Kazunari Takao (高尾 和成 Takao Kazunari ) is Shūtoku's first year point guard. He is Kuroko's natural enemy, as he has the Hawk Eye and is able to see Kuroko even if he uses his misdirection.
Appearance
Takao has long, straight black hair. In front, his hair is kept stroked backwards, with occasionally a few strands of hair falling down to his eyes. As seen during the training camp, he sometimes keeps his hair out of his eyes by using a hair band.[1] His eyes are also very narrow, and are a slate blue in color, though in some coloured pages of the manga and in the PSP game, his eyes are deep amber in colour. Sometimes, he is seen with a wide smirk on his face, and frequently teases Midorima, whom he calls 'Shin-chan'. In game, he wears the number 10.
Personality
Takao is very easy going and seeks fun everywhere. He enjoys playing basketball and isn't focused on winning or crushing the opponent that much. He is very positive and always tries to persuade Midorima into doing fun stuff. He also has a habit of laughing at someone because of their likes, habits etc., such as Midorima's shooting because of it being too high and their captain, Ōtsubo's admiration to an idol. He can get along with anyone, even with Seirin, their rivals. He has also displayed admiration towards Kasamatsu, looking up to him as a fellow point guard. It is hinted at that Takao enjoys singing. [2]
Story
Introduction
At the first training, Takao sees Midorima as his enemy and is surprised, for Midorima is the one he wanted to defeat to get revenge for Junior High school. He decided that he would not try to compete with him, but rather make him acknowledge him. He explains this to Midorima when they stay late for extra practice. He declares that he will train more and harder than Midorima and that he will send "a roaring pass" towards Shin-chan one day.[3] Midorima tells Takao not to call him Shin-chan, but Takao ignores this.
Seirin vs Kaijō
Takao arrives on the bicycle
During Seirin's match against Kaijō, Takao and Midorima went to watch. They traveled with their usual rickshaw, driven by Takao. Takao doubts the worth in seeing the match, but Midorima hurries him up.[4]
Midorima then leaves Takao in a traffic jam and they meet back up when Seirin's match is already over.
Interhigh preliminaries
At the Interhigh preliminaries first round, Takao and Midorima went to watch Seirin's game vs Shinkyō Academy. He questions Midorima's explanation that he only wanted to see Shinkyō's foreign exchange student and thinks that it's to see Kuroko[5], though Midorima denies this.
Takao is seen at the 4th round with Shūtoku High, playing against Kinka High. Before the match, Kagami approaches Midorima. Takao joins in and tells Kagami Seirin's scores in the final leagues last year, devastating results. When Kuroko also talks to Midorima, Takao swings his arm around him formally. He tells Kuroko that Midorima actually does take interest in them.[6] They are called back by a teammate.
In the match itself, Takao plays as a starter. He drives inside, goes to the basket, but passes at the last instant to Ōtsubo, who dunks it in. He and his team later win the match.
Pre-Winter Cup
He is seen preparing for the Winter Cup and practicing intensely with Shūtoku High. It is seen that he foiled Miyaji's defense and passing to Midorima, who shoots and scores.[7]
Winter Cup preliminaries
Final league
Winter Cup
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Along with Shūtoku, he went to the Winter Cup and is seen watching Seirin's match against Tōō. When Kagami avoids battle with Aomine, Takao discusses the decision with Midorima. Midorima asks if Takao notices Kagami's high-level tactical battle and Takao confirmed he did.[8] Midorima and Takao later analyse Kuroko's Vanishing Drive and Misdirection Overflow.[9] He and Midorima are seen watching the major Seirin matches and won their own matches easily.
Semi-finals
Shūtoku High faces off against Rakuzan High in the semi-finals. Before the match, Takao is told by the coach that he will be guarding Akashi, which frightens Takao. When the teams enter the gym, Takao comments that for such a strong team, they look quite normal. Miyaji says that they're totally weird, because the first year Akashi is a respected captain in a team with Uncrowned Kings.
Takao guards Akashi
The match starts and Takao gets the ball right after the tip-off. He fakes a drive and passes it to Midorima, who scores a half-court shot. Midorima goes on by shooting threes and nearing the end of the first quarter, Akashi dribbles upcourt and sees Takao guarding him. Takao anticipates the worst and focuses. Akashi makes a quick move to the left, but stops and passes the ball inside for Nebuya to score. Takao acknowledges Akashi's PG skills and thinks it's weird that it's not as outstanding as he thought.[10]
After the time-out, Takao sees that Midorima is being double-teamed. He expected this and simply passes to Miyaji, who does a crossover, passes to Ōtsubo, who then scores. When Hayama shows his true colors, Takao is amazed by his dribbling. Shūtoku enters half-time with a tie at 39 – 39.
Takao falls before Akashi
When the second half starts, Midorima is up against Akashi. Using his Emperor Eye, Akashi steals the ball and goes into a fast break. Takao is faster and defends, saying that he won't let him pass. Akashi responds that there is no need for that, that Takao will make way. Akashi does a crossover and Takao falls for it, quite literally.[11] As Takao is on the floor, Akashi makes the shot.
Rakuzan dominates the game and Akashi easily steals the ball from Midorima and ankle breaks Kimura, Miyaji and Midorima. Takao and Midorima are desperate, but their upperclassmen motivate them by saying that the game isn't over yet. They agree that they truly enjoy playing basketball with each other and return to the game with a newly found motivation.[12] Midorima decides to make the gamble and to try their new technique. He pulls up for a shot while the ball is still with Takao. As he is in his shooting motion, Takao fires a pass into Midorima's hands and Midorima makes the three-pointer. This unbelievable technique is effective against Akashi and Izuki praises Takao's accuracy. They repeat this during a fast break immediately after. Hyūga compares Takao-Midorima as Shūtoku's own "light and shadow".[13]
After this, Midorima and Takao double team against Akashi, but Akashi, instead, throws the basketball into his own hoop, shocking Takao and everybody else. Akashi then proceeds to scold his team members for relaxing and slacking off in the match. Akashi then says that if they were to lose, he would quit the club and gouge out both his eyes and give it to them, Takao realizes that from Akashi's team members' reactions, he was quite likely to stick to his word.[14]
Takao's pass is stopped
The Rakuzan players look more serious after Akashi's words and the fierce battle ensues, with Rakuzan managing to score another goal. Akashi tells Midorima that the match has already ended and from now on, Midorima would not even be able to touch the ball, shocking the Shūtoku players. As Takao tries to pass to Midorima, he is stopped by two players. However, Takao comments that if he were that easily stopped, he wouldn't have become "Shin-chan's" partner. Takao warns them not to look down on them and dribbles through the two players before passing the ball to the already in position Midorima. Takao's pass is suddenly stopped by Akashi, who coldly tells him that he is absolute, startling Takao and Midorima. With that swift steal, Rakuzan rapidly scores another goal. Akashi explains that even without the "Emperor Eye", it was already easy to tell the pass course and timing and all he needed to do was to move one step faster than Takao.[15]
Takao is still startled by this, thinking that he had already grasped Akashi's speed in the first-half with his Hawk Eye to know that Akashi would not have reached him in time, but swiftly realizes that Akashi had purposely lowered his speed subtly in the first-half, to the point in which even Midorima did not notice. Takao is desperate and upset that everything up to now was actually part of Akashi's plan. Mibuchi gets the ball and appears to try to shoot a three-pointer and Takao desperately tries to stop him, only to realize that it was a fake, allowing Mibuchi to score a three-pointer while being fouled.[16] Mibuchi then tells him that he was quite greedy and grins. Rakuzan scores a few more times before Akashi finally gets the ball and, despite Midorimara's desperate attempts to stop him, effortlessly scores and secures their victory, winning by 16 points.
Takao's tears ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The match ends and both teams line up to thank each other for the match. Takao and the rest of Shūtoku line up and thank their audience for cheering for them. As they exit, Takao tries to act positively and asks Midorima if he is heartbroken and apologizes, stating that he won't be able to cheer him up now. Midorima figures it out and Takao finally gave in, having held back his tears until the team had exited. Midorima admits "Me too" and tears fall from his face, commenting that it was losing really frustrating.[17]
Later, after Seirin's semi-finals against Kaijō, Kagami runs into Midorima, with Kuroko observing from a distance. Looking for Midorima, Takao surprises Kuroko. He tries to make some small talk, but is not in the mood and simply wishes Kuroko good luck in the finals and calls Midorima. Then, they leave the scene.[18]
Skill
| Physical Ability | 7/10 | 
| |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technique | 8/10 | ||
| Stamina | 7/10 | ||
| Mental Strength | 7/10 | ||
| Special Ability | 8/10 | ||
Takao passes Izuki
Takao is a very skilled basketball player, as he is a regular with Shūtoku. As a point guard, he is very skilled in dribbling and passing. As seen in the game against Seirin, he can change directions very quickly and pass a player like Izuki with ease. He can also pass to another player behind his back without looking.[19]
A chart of his skills were included with his profile in the databook Characters Bible.
Hawk Eye
Takao blocks Kuroko's pass by using his Hawk Eye
Just like Shun Izuki, Takao can see the court from a different perspective. This way, he can determine the position of the player's immediately. But unlike Izuki's Eagle Eye, Takao possesses a much wider range. With his Hawk Eye, he can see the entire court (Eagle Eye can see just a smaller portion of the court), enabling him to make blind passes. That creates a problem for Kuroko, because even if he uses his misdirection, Takao can still see him. The only way to defeat the Hawk Eye, is by purposely fixing that attention to oneself, so that Takao is again focused on that person and his vision is smaller. After using that, Kuroko can easily make himself invisible again and escape the Hawk Eye.
Sky Direct 3P Shot
Cooperation with Midorima
Midorima and Takao have recently developed a play that uses Midorima's shooting abilities and Takao's accurate and fast passes. This technique consists of Midorima shooting without the ball and Takao launching a pass towards Midorima's hands, who receives it in the shooting motion and shoots it. If the pass goes through and the shot is untouched, this play is almost impossible to stop, especially with Midorima's shooting and Takao's passing. This play is a huge gamble though, something Midorima had to overcome by trusting his teammates greatly.[20]
Takao and Midorima made this play to counter Akashi's Emperor Eye, since the height difference leads to Akashi simply not being able to steal the ball because it is out of his reach. The technique is a combination of Midorima's perfect shooting and Takao's perfect passing. The only flaw to this technique is that the ball must come from Midorima's left side, since he is left-handed. This makes the pass somewhat predictable.
Relationships
Shintarō Midorima
Being in the same team, Takao has a natural pull towards Midorima, seeing potential in their relationship both as friends and as basketball partners. It is evident that Takao had become comfortable with Midorima, given that he calls him "Shin-chan" despite Midorima's protests against the name. They share a close friendship in which they bicker on a regular basis. Takao also enjoys teasing Midorima, much to his annoyance. In the PSP game Kiseki no Shiai, Takao constantly breaks Midorima's lucky items because he cannot help but do so. In the bloopers, he teases Midorima for claiming that he would shoot a million times to stop Kagami and also for saying that he would pass to his teammates (apparently out of character for Midorima) by imitating him.
Tetsuya Kuroko
During the Shūtoku vs Seirin match at Interhigh, Takao expressed his dislike towards Kuroko due to how similar their playing styles are and sees him as a rival.[21] Despite this, he is often paired with Kuroko and hides with him to spy on conversations between Kagami and Midorima.[22]
Quotes
- "I was so frustrated that I continued practicing even after I retired… And then when I entered high school, hell yeah, I laughed. The guy I vowed to defeat no matter what was standing right in front of me as one of my own teammates. But now it's pointless to hold a grudge. Rather, I wanted to make you recognize me."[3] (to Midorima after they first met)
Trivia
- On the first character poll, Takao ranked 7th, with 684 votes, then went down to 12th place on the second poll, with 443 votes. He now ranks 3rd with 2,539 votes.
- The kanji 高 (Taka) in his name means tall, but is a homophone for the word hawk, a clear reference to his ability.
- According to the CHARACTERS BIBLE:
- His hobby is trading cards.
- His specialty is doing back flips.
- His favourite food is kimchi (a Korean side dish consisting of pickled vegetables).
- His motto is "People who enjoy life are winners."
- His best subject is English.
- He is part of the school's health committee.
- He has a father, a mother and a younger sister.
- The thing he’s not good at is being quiet.
- His best move is passing without looking.
- His type of girl is someone who's positive.
- He spends his time off by shopping at trading card shops in Nakano Broadway.
- He started playing basketball when he first played and thought it was fun.
- The player he has his eyes on is Midorima.
- Takao has a younger sister and is good with children.[23]
- Takao believes one has to be flexible to keep up with Midorima’s weird habits. [24]
- Takao states that Midorima is not used to asking other people for help. [25]
- He was seen singing in the Bloopers CATALRHYTHM, the song his seiyuu sings for the anime's first season's second ending.[26]
References
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 59, page 19
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 36, page 8
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kuroko no Basuke chapter 180, page 8
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 9, page 5
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 15, page 22
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 16, page 16
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 112, page 10
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 117, page 9
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 129, page 10
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 176, page 8 & 9
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 178, page 19
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 179, page 19
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke 181, page 12
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 181, page 16
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 182, page 8
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 182, page 15
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 183, page 8
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 203, page 19
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 26, page 10
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 180, page 9
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 27, page 12
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke chapter 61, page 14
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke Special CD Vol. 30 Track 5
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke Fan Disc 2
- ↑ Kuroko no Basuke Special CD featuring Takao Kazunari
- ↑ Kuroko no Baske NG-shuu Special Episode 8
| v - e - t | Shūtoku High |
|---|---|
| Players | Shintarō Midorima • Kazunari Takao • Yūya Miyaji |
| Former players | Taisuke Ōtsubo • Kiyoshi Miyaji • Shinsuke Kimura |
| Coach | Masaaki Nakatani |
| v - e | Team Vorpal Swords |
|---|---|
| Players | Seijūrō Akashi • Daiki Aomine • Shintarō Midorima • Ryōta Kise • Atsushi Murasakibara • Taiga Kagami • Tetsuya Kuroko • Junpei Hyūga • Kazunari Takao • Kōsuke Wakamatsu |
| Staff | Kagetora Aida (coach) • Riko Aida (assistant coach) • Satsuki Momoi (manager) |