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Actually, you could search all over the world, you wouldn't find another guy like you, who's smiling when playing defense…

Iwamura, about Tsugawa

Tomoki Tsugawa (津川 智紀 Tsugawa Tomoki) is Seihō High's shooting guard who is infamous for his pressure defense.


Appearance[]

Tsugawa has a shaven head, which has given him a lot of remarks. He has heavy eyebrows and is often seen with a smile on his face. He is of average height and build.

He wears the Seihō uniform with the number 10.

Personality[]

Tsugawa enjoys playing basketball very much. He is known as a hard worker who always tries his best and gives it his all. He is also loud, annoying and sometimes way too fired up. Just as Kagami, he thinks that a stronger opponent makes it much more fun to play.[1] He can also be unthoughtful and often directly says what he thinks, insulting or hurting someone by accident.

History[]

Tsugawa middle school anime

Tsugawa in Junior High school

When Tsugawa was in Junior High school, he played with his team against Teikō Junior High, against the Generation of Miracles. It has been seen that he guarded Kise and that Kise was unable to move freely, even forcing the shot clock violation on him. He asks his name and Tsugawa says that it's fun playing against a frustrated Kise, to which Kise shouts that he wants to switch players with someone.[2] Tsugawa's team eventually lost, since Teikō was undefeated that time.

Story[]

Interhigh preliminaries[]

Tsugawa's team Seihō High successfully passed through four rounds in the Interhigh preliminaries of Tokyo. In the fifth round, they played against Kitawada High. Some friends of Riko went to that match and recorded it for the Seirin team to investigate. It was seen on the video that Seihō overwhelmingly won, mostly because of their defense with Tsugawa at the top. Kuroko also told Kagami that he knows Tsugawa, that Teikō Junior High played against him in Junior High school.[3]

Semi-finals[]

Excited Tsugawa anime

Tsugawa before the match

Tsugawa first appears before Seirin's match against Seihō. As they were warming up, Tsugawa approached Kagami and notes that his red hair is scary, annoying Kagami. He turns to his captain Iwamura and asks if this the only strong guy in Seirin that he talked about.[4] His insult to Seirin irritate Riko and Hyūga. Iwamura shuts Tsugawa up and apologizes.

Next, in the locker room, Iwamura asks Tsugawa if he can guard Kagami and stop him. Tsugawa is fired up and looks forward to defending him. Tsugawa notices that he's the only guy who's ever that excited in defense.[5]

He lines up at the beginning of the match and immediately starts to defend on Kagami, not letting him through at all. This and the defense of his fellow-players, lead to a 12 – 0 lead for Seihō. When Tsugawa is told to keep it down and to leave some of his strength for the rest of the match, he says that it's fine and that Kagami isn't that much of a problem. Kagami is irritated and makes an offensive foul on Tsugawa.

Kagami passes Tsugawa anime

Kagami passes Tsugawa

Seirin can't break through the defense and is stuck. After Riko explains how Seihō is moving so freely, Kagami goes up against Tsugawa. Lead by the thought that they still have the reflexes as high school boys, Kagami makes lightning-fast cuts and passes Tsugawa. Tsugawa grins and says that it only begins now, that it's clearly more fun when it's hard like this.[6]

During Seihō's quick-speed offense, Tsugawa goes for the lay-up, but receives a foul from Kagami. Later, when the ball goes out of bounds, Tsugawa runs into Kuroko. Tsugawa is shocked to see him, because he didn't even notice his existence during the match. He takes Kuroko as a back-up player and tells him to do his best and not to be depressed when Seihō defeats them. Kuroko quickly proves him wrong by breaking Seihō's defense and even stealing Tsugawa's ball later on.[7]

The first quarter ends and Tsugawa is perplexed to see that the score is tied. Iwamura sets him straight by yelling not to underestimate them and Tsugawa shuts up immediately. After the time-out, Tsugawa regains fighting spirit and pressures Kagami in defense. Unfortunately, it isn't very effective against Kagami and Kuroko's co-operation plays. After seeing how exhausted Kagami is, Tsugawa is approached by Kasuga, who asks him if he's happy to see that his defense is working well. Tsugawa agrees, but adds that it's still not enough. He continues by saying that Kagami is still the only one scoring. At the next Seirin offense, Tsugawa plays dirty and provokes an offensive foul on Kagami, planning to foul him out.[8] When Kagami and Kuroko are pulled out, Tsugawa severely underestimates Seirin and is yelled at by Hyūga.

Pre-Winter Cup[]

Seiho at the streetball tournament anime

Tsugawa defeated at the street ball tournament

Tsugawa reappears at the Street Basketball 5 on 5 evenement. He and Seihō High re-encounter Seirin High when they are registering for the street tournament.[9] They sit on a lawn to talk and eat and when Taiga Kagami asks how his senpais' training is going, he tells him he is being rude. Tsutomu Iwamura explains that they have retired and Seihō leaves, dragging a raged Tsugawa behind them.

He asks Iwamura if he knows Teppei Kiyoshi, because they seemed familiar. Iwamura says that apart from Atsushi Murasakibara, Kiyoshi is the strongest center he has ever seen. After hearing that Murasakibara joined Yōsen High, Tsugawa says that he saw someone with a Yōsen High bag a while back. It is announced that the first round is starting and that Seihō is asked onto the court. There, they are all shockingly defeated by Tatsuya Himuro.[10] Because the scene shifts to Kagami and Himuro, Tsugawa isn't further seen.

Winter Cup[]

During the semi-finals of the Winter Cup, Kaijō vs Seirin, Tsugawa was very briefly seen, when Satoshi Tsuchida commented that Taiga Kagami's received defensive pressure resembled Tsugawa's. As a classic Japanese joke, Tsugawa is seen in casual clothes, sneezing.[11]

Skill[]

Physical Ability
 
7/10 Tsugawa chart
Technique
 
7/10
Stamina
 
10/10
Mental Strength
 
8/10
Special Ability
 
4/10
Tsugawa's defense

Tsugawa defends against Taiga Kagami

Tsugawa is a starter of Seihō High, meaning that he's an above average player, able to make lay-ups and shots. Like the rest of his team, Tsugawa was trained with martial arts techniques and has heightened his muscle strength, stamina and speed. It is noted, that his speed was able to keep up against Taiga Kagami and his vertical ability was near that of his as he blocked him at the rim.[12]

He is especially known for his pressure defense. He can guard an opponent very close and limit his movements.[13] He does, however, go at it from the start and is in danger of tiring too soon, though this is made up by his incredible stamina. According to Tetsuya Kuroko, Tsugawa shut down Ryōta Kise with his defense back in their middle school days.

During his game against Seirin High, he gave Kagami a hard time finding an opening to score, with Kagami noting his defense being almost as good as Kise. He is also proficient in forcing fouls by jumping in front of a driver.

A chart of his skills were included with his profile in the databook Characters Bible. His stats are average, but he excels notably in stamina and mental strength.

Etymology[]

  • The name Tomoki means "wisdom, intellect" (智) (tomo) and "chronicle" (紀) (ki).
  • Tomoki's surname Tsugawa means "haven, port, harbor, ferry" (津) (tsu) and "river, stream" (川) (kawa/gawa).

Trivia[]

  • On the first character poll, Tsugawa ranked 22nd, with 82 votes.
  • Tsugawa's jersey number changes instantly from 8 to 10 and vice versa on multiple occasions in the anime against Seirin High in the Interhigh Preliminaries. His jersey number also changes in the manga (no.9 in chapter 19 and no.10 in chapter 20 onwards).
  • Tsugawa's NBA counterpart would be Tony Allen, both are shooting guards that are known for their incredible defense and unlimited stamina.
  • According to KUROFES:
    • His motto: "Do with all your might"
    • Favorite food: Chicken wings
    • Hobby: Mahjong
    • Special skill: Ability to tell what mahjong tile it is just by touching
    • Favorite subject: Geography
    • He is in the health committee
    • His family consists of his father, mother and two elder brothers
    • His best skill is defence
    • He likes yurufuwa (calm, relaxed, with soft fluffy hair) girls
    • He spends his free time playing mahjong with friends
    • He started playing basketball after becoming addicted to it during P.E. class
    • He has his eyes on Kagami Taiga

References[]

  1. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 20, page 21
  2. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 18, page 17
  3. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 18, page 15
  4. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 19, page 7
  5. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 19, page 10
  6. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 20, page 21
  7. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 21, page 16
  8. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 22, page 12
  9. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 75, page 8
  10. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 75, page 18
  11. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 192, page 5
  12. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 20, page 15
  13. Kuroko no Basuke chapter 20, page 4

Navigation[]

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