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The Real World.
Mizuga sat in front of his computer and opened the latest episode of Kuroko no Basuke.
As soon as it loaded, the screen was flooded with colorful danmaku (bullet comnts).
Fans used colors to represent their factions — so by looking at which color was most common, you could instantly tell which character had the most hype.
So even jokingly called the Generation of Miracles the "Rainbow Sentai."
『All rise for the B-King!』
『It's finally my boy Tendou's ti to shine.』
『Been waiting forever!』
『Place your bets — can Seirin beat Kirisaki Daiichi?』
『Fifty cents says Kirisaki wins. How are Kuroko and Kagami supposed to beat my B-King?』
Mizuga hadn't been watching every episode.
As a veteran content creator in the ani community, he knew how these sports ani worked:
A single match could stretch across ten episodes.
He rembered back in Slam Dunk, when Kogure shot a three-pointer — the damn ball took a whole episode to go in.
Half the episode was flashbacks.
To spare himself the torture of cliffhangers, he'd gone cold turkey for a whole month.
"I've held back for a month, brothers — you know how hard that was?"
"I watched every episode of the Kaijo and Shūtoku matches live, but I didn't dare watch the Kirisaki match."
"The studio clearly positioned Tendou as a high-level boss. He's C-position in the OP and everything."
"Kaijo showed us Seirin had what it takes. Shūtoku reinforced that. They powered up Seirin just to sacrifice them here."
"And today? I've got nothing but ti. I'm watching it all in one go."
Snacks? Ready. Soda? Iced.
He was going to binge the whole thing.
He hit "play."
As usual, the narrator opened the episode.
Just like in One Piece, where Law seems to die every episode, Kuroko always began with an explanation of how godlike the Generation of Miracles was.
"Wait, new OP?"
That caught Mizuga off guard.
Usually, a new opening ca with a new season — mid-season OP swaps were rare.
He leaned in, carefully analyzing every detail.
In the first OP, Tendou didn't get much screenti.
That was because most of it covered the Kaijo and Shūtoku matches.
Tendou was reserved for the big boss role.
But now it was finally Kirisaki Daiichi's turn.
The OP was packed with their scenes.
The first half? Pure Seirin — flashes of Riko, Hyuuga, the usual.
Kuroko stood alone at center court, facing the crowd.
At first, the stands were empty. Slowly they filled, until everyone was cheering for him.
Symbolic of Seirin's rise — the underdog earning the crowd's love.
Then ca scenes of Kise and Midorima — so of which weren't even in the ani, clearly from unadapted matches.
Then the climax:
As the chorus hit, Kuroko dashed toward the basket with the ball.
But the closer he got, the more the hoop distorted — until it transford into Tendou.
He slowly turned around, grew larger, and removed his sunglasses to reveal the Celestrial Eyes.
And then — the OP ended.
"Damn! My B-King really took the center spot in the second OP too! What a glow-up!"
Mizuga bead. He was a proud mber of the "Tendou faction."
The episode started.
It opened by briefly recapping Seirin's win over Shūtoku.
The team was elated — high energy.
They then reviewed Kirisaki Daiichi's team strategy.
"Man, these guys are basically the Bad Boy Pistons," Mizuga muttered.
"And definitely the first generation."
He knew enough NBA history to know there were two versions of the Pistons' Bad Boys.
The first, led by Isiah Thomas — and the second, with Rasheed and Ben Wallace.
This version of Kirisaki Daiichi definitely resembled the first gen.
Especially with a PG as the centerpiece.
But... the leader now wasn't a dirty player — it was Tendou.
When Riko described how Kirisaki always left people injured, viewers couldn't help but wonder:
How did Tendou get those lunatics in line?
The ani didn't explain it through Riko — Seirin wasn't sharp enough for that.
Instead, the scene cut to Tōō Academy.
They were discussing the upcoming Seirin vs Kirisaki match.
"It's weird. Hanamiya's never been one to follow rules," said Imayoshi.
"No clue how Tendou pulled it off — got all those psychos to behave."
How did he do it?
Momoi's pupils drifted upward as she recalled:
The flashback showed Tendou's first visit to Kirisaki Daiichi.
"Yo. First ti eting. You guys tough or what?"
Cue ass-kicking montage.
Tendou laid out the entire team and sat on Hanamiya's chest.
"You submit or what?"
『Damn, my guy really did beat them into submission on Day One.』
『So that's what they ant by 'bonding with the team.'』
『Tendou's the only one this wouldn't be weird for.』
『Hardcore as hell, 140 HAHAHA!』
Even Mizuga cracked up.
All those ancient idioms had been twisted into s these days — "bonding with the team" had never been so literal.
He downed another gulp of soda and kept watching.
He knew the pacing of this kind of show — they'd spend half the episode warming up before anyone stepped on court.
And then —
Kagami challenged Kirisaki... and we got the "Kneeling Mont."
"Pfft—!" Mizuga nearly sprayed his drink.
『What the hell?! He tapped him on the shoulder and Kagami knelt?!』
『The legendary "Kneel Before the B-King" scene.』
『Tendou's B-Level was already high — now it's astronomical.』
『Even the protagonist had to kneel to establish Tendou's god-tier presence.』
『Kise and Midorima were used to hype Seirin. Tendou? He used Seirin to hype himself.』
Unstoppable.
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