Episode 1: On clubs day at Seirin Private Highschool (which only formed a year prior, thus having no 3rd years), first-years Taiga Kagami and Tetsuya Kuroko join the basketball club. The club's coach, Riko Aida, sees no limit to the potential of Kagami (who happens to have lived and played basketball in America), while Kuroko appears to be below average, despite previously being a regular of the Teiko Basketball team, famously known as "The Generation of Miracles". Kuroko challenges Kagami to a one-on-one match and fails to impress Kagami until the first-years go up against the 2nd years in a practice match and Kuroko ends up impressing everybody with his skill of using his lack of presence and misdirection to specialize in passing. Kagami declares he'll become Japan's best player. Kuroko states it is impossible for him to do it alone, but that he has decided to be the shadow to Kagami's light.
Episode 2: The coach sets an "entrance exam" for the first-years, to shout their commitment to win the national championships from the school roof-tops during Monday morning assembly. A teacher interrupts before Kuroko's turn, but he later writes his in chalk in the courtyard. Kuroko explains his reason for joining the Seirin team was his disagreement with Teiko's motto of "winning is everything", and their no-team-play style. The coach sets up a practice match with Kaijou, a strong team, with one of the members of the Generation of Miracles, Ryota Kise. Kise visits Seirin, and Kagami challenges him to a one-one. Kise beats him, by using his specialty, the ability to copy other player´s moves and amplify them.
Episode 3: Seirin visit Kaijou for the match, and are insulted that the coach, Takeuchi, underestimating them, has only allocated half the court for the match and tells Kise to sit out. Kagami scores the first goal and breaks the hoop, forcing them to play on the full court. Kise joins the game, and he and Kagami alternate scoring goals. Seirin calls for a time-out and Kuroko reveals that his misdirection wears off the more he plays. Kagami is pleased at the challenge Kaijou presents, and tells Kise that Kuroko is his weakness, due to his invisible play style.
Episode 4: The first quarter finishes with Kaijou in the lead, 27-35. Kagami starts coordinating with Kuroko, and the flow of the game switches in Seirin's favor until Kise accidentally hits Kuroko, who has to sit out. Play continues, with Kagami focusing on defense and leaving offence to the 2nd years. By fourth quarter, the team still hasn't caught up to Kaijo, and Kuroko re-enters the match. The pace picks up and the score is tied. In the last few seconds, Kuroko and Kagami score with an alley-oop, beating Kaijou, 100-98.
Episode 5: Kise is shocked by his first ever loss. Midorima, the Generation of Miracles' number one shooter, shows up and chastises Kise for losing. Seirin celebrates their victory by visiting a steakhouse. Kise asks Kuroko why he left basketball in middle school; Kuroko tells him he hated basketball at the time. Kise predicts that Kagami will eventually grow apart from his team due to his strength. Kuroko intervenes between some thugs harassing street basketballers. Kise, Kagami and Kuroko team up to beat the bullies at basketball.
Episode 6: The second years task the first years with getting some highly sought after "special bread" from the cafeteria. Seirin learns that they will face Shutoku, who hold one of the members of the Generation of Miracles, in the finals of the Inter High preliminaries. However, their first match is against Shinkyo Academy, who have brought in a foreign player, Papa Mbaye Siki, who is even taller than Kagami. To prepare, Kagami undergoes man-to-man defensive training with Mitobe, while Kuroko undergoes endurance training. The match with Shinkyo begins, and as the game progresses, Kagami promises Papa to block one of his shots and that Kuroko will give him a hard time for calling him a child.
Episode 7: First quarter finishes with Seirin in the lead, 8-23. Kuroko is subbed out to conserve his energy, leaving Kagami to deal with Papa alone. With five minutes left of the last quarter, Seirin is in the lead by a close margin (51-60). Kuroko is subbed back in. Kagami finally manages to block Papa's shot, and Seirin win the match 67-79. Seirin go on to crush their next few opponents. Realizing too much confidence is brewing, the team is taken to watch a Shutoku match (the team of Midorima Shintaro). Shutoku wins, 153-21. Seirin realise they will face two of the "three emperor teams" on the same day, with Seiho in the semifinal and Shutoku in the grand final.
Episode 8: Seirin's next match is against Seiho, who are known for their defense, and defeated Seirin the previous year, leading them to the brink of quitting basketball. Kuroko, is determined to win the match for the seniors. Elsewhere, Kise checks the "Oha Asa" horoscope (which tends to foretell how well Midorima will play). Midorima has the top fortune while Kuroko has the worst. Seiho's Tsugawa Tomoki, who managed to stop Kise in middle school, is up against Kagami. After first quarter, Riko tells Seirin that Seiho use old martial arts movement techniques. Kagami manages to beat Kasuga with speed, and scores the first basket.
Episode 9: In Shutoku's game, Midorima subs out after only 5 minutes to conserve strength for the Grand final match. Kagami gets his 3rd foul, Seiho's Tsugawa speaks carelessly again, which only fires up Kuroko and third quarter is tied 19-19. Together, Kuroko and Kagami again manage to penetrate Seiho's defense but rapidly are running out of energy. Kagami makes his fourth foul, and he are Kuroko are subbed out, to also conserve their energy for their next game. The seniors hold their own, using their specialties such as Izuki's "Eagle Eye". With less than five minutes left in the game, and Seiho in the lead, 58-64, Koganei gets a light concussion, and Kuroko subs back in to pay back Kagami's grudge against Tsugawa.
Episode 10: Kuroko immediately passes Tsugawa's defense, and the seniors infiltrate Seiho's defense by predicting their habitual movements. Kagami is impressed, having never seen Kuroko's passing from the sidelines. In the last 30 seconds, Seirin is in the lead by one point until Seiho score a dunk, and tighten their defense. Kuroko narrowly avoids an intercept and passes to Hyuga who scores the final goal, Seirin defeating Seiho, 73-71. Meanwhile Shutoku win their match, 113-38. Forebodingly, Kuroko's presence is noted by one of the Shutoku members in the bathrooms. The game begins, with Midorima blocking Kagami's attempt at an alley-oop. Midorima scores the first goal with a three, but Kuroko makes a surprise retaliation by passing across the whole court to Kagami, who scores with a dunk.
Episode 11: With Midorima shut down, the rest of Shutoku pick up the pace. Takao, who noticed Kuroko in the bathroom, is sent to cover Kuroko. He intercepts Kuroko using his "Hawk Eye" which is akin to Izuki's "Eagle Eye" but with a larger field of vision. Seirin calls a time out and decides to keep Kuroko in the game as he tries to think of a plan. Hyuga makes important shots due to his training under pressure. Midorima makes a shot from the centre line and Kagami responds with a "one man alley-oop". But Midorima retaliates again, shooting from the end of the court, showing his shots have no range limit, and finishing the first quarter with Shutoku in the lead, 13-19. Midorima gets permission to take every shot during the entire second quarter, pushing Shutoku's lead to 15-27. Kagami laughs, as he is getting fired up by Midorima's strength.
Episode 12: The second quarter ends with Shutoku still in the lead, 27:45. Kuroko watches a tape of Takao during the first half. The third quarter starts with Kuroko on the bench, and Kagami manages to barely tap one of Midorima's shots. The next time, He manages to pass Takao's screen, and touch the ball again as Midorima goes for a long shot. The shot misses, but Shutoku's Otsubo Taisuke dunks the rebound. Kagami blocks Midorima's next shot, and makes several goals, using his astounding jumping power. However, he overexherts himself and is unable to jump any longer, but he is determined to win without relying on Kuroko. 3rd quarter ends 47-61, and Kuroko punches Kagami for saying they don't need team play right now, and Kagami calms down. Kuroko tells the team he has a plan.
Rating: 8.5/10 (Average)
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