Someone who has all the qualifications to be a "miracle", yet didn't become one of the Generation of Miracles. Has the same gift as the Generation of Miracles, the last to awaken his talents. "The Miracle who did not become one of the Miracles". And then, he met with his fated shadow. The true light.
Taiga Kagami (火神 大我 Kagami Taiga) is the deuteragonist of the manga Kuroko no Basuke as well as being the ace and power forward of Seirin High. He is Tetsuya Kuroko's basketball colleague and friend. He is determined to defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the best in Japan.
Kagami has exceptional basketball talents and has been called "The Miracle who did not become one of the Miracles".[1]
Kagami is very muscular for a high school boy. He is very tall, which gives him an overwhelming aura, some say has the intensity of a wild tiger.[2] He has dark red hair and red eyes. His eyes are also very narrow and his eyebrows are split. He wears the jersey with the number 10 and wears black and red basketball shoes. He is also occasionally seen with a shiny metal necklace with a ring on it, that represents his friendship with Tatsuya Himuro. When he is seen in his school uniform, he keeps his vest unzipped, with a white shirt underneath.
Kagami is very ambitious, stubborn and determined. He refuses to give up in a difficult situation and is very head strong. He is mostly known for his undying and furious fighting spirit. He enjoys to play against strong opponents and sees no point in playing basketball when there are no stronger opponents. The down-side of this, is that he is also very hot-headed[3] and has a short temper.
When Kuroko brought Tetsuya #2 to the training, it is revealed that Kagami is scared of dogs.[4] This fear originates from his time in America, where he was once bitten by a dog. He overcame this fear when he realized that Tetsuya #2 is good for the team and petted it. He is also a glutton and is able to eat at least five times a normal meal. He is shown to be a great cook.
During the series and especially after the Interhigh and during the Winter Cup, Kagami has matured a lot. Instead of going up against every provocation and becoming hot-headed quickly, he thinks before he acts and has developed some sort of hindsight that lets him simulate a possible one-on-one battle. Even though that he still hates losing, he has somewhat took peace with it. Now, he has become a much more clever player that doesn't plunge into battles without thinking first.[5]
In third grade, Kagami moved to the States and attended school there. He had a hard time making friends because of his foreign appearance, but he met Tatsuya Himuro, who invited him to play street basketball with him. Kagami accepted and made his first friend. Kagami, who was still a beginner back then, admired Himuro's talent in basketball and how he made friends that way. When he asked Himuro how to get friends, Himuro told him it came because of basketball, and asked Kagami to play basketball and Himuro would train him. Himuro taught him a lot and Kagami quickly improved and he also made friends. Himuro and Kagami grew closer to each other Kagami saw Himuro as an older brother. In an act of kindness, Himuro bought two rings, gave one to Kagami and told him that those rings are the proof that they're brothers.[6]
Not long after, the two asked Alexandra Garcia, a retired WNBA-player who spent her time at betting courts, if she could train them. Alex reluctantly accepted and was annoyed by them at first, but as her two pupils got more and more enthusiastic, Alexandra began enjoying teaching them.[7]
Three years later, because Himuro was one year older than Kagami, Himuro graduated before him. They lost eachother out of sight, until they reunited one year later. Kagami was seen playing basketball and he was invited by some boys to play with their team. They told him he'd be of great value in the competition against another team, with the winner getting the court. The boys tell him that the other team recently got a strong player and Kagami is interested. He decides to join their match and is amazed when he sees Himuro there. Himuro tells hims to play fair and square, hinting that he shouldn't go easy just because they know each other. Kagami agrees and he wins against Himuro for the first time.[8]
After that, they played every week and they each lost and won the same amount. After 98 games, Himuro tells Kagami that if he loses the next game, he won't see Kagami as his little brother anymore, because the big brother is always stronger than the little brother. In the 99th game, Kagami finds out that Himuro has injured his wrist. Himuro shoots, misses and Kagami runs for the fast break. He goes up for the lay-up, but couldn't bear to win against Himuro and misses on purpose.
After the game, Himuro punches Kagami. He tells him that the next match, they'll bet on the ring that represents their friendship. He says to treat the previous game as a draw. And tells him that when he loses the next time, he will have to pretend that they never were friends. But before they had a rematch, Kagami flew back to Japan, not seeing Himuro again for 2 years[9] and at the same time stopping his training with Alexandra early.
Kagami is first introduced at Seirin High School's opening ceremony, when he walked in on Koganei and brought him back to the basketball booth. He fills in a registration paper but doesn't write his future goals. When Riko asks him about that, he simply says that Japanese basketball is easy, and leaves.[10]
On the first training, he is seen standing with the other Seirin players. Riko orders them to take off their shirts and she activates her Scan to examine their bodies. When she arrives at Kagami, she sees that his stats are exceptionally high and is very impressed.[11] So impressed, that she even drools at the sight of his muscles. Riko gets her act together and doesn't see Kuroko anywhere. Kuroko reveals himself and Kagami is very surprised to see a Generation of Miracles who looks this weak.
After the training, Kagami goes to a fast-food and orders around 15 hamburgers. He sits at Kuroko's table, without noticing him. Kuroko scares him and Kagami asks what he is doing here. Kuroko replies that he is just watching people. Kagami asks him to tag along somewhere, when he finishes his food.[12]
Kuroko and Kagami go to an empty basketball court and Kagami explains that he's searching for strong basketball players in Japan. He tells Kuroko that he knows he's from the Generation and asks what he is hiding. He challenges Kuroko to a one-on-one, because he wants to see for himself. Kuroko accepts.[13] When Kagami and Kuroko play, Kagami sees that Kuroko is desperately weak. He thinks that Kuroko is still hiding something, but Kuroko denies this, saying that he knows Kagami is stronger than him. Kuroko tells Kagami that he only agreed to play to see Kagami's strength. Kagami gets ready to leave, saying he won't play weak guys. He tells Kuroko that he should just quit basketball. Kuroko refuses and reveals his true fighting spirit. He says that his strength is different than Kagami's strength, saying that he is a shadow.
On the next training, Riko suggests a match, the freshmen against the second-years. Kagami motivates the team by saying that he'd rather play against strong opponents than weak ones. The match begins and Kagami immediately dunks. The match goes on to 11 - 8, with only Kagami scoring.[14] Meanwhile, when Kuroko has the ball, it gets stolen right away. Kagami is very irritated about Kuroko's weakness. After Kagami blocks a shot, the second-years decide to shut him up and triple-team him when he's on the ball. Even when he's not in possession of the ball, he is still guarded by two men. Kagami can't move freely anymore and the first-years fall back to 15 – 31. Furihata and the other freshmen don't see anymore hope for them, but Kagami gets mad and yells that they haven't lost yet. Kuroko suddenly appears behind him, gives him a knee bump and calms him down.[15] In a way...
Kuroko then starts showing his true colors and commences his invisible passes. Kagami is amazed by Kuroko's talent and eventually gets the ball and makes another shot. From there onwards, Kuroko can connect his passes to Kagami and the first-years catch up the score. In the last play, Kuroko steals the ball and drives it up court. He goes for the lay-up, but misses. Kagami suddenly grabs the ball and dunks it in, closing the game with the freshmen's win.
After training, Kagami meets Kuroko in the Maji Burger. Kagami throws him one of his burgers, as a sign of sleight respect. They go outside together and Kagami asks Kuroko about the Generation of Miracles. Kuroko tells him that he is nowhere near their level. He also informs Kagami that one of them will most likely be on top soon. Kagami decides that he will beat them all and become the best player in Japan.[16] Kuroko is skeptical and says that it's impossible. Impossible, unless Kuroko helps Kagami get there. He makes a vow as well, to make Kagami the best in Japan. Kagami agrees with their mutual goal.
The next morning, Kagami is practicing on his own at a street ball court and is thinking about the GoM and how strong they really are. He gets fired up and can't wait to play in a match. At school, Kagami asks Hyūga if he can play in a match, but Hyūga redirects him to Riko. Kagami bursts into Riko's classroom and scares her by suddenly asking if he can join the basketball club for real. Riko tells him she met Kuroko earlier and accepts his request. But before Kagami can leave, she tells him that she will only truly accepts his application next Monday, 8:40 am on the school's rooftop. Kagami leaves and passes a cabinet where an article is displayed about Seirin's basketball club last year's results. He stands still and mumbles that the story is actually amazing. Kuroko suddenly appears besides him and responds, freaking Kagami the hell out. Kagami yells at Kuroko and becomes violent. He thinks by himself that it's strange that such a legendary player joined a no-name school like Seirin but before he can ask Kuroko, Kuroko already left the scene unnoticed.[17]
As the Seirin High team was gathering to leave for the Winter Cup preliminaries, Kagami is seen playing with a ball with his left hand. Furihata says that his left hand got a lot better and Kagami replies that he had trained a lot, even by eating with only his left hand. Furihata also notices that Kagami still can't sleep before a match, by looking at Kagami's red and bloodshot eyes.[18]
At the Winter Cup, Seirin's best of 4 determination match is about to begin and Kagami is a starter. The match commences and Kagami lines up for the jump ball. some time in the game, Josei High is leading with 8 points and Kagami is shown to be completely stuck with two players guarding him at all times. Kagami gets his ball stolen and can't do a lot during the match. Kiyoshi takes the initiative and gets the points and Kuroko is eventually able to pass his Ignite Pass to Kagami on the other side of the court and Kagami jumps so high that he hits his forehead on the rim.[19] The first quarter ends and Kagami is dragged to the bench.
During the latter part of the match, Kagami is still guarded by two men and his frustration is piling up. He is put to his senses by Kuroko, who points out that Imayoshi and Sakurai from Tōō are watching and that Kagami should show something good. Kagami agrees and when he gets the ball, he sees the demotivated defense and breaks through. He is immediatly guarded by Narumi, but that is useless, as Kagami jumps from the freethrow line and dunks the ball. This extraordinary feat, the lane-up, brings Kagami closer to the Generation of Miracles and breaks an imaginary gate of the geniuses.[20] While dunking the ball, Kagami loses his balance and falls on his back. Kuroko helps him up and the match eventually ends with Seirin's win.
As the Seirin team is leaving the WC building, Kuroko and Kagami stay behind. They go to a street basketball court. Kuroko asks if Kagami can be his practice partner for his new Vanishing Drive. Kagami lines up for defense and Kuroko suddenly passes him. Although the ball does slip from his hand, Kagami is amazed and admits that his new drive is unstoppable. He grabs Kuroko's ball and notices that it's completely slippery and worn out. Kuroko says that it's the sixth ball already and Kagami is impressed by Kuroko's intensive training.[21]
The next day, the final league commences. Seirin plays againstSenshinkan High and overwhelms them with their growth over the past months. The match is dominated by Seirin and in the last play of the match, Kuroko uses his invisible pass to reach Kagami under the basket. Kagami jumps and scores a powerful gorilla dunk. He ends the match with Seirin's win.[22]
As the rest of Seirin was training in the mountains with Kagetora, Kagami went back to America in order to meet his old basketball master[23], Alexandra Garcia. While in America, Alexandra gave him the assignment to play gambling basketball for one week. The bet for each match was 10 dollars and his starting money was also 10 dollars, forcing Kagami to win from the bat. Alexandra explains that he has to play like his life depends on it (because it probably will, Kagami played against gangsters and thugs for money) to regain his animal instinct.[24] Kagami played basketball in the States to train his animal instinct and when reaching that, his five sense will be heightened and his reflexes, speed and jumping ability will be brought to the extreme. After that week, Alexandra trained him personally.
When the Winter Cup started, he forgot about the time difference between the US and Japan and missed the opening ceremony. He re-appears when Kuroko is meeting with the rest of the Generation of Miracles. He stands up for Furihata when he was told to go away by Akashi. Akashi approaches and attacks Kagami with Midorima's scissors.[25] Kagami dodges at the last moment. Akashi lets him off the hook, but threatens to end his life if Kagami disobeys him again. It is seen that Akashi's scissors grazed Kagami's face, bleeding a bit. Akashi later leaves.
Kagami is seen in the locker room before the match against Tōō Academy. Kuroko tells him it's time and looks worried about him. Kagami says that it's fine, that he was only shocked about Akashi but that he is only thinking about Aomine, and nothing else. The match begins and both players enter the court. Kagami encounters Aomine and he senses that Kagami has gotten better. Kagami agrees, telling him that he got a little better.[26]
The match begins with the tip-off and Seirin gains the ball. Izuki dribbles the ball up fast and Seirin prepares for a fast and strong offensive, but a strong defensive Tōō awaits them. The ball gets stolen and Aomine eventually dunks the first point. Meanwhile, Kagami has just arrived at the basket and is taunted by Aomine. Kagami brings the ball back in the game by passing to Izuki. The ball goes to Kuroko and he uses his new Ignite Pass Kai and is able to pass to Kiyoshi, who goes for the dunk. However, Wakamatsu appears and almost blocks Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi is still able to pass behind him to Kagami, who suddenly dunks and repays Aomine's favor.[27]
Tōō outruns Seirin and Kagami receives the ball, going up against Aomine the first time since the Interhigh. Kagetora understands that the outcome of this one-on-one will determine the flow of the match and that Kagami must absolutely win.[28] Kagami keeps standing still, but battles Aomine in his head, using a high-level tactical battle. In this simulation, Kagami drives to the basket, makes a cut and loses Aomine for an instant, but Aomine is still able to steal the ball when Kagami pulls up for the shot. Back to reality, Kagami senses that he will lose if he goes up against Aomine now and passes the ball to Izuki. He concludes that he can't beat Aomine, yet.
The match goes on with the shoot-off between Hyūga and Sakurai and Seirin goes into the second quarter with a tie. Kuroko decides to use his Vanishing Drive on Aomine and Kagami helps him by screening Kuroko's guard, Susa. As always with the Vanishing Drive, Kagami directs the attention of Aomine to him while Kuroko drives past him. When the drive and later the Ignite Pass Kai both fail against Aomine, Kagami tries to block him, but Aomine shoots besides him and scores. Seirin takes a time-out and while Kuroko is subbed out and is feeling despair, Kagami tells him that his effort wasn't futile, that he will handle Aomine untill Kuroko comes back.[29]
While stepping back on the court, Kagami is thinking that this time, he will save Kuroko instead of otherwise. In the first play, Kagami passes to Kiyoshi. Aomine is dissapointed, but Kagami tells him he has no intention of running away. Tōō's offense and Aomine carries the ball. He prepares for his infamous change of pace, but Kagami suddenly dives forward and goes for the ball, in an attempt to steal it. Aomine pulls it back just in time and passes Kagami. He pulls up for a shot, but Kagami reacts quickly and jumps behind Aomine for the ball. Because of Kuroko's absence, he was able to unleash his true power and he slams the ball away.[30]
Seeing an awakened Kagami, Aomine aknowledges him and starts to get serious. He speeds up, but Kagami can still keep up. Aomine then bounces the ball through Kagami's legs, high up in the air. Aomine amazes everyone when he takes the ball from Wakamatsu and scores with his back turned to the ring. In Seirin's offense, Kagami gets the ball and takes Koga's screen. He dribbles to the right, but Aomine shifts past Koga and is right on Kagami's tail. Kagami sees this, does a crossover to the left and takes off for the shot in front of Koga. He dodges Aomine's block and scores the shot.[31] He later says to Koga that his screen wasn't really necessary and that he should take Aomine on his own.
Back in Tōō's offense, Aomine goes for his infamous formless shot, with Kagami jumping in front of him. The ball was supossedly out of Kagami's reach, but his new strength enables him to block Tōō's ace on his full power shot. Kagami finally begins to surpass Aomine. He later taunts Aomine that he doesn't mind entertaining him, if he has that wide of a margin.
The match goes on with face-off after face-off between Kagami and Aomine, with Aomine almost breaking through, but Kagami's defense stays steady. He amazes everyone in the audience with his strength and especially the other Generation of Miracles. The reason why Kagami is able to keep up with Aomine's top speed is because he is only relying on his animal, raw instinct.[32] Not only against Aomine, Kagami is also dominating in rebounds.
When Kagami grabs another rebound, Seirin's fastbreak begins. He passes the ball to Izuki, who passes it back at the other side of the court. Kagami goes up against Aomine and surprisingly takes off for a shot. His stance is similar to Aomine's formless shot and the shot takes off, but only for Aomine to graze the ball for an instant. The ball flies towards the goal, bounces off the board, circles around in the ring and flies out.[33] Half-time is reached and Seirin is only two points behind.
During half-time, Kagami seeks for Kuroko and finds him outside, just chillin'. He throws him a vest for warmth. He urges Kuroko to get back inside, but Kuroko asks Kagami if he enjoys basketball. Kuroko then tells Kagami his history with Aomine and Teikō and how they became friends. He concludes with telling Kagami that he really wants to see Aomine smile again. Kagami says that it's not sure that he'll change if they win, but that winning gives a better shot than losing.[34]
The third quarter begins and Tōō starts its attack. Aomine gets the ball with Kagami guarding him. Aomine immediately speeds up and is even faster than before. He drives past Kagami. Kuroko then jumps in front and gets an offensive foul out of Aomine. Kagami helps him up and thanks him. After Kuroko gets sealed by Imayoshi, Aomine challenges him to a second round of their duel.[35]
Because of Kuroko's and the upperclassmen's inability to act, Kagami decides to do it himself. But before he can, he feels angst from an image of defeat earlier on in the game. In that moment, Aomine lunges forward and steals the ball. He drives towards the basket and Kagami catches up after Aomine had to pass Hyūga. Aomine goes for the dunk, but spins around his axis past Kagami and dunks it. As Aomine walks ahead, Kagami does not feel fear or frustration, but a pure feeling of respect and admiration, since Aomine has reached the highest point of basketball skills.[36]
Seirin High has reached the point where it has exhausted all its options and is likely to lose. But then Kuroko activates his Misdirection Overflow and gives his teammates the possibility to use the Vanishing Drive. After Izuki and Hyūga, Kagami does it too, against Aomine, successfully and dunks. The third quarter ends with an 11-point difference and at the beginning of the fourth quarter, Aomine goes up against Kagami with a smile... Yet again, Aomine triumphs and scores. Kagami is troubled about how to stop Aomine, but Hyūga sets him at ease by telling him that the current restraint is good as well. During Tōō's next attack, Aomine gets the ball from Sakurai, does a fast crossover and passes Kagami. He later gets a three-point play due to a foul by Kiyoshi. Kuroko then asks Kagami and Kiyoshi to triple-team Aomine.[37]
At the morning of the semi-finals of the Winter Cup, Kagami wakes up in his bed and is shocked to learn that a naked Alexandra is laying next to him. He throws clothes at her in the same way as his new move, the Meteor Jam, resulting in a comedic effect. Kagami moves on to make breakfast and asks Alexandra about Tatsuya the day before. She says he's fine and that she knows Tatsuya also wants to remain friends. She says that Kagami should focus on the next match before Tatsuya and asks if he's ready. Kagami replies affirmative, but soon learns that his shoes are broken. He calls Riko and after being yelled at, is told to go along with Kuroko to shop for new shoes. In the city, Kagami is having trouble finding good shoes because of his large size. When he enters yet another shop, someone suddenly appears before him on stairs and jumps over Kagami in a somersault. The stranger apologizes and leaves, but Kagami sees that he is wearing a Rakuzan High jersey. Kuroko then calls Momoi to help him with his shoe problem.[38]
Kagami and Kuroko meet with Momoi and surprisingly, Aomine also came along. Kagami is irritated by Aomine's presence, a mutual feeling. Momoi gives Kagami a shoe box, with inside the same basketball shoes as Kagami used to wear, but with different colors. Apparently, they are Aomine's spare Jordans. Aomine says that he can have them, but only if he defeats him in a one-on-one. Kagami is destroyed, but Aomine gives him the basketball shoes anyway. Aomine explains that it's for the sake of playing against Kise, that he shouldn't be at a disadvantage because of bad shoes. Kagami accepts them. When Kagami and Kuroko arrive at the WC building, they learn of Rakuzan's line-up, with one Generation of Miracles member (Akashi), but also with three Uncrowned Kings[39], one of which Kagami met earlier.
The Seirin team goes to watch the first semi-finals, Rakuzan High vs Shūtoku High. At half-time, Seirin and Kaijō enter the court to warm up. Akashi comes face to face with Kagami and Kuroko and he greets Kuroko. Kagami towers before him and tells Akashi that he will definitely crush him and Kise too. Akashi replies that he certainly acknowledges his strength, but that only those who serve him are allowed to look him in the eye and gives him a warning that no one who opposes him is allowed to look down on him. He uses his Emperor Eye and presses on Kagami's shoulder, causing him to fall to the ground. Akashi leaves and Kagami is shocked.[40]
He is a naturally gifted player that trained in the States prior to coming back to Japan. Kagami is a very powerfull and fast player that is able to execute the fast cuts that can foil even Aomine. His reflexes are top-notch, as he is able to react extremely quick when facing a ball handling expert such as Aomine. He could also block Aomine's formless shot due to his reflexes and sheer skill.
Even though his skill in undeniably strong, in regular matches, he is still being held back by Kuroko. He relies on Kuroko a lot and could be thinking that he has to join up with him to defeat the Generation of Miracles. That is what keeps him incomplete, what is hindering his potential. Only when Kagami isn't relying on Kuroko, even more, when Kagami must help Kuroko, he can drag out his full potential and become even stronger.[41] When this happens, his jumping power becomes even greater and his overall abilities are greatly heightened. His skill becomes similar to Aomine's, somehow imitating his flexible streetball. Another reason for his sudden peak in ability, is the control of his animal instinct.[42] This instinct enables him to play purely on feeling and greatly enhance his five senses, making his reflexes and speed top notch. This only occured in the match against Tōō Academy.
While he is a powerful all-around player, Kagami's unique skill lies in his ability to jump to great heights. This skill facilitates not only his most common move, the dunk, but also allows him to defend well against taller players; he even uses it to break Midorima's perfect shooting. When he makes a jumpshot, he also stays in the air longer than the blocker, making it quasi unblockable.[43] While he generally jumps with his left leg in order to allow him the use of his more dexterous right arm, his right is far stronger, allowing him to touch the top of the backboard as opposed to just hitting the ring.[44] The drawback to this ability is that, like certain members of the Generation of Miracles, his body is still too underdeveloped. Thus prolonged use of his jumping prowess can cause damage to his body.
Having trained extensively since the Interhigh school championships, he can now dunk from the free-throw line, a feat that may have put him on a level with the Generation of Miracles.[45] He is also able to jump from far away in a difficult position and still be able to block a shot.
A normal alley-oop is when a team-mate throws the ball up high and the scoring player catches the ball and dunks it. Kagami has found a way to do this by himself, that is instead of receiving the ball by passing, shooting the ball himself, grabbing and dunking the ball when it misses.[46] This was a response to Midorima's shooting spree in Seirin's match against Shūtoku High. He tried this again in the match against Tōō Academy, but was screened out by Susa, Kagami being unable to reach the goal.[47] This is also the one obvious weakness of the skill.
A lane up is a dunk from the free-throw line. Kagami had the ability to dunk normally and very high, but in the Winter Cup, against Josei High, he ended the game by breaking through his defense, jumping from the free-throw line and dunking.[48] A lane up is very difficult, because being able to reach the basket after jumping such a distance is only possible with an extra-ordinary jumping strength, the kind that Kagami possesses.
A new dunk Kagami learned from Alexandra. Kagami uses his jumping power (although while in the Zone) and jumps from the free-throw line, like with his lane up. But instead of jumping straight to reach the basket, Kagami chooses for height. This way, he can out-jump Murasakibara and is able to launch the ball through the basket. Kagami's way of throwing the ball directly into the ring is similar to a meteor crashing into earth (hence the name).[49]
Kuroko's Vanshing Drive is in fact a collaboration with Kagami. While Kuroko is able to pass his opponent's field of vision by bending over and moving in a cross-diagonal move, Kagami makes the misdirection a whole by purposely drawing the attention from the opponent to him, away from Kuroko. This makes it able to perform a successful Vanishing Drive. More details about the Vanishing Drive can be found here
In Seirin's match against Tōō in the Winter Cup, Kagami displayed a never before seen skill, a high level tactical battle. This is a highly realistic simulation of a basketball one-on-one in ones minds by reading his opponents subtle feints or moves. This is only possible when the player possesses a skill to accurately read the opponent's strength and movements.[50] Kagami used this to play a simulation of a one-on-one against Aomine and accurately determine that he would lose.
Zone is a state of being that Kagami accesses when he was under the pressure of losing to Tōō again and wanted to protect everyone against the ace of GoM, Aomine. Under this influence, he is "in the zone", which means that nobody else can stop him unless he or she is in the Zone as well. When a person is in the Zone, some sort of sparks or currents of electricity seem to gather in the player's eyes, indicating that the individual has entered the Zone and gained his full potential as a basketball player. When Kagami is in the Zone, his reflexes, speed and especially jumping power are greatly augmented.
A move that Kuroko and Kagami often execute. One of the opponents tries to pass, but Kuroko intercepts the ball. He smacks the ball onto the ground in the direction of the basket. Kagami jumps high in the sky, grabs the ball and dunks it in. They have first showed this in the match against Shinkyō Academy[51] and did it again in the game against Seihō High.[52]
During the match against Shinkyō Academy; Kagami had to defend against Papa Mbaye Siki, a foreign player who is 10 cm taller than Kagami. Before the match Riko had Mitobe teach Kagami how to defend against a player taller than yourself. This technique is simply putting a lot pressure on the regular defense, with the thought "I won't let you play as you want" in your head. When a player is pressured like this, he will experience playing a lot harder and won't get ready as easily.[53]Tanimura called this pressure killing intent.[54] So far, Kagami only had to use this against Dad.
To Kagami, Kuroko is an extremely reliable teamate despite his poor abilities in other areas of basketball apart from passing. Though they don't talk to each other much outside of basketball, they understand each other well and often hang out after school together. They understand each other and can motivate, calm down, and share feelings with one another. Their different plays compliment each other perfectly, and they make a mutual promise to become the best in Japan. Kuroko considers Kagami to be his 'light', while he himself is a shadow. When the light is strong, the shadow also grows stronger and makes the light stand out even more. They often have won matches due to their cooperation plays.
Kagami and Himuro became friends in the USA while they were still little, sharing a mutual passion and talent of basketball. They were very close and considered themselves big brother and little brother, with Kagami being the little one. As a token of their brotherhood, the each have a matching ring that they keep around a necklace. They also became the first pupils of Alexandra, after long pursuing her to become their teacher.
They briefly split but later re-found each other when they were separately playing for a street basketball team in the same city. As the two teams were rivals, Kagami and Himuro played against each other a lot, but the win-lose ratio staid the same. At 49-49, Himuro stated that if Kagami won the next match, he would no longer be consider as Himuro's little bro. Kagami lost on purpose, angering Himuro. He wouldn't accept it and the ratio stayed 49-49. They were separated another time when Kagami moved back to Japan.
A long time later, when Kagami and Himuro were both back in Japan and both joined a strong basketball team, they reunited at the Street Basketball 5 on 5 event. They would not reconcile and continued their rivalry, facing off at the finals. However, they were unable to finish the match due to bad weather, but Kagami did promise Himuro that they would meet and face off against each other again at the Winter Cup. Both boys advanced to the quarter-finals and found themselves against each other yet again. It was then revealed that Himuro was always resentful of Kagami's talent that Himuro didn't have. He became jealous and foremost frustrated that he as an "ordinary person" could not reach the level of genius like Kagami is doing. Himuro also regrets that Kagami sees him only as a brother and not as a rival.
After a long struggle, Kagami emerges victorious. Despite Kagami clearly being better than Himuro, Himuro faced and accepted it. With the help of Kuroko, Kagami has now come to the conclusion that they can just be brothers and rivals at the same time. Even though Kagami hasn't been able to convey his feelings, he is aware that Himuro feels the same way.
Alexandra, a.k.a. Alex was Kagami and Himuro's basketball instructor when they were still in elementary school in the States. Kagami is often exasperated by Alex because she has the habit of kissing the people she likes (including him), wandering around his house completely naked, and being rather show-offy. Kagami does, however, respect her and her basketball skills and listens to her when she lectures him. Other than the kisses she treats Kagami and Himuro as if they were her own sons. She loves them both because they inspired her to teach basketball to kids. She is currently living in Kagami's apartment with him for the duration of her stay in Japan.
While Kagami didn't get along with any of them, but he also mentioned because all of them are competing, it would be weird if he got along with any of them. However Kagami had expressed while he respected their skill he finds all of them arrogant peoples who get on his nerve.
Ryōta Kise: Kise was the first of Generation of Miracles Kagami met, and Kagami found Kise exceed his expectation as part of the ultimate team. Kise at first acted unfriendly toward Kagami due to Kuroko's refusal to join him in Kaijō but later he acknowledged Kagami and started to call him Kagamicchi like he did his former teammates. Kagami however dislike the nickname Kise gave him. Because Kagami beat Kise early on in the series, Kise has been seeking a rematch ever since. In quarter-finals of Winter Cup Kagami said he wanted to fulfill their promise with Kise to have a rematch again and that Kise won't be defeated by Haizaki. Kise won the match because his determination to fulfill said promise with Kagami and Kuroko.[55]
Shintarō Midorima: While Kagami didn't get along with any of the Generation of Miracles, he admitted Midorima as someone he couldn't deal with anyway. Midorima also shared the same opinion in regard to Kagami, as someone he couldn't stand. Kagami's dislike of Midorima resulted to him severely depressed when he was able to pass his test with the help of Midorima's rolling pencil. In spite of their tense relationship, Midorima acknowledges Kagami as formidable rival after their first match. He even went as far as giving tips to Kagami to improve his skill and point out his mistake so that Kagami won't be defeated again until they have their rematch.
Daiki Aomine: Kagami may have seen Aomine as rival more than he did other Generation of Miracles especially because both of them are the same type of player, as pointed out by Midorima. Kagami commented all Generation of Miracles are arrogant but even then Aomine was exceptional when the ace came to challenge him.[56] But in spite of that, Kagami admired Aomine for his skill and formidable power, which have reached the pinnacle of basketball. While Aomine was in the Zone, Kagami did not feel fear but rather admiration. After their second match Aomine viewed Kagami as worthy rival, someone he has been looking for so long to keep enjoying basketball. He even gave Kagami his spare shoes before the semi-final of Winter Cup. It's said many times that Kagami and Aomine shared a lot of similarities, both in skill and personality.
Seijūrō Akashi: Their meeting wasn't a good one, when he introduced himself to Akashi, Akashi used Midorima's scissors and attacked Kagami and shocking him. During their second meeting Kagami declares that he will crush him should they meet in the final, while Akashi does acknowlege Kagami's talent he refuses to allow Kagami to look him in the eye viewing kagami as an opponent who opposes him, this is shown when him easily pulls down Kagami and telling him to know his place.
Kagami, like any other freshmen of Seirin, fears their coach Riko Aida and their captain and would cower in fear whenever any of them are in on rampage. He was seen not particularly closer to any of them but respected them as seniors in his own awkward manner, especially when in a couple of time he forced himself to speak in polite manner to Riko.
Kagami however recently seems to be close with Kiyoshi like Kuroko and admired the older boy for his perseverance and skill.
In the original datebook, Characters Bible, an early character concept of Kagami is seen. He is still tall and muscular, but his hairstyle is completely different. Instead of red and dark red, it was black with a wide stripe of blonde in the middle. His hair was also short and spiky. His name was originally Shigehiro Akiwara.
His name, Taiga, is a common Japanese way of pronouncing and writing (in katakana) "tiger".
While Kagami's name is associated with the "tiger", Himuro's name means "dragon". In Chinese mythology, the Azure Dragon of the East and the White Tiger of the West are eternal rivals. This rivalry is further expressed in their surnames: "Hi" means "ice" while "Ka" translates as "fire". These elements, however, does not match the ones represented by the mythological creatures (where metal belongs to the Tiger and wood belongs to the Dragon).
On the first character poll, Kagami ranked 3rd, with 1116 votes.
He went down to 4th place on the second poll, with 1036 votes.
Apart from basketball, his skills also include walking on his hands.[60]
Kagami has been given the nickname Baka-gami (lit. idiot-gami, freely translated as Kagamidiot), due to his simple-mindedness and short temper.
Kagami would become a fireman if he had an alternative job. According to Character Bible, his type of girl who is elegant. His motto is "Eat well, play well".[61]
Kagami does travelling (which is a violation of the rules) when he is running along with Kise in the first opening.
As revealed in the novels, Kagami is afraid of ghosts.
Kagami wears Michael Jordan's signature shoe, the Nike Air Jordan I. He previously wore the same brand, in a black and red color scheme, but he has broke that pair and received a new one from Aomine, this one having the original Air Jordan scheme, white, red and black.[64]
He's the tallest player among the first-years (2nd being Fukuda and 3rd Kawahara). Kuroko is the smallest.
Edit
Added by LeoWyatt
Added by Bereisgreat
Added by NaruIchi24
Added by 5zczurzyca
