Kuroko no Basket is a follow-up to the Seirin High basketball team’s journey towards becoming the best in Japan.
They face many formidable rivals along the way.
The Generation of Miracles is the most difficult.
Here are the reasons why!
Teiko Junior High – The Generation of Miracles
The strong basketball tradition at Teiko Junior High has been a hallmark of the middle school basketball scene.
Although the school won many championships, it produced one team that was better than all the others.
They were known as the Generation of Miracles.
The Generation of Miracles was made up of five highly talented prodigies who were able to take the skills required of them to the highest level.
They won the championship three years in succession.
Their sole goal is to win through absolute strength, and they have been undefeated in every match.
This team was not for the weak.
Each member of the Generation of Miracles decided to move on from their dominance.
A majority of the plot revolves around rivalries between these members, both old and new.
Who Are the Key Members?
Here are the key members of the generation of miracles.
Daiki Aomine
“The only one who can beat me is me.”
Daiki Aomine
1st Year: Power Forward (Currently playing for T Academy)
Aomine is the Ace.
Aomine is the Generation of Miracles’ strongest player.
His dark hair, short, navy-blue hair, strong muscles and expressions that don’t shy away from scowling and smirking emphasize his bad-boy character.
Also, his blunt and disrespectful speech style.
He can be arrogant and short-tempered.
He excels in all aspects of basketball.
He has a funny obsession with female idols.
There are many instances where threatening to destroy his idol magazines and mementoes will get him to practice.
Aomine believes that practice is almost redundant.
Aomine, who has had a deep passion for basketball since childhood, played street basketball against adults as a child.
Aomine excels in one-on-1 matchup situations.
He combines his unmatched speed with a natural affinity for ball-handling to make extremely unpredictable plays.
Aomine’s incredible speed was clearly demonstrated when, while he was active dribbling, his defender couldn’t catch him.
Aomine’s speed is only one aspect of his incredible strength.
Aomine is often seen powering through bigger defenders, and even taking a basketball ring off of the backboard during a Slam-Dunk with very little effort.
Aomine is also a basketball expert and often provides court commentary to explain why a game has shifting momentum or how a trick was played.
Notable Abilities
Basketball without form
Aomine’s unique style is the result of playing basketball in an unusual street setting for most of his life.
Aomine’s movements are so unusual that it is almost impossible to defend against him.
Aomine’s lightning-quick crossovers mean that defending against him is nearly impossible.
He often passes defenders by dribbling through their legs or throwing the ball over their shoulders before blasting around to continue his dribble.
This is akin to the Harlem Globetrotters’ style of play.
Aomine’s punishing, sudden changes in pace are a great addition to these skills that leave defenders confused.
His shooting style is also unorthodox.
Aomine isn’t restricted by having good shooting form.
This gives him unlimited opportunities for the offence.
Aomine can convert any shot into a winning shooting opportunity, regardless of his shooting angle or how off-balance he might appear.
Aomine did this with his body almost parallel to the ground and threw the ball one-armed, even while he was flying behind the backboard.
The Zone
This domain is reserved for the best.
Only a few players can access it, those who have achieved the highest level of their craft and are passionate about basketball.
It is only possible to unlock it by activating certain triggers that are fundamental to its spirit.
This trigger for Aomine is his desire to fight unreservedly against any opponent he considers worthy.
Aomine is the only character in the series to seem to be conscious of The Zone.
Other characters tend to accidentally stumble upon it.
In The Zone, players can unleash their full potential.
They can focus at extreme levels, which allows them to eliminate all irrelevant information and allows them to fully concentrate on the game.
In The Zone, players are often depicted as having electric sparks bursting from their eyes. They have greatly enhanced reflexes, speed, and power, as well as accuracy.
Aomine’s offensive capabilities are unstoppable in this state.
It can also cause severe physical damage to the player who uses it.
Aomine can only use the Zone for five minutes before he becomes physically exhausted.
Atsushi Murasakibara
“All these things you guys seek: hard work, guts, faith. I’ll crush them all. Everything. “
Atsushi Murasakibara
1st Year: Center (Currently playing for Yen High)
The team’s interior defence is the cornerstone.
Murasakibara, who is taller than most characters in the series, has long arms and legs.
His fair skin is highlighted by his shoulder-length purple hair.
He is often absent-minded and speaks in a distracting way that suggests he doesn’t pay attention.
He also has a strong love for junk food.
He is unapologetically lazy and will not do extra work.
He also disapproves of teammates who believe in teamwork and having fun.
Murasakibara believes that strength and talent are the only constants.
Murasakibara believes that passion for a sport is the height of stupidity.
He also believes that fighting spirit is ineffective against an insurmountable skill gap.
He will find it hard to resist the urge to crush his foes and destroy their foolish beliefs.
He claims he doesn’t like basketball and plays it because he enjoys it.
Murasakibara’s court presence is a result of his tall stature, large wingspan, terrifyingly fast reflexes and debilitating power to stop opponents from scoring inside the points.
His defensive range extends to the entirety of the 3-point line.
Aomine even noted that his defensive pressure is so intense that scoring against Murasakibara is difficult for him.
Although Murasakibara is well-known for his defensive skills and won’t often leave his team’s defensive half because of his laziness,
Murasakibara has the ability to channel his offensive abilities to be an offensive monster when he gets sufficiently angry or his team is in danger.
He is a strong presence below the opposing board and can grab offensive rebounds.
This allows him to easily penetrate defences by sheer force.
Notable Abilities
Thor’s Hammer
The Thor’s Hammer is his signature offensive move.
This low-post move capitalizes on Murasakibara’s strength and massive frame.
Murasakibara starts with his back to the basket and performs a spinning jump which culminates in a powerful, two-handed dunk.
Its swirling air currents suggest its power is comparable to a harnessed destructive whirlwind.
Thor’s Hammer was demonstrated to be able to easily destroy a triple-team defence.
In another instance, it has shown enough force to completely collapse the frame supporting the backboard.
The Zone
Despite Murasakibara’s protestations, it seems that he has a deep passion for basketball.
At one point, he was able to access The Zone.
This would have been impossible if he were as indifferent as he claims to be to basketball.
Murasakibara, like all The Zone players, received a huge boost to his stats, but only for a short time.
His trigger is unknown at this time.
Shintaro Midorima
“Shooting from farther away is obviously the best since it’s worth three points… Between two and three points, more is obviously better. “
Shintaro Midorima
1st Year: Shooting Guard (Currently plays for Shutoku High)
The three-point specialist.
Midorima is tall, fair-skinned and has short green hair that falls in a fringe across his forehead.
Midorima wears glasses and taps his left hand (his shooting hand) to protect them.
Midorima exudes calm, cool composure that is consistent with his methodical, keenly analytical mind.
He is both proud and pragmatic.
Midorima won’t shoot unless he knows it will go in.
This is why Generation of Miracle members have noticed that he has never missed one shot.
These qualities are also what drive Midorima’s relentless pursuit of the three-point shot.
His philosophy states that the team with the most points wins.
Midorima doesn’t believe in settling for less.
Midorima’s pride in his abilities drives him to be condescending and he is difficult to respect.
Midorima is almost fanatically superstitious.
Midorima is often depicted with random items such as stuffed toys and ceramic figures, based on his lucky item of the day according to his daily horoscope.
He also takes great pride in the compatibility of the star signs and blood types of his immediate circle.
Although he claims he is doing all he can to make the odds favour him, his superstition leads to many funny, absurd scenes and dialogues throughout the series.
Notable Abilities
Three High Projectiles
Midorima, the series’ strongest character, is a consummate shot-taker.
Midorima’s unerring accuracy is not what makes him a shooting specialist.
His ability to shoot from any spot on the court is what truly sets Midorima apart.
His range seems limitless – he has shown repeatedly that he can take full-court shots and never fails to hit the mark.
Its trajectory is what gives the shot its name.
Midorima shoots long-range 3-pointers.
The ball is launched into the upper reaches of the basketball arena following a perfectly parabolic curve, which ends in the middle of the opposing basket.
Even though the shot is certain, he often ends his shooting motion by running back to defend his team’s basket.
Apart from the obvious advantage of scoring three points per shot, the real power of this shot lies in its debilitating effects on morale.
It is exhausting to speculate on the outcome of each shot.
The possibility of the basket sinking after its slow and tedious journey through the air can cause mental exhaustion for a mentally exhausted team.
His physical stamina limits Midorima’s ability to shoot such outrageous three-pointers.
Due to the effort required to throw a heavy ball over 20 meters, he can only produce a small number of three-pointers per game.
Ryota Kise
“In basketball, I never forget to return a favour.”
Ryota Kise
1st Year: Small Forward (Currently playing for Kaijo High)
The copycat.
Kise Ryota stands tall and is muscular.
He is handsome for his role as a model.
His brown eyes are distinctively long and his hair is fair.
His left ear has a piercing.
Kise is the Generation of Miracles’ most relaxed member.
He is always the first one to make a joke or laugh out loud.
He is honest and open about his feelings and will acknowledge others who have earned his respect without any condescension.
Kise is both a fierce competitor and a naturally gifted athlete.
His membership in the Generation of Miracles is a testament to this talent.
He started playing basketball in middle school.
He was able to learn skills that normally take much longer to master through his athletic ability.
Aomine even said that he couldn’t afford to relax against Kise during their practice sessions.
Notable Abilities
Copying Technique
A kind of eidetic reflex is the key to Kise’s incredible growth and prowess in basketball.
People with photographic or eidetic memory can recall every detail of a particular item they have seen only once.
However, Kise can reproduce every basketball move he has ever seen.
Once a move is copied, it is stored in his internal database so that it can be recreated at any moment.
This allows Kise to play in a variety of styles, not just one move.
Kise’s physical prowess is the limit of his ability.
He can not replicate moves that are used by someone with stronger stats than him.
He can not simply copy moves from watching professional basketball games on TV, since those players are more powerful than him.
His eidetic reflexes also fail to replicate the signature moves of the Generation of Miracles members.
Copy Perfect
The Perfect Copy was the final form of Kise’s coping technique.
It was shown at some point during the series. Kise’s eyes glow yellow when Perfect Copy activates.
Perfect Copy effectively negates the limitations of the previous technique and allows him to replicate the signature moves of other Generation of Miracles players.
While Aomine’s blinding speed and Murasakibara’s impenetrable defence are impressive, Midorima’s three-point ability in any given game is sufficient.
Perfect Copy‘s real strength lies in Kise’s ability to combine any number of these moves to suit the situation.
This allows Kise to make creative plays that are otherwise impossible and gives him a playing strength comparable to The Zone.
These implications are not explored, but Kise’s ability to access the Perfect Copy technique could mean that he could be the strongest member of the Generation of Miracles and possibly even surpass Aomine.
The Zone is similar to Perfect Copy.
The immense strain involved in reproducing the signature moves of Generation of Miracles means that Perfect Copy can’t be sustained for an indefinite time.
Seijuro Akashi
“I am the absolute.”
Seijuro Akashi
1st Year: Point Guard (Currently captain of Rakuzan High)
The Undisputed leader.
Akashi is physically less impressive than his Generation of Miracles peers.
He is average in height and has fair skin. His hair is short and ruby-red.
Akashi possesses two-tone eyes.
His right eye is ruby-red and his left is amber.
This is an indication of the fact that Akashi has two personalities.
He exudes an aura of calm and is soft-spoken.
It may seem unbelievable that an exceptional Generation of Miracles would willingly subordinate someone lacking outstanding traits.
This illusion is not real.
Akashi is a man of average build who has tremendous physicality.
Even though he is taller than Akashi, he has demonstrated the ability to slam-dunk.
He was also able to convert a throw over two opponents who had at least a 15 cm advantage.
He is a calm, soft-spoken man with a quiet demeanour that conceals a great force of will.
Akashi can easily subdue other seemingly powerful characters by using a few carefully chosen words and an intense belief in his superiority.
His wrath leaves his victims often wide-eyed, temporarily paralysed and unable to remember how they got there.
He is a great strategist.
He can quickly assess people with remarkable accuracy, even within seconds of meeting them.
His penchant is to implement complex, multi-layered strategies that demolish the spirit and will of the opposing teams.
Notable Abilities
Akashi’s playstyle can be determined by which one of his personalities is at the forefront.
His first personality displays extreme self-reliance.
He doesn’t believe he needs his team to win and so resolves to do it all himself.
Akashi is uncompromising in his pursuit of individual glory.
Emperor Eye
While he is still influenced by his first personality, this is his most special ability.
The Emperor’s eye, an exaggerated form of offensive and defensive awareness, gives Akashi the ability to on-court prescience.
Akashi’s Emperor’s eye activates and illuminates his iris with glowing ruby rings.
He can see into the future and observe every detail of opposing players’ movements in split seconds.
This allows him to steal the ball from opposing players before they can shoot and also allows him to see through any attempted feints or fakes.
It allows him to do ankle-breakers on any defensive player, while merely shifting his centre to balance them.
It allows Akashi to see a wider field of vision without having any blind spots.
The Emperor’s eye allows Akashi to see the position of each player on the court at any time.
This is especially useful when setting up assists and renders defensive moves such as screens totally ineffective.
The Zone
Akashi also has the ability to enter The Zone.
This state greatly increases his base stats and, when combined with his irresistible Empire Eye, elevates his abilities to unimaginable levels.
His defensive sphere in this state can be almost as large as a half-court.
Although Akashi has not been shown to feel the effects of overusing The Zone, it is presumed that he can’t maintain this form indefinitely.
His trigger is his conscious decision to forgo the support of his teammates, and acknowledgement that he can do it all by himself.
His second personality seems to be the complete opposite of his first. Akashi withdraws from this role and focuses on supporting others.
Perfect Rhythm Through Perfect Passing
Akashi can not blaze through any opposition and take it all the way to the rim, but he prefers the role of a pure player-maker.
Akashi can provide a steady stream of seemingly insignificant assists that help create the perfect rhythm for his teammates’ movements.
These passes may seem simple, but they are extremely difficult to execute.
They can be executed without any pre-motions and land exactly where the recipients want them to, even at the angle where the basketball seams meet their hands.
This type of passing draws out the potential in each member of the team.
Every pass they get sees them move with greater sharpness, confidence and speed, to the point that every member of their team can play at a level comparable to The Zone, though at a lower intensity.
It is impossible to underestimate the power of the ability to create a team with Zone players.
It’s not surprising that these men were called the Generation of Miracles. Or that they were unbeaten for three years in middle school.
You can catch the thrilling action on the courtside as the five prodigies settle the scores about who is the strongest.
