English Dub Season Review: Kuroko’s Basketball Season Two

 

Overview:

We get to see more of the generation of miracles in action but one is still missing… Kagami and Kuroko continue to improve and their teammates keep pace with them. The Winter Cup is coming and they don’t have time to be lazy, especially with Kagami’s childhood friend teaming up with Murasakibara, one of the miracles, on Yosen High.

Before that can happen a rematch with both Shutoku High’s Midorima and Teiko High’s Aomine. The hype hits new levels as the mega-popular basketball anime gets its second season dubbed. Let’s see how it stacks up almost ten years after the anime first premiered.

Our Take:

It’s not like there has been no way to watch this staple sports anime. If you don’t mind subbed anime there have been numerous ways to watch. Though some people prefer dubs and this show was at the top of a lot of dub requests (mine included). At first, I was frustrated that Netflix wasn’t releasing it all at once but they released season two after season one at a pretty decent clip. I think we will get season three around September if they stick to the same release schedule and honestly I couldn’t be more excited.

I really only have a couple of tiny negatives to say so I am gonna knock those out real quick. Let me preface by saying I love Keith Silverstein. His voice is really good and I can usually tell it’s him. His work as Char Aznable in Gundam: The Origin almost had me wishing he was the voice all along. The problem with having such a recognizable voice is you can tell when they voice multiple characters. Watching this season had me feeling like I had gone back in time to the 90’s and early 00’s dubbing scene. When there were like five voice actors voicing an entire cast. It didn’t ruin my enjoyment but when he plays a key player in one of the games and Riko’s dad who was commentating on that same game it was a bit annoying.

My other problem is more of a personal thing. I thought with this season we would get to see the remaining generation of miracles in action. There were only two left so I thought the odds were there, but instead, we got two rematches. Midorima and Aomine are great characters so I didn’t mind too much but I want more Akashi!! He is kind of being set up as the final boss though so I get it but still was a little upset. They all got more screentime but as far as games we have yet to see Akashi in action. I will say Murasakibara more than made up for not getting more Akashi, I was not expecting to like him as much as I did.

Kuroko’s Basketball came out in Japan in 2012 and is immensely popular. I have a friend who isn’t super into anime and even he’s heard of it. It is one of the best sports anime out there and hopefully, it finally getting a dub opens the door for more dubs of older shows and also more people to see this gem. I seriously love Haikyuu!! but this edges it out by a bit and it’s not even done yet.

Our two main characters Kagami and Kuroko get great development as well. Heck to be honest there are very few characters that don’t get developed. We get to see how the Seirin High basketball team was formed. A fairly key character that was introduced at the end of the season was Teppei Kiyoshi of Seirin. If you were as interested in him as a character as I was then you are in for a great treat. He became one of my favorites, he is just an all-around great player, friend, teammate, and is the glue that holds everyone together.

If there is one thing I could praise this show for more than anything it would be its characters. There are very few I am not interested in. Seirin has some background players (who never play for some reason despite subs being an issue at times) that you don’t super care about but they are lovable doofuses so I am here for it. You will probably be rooting for characters just like you might your favorite players.

On a more technical side, the animation is crisp and amazing. Production I.G. really outdid themselves with this season. There is one part where Aomine and Kagami are going one on one and let me tell you that was some of the best animations I’ve seen. Music and sound are important for all anime sure but I feel it’s really important for sports anime. The sounds of the court really make you feel like you’re there and the sound effects for player’s “abilities” just help build the hype. Also, like any good anime when you hear the opening song kick in during a big moment you can’t help but get goosebumps.

I feel like the easiest way to describe this series would be “What if the Saiyans of Dragonball Z played basketball?” While it is definitely more realistic than that image that elicits, it’s not too far off. Kuroko learns a few new abilities like “Misdirection Overflow” and his unblockable “Vanishing Drive” where he literally vanishes from his opponents’ sight. They try to give real-world explanations but it is still pretty fantastical. They even treat entering the “zone” as an ability that only certain players can accomplish. While it seems silly when Aomine and Kagami both enter the zone it was the most entertained I have been in a while.

All the voice actors from season one return and some new ones as well. The previous ones like Khoi Dao and Zeno Robinson continue to put in great performances. Zeno has been getting recognized for his talent lately and I can see why the man is talented. I have yet to be disappointed when I see him on the cast list and Khoi is always fun to listen to. Aleks Le also plays a couple of characters which like I mentioned can be annoying but his main role is as the seeming leader of the generation of miracles Akashi. Aleks plays Zenitsu in Demon Slayer and you can hardly tell it’s the same guy, his range is amazing.

I have to really shout out Stephen Fu as the pseudo-villain of the first arc, Makoto Hanamiya. He plays the lead in the disappointing Skate-Leading Stars and I think this shows what he can do with a show that really has direction and given an awesome character to play with. You can’t help but hate the guy and the way his team plays so dirty. What I really liked about the character is they didn’t try to redeem him, he laughed at stories of sadness and refused to change his mindest or ways. I thought that was refreshing, in the world of sports not everyone becomes buddies.

This season had a little bit of everything but the main thing it had was hype and it dialed that up to eleven. I cried, laughed, fist-pumped, and found myself grinning like an idiot. I am as invested in seeing Seirin succeed as some of my favorite sports teams. I hope we get the third season really soon but this show has a fan in me and I hope you all give it a shot.

For fans of: Haikyuu!!, sports, interesting characters