Kuroko no Basuke Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Kuroko no Basuke Wiki

Rakuzan logo

Reo Mibuchi (実渕 玲央 Mibuchi Reo) is the vice-captain and shooting guard of Rakuzan High. Because he is one of the Uncrowned Kings, he is nicknamed the Yaksha (夜叉 Yasha), referring to a kind of night spirit.

Appearance[]

Mibuchi has long black hair that reaches his chin, with two strands of hair falling down to his eyes. He has gentle-looking eyes, with outstandingly long eyelashes. In comparison to the other players, his stature is noticeably taller and more slender. 

He wears the blue and white Rakuzan High jersey with the number 6.

In Extra Game, he has cut his hair shorter.

Personality[]

Mibuchi is pretty uptight. He likes to keep things in line and gets annoyed easily when others fool around or act weird. He criticizes them and tries to correct them, although not always successfully.[1] Despite this, his personality itself seems to be cheerful and relaxed, shown by his good-natured way of lecturing the Seirin High's second years of how to treat a lady (Riko Aida, in this case), and his affectionate nickname of "Sei-chan" for Seijūrō Akashi.[2] While talking he uses "onee-kotoba" style of speech. He dislikes noisiness and vulgarity and has been noted by Kotarō Hayama in a special CD as being "like a mom" and is called "Reo-nee" (big sis Reo) by him.

History[]

Mibuchi was a very strong and talented player in junior high school, but he was overshadowed by the Generation of Miracles. This is how he earned the title of one of the five Uncrowned Kings. He also wore the number 7 Jersey back in Junior High School.

Story[]

Winter Cup[]

Semi-finals[]

Rakuzan High

Rakuzan High

As Mibuchi travels to the Winter Cup gym by metro, he runs into and catches Riko Aida, having almost fallen down from the fuss. Mibuchi gently tells her to be more careful and says to the Seirin team that they have to take more care of girls. Riko and the players recognize his jersey as Rakuzan's. He later appears in uniform alongside the other Uncrowned Kings and Akashi, forming the Rakuzan High team.[3]

As the match is about to commence, Shūtoku and Rakuzan enter the arena. Mibuchi is instantly disgusted by Nebuya's manners. He later lines up for the start of the game and is impressed by Midorima's swift three pointer from the half court line.[4] He is assigned to guard Midorima but is unable to stop most of his shots. In the second quarter, he double teams Midorima together with Mayuzumi. When Miyaji drives through Hayama's defense, he scolds Hayama and tells him to pay more attention.[5]

As Hayama shows everyone his exceptional dribbling, Mibuchi tells Midorima that his teammates are only a hindrance to Midorima. He specifically wonders how long Miyaji will last against Hayama. However, Midorima reacts by blocking Hayama in a lay-up and when Mibuchi and Mayuzumi pick up Midorima for the double-team, Kimura comes in and sets a perfect screen for Midorima, who slips by Mibuchi.[6] The first half ends with a tie.

Finals[]

During the warmup, Mibuchi is disgusted by Nebuya's long burp, after which Nebuya states that he ate his maximum since his match-up is Kiyoshi. Mibuchi is then asked about his match-up, Hyuga, to which he replies that he will give lots of love. He also checks on Hayama who also seems to be ready, the latter saying he will destroy Kagami. The match finally begins.

Nebuya loses the tip off against Kagami but when Kuroko uses an Ignite Pass too strong, the ball fumbles from Hyuga but is heading towards the hoop. As Hyuga is about to layup, Mibuchi blocks him from behind leading to a counter. But after Kagami blocks Nebuya and uses a Meteor Jam against Akashi, Kagami suddenly enters the Zone. Rakuzan has a hard time defending Kagami until Akashi shuts him down with an ankle-breaker, sending him back to his normal state. At one point, he is blocked by Mitobe when he attempts a reverse layup against Kiyoshi and Seirin counters. As Rakuzan closes the gap and eventually takes the lead, he tells Seirin that it's naive to think that Kagami can take on Rakuzan when he's basically "out of commission" (having been shut out of the Zone by Akashi). However, Kiyoshi takes the offensive rebound using his "Vice Claw" and passes it to Hyuga who scores a three pointer. Hyuga replies that they are not the ones who are naive but that it is Rakuzan who is underestimating Seirin.

Hyūga vs Mibuchi

Mibuchi vs Hyūga

In the second quarter, Mayuzumi will be the assist man and the three of them will be the ones to score. As Mayuzumi is revealed to possess "Misdirection" like Kuroko but with superior basketball skills, Izuki is assigned to guard him to negate some of their advantage, and Furihata is made to mark Akashi, for some unknown reason. Akashi is lured into a trap when he easily passes Furihata and Kagami switches onto him, knowing an ankle-breaker cannot be executed from the crowded interior. Though Kagami blocks Akashi, Nebuya tips in the miss and scores. After a shot by Furihata, Akashi decides to ankle break him and scores a three pointer increasing the lead to 10. Suddenly, Rakuzan calls a timeout even though they have the lead. At the timeout. Coach Eiji Shirogane decides that Mibuchi will be the first focus of the attack, meaning a shootout against Hyuga.

As he receives the ball, he tells Hyuga that he really irritated him in the first quarter and he so happy and will crush him.

Mibuchi Heaven Shot

Mibuchi uses "Heaven"

Hyuga replies that he's not interested in playing around and he's going for something else. He asks if the latter is sure he wanna do this. With Hyuga soft on the pressure, he uses his "Heaven" and makes a three pointer. But Hyuga quickly scores a three pointer with his "Barrier Jumper". The shootout continues until he gains the upperhand and is now catching up to the timing of the Barrier Jumper. After blocking Hyuga, he used his third shooting form- "Void". He shot the ball while telling Hyuga that he'll show him something nice. Surprisingly, Hyuga wasn't able to jump to defend. Since the "Barrier Jumper" has been caught, Hyuga chose to pass leading to a score. Declaring his win, he calls for the ball once more and simply wishes to grade him. He uses "Earth" and lures Hyuga to a 4-point play. After their showdown, the match focuses on the battle of Centers, Kiyoshi and Nebuya.

Abilities & Skills[]

Physical Ability
 
8/10 Mibuchi chart
Technique
 
10/10
Stamina
 
8/10
Mental Strength
 
8/10
Special Ability
 
9/10

Shooting[]

Mibuchi is very proficient in shooting, particularly when he executes 3-pointers. Junpei Hyūga also stated that he admired and tried to imitate Mibuchi's shooting form back in their junior high school days, as Mibuchi had the best shooting form in his year. According to Hanamiya, Mibuchi has three types of shooting styles, namingly, Heaven (天), Earth (地) and Oblivion (虚空).

It is also known that during usual matches, Mibuchi only executes his first two shooting forms, Heaven and Earth. However, when facing an opponent he acknowledges, Mibuchi is prompted to use his third style of shooting, Oblivion, the best shooting form of the three.

However, Hyūga had already seen through the three forms' weaknesses. The secret is the centre of gravity in Mibuchi's feet. For example, he will fake going for a Heaven but the centre of gravity is leaned forward meaning he'll use Earth thus preventing Hyuga to jump and fall for the fake thus contested the shot making Mibuchi miss.

Heaven[]

Mibuchi Heaven Shot

Mibuchi's Heaven

Mibuchi's Heaven is executed by jumping high and performing a fade-away shot so that the opposition defender guarding him won't be able to reach the ball. This shooting form is dubbed Heaven because it enables Mibuchi's shot to evade any types of blocks.[7]

Ryō Sakurai, another shooting guard from Tōō Academy, comments that this style of shooting is extremely hard to execute. This is because the user needs to maintain his centre of gravity when performing a shot while in midair in order to execute a good fade-away shot. The distance from the basket also increases when performing a fade-away, making the shot more difficult to aim. However, Mibuchi is able to make the shot with little difficulty, and with extreme accuracy.[8]

Earth[]

Mibuchi's Earth Shot

Mibuchi's Earth forces a foul and a 4-point play

This style of shooting prompts Mibuchi to have contact with the opposition while still managing to force a shot or at least get a foul. This method of shooting is a type of foul drawing and is dubbed as Earth.

Foul drawing is defined as shooting or making a lay-up while creating contact with a defending player, often by delaying a shot or allowing an opponent to jump into you, thereby causing a foul to be called on the opponent and creating opportunities for free throws. Mibuchi can do this with the addition of scoring the shot, getting three or four points per play.[9]

It seems that Mibuchi wants as many points as possible, as he commented that he is quite greedy and can so make 3 or 4 points in one play. It does seem however that he can't always use this move mostly because he needs someone to block him first.

Oblivion/Void[]

Mibuchi Void Shot

Mibuchi executes Oblivion and disables Junpei Hyūga from jumping

Mibuchi's oblivion disables the opposing defender, preventing him from even jumping. The key to the Oblivion shot is the depth of the launch before jumping. When Mibuchi is making the Oblivion shot, he squats even lower than normal shooters, and when he shoots, the defending player has a moment of freeze as the latter's knees are locked straight. The defending player, who got fooled during that moment, would give up the energy accumulated while squatting causing the remaining energy to go down to zero, hence being unable to jump. Mibuchi squats deeper in the beginning which let's him still have some energy. Combining that, and the shooting pose that gives high shooting accuracy, is the way to make the Oblivion shot. 

However, even if the opposing player realizes this, if they could not stop his squatting and jump early, Mibuchi can stop his attempt. If the jumping height is the same, it would be advantageous in blocking the shot, but if there is a difference in height between the opposing player and Mibuchi, it's near impossible for the opponent to block his shot as showcased by Shinji Koganei.

Relationships[]

Seijūrō Akashi[]

As their captain. Mibuchi always listens to and respects Akashi. He trusts him and thinks of him in high regard. He affectionately calls him "Sei-chan".

Despite being friendly and in good terms with him, Mibuchi is still intimidated by Akashi when he shows the darker side of his personality, such as when he threatened to gouge his eyes out if they lost the match with Shūtoku High. When he and the other Uncrowned Kings lost to Akashi in a 3-on-1 match, he became uneasy at the thought that they would be abandoned if they were of no use to him. When Akashi initially entered the Zone, he appeared shocked and distraught that he left him and his teammates behind. However, when Akashi's mental state started to crumble, he, like the other Uncrowned Kings, lost faith in him. When Akashi's true personality awakened, he was surprised to hear him apologize and cheer his team on. He also became excited and motivated to play better and was eventually led by Akashi to enter the Zone.

In the third fan disc, he accompanied Akashi to the Maji Burger in Tokyo to chat with the other Generation of Miracles and their teammates.

Rakuzan High[]

Mibuchi seems to get along with the other Uncrowned Generals, the most out of all his teammates, although he often scolds Eikichi Nebuya for his vulgar manners and Kotarō Hayama for being too noisy and hyper. He is often seen arguing with Nebuya when he belches, overeats, or doing things that are manly e.g. doing muscle poses. When around Hayama, he is often seen telling him to calm down or tries to redirect his hyper behaviour. Despite being somewhat overbearing, Mibuchi is very caring and motherly towards his teammates, hence why Hayama calls him "Reo-nee" (Big Sis Reo). Like the rest of the Uncrowned Generals on the team, he seems to have a strained relationship with Chihiro Mayuzumi as the three might have initially doubted his abilities as a player.

Junpei Hyūga[]

The strongest opposing Shooting Guard he had faced, aside from Shintarō Midorima. Hyūga saw him in Middle School and was amazed with his shooting form and copied it. Because of his acknowledgement to the latter, he used his "Oblivion" to gain the upper hand. However, it doesn't end there, as Hyūga managed to fight back and discover the weaknesses of his shooting forms. What's worse is he even got a taste of his own medicine as Hyūga copied and used the Earth Shot against him to force a four-point play at the waning seconds of the Winter Cup Finals.

Etymology[]

  • The name Reo means "the tinkling of jade" (玲) (re) and "center" (央) (o).
  • Reo's surname Mibuchi means "fruit, good result, truth" (実) (mi) and "edge" (渕) (fuchi/buchi).
    • According to his family name, Mi from Mibuchi (実) means "Fruit" or "Seed".

Trivia[]

  • In the subtitled anime, his name is translated as "Leo Mibuchi" instead of "Reo Mibuchi".
  • A Mibuchi look-a-like was seen in the 2nd round of the Winter Cup wearing the jersey number 13 winning the match without Seijūrō Akashi who was benched. This was before Mibuchi debuted.[10]
Mibuchi short appearance anime

Mibuchi's appearance in episode 38

  • Even though his official debut comes later on in the series, Mibuchi has been shown in episode 38. His appearance included his voice as well.
  • In the Season 3, Episode 3 NG Shuu, it is implied that Mibuchi has a crush on Kazunari Takao.
  • According to an extra, Mibuchi states that he's interested in someone from his own team.[11] Later, during the game against Seirin and the game against the Jabberwock, it is very strongly implied that Mibuchi's secret crush is Seijūrō Akashi.
  • According to the CHARACTERS BIBLE PLUS:
    • His favourite food is cabbage rolls.
    • His hobby is making sweets.
    • His speciality is tarot reading.
    • His motto is: "Soft on the outside, tough on the inside."
    • He is very popular with his peers.
    • He came out as an Onee ( オネエ ) i.e. homosexual (sometimes transexual) in high school.
  • According to KUROFES:
    • His best subject is classic literature.
    • He is a member of the Health Committee (infirmary).
    • He has a mother and a father.
    • He dislikes vulgar, indecent people.
    • His best play is a three-point shot.
    • His favourite type of person is an attentive person.
    • He spends his free time shopping in general stores.
    • He started playing basketball by watching NBA.
    • The player he has his eye on is Koganei.
    • He has a romantic interest in Hyuga.
  • Mibuchi is the second LGBT+ character in the franchise after Alexandra Garcia, who is bisexual because of her sympathies for both sexes.
  • Mibuchi is dying to know what makes Shintarō Midorima “tick”; he wants to play him in a game to observe him up close.[12]
     

References[]

  1. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 175, page 6
  2. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 175, page 7
  3. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 174, page 18
  4. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 175, page 17
  5. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 176, page 16
  6. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 177, page 15
  7. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 242, page 6, 7, 8, 16
  8. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 242, page 8
  9. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 182, page 15
  10. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 144, page 4
  11. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 238.5, Page 1
  12. Kuroko no Basuke Special CD Vol. 30 Track 7

Navigation[]

Advertisement