Foxfire

I love sports anime.  I've been hooked ever since Hajime No Ippo in my teens and fell in love with a handful of series' despite not being a fan of boxing or whatever sport they played.  It's the way so many writers and studios pair the sweetness, bitterness and naivete of youth and friendship with well-paced action, fleshed-out and believable characters inside and outside of the sport and their growth through losses and triumphs.

Kuroko... has none of these things.  I've wanted to like this show and get through all 3 seasons, but always sputter out by the time the first 25 episodes or so come to an end.  The production values are high but the characters are weak.  Particularly Kuroko.  I'm sure there's an argument to be made that the entire point of his lack of character is to further illustrate his... unique skillset on the court.  But for me, personally, it just makes the character completely unlikable, unrelatable, boring and at that point, why root for him?

The same can be said for most of the supporting cast of friends and foes.  The unique "skill" of at least one or two of the characters is so ridiculous it wipes the earlier mentioned believability right out the window.  You never really get a glimpse at the past life of the characters or their real motivation outside of being the best.  You don't really see a huge struggle or wall for them to overcome, just a bunch legendary foes to beat one-on-one who are easily as one dimensional as Kuroko himself.  I'm a little surprised this series gets so much love.

Kuroko reminds me a little bit of the main character of Big Windup! (a show which I like despite its flaws) in that both of their social incompetence is bordering unbelivable and mentally deficient/ill.  I say this as a complete recluse myself.  The difference is that Big Windup! at least gives you a reason to root for the main character by giving him some past and some emotion.  Kuroko characters are bland, cardboard cutouts.

If you're easily bored by bad/uninspiring characters and motivations, save yourself some time and go watch a gem like Haikyu! or Hajime no Ippo instead.  If you love basketball and high production values, by all means give it a try.  Maybe you'll get further along than I did.