History Manga / KurokosBasketball

After the series finished up, Tasaoshi went on to write another Shonen Jump sports manga, ''Manga/RobotXLaserbeam'', but centering around golf rather than a more aggressive sport.

* HeterosexualLifePartners: If the characters aren't interpreted with HoYay [[ShippingGoggles Goggles]] on, then they're probably this.

* SpockSpeak: Kuroko [[{{Keigo}} speaks pretty formally]] for a teenage boy. When he stops doing so, you know [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness shit's getting serious]].

* AdaptationExpansion: ''The Last Game'' was a fairly standard short story about about Kuroko and Kagami teaming up with the Generation of Miracles to take on an American Streetball team called the Team Jabberwock. The movie decided to add backdrop on a a bit of Kagami's backstory of when he first moved to Japan, and ends [[spoiler: with his moving back to America.]]

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler: The first Seirin versus Touou match.]]

** The Generation of Miracles were this for the entire middle school basketball circuit.

** Haizaki was this for Kise from when the latter joined the first string, up until [[spoiler:Kise's Perfect Copy, after which the roles get reversed.]]

** Aomine - this is lampshaded by Kise during one of his flashbacks

An anime adaptation by Creator/ProductionIG aired in the Spring2012Anime season. A second season was released on [[Fall2013Anime October 2013]], with a third premiering in [[Winter2015Anime January 2015.]] The series also received a series of compilation films, and a wrap-up movie, ''Kuroko’s Basketball: Last Game'', which adapts ''Extra Game'' and the match against Jabberwock in May 2017. Despite the anime's popularity, it wasn't until 2020 that the SAG-AFTRA database revealed that an English dub would be produced by Creator/BangZoomEntertainment (under their pseudonym Unforeseen Productions Inc). A couple of months later, it was announced that the first season would be released on Netflix on January 15, 2021.

** Akashi has two: "I am absolute," and "Lower your head."

* ArtEvolution: Substantially. Comparing the first and latest appearances of any character introduced early into the series will show drastic leaps in style and ability, as with [[http://knbmangacaps.tumblr.com/post/37733882616/character-design-evolution-kise-ryouta Kise]] or [[http://knbmangacaps.tumblr.com/post/37953849082/character-design-evolution-midorima-shintarou Midorima]]. Even [[http://knbmangacaps.tumblr.com/post/40188070732/character-design-evolution-akashi-seijuro Akashi]], who appears last of the Generation of Miracles, Fujimaki becomes visibly more comfortable drawing.

* BreakTheBadass: Hanamiya and Kirisaki Dai-Ichi have a particular love of doing this; they routinely target the aces of opposing teams and try to cripple them. It almost borders on a fetish for Hanamiya in particular. While they prefer doing it physically, they also try to destroy their opponents' spirits, making them fit this trope.

* CombinationAttack: Mostly performed by Kagami and Kuroko in the beginning, with several notable alley-oops and impressive displays of coordination.
** [[spoiler:Midorima and Takao's Sky Direct Three Pointer]] takes the cake. It requires [[spoiler:ludicrously good timing from both parties, immense trust between both passer and shooter, and is only usable by Takao and Midorima because they're the only ones accurate enough to make both the pass and the shot. It's also damn near [[AlwaysAccurateAttack completely unstoppable]], with a grand total of one weakness that only [[GameBreaker Akashi]] can exploit, and even for him, it's very hard to do.]]
** [[spoiler:As of Extra Game, Akashi and Midorima can do it too, with Akashi filling in for Takao.]]

* DefeatMeansFriendship: Kise says as much to Midorima, to justify eating with Kuroko and Kagami. [[{{Tsundere}} Midorima of course doesn't agree.]]
** Nevertheless, tensions between the GOM notably drop after each Miracle's respective defeat by Kuroko, [[spoiler: ultimately allowing them all to be friends again]].
* DoesNotKnowHisOwnStrength: At the start of the manga, Kagami doesn't know how to regulate the strength of his jumps, and thus unknowingly puts a lot of pressure on the body when he does so. He spends most of the first training arc trying get some control over this.
** Murasakibara also seemed to have this in middle school, as his pats on the head and similar gestures would often hurt Kuroko a bit if he wasn't careful. He also didn't seem to notice [[spoiler:just how much his strength and speed had improved, when he first bloomed.]]
*** This gets turned into a plot point in Extra Game Chapter 7. Turns out that Murasakibara knew his strength was so great, he could potentially hurt his teammates or opponents just by playing seriously, and so he consciously limited himself. [[spoiler:However, faced with [[TheJuggernaut Jason Silver]], who is even bigger and stronger than he is, Murasakibara takes off all the limits, which allows him to come close to him in strength. This gives him the advantage, as while Silver is still stronger than him, Murasakibara is more skillful because he trains exceptionally hard, whereas Silver refuses to even work out, let alone practice seriously.]]

** In the sequel manga "Kuroko’s Basketball: Extra Game" the Generation of Miracles, Kuroko, and Kagami all form a street-ball team called Team Vorpal Swords to take on Team Jabberwock, a visiting street-ball team from America that utterly defeated the Generation of Miracle's seniors and disrespected Japanese basketball.

** [[spoiler:Murasakibara]] activating the Zone during the final few seconds of the Seirin vs. Yousen game.

** Opposing teams generally didn't even bother to put up fight when they played against the Miracles post-bloom, as to according to them every match would turn out the [[CurbStompBattle same way]]. [[spoiler:This type of behavior from their opponents caused most of the Miracles (especially Murasakibara) to lose their passion for basketball, which resulted in them seeing each game as something of a chore.]]
* Foreshadowing: Nearly every match against a Miracle establishes, develops, and expands on Kuroko's ability to predict the actions of the GOM themselves and his own team.

* HeroicSecondWind: Seirin get an epic one during [[spoiler:the second match with Touou.]]
** It happens ''all the time''. By the end of the series, it repeatedly happens multiple times in one match: case in point, [[spoiler:Seirin v. Rakuzan. Direct Drive Zone is more like Seirin's Heroic ''Sixth'' Wind between Kuroko rejoining the game, Kagami ''re-activating'' the Zone despite having been forced out of it earlier, Izuki tricking Hayama by out-predicting him, Hyuuga's triumphant return and overcoming Mibuchi, and Kuroko and Kagami's epic team-up to stop Akashi]].

** Aomine, because he's just so much more powerful than literally everyone else. [[spoiler:He annihilates Seirin by double their score during his first match with them, then slaughters Kise and Kaijou, winning by twelve points despite being part of the same group as Kise, and Kise getting a huge boost in strength partway through the game. Even in defeat, it takes everything Seirin has, Kuroko using his trump card, and Kagami both activating the Zone and managing to master off-hand ball handling at the last second in order to win.]]
*** In addition to that, in Aomine's case, [[spoiler:he is the ONLY person to completely defeat Kagami and Kuroko while they're working together]]. Not even Akashi manages that.

* IAmNotLeftHanded: Kuroko unleashing [[spoiler:Misdirection Overflow]] during the Winter Cup match against [[spoiler:Touou.]]

* MassOhCrap: Seirin suffer from this at the end of Quarter 155 after [[spoiler:Murasakibara switches to offensive play.]]
** ''Everyone'' during the Seirin vs. Yousen Match when Murasakibara [[spoiler:breaks the godforsaken goalpost with his dunk]]. Even his teammates are terrified.
-->'''Fukui:''' Honestly, I've never been more glad he's on our side.

** In the sequel manga, "Kuroko’s Basketball: Extra Game" the three prominent street-ball teams are Team STRKY, Team Jabberwock, and Team Vorpal Swords; STRKY is an acronym for the high schools the members went to (Shutoku, Touou, Rakuzan, Kaijo, and Yosen, in order). The Jabberwock was a dragon-like creature that served as an antagonist in "Alice: Through the Looking Glass," which was slain by a boy wielding a Vorpal Sword (Team Jabberwock is a street-ball team from America and serves as the antagonist and Team Vorpal Sword is a team composed of Kuroko, Kagami, and the Generation of Miracles).

* TheNicknamer: Riko's dad. Kise and Murasakibara may count to a lesser extent, as Kise adds "cchi" to the end of the names of people he's acknowledged, whether they want him to or not, while Murasakibara adds a "-chin" to a shortened version of the name.

** Invoked by Kuroko at one point. At a team gathering, he claims he's been there the whole time, when that time, he actually was late.
** And hilariously inverted later on. Kagami goes to talk to Kuroko when he's concentrating on practicing by himself. When Kuroko notices him, he says, [[HypocriticalHumor "Please don't sneak up on me like that. I'll get angry."]]

* ThoseTwoGuys: Furihata, Kawahara, and Fukuda--the other three Seirin freshman besides Kuroko and Kagami.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Kuroko's Misdirection Overflow. Sure it gives Seirin a big advantage on court, but it can only be used at the very end of a game and [[spoiler:can only be used once on any team.]] This is especially problematic when facing teams that Seirin are sure to go up against again sooner or later.

** Akashi's best skill lets him [[spoiler:throw perfect passes at his teammates, improving their performances instead of scoring by himself]].
*** Not to mention that he's a ludicrously good strategist; often times he deliberately lets his opponent break past one layer of Rakuzan's defense, thus screwing themselves over in the process.

* LightningBruiser: Almost every ace in one way or another, but particularly Aomine, the fastest player in the circuit.
** Murasakibara is of special note for being just as fast if not faster than Kagami even though he outsizes him by ''18 centimeters and 17 kilograms (7.1 inches and 37.5 pounds)''.

---> '''[[spoiler:Murasakibara:]]''' How many times do I have to crush you? You're way too tough.

** It happens ''all the time''. By the end of the series, it repeatedly happens [[UpToEleven multiple times in one match]]: case in point, [[spoiler:Seirin v. Rakuzan. Direct Drive Zone is more like Seirin's Heroic ''Sixth'' Wind between Kuroko rejoining the game, Kagami ''re-activating'' the Zone despite having been forced out of it earlier, Izuki tricking Hayama by out-predicting him, Hyuuga's triumphant return and overcoming Mibuchi, and Kuroko and Kagami's epic team-up to stop Akashi]].

** [[spoiler: Extra Game's Jason Silver is definitely this. It takes Kagami and Aomine working together just to stop him ''once'', and even then, he just [[UpToEleven takes it up a notch]]. It takes Kise and Aomine activating Perfect Copy and Zone, respectively, and then working together to stop him, at that point. Kise using [[SuperMode Perfect Copy and Zone simultaneously]] is the only one who can stop him one-on-one, and even then, he can't sustain it.]]

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: Well, there's the original 7 from Teikou and 7 from Seirin (not to mention Kiyoshi), and then the various teams and teammates that get a ton of development time. There are 4 from Kaijou, 4 from Touou, 3 from Shuutoku, and that's not even counting the random opponents that Seirin fights really hard against and wins... only to appear as spectators (with dialogue!) some 50-odd chapters later - still wanting a rematch!

* {{Bishonen}}: Being a shounen sports manga, naturally the series runs with this. However, particular mention goes to Kise, who is acknowledged as one InUniverse--he even works as a model!

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: Pretty much all of the Generation of Miracles (and Kagami!) but most notably Kuroko, who has this weird mix between teal and light blue and ''somehow still manages to blend into the background''.

* AdaptationAttractiveness: Downplayed, but at the start of the manga (which was in 2008), the author hadn't reached ArtEvolution yet and most characters do not look very appealing, especially in volume 1. In contrast, the anime, which was produced in 2012, took the character designs from after the ArtEvolution, making all characters look more attractive from the get-go. However, this is averted after mid-season 2 onwards, as the attractiveness of the characters in the manga and the anime is now the same.

* SpockSpeak: Kuroko speaks pretty formally for a teenage boy. When he stops doing so, you know [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness shit's getting serious]].

* FiveManBand: The original Generation of Miracles.
** TheLeader: Akashi, point guard and captain of the team.
** TheLancer: Aomine, the best scorer.
** TheBigGuy: Murasakibara, the center and best defender.
** TheSmartGuy: Midorima, cold and rational shooter.
** TheChick: Kise, the least experienced and weakest starter.
*** Or Momoi because [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin she's actually a chick.]]
** SixthRanger: Kuroko, who wasn't a starter but could turn difficult games around.
** Also, Seirin's main five.
*** TheLeader: Hyuuga, the Captain and the cornerstone of Seirin's outside.
*** TheLancer: Kiyoshi, despite not being the Vice-Captain, is this because of his strength, his status as the cornerstone of Seirin's inside, and his backhanded but excellent advice. Borders on being a HypercompetentSidekick.
*** TheBigGuy: Kagami, being the team's ace and the only one capable of going one-on-one with the Generation of Miracles.
*** TheSmartGuy: Kuroko, with his incredible play-reading skills, excellent strategic mindset, and his ability to constantly use his Misdirection in new ways despite being physically the weakest on the team. Despite being the "Phantom Sixth Man", he actually fits this trope better than the SixthRanger, mainly because he plays in [[TheProtagonist damn near every game]].
*** TheChick: Izuki, surprisingly. He's physically the weakest player after Kuroko, and his Eagle Eye is outclassed by Takao's Hawk Eye early on, but he keeps his teammates spirits up with jokes and encouragement, and his technical skills as a point guard allow him to support his team despite his weakness.
*** SixthRanger: Varies from game to game, but [[TheVoiceless Mitobe]] is the most common, as he often replaces Kuroko at small forward and was Kiyoshi's placeholder at center.