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Man proposes, God disposes. I am a man that proposes, I always carry my lucky item of the day with me as my horoscope said. That's why my shots never miss.

—Shintarō Midorima, to Ryōta Kise

Shintarō Midorima (緑間 真太郎 Midorima Shintarō) was the vice-captain and shooting guard of the Generation of Miracles who now plays for one of the Three Kings of Tokyo, Shūtoku High.

Appearance

Midorima has dark green hair parted to the left that doesn't reach his eyes. He has light green eyes with prominent lower eyelashes, and wears black-framed glasses that are framed on all sides except the top. He is very tall, being the second tallest from the Generation of Miracles. He bandages his left hand outside of matches, so that nothing can influence his left-handed shot. He also files his nails for the same reason. Midorima is often seen with a lucky item, that varies from a stuffed frog, to a bear, to a potted cactus. Out of games, he wears his school uniform: a black jacket that is strapped all the way to his neck and black pants. He plays with jersey number 6 at Shūtoku, and no. 7 at Teiko.

Personality

Midorima lucky item

Midorima with his lucky item

Midorima is usually very reserved. He feels no need for fooling around, although Takao tries to persuade him many times (often ending up with him annoying Midorima). Acting kind to opponents is very hard for him, while his friend Takao has no problem with that. Very confident in his abilities, he often acts high and mighty around others (mostly his teammates).

He strongly believes in the Oha Asa horoscopes and is set at ease when he hears that his zodiac sign, Cancer, will have a lucky day, even going as far as carrying a so-called "lucky item" with him everywhere.[1][2] He also believes in blood types compatibility, as shown when he said Kuroko's blood type A and his blood type B don't get along.[3] His motto is "Man proposes, God disposes", which means doing your best and fate will decide the rest. Takao once commented on his preparation for matches, ranging from filling his nails, taping his fingers, listening to the Oha Asa horoscopes, and carrying his lucky item of the day accordingly, as some sort of obsession. Likewise, his belief in guaranteed fate/luck in his overall approach leads him to be a rather calculating-and-analytical person in general.

Midorima serious

Midorima's determination to win against Seirin

Midorima harbors a reluctant admiration for Kuroko, he seems to resent the fact Kuroko is able to stand against members of The Generation of Miracles despite his lack of natural talent and that he chose a new and relatively unknown team like Seirin. He thinks that Kuroko is stupid to choose a school who cannot use his strength.[4]

Despite usually being calm, he snapped during Shūtoku's match against Seirin High in the Winter Cup. He told Takao to stop fooling around and had the intent of destroying Seirin completely. Takao compared him to a dangerous wild beast.[5] During the same match, Midorima also let go of his pride and began playing with his team in order to win, likely due to his first loss impacting him. He never relied on others in the past, but now puts winning up front and plays as a true team. In the successful teamplay, he was also seen enjoying the game and laughing, which he rarely does.[6]

Midorima gives Kagami advice

Midorima gives Kagami a hint to beat Akashi

Takao often calls him a tsundere, because he tends to help people but denies doing so. Midorima has good insight and is able to understand other people's abilities easily, like Kagami or Kuroko's. He sometimes gives them advice under the guise of scorn and criticism. He helped Kagami with his aerial understanding[7] and pushed Kuroko to play by himself, leading to the development of the Vanishing Drive. Furthermore, he shared his theory about Akashi's dual unique ability with Kagami and Kuroko.[8] Also with this insight, he out of all the other Generation of Miracles members was the most aware of his own body's limitations handling his supernatural talents and worked to overcome this issue with such knowledge in mind.

As revealed in the flashback, when the Generation of Miracles started to grow arrogant, Midorima was different from the rest. He never stopped practicing and still valued its importance. When the Generation of Miracles would make a bet on getting the most points in a game, he would not participate because all he wanted to do is fulfill his role. He went along with the situation as long as they were winning, although it annoyed him. The other fact that shows that he differs from other the Generation of Miracles is that so far, he is the only one who has had the guts to stand up against Akashi. His passionate hostility towards Akashi during the Winter Cup semi-finals is an example of this.[9] However, it is likely this hostility died down when Akashi's old personality resurfaced with a better acceptance towards others alongside his prior split personality.

Skill

Physical Ability
 
9/10 Midorima chart
Technique
 
10/10
Stamina
 
9/10
Mental Strength
 
9/10
Special Ability
 
10/10
Midorima's shot

Midorima's shot

Midorima is swift and strong in addition to his shooting. During matches, he is astute and can quickly fake his shot and easily go around his opponent. He's also an excellent defender, as evidenced by his resounding victory over Kagami during the training camp. At Inter High School training camp, he also stopped Kagami's first dunk attempt by jumping later than him. Midorima has also been observed making disputed mid-range shots. Midorima can also make a chase down defense block, as evidenced by his blocking of Hayama in the match versus Rakuzan.

High Projectile Three

Midorima's half court shot

Midorima's half court shot

Midorima is mostly known for his incredible shot. Midorima always shoots with his left hand and he bandages his fingers in order to not let them affect his shot. If Midorima is not sure he will score, then he will not shoot. He mostly shoots off the catch, and he is able to create space for his shot. He can shoot the ball from anywhere outside the three point line and the ball flies with exceptionally high arc.

Another thing that is incredible about his shot is the distance. Midorima has shown that he can score from the half court line[10] and even on the opposite side of the court.[11] He has trained this for at least four years. It is an incredible feat because in reality, most full-court shooters do it with a gridiron-like throwing motion, while he does it with a normal jump shot, a great testament to his overall strength and endurance because it just seems normal for him. Also, because the shooting percentages are so low that it is normally used at the end of the quarter or at the end of the game as a buzzer-beater. Since Midorima can shoot from the other side of the court, this stops the opposing team from starting a fast break because he is already on defense. [12]

According to Junpei Hyūga rather than the score the true horror of Midorima's shot is the deep psychological impact to opponents. This is especially true since most players would freeze on their spot as watching the ball fly with abnormally long air time until it reaches the hoop.

So far, the only ones who were able to stop Midorima's shots, are Kagami by blocking his shots[13], Kuroko by blocking his dip off a pump fake, and Akashi by stealing the ball before Midorima could bring it above his head[14]. If a turnover occurs from his side the court, it gives the opponents great court position and a closer shot.

He also did this off the court when he shot a box full of desserts onto a motorbike rider (who stole a purse) that knocked down Momoi.

Sky Direct Three Point Shot

Midorima w Takao

Cooperation with Takao

Midorima and Takao have recently developed a play that uses Midorima's shooting abilities and Takao's accurate and fast passes. This technique is a catch-and-shoot in the air, which consists of Midorima shooting without the ball and receiving the ball in his hands passed by Takao during the process. If the pass goes through and the shot is untouched, this play is almost impossible to stop. This play is a huge gamble though, something Midorima had to overcome by trusting his teammates greatly.[15]

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. However, as Midorima is left-handed, the passes must always come from the left side.

It is also used in the game against Team Jabberwock, however Akashi is the one passing to Midorima. Takao said that the two are the most suited for this skill.

Improved Endurance

Prior to their rematch against Seirin in the Winter Cup Preliminaries, Midorima has trained his endurance with the plan of winning against Seirin, especially against Kagami whom he acknowledges as the only one who can stop his shot as out of all the Generation of Miracles members, Midorima was the most aware of his own body's limitations. It went into fruition as Kagami tires out first because of his continuous jumping to block Midorima's shots and was eventually forced to double-team with Kiyoshi.

Quotes

  • "There's no way I wouldn't be aware of how many shots I'm capable of. My limit... I passed it long ago."[16]
  • ""I'm always right"? Don't make me laugh, Akashi. Don't talk as if you know everything, when all you've had was victory. Come, Akashi. As promised, I'll teach you defeat."[17]
  • "There's not a single player on this team who's a hindrance."[18]
  • "This is a gamble. More than I need to believe in myself, I must believe in my teammates. Even if I do everything I can, it's not enough. But I don't feel any uncertainty. There isn’t a single player on this team who has done less than his best!"[19]
  • "... It's not over yet! Don't give up...! There's no shame in falling down...! True shame is to not stand up again...!"[20]
  • "It's really frustrating... losing."[21]

Etymology

  • The name Shintarō means "real, genuine" (真) (shin), "thick, big, great" (太) (ta) and "son" (郎) ().
  • Shintarō's surname Midorima means "green" (緑) (midori) and "while, time, interval, space, pause, chamber, room, apartment, leisure, chance, entr'acte, intervening, as" (間) (ma).
    • The kanji "緑" (Midori) in his name means green, hinting to his hair color.

Trivia

  • On the first character poll, Midorima ranked 2nd, with 1478 votes. His "specially-made rolling pencil" ranked 30th, with 21 votes. He ranked 6th on the second poll, this time with 936 votes.
  • In the entire series, Midorima has never missed an untouched shot.
  • According to Ryōta Kise, Midorima has a funny accent.[22]
  • Midorima has rarely been seen smiling in the series.[23]
  • In a Q&A section in the manga, it is revealed that:
    • Midorima was 174 cm tall upon entering Teikō.
    • His best subjects are Chemistry and Biology.
    • Midorima has a younger sister.
    • He hates Nattō, because he cannot stand the smell.
KnBCBibleSMidorima

Characters Bible, "What IF Midorima was a doctor!?"

  • According to the CHARACTERS BIBLE:
    • Midorima's first name was supposed to be Ryōhei instead of Shintarō.
    • If Midorima had an alternate job he would be a doctor.
    • He hates cats, because he got scratched.
    • His favorite food is red bean soup, especially the canned ones. He is shown drinking the canned red bean drink quite often and even drank the chilled one in summer. He is seen drinking red bean soup, but not green bean soup.
    • His hobby is playing chess/shogi and listening to classical music.
    • He likes reading and listening to astrology/fortune-telling-related materials, and brings different lucky charms. On the bloopers, his stuffed frog, Mr. Ribbit, was made from ceramics and was smashed from a stray baseball hit, leaving him aggrieved.[24]
    • He plays the piano. 
    • He's bad at cooking.
    • Midorima's type of girl is someone who is older.
    • His motto is: "Man proposes, God disposes".[25]
    • The player he has his eyes on is Akashi.
  • Midorima occasionally ends his phrases with "Nanodayo", a combination of three Japanese sentence-ending particles which adds a tone of "an explanation about something that doesn't really need explaining" to his words.
  • Midorima is the only Generation of Miracles member to have not been seen dunking, instead preferring to score by shooting threes. He is also the only member to have not entered the Zone.
  • On Shūtoku High’s team, Midorima is allowed 3 selfish acts a day. [26]
  • Midorima has extremely bad luck if he doesn’t have his lucky item; if he doesn’t carry it with him, he is in constant life threatening situations until he secures it. [27]
  • According to Tetsuya Kuroko, Midorima gets good grades. [28]
  • Midorima’s favorite subjects are Chemistry and Biology.[29]
  • Midorima likes red bean bread.[30]
     

References

  1. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 10, page 10
  2. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 113, page 11
  3. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 10, page 12
  4. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 27, page 17
  5. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 85, page 17
  6. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 89, page 9
  7. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 62, page 14
  8. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 203, page 19
  9. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 183, page 7
  10. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 28, page 6 & 7
  11. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 28, page 16, 17 & 18
  12. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 17, page 9
  13. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 31, page 14
  14. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 178, page 16
  15. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 180, page 9
  16. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 91, page 12
  17. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 175, page 17
  18. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 177, page 16
  19. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 180, page 9
  20. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 181, page 5
  21. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 183, page 9
  22. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 62.5, page 4
  23. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 121, page 18
  24. Kuroko no Baske NG-shuu Special Episode 2
  25. CHARACTERS BIBLE
  26. Kuroko no Basuke Fan Disc 2
  27. Kuroko no Basuke Replace II- “2nd Game: Midorima Shintarou’s Extremely Unlucky Day”
  28. Kuroko no Basuke Special CD Vol. 5 featuring Kagami Taiga
  29. Kuroko no Basuke Special CD Season 3 Vol. 3
  30. Kuroko no Basuke Special CD Season 3 Vol. 3

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