This is a sponsored chapter, thank you TheSloth!
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『This new OP is pretty catchy.』
『Same singer as the prequel's OP? Sounds familiar. Any diehard fans got the info?』
『Why don't you look it up yourself? Stop bothering the diehards for every little thing.』
『As expected, the main opponents in the main story are the Generation of Miracles.』
『No surprise that my King B (Tendou) is shown standing like a final boss in the OP.』
Watching the comments fly by, FanGeGe didn't say much—because the viewers had already noticed something.
The Generation of Miracles appeared in a specific order in the OP. That likely hinted at the match progression later in the series.
As the OP ended, the scene shifted to Seirin's new student orientation.
Izuki Shun and the others made their appearances, including a blue-haired boy—Kuroko—slipping by without being noticed by anyone, just like always.
And of course, the heavyweight transfer: Kagami Taiga.
"What's with this guy? He's got the pressure of a wild tiger!" Aida Riko stared blankly at Kagami.
From the moment he appeared, Kagami clearly looked down on Japanese basketball.
After all, he'd played in America, which was universally recognized as the world's strongest basketball nation.
"No need to say more. Just give me a form and I'll go," Kagami cut Riko off as she tried to explain the club.
"Basketball here in Japan is the same wherever I go."
And with that, he left—leaving Riko and the others speechless.
But still, they were pretty happy. Having a powerhouse join at the start of a new term was exciting.
Then Koganei popped up with another application form.
"Oh? There's one more? Let me see."
Riko took it, and the first thing her eyes landed on was four bold characters:
Teikō Middle School.
"Graduated from Teikō..."
"Teikō?!"
Riko shot to her feet, and everyone else gathered around.
In the current high school basketball world, the name Teikō was legendary.
Not only had they won an unprecedented three consecutive national titles, they had also obliterated countless teams with horrifying blowouts.
It was widely agreed that Teikō was the strongest middle school basketball team in history—no exceptions.
"Teikō? That Teikō?"
"And a first-year?!"
"Could it be... one of the Generation of Miracles?!"
The whole club went wild—far more excited than they had been about Kagami.
This high school girl knows ball!
『She showed up in the prequel, right? I remember the animation studio giving her a weirdly long amount of screen time. Turns out she's important now.』
『Tendou and the others are nuts. Just hearing their names is enough to send people into a frenzy.』
『Think about it. What they did back then was insane.』
In their first year, they were already crushing opponents by dozens of points every game.
Second year? Even worse—so many opponents ended up traumatized.
Third year? Completely absurd. A single-game 200-point blowout, breaking record after record.
Watching these characters fanboy over Teikō like this was oddly satisfying for the audience.
"Could it be Tendou?"
Their eyes were practically on fire.
They'd heard that most of the Generation of Miracles had already chosen powerhouse schools—but no one knew where their leader, Tendou, had gone.
For a moment, it felt like Seirin had hit the lottery.
But then they looked at the name.
Kuroko Tetsuya.
"...Kuroko Tetsuya?"
"Huh??"
No one had ever heard of him.
Riko had watched Teikō's games. Her deepest impressions were of that Teikō demon star—Tendou.
Then there were Akashi, Aomine, Midorima, Murasakibara...
But this "Kuroko Tetsuya"? Not even a flicker of recognition.
A benchwarmer?
The excitement instantly fizzled out.
Next scene: the Seirin basketball team gathers.
Riko stepped up to demonstrate her strengths—first, by having everyone take off their shirts.
Through quick observation, she gave tailored advice to each player.
Afterward, Hyuuga Junpei stepped in to explain Riko's background.
"Wait—Data Eyes?!"
"Another cheat code?! All the girls in this anime are cracked."
"Except Riko, right? She's the only one who doesn't actually understand basketball."
"Yeah, but her boyfriend does. That guy REALLY knows ball."
People in the comments immediately thought of Aida Riko's crush from the prequel.
Tendou glanced at the chat and then down at the crystal necklace hanging around his neck.
"You must be pretty happy, huh? Seeing so many people still remember you."
The plot moved on, jumping to the evening.
Kagami and Kuroko met at a street basketball court—their first proper encounter.
Kagami was extremely curious about the Generation of Miracles.
After all, when people heard Kuroko had been on Teikō's first string, they were visibly shocked—forgetting all about Kagami's own overseas experience.
Clearly, there was something Kagami didn't know.
So he challenged Kuroko to a match—and walked away disappointed.
"I think Kuroko was trying to evaluate Kagami's ability," FanGeGe analyzed.
"Kuroko has no offensive power. His strength is misdirection and support. To fight the Generation of Miracles, he needs a strong partner."
"But this Kagami guy... doesn't seem that special."
FanGeGe still wasn't impressed with Kagami even after all that screen time.
"He's strong, sure. But compared to the Miracles? He's just plain."
His personality was cookie-cutter too—tough talk, soft heart.
The contrast was too stark.
Especially when stacked up against Tendou, Akashi, Aomine—after awakening? They exuded an overwhelming, almost villainous presence.
It's no wonder the audience felt the same.
Kuroko stayed solid. Kagami was... just okay.
At the end of the episode, Kuroko and Kagami walked down the street after grabbing a quick meal.
Kagami asked the question on his mind:
"So... what are the Generation of Miracles really like?"
It was the one thing he needed to know. Everyone around him kept bringing them up.
"If I went up against them now... what would happen?"
Kuroko looked at him seriously and replied:
"You'd get instantly crushed."
"???"