Anime / Basquash!

Voice: Basquash... what art thou?
Dan JD: Hey, windbag! Listen up! I'm Dan JD! The one and only original Basquasher!
Iceman Hotty: 'What art thou?' I'm Iceman! Iceman Hotty!
Dan: I am... ME!

In a distant galaxy lies the planet Earth Dash. Above the planet's surface lies it's moon, Mooneyes, that houses a lunar city. It serves as both a symbol of hope and a dream for the people of Earth Dash, and holograms are regularly projected from the city's lights. The story begins in one city on Earth Dash, Rolling Town.

Dan JD is a hotblooded young man who goes around vandalizing the city as Dunk Mask, swearing revenge against the sport of Bigfoot Basketball, the latest craze. Bigfoots, which have replaced cars on Earth Dash, are giant, lumbering mecha that are used for everything from ambulances to police cars to the basketball game Dan hates, because one of them maimed his sister Coco years ago.

One day, Dan meets a mechanic who recently returned to Rolling Town, and knows all about the Bigfoots. Her name is Miyuki Ayukawa, and, to Dan's surprise, she's his childhood friend. Miyuki teaches Dan how to pilot a Bigfoot, and Dan, as Dunk Mask, goes to show Rolling Town how real basketball is played. In doing so, he causes massive property damage and is thrown in jail for a year. When he's finally free, he discovers that Bigfoot Street Basketball has become the new trend sport and Dunk Mask has become a legend.

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This anime provides examples of:

• A-Cup Angst: Flora, especially when compared to calibers of Miyuki and Haruka (who pretty much overshadows everyone).
• Accidental Misnaming:
  • Dan keeps twisting Sela's nickname "Platinum Hurricane." He can't seem to remember Rouge's name either, continually calling her "Idol Red", while Citron and Violet get "Idol Yellow" and "Idol Murasaki"^note purple in Japanese.
  • He remembers just fine, but only when the occasion calls for it.
  • He nicknames Naviga pre-emptively.
    Dan: Naviga? From now on, you're Navi!
    Naviga: Why must you be so imposing on others?
    Spanky: Dan just sucks at remembering long names.
    Dan: Shut up...
• Actor Allusion:
  • Relationships are blooming between Rouge and Dan and Citron and Iceman. The only way to make the last one more complete is if it was Citron-Iceman-Spanky.
  • Not on a romantic note, but Price of Hell (Ali al Saachez) declares the beginning of his fight with Iceman Hottie (Graham Aker) by shouting 'LOCKON DESU!'
• Adventure Towns: Once Dan and crew leave Rolling Town, these become a regular occurrence.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Sela, a pretty skilled Bigfoot user in her own right, wants to get the "genes" of Iceman when she realizes that he is the one who could beat her at her own game. Right, "genes."
• All Myths Are True:
  • Though in the world of this show, "all myths" includes "the world was created in a basketball game between the gods."
  • And the one about the legendary, miraculous power to throw "Lightning Balls." Or as Dan prefers calling it,

"BASQUAAAAAAAAAASH!"

• All Your Colors Combined / Combined Energy Attack
• Ambiguously Bi: Sela is often asking for the "genes" of other male characters. She still has some touchy-feely moments with Miyuki, "Alan" and even Haruka at one point.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The lists of crimes Dan is jailed for end with "terrible dental hygiene."
• Awkwardly-Placed Bathtub: Near the end of the second episode.
• Badass Normal: Dan and Iceman have special ball techniques, so anyone else competent counts.
• Batman Gambit: Yang set up the entire thing with Eclipse's final concert, counting on Dan to crash the party, restore Rouge's memories, and inadvertently use his Legendary status to cause the moon to fall into Earth Dash, giving Yang an excuse to destroy it.
• Base on Wheels: Miyuki's trailer, later employed by all of the main cast to go seeking Basquash wherever the wind takes them.
• Battle in the Rain: The second half of the finals match against King of Kings. The team does start slipping up because of the rain, facilitating a new pair of Nikes.
• The Berserker: Iceman. Out of a Bigfoot, he's totally cool and polite. Even inside one for a while he remains that way... Then, when he has to throw a ball... (DESTROY! DESTROY!). Also counts as a nasty case of Power Incontinence.
• BFS: Price's Bigfoot comes with a gigantic katana as his weapon of choice.
• Big Eater: Spanky and Bel Lindon.
  • And Bel, of all people, when he is forced to lose weight in prison.
• Bunny-Ears Lawyer:
  • Haruka is rather eccentric, having an extreme foot fetish, and uses unorthodox methods to get what she wants, but is very competent in various fields which help promote Dan and the others.
  • James Loane is equally as eccentric, having an obsession with round objects, is often seen blowing on a bubble blower, and is prone to using just as unorthodox methods as Haruka, but manages to get a lot of results that benefit himself or other people he's trying to help out.
• Buxom Beauty Standard:
  • Haruka's "lunar bust" is quite the envy among most of the female cast, not surprising considering the attention she gets from most men.
  • The much less-endowed Sela not only is wearing a pushup bra, but also at one point clearly states that she plans to go on the moon to grow a lunar bust like Haruka. Complete with Imagine Spot.
  • When the Eclipse are at the hot springs, we see Citron and Rouge staring intently at Violet's massive boobs, much to the latter's confusion.
• Caped Mecha: When Dunk Mask makes his dramatic entrance, his mecha sports a stylish cape.
• Cast of Snowflakes: The grungy-looking Idiot Hero Dan, white haired bish Iceman, Ambiguously Brown Miyuki, dark-skinned blonde Sela, lunar busted babe Haruka, the lanky Naviga, the tomboyish Idol Singer trio Eclipse and Princess Classic Flora (with ill girl Coco as the prime story motivator) all comprise a very vivid cast of characters united by two things: their interest in basketball and their wish to change the messed up social system and later save the world by taking it to the court.
• Chekhov's Skill: Dan, the one who can catch Iceman's Destroy shots, uses the same technique to take away Naviga's ball in Underground. The entire Basquash!/Lightning Ball phenomenon is shaping up to this, somehow.
• The Chosen One: Certain people on the moon have been cultivating a project for years to find the person of Legend who will stop the moon from crashing into the Earth. Dan JD appears to be one, but he was certainly not the first; hell, his sister was in the running, until her "accident."
• Colony Drop: The moon is eventually going to fall onto Earth.
• Concert Climax: Not quite the finale of the series, but a dramatic peak is reached at Eclipse's final concert.
• Crash-Into Hello: Dan runs into Rouge, leading to a Fake-Out Make-Out to hide her from her fans. A loony one had a camera, thanks to which he managed to film the whole ordeal and caused a scandal.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Price barely saw what hit him.
• Cypher Language: While Earth Dash's language is alien in appearance, it does translate into French.
  • This makes more sense when one realizes that half of the creative team behind Basquash is French.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Iceman's Destroy balls have a dark aura and are fueled more by anger than passion, but he's still a valuable member of the team.
  • Of course, now that he can produce Lightning Balls like Dan, we'll have to see where that goes.
• Deadpan Snarker: Coco to Dan, often.
• Deface of the Moon
• Distracted by the Sexy: Weaponized in episode 7, where Haruka gets rid of the annoying, rule-abiding referees by providing them with a series of photos of herself and Sela wearing skimpy swimwear, allowing the guys to play Basquash freely.
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: Iceman, especially in episode 8, when Dan constantly chews him out for his "DESTROY!!!" fever, but he simply cannot grasp that being a complete barbarian during games is bad. In the end, it is revealed that his infamous "destroy balls" are nothing but mere passes. Iceman is simply incapable of NOT throwing them.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: During the aftermath of Dunk Mask's premiere basketball game, Sela is knocked down on the ground, the food she was selling (including ice drinks, which spill all over her pants) littered around her. Yet she has a far-off look to her face, is blushing heavily, and says to herself how "good it feels." Make of that what you will.
  • Not to mention what happens after she gets slammed by Iceman Hottie's... balls.
  • Of course, when she says she wants Iceman's genes, well...
  • Thousand getting ready to "dissect" Dan in episode 23, with stripping, interesting music, and a violent reaction from Rouge... although it reminds Spanky of something else.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Dan passes on a cheque that would erase his national-level debt and leave him set for life because he refuses to accept handouts he didn't earn.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: Slash. By what magic they happen to know that he is... well, a he, one can only guess, as there is absolutely no confusion, by anyone in the show, that Slash is male. Ever.
• Evolving Credits: The scene arrangement of the opening credits changes subtly during the course of the series. Most obvious are the changes from episode 3 to 4 (the first "Eclipse" intro) and the oddball intros of the episodes 7, 9, 12 and 13, but there are also smaller, less notable changes introduced to the default opening credits in some episodes.
• Extreme Omnivore: Spanky will eat nearly anything. In the first episode, after finding out that Coco doesn't want the cat-thing Dan bought for her, he immediately eats it.
• Fangirl: Flora is a huge Eclipse fan, which allows her to not only exploit a loophole early on in the series, but allows Dan to reach their final concert. Note that this is after her royal status failed to get him in.
• Fanservice: Taken to the point of parody.
• Fashionable Asymmetry: Iceman, and he has reason for doing so. He has a mechanical arm and leg.
• Flung Clothing: Flora
  • And apparently Mr. Perfect can do it too.
• Gentle Giant: Naviga
• Gratuitous English: "Let's music!"
• Green-Eyed Monster: The patron of the bar becomes incredibly chilly when Haruka arrives, taking away all attention from her.
• Head Pet: Spanky, justified as he acts as Dan's hat.
• Held Gaze: One scene in episode 7 has one between Haruka and Sela on the opposite ends of a bar hall, culminating with Haruka's smile. While we later find out that it gave her the idea for her Distracted by the Sexy ploy, it still comes off with plenty of Homoerotic Subtext between the two.
• Hero Insurance: Averted, as Dan is thrown in jail for massive property damage to the stadium.
  • And then has a 5.3 billion credit fine!
• He's Back!:
  • Dan, right before... getting kicked out of Rolling Town by James. Iceman pulls it on the city of Underground.
    Iceman: My name is Iceman Hotty. Call out my name. Let them know that Iceman Hotty has returned to Underground!
  • Oh crap. Episode 24. Both at once. Epically.
• Hot-Blooded: Dan. Others also have their moments.
• Hot Skitty-on-Wailord Action: Heavily implied late on in the show, Sela's apparent crush on Navi would require some rather... extreme maneuvers (and perhaps some significant surgical alteration or technological aid) to consummate. This assumes that giants and normal humans are biologically compatible, in any case.
• Hot Springs Episode
• Humongous Mecha: Leaning more towards the Real Robot side of the spectrum.
• I Call Him "Mr. Happy": James Loane calls Haruka's breasts "Bianca" (right) and "Kate" (left).
• I Coulda Been a Contender!: Coco loved basketball, until the accident that left her wheelchair-bound.
  • Switches to sibling version of I Want My Beloved to Be Happy, as Coco enjoys watching her brother as the Ultimate Bystander.
  Slash: I promised, didn't I? If you became a great player, I'd take you to the moon. This [the blog] is Basquash for you, isn't it? You're playing exquisitely.
  Coco: Basquaash!
• Idiot Hero: Dan, again. He can barely read.
• Idol Singer: The Eclipse is a trio of these. A trio of basketball playing Tomboy Idol Singers. They are signed for the Moon Broadcast System (a nice little nod to "MBS", which is the channel Basquash! airs on - the abbreviation is the same).
• Imagine Spot: After learning that, if they beat the Eclipse in a Basquash match, they'll get a free ticket to the Moon, Sela is determined to win for a reason... cue to an image of Sela, in a skimpy bikini, showing off a Lunar Bust as big as Haruka, while a shocked Crawly gazes in awe.
  Sela: "That's right! If I win, then I... (cue to Imagine Spot) BOOM!"
• Improbable Weapon User: Dan's and Iceman's Lightning/Destroy shots are one thing. Mistah Perfect storms a military base armed only with a regular basketball. Rouge tops him by wielding Spanky.
• Indy Ploy: Dan has his own word for it, basukaru (of course everything is related to basketball for him).
• Innocent Innuendo: Miyuki teaching Dan how to pilot his Bigfoot sounds more like she's teaching him something else entirely. When they both leave on the Bigfoot with Miyuki calling out "I'm going on a date!", her grandpa comments that she's "doing it in the wrong order."
  • Innocent nothing, it's clear from the start that Miyuki wants to jump his bones. Sadly (for her), she doesn't.
• Instant Expert: Dan does not only know how to use a Bigfoot from the start but also how to play basketball with one better than anyone did before. This was later Lampshaded as Coco wonders how and why he got so good so quickly.
• Interspecies Romance: A romance seems to be budding between Sela and Naviga. And cemented as an Official Couple at the end of the show. Sela definitely found the right genes.
• Kiss of Life: Rouge gives one to Dan
• Large Ham: MISTAAH PAAAAAAFECTO!
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Rouge's memories of Dan were erased as part of her treatment.
• Leaning on the Fourth Wall: The Eclipse concert that starts off episode nine begins with "nO limiT", which Citron tells the audience to sing along with. The concert audience, that is, even though her comment leads directly into the opening credits.
• Little Miss Snarker: Coco, of the Broken Bird variety.
• Loophole Abuse: Eclipse's Basquash game runs the length of "Running On", which the team abides by. When Rouge is "unable" to continue singing, Flora intervenes and says that Eclipse does not necessarily have to be the ones singing. She and the crowd finish off the song, letting the match continue.
• Malaproper: Dan rarely ever calls something or someone by the correct name the first time around.
• Meaningful Name: The Princess's cover identity is Alan Naismith. James Naismith was the inventor of basketball itself.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: Team Basquash receives an upgrade to their mecha in the middle of battle, but the series being what it is, it has nothing to do with the Bigfoot mecha themselves. It's their shoes that get the upgrade. Gotta push those new Nike sneaks after all.
  • Miyuki upgrades all the Bigfoots' innards in episode 20. Once again, no outward change, but we are told that they perform much better. This is, of course, lampshaded.
  • Eleventh Hour Super Power: Once again, the shoes.
• Mind-Control Eyes: "Upgraded" Rouge
• Missed the Call: Most of the major characters actually Jumped at the Call... but in some way or another, failed.
• Ms. Fanservice: Miyuki, for about two episodes before being overshadowed by Haruka Gracia. In all due honesty, pretty much every girl barring Flora and Coco has a moment of fanservice. It's just the fact Haruka has impressive basketballs.
• Mundane Utility: The Bigfoots have many uses, but their most popular is playing basketball.
• Names to Run Away from Really Fast: Price of Hell, and for a pretty good reason.
• Never Trust a Title: Episode 1: "I Am Legend." He isn't. Episode 2: "Legend is Dead." It's not.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Nice job waking it, Legend.
• Non-Human Sidekick: All the players on Team Basquash (except Naviga) have a Pet Accessory. Dan has Spanky (also his headgear), Sela has Crawly (her gloves), Flora has her butterfly butler (her ribbon) and Iceman's Cool Shades are alive — they're a pair of lizards named Lefty and Righty.
• No Sense of Personal Space: Haruka tends to get really up close and personal with people whether they want her to or not, especially when it comes to feet. Her first meeting with Dan has her practically straddling the poor boy and squeezing his feet between her breasts.
• No Smoking: James Lone does have an Oral Fixation, but it's with a bubble blower. At least the bubbles are pretty.
• The Nth Doctor: Slash, on his second version for most of the series and his third by the end.
• Our Giants Are Bigger: Naviga, one of the moon giants, joins the cast. All signs point to him being the one with the "genes" Sela desires which the ending of the show confirms.
• Out-of-Clothes Experience: Rouge's coma dream at the end of Episode 20
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Everyone knows "Mr. Perfect" is James. Hell, he doesn't even bother to put away the bubble pipe.
• Parody Commercial: The show's twelfth episode is very experimental compared to your normal episode in that it suddenly ends the episode at the halfway point and plays commercials for things that only exist in the world of the show, such as the Moon Resort.
• Put on a Bus: Rouge and the rest of Eclipse.
• Powered Armor: The "Bigfoot" that Dan engages in a basketball match with underground.
• The Power of Rock: Not only can Eclipse sing, not only can they play basketball in mechas, they can do both at the same time.
• Product Placement: Basquash! would like to remind you that it is sponsored by Nike. The Bigfoots sport gigantic Air Jordans!
  • Hell, there's even an actual "Nike-san" that Haruka keeps ordering shoes from.
  • Navi makes a Big Damn Heroes moment carrying a giant Nike shoebox.
• Promotion to Opening Titles: Inverted. You'd think the three singers in the opening sequence were just there to pretty it up and cameo in the actual show, but...
• Psycho for Hire: Price of Hell, although it's heavily implied that he only does it For the Evulz.
• Punny Name: Jan Harris, who prefers to be called "Germana." Say that three times fast.
• Rebellious Princess: Flora, who escapes and makes her way into Dan's inner circle.
• Red Baron: We have Sela, the "Platinum Hurricane," "Fiery Frozen Hell" Iceman and "Hell" Price, among others.
• Red Light District: The Underground, an area where Dan is instantly thrown into a death match, Iceman is cornered by thugs, and Sela and Flora gather information in a (mostly) tasteful strip club.
• Room Disservice: Iceman uses this tactic to sneak into Falcon's hotel room.
• Rule of Cool: The plot involves Humongous Mecha playing street basketball. Doesn't get much cooler than that. Well, unless you're Rouge (or Citron or Violette), in which case you can pilot a giant robot while playing basketball with it and singing at the same time. Wow.
• Say My Name: 26 is full of it. "Dan!" "Iceman!" "Sela!" "Navi!" "Rouge!" "BASQUAAAASH!"
• Scars Are Forever: Iceman's Destroy balls leave giant basketball-shaped bruises on someone who gets a direct hit. Ye-owch.
• Scenery Porn
• Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: Or rather Screw the money - I prefer to have no rules.
• Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: James Lone abuses his position and wealth to both steal and restrict streetball, something Dan calls him out on.
• Serious Business:
  • The orange ball is the center of everything in this universe. You don't know how to hoop, you don't go anywhere. And Dan damn well knows why is basketball so important. The Big Bang was actually caused by the first basketball game ever played - between gods. Yes, basketball is etched into the very fabric of existence here!
  • Slash's response to impending apocalypse is to form a new Basquash league. It's telling about the Basquash! universe that he knows what he's doing.
  • The series itself shakes off the "crazy Shonen" feel, and turns into Serious Business around one third.
• Serial Escalation: Pretty much the entire first seven episodes.
  Dan: [Pointing at the sky in Kamina-esque style] Alright! The next goal is the Moon! Let's do this!
• She Is All Grown Up: Miyuki, to Dan's surprise.
• She Is Not My Girlfriend: Done by Dan and Rouge simultaneously.
• Ship Tease: A lot of possible relations are hinted, like Dan/Miyuki, Sela/Iceman or Dan/Flora, but in the end, due to Rule of Drama being in play, only Dan/Rouge had a realistic chance to become the Official Couple.
  • Surprise! The only fulfilled 'ship at the end is Sela/Navi.
• Shout-Out: There's a few references to Ōban Star-Racers if you pay attention.
• Shower of Angst: The Eclipse Girls have one together in Episode 23.
• Skinship Grope: Sela does this to Flora in episode 17.
• Something Only They Would Say: Episode 22.
  Dan: Well? How's the Basquash, Idol Red?
  Rouge: It's Rouge, not Idol Red. Memorize it already.
  Dan: Haven't heard that for a while.
  Rouge: Yeah... I'm back.
• Spectacular Spinning: Iceman's approach to the Lightning Ball.
• Stealth Hi/Bye: Slash is a rabid fan of this.
• Sweet Polly Oliver: Flora disguises herself as "Alan Naismith" by hiding her hair in a baseball cap and wearing boyish clothes. In fairness, she goes for a cute little boy look, which is easy for her age (and the animation style helps).
• "Super Sentai" Stance: After Team Basquash upgrades their shoes, they pull off one of these for mostly no reason, but it does look cool.
  • Mr. Perfect, may need another trope for this guy to fit in.
• Theme Music Power-Up: The opening and title card are deliberately held back in episode seven, saved for a comeback by Dan. This repeats in episode 22 when the second opening theme plays over Rouge reawakening her memories.
  • Hell, the last several episodes abuse the BGM version of Boku ga Boku no Mama, including one where it plays over nothing but the team psyching themselves up to to play against Slash.
• Throwing Off the Disability: Happens to Coco in the finale, as one of the last shots is her getting out of her wheelchair. Considering everything else in the series, it's very likely this was the phlebotinum version.
• Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Rouge. She likes basketball (and hence Basquash) and often wears a basketball jersey and matching shorts as her attire. On the other hand, she's an Idol Singer too, and her favorite color is pink.
• Totally Radical: Naming your gang of delinquents "The Worst" doesn't really strike fear into the hearts of the people.
  • Don't forget they live in "The Bad Zone"
  • Dan seems to make more plays on this by calling them "The Toast."
  • Minor correction. Calling your gang The Worst might be acceptable. Calling your Basquash team The Worst is not!
• Transforming Mecha: In a fairly realistic example that's a combination of this trope, Combining Mecha and Mecha Expansion Pack, the Bigfoots are cars that combine with a trailer to form... a car with arms and legs. Seriously.
• Trickster Mentor: James is initially painted to be an antagonist, but all he really wants to do is to cultivate Dan into "the man of legend".
• Unlucky Childhood Friend: Miyuki.
• Underboobs: Violet's stage clothing for the Basquash match have a diamond-shaped opening exposing the bottom of her bust and her midriff. Notably as she's the most buxom of the trio.
• Unsettling Gender-Reveal: Everyone except Dan caught onto the fact that "Alan" was actually a girl. And even when confronted with undeniable proof, he still thought it was "Alan" crossdressing. He didn't catch on because he spends so much time around Miyuki and Haruka, and their figures aren't that different...
• Urban Segregation: The distance is relatively large, but the difference between Mooneyes and Rolling Town is clear. Dan wants to get to the moon to heal Coco because their technology is worlds ahead of Earth Dash's. You need a CANNON to get there.
• Used Future: A slight example as Rolling Town seems to be your usual 'hood (after all the show does draw a lot of its' atmosphere from the urban black neighborhoods of America): there are cases of crime and basketball (well Bigfoot Basketball, but still) is the main event. And of course there is somewhat of a prejudice towards the inhabitants of Rolling Town by the inhabitants of Mooneyes.
• Victoria's Secret Compartment: Haruka often stores a lot of things in her massive cleavage, ranging from her cell phone to several photographs of herself. Spanky even once hid inside them before Haruka kicked him out, with him referring to it as a "very pleasant place."
• Waif-Fu: Sela's not really that muscular, yet she can beat up a group of delinquents all at once.
• Weak, but Skilled: The Old Timers team, who, despite their age and junk Bigfoots, nearly take out Team Basquash through a combination of mind games and, according to Flora, a "scarily high skill level." Sela overcomes her issues just in time to pull off an epic dunk and save the day.
• Wham Episode: 22.
• When All You Have Is a Hammer…: Episode 16 throws Dan into a Duel to the Death. How does he defeat his superior opponent? By repeatedly throwing a basketball at him.
  • This is how Iceman does everything. He's also responsible for the above, for that matter.
• Wrench Wench: Miyuki, resident Bigfoot mechanic.
• Yin-Yang Bomb: It seems like both Dan's and Iceman's Lightning Balls will save the world together in the end.

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