on so many of our GoM players throughout the series! And yes, I want to hang out with Himuro and Murisakibara at their dorms! It does look super cozy! In all seriousness, I love how Aomine and Momoi thought they could lure Murisakibara – you have to be a little more sophisticated in your manipulations, hence where Akashi comes in handy. The smile from Kuroko and Aomine was LIFE-GIVING in that OVA, but I agree, I’d feel SO bad for Himuro in that situation with being lost! Because yes, if I had a dollar everytime someone said, “Just turn right at the bank” or [insert random landmark], haha! That potato sign deal is the same over here! And hahahaha, everyone just showed up with their clean clothes in their gym bags for the event. 😛 And that is great knowing who is petting Number 2! Cute! Thank you for that! Maybe I love KagaKuro so much because I get WangXian vibes from it? I’ll take it! Literally the AkiFuri ship was the only Akashi-centered plot point I was all for – that did make me laugh and warmed my heart in this. Here’s hoping re-reading through the manga setting gives me a better Akashi experience. I love the three-way fist bump at the end - OT3!!! And Mibuchi telling stories is so sweet at that end card! I am SO hyped for the movie! :) I can’t wait! Thank you for the kind words and comment!