For the sports lover, a sports anime or manga is just what they would be looking for, but what about those who don’t like sports or who like sports with a little extra something?
Well, Noburo Takagi got just the perfect series for you, written by himself, the famous sports manga, Kuroko no Basuke (黒子のバスケ, Kuroko no Basuke, lit. Kuroko’s Basketball.)
Not only he focused on the sports lover fans, but he also added that comedy element just for those who like that something extra, and for something more than that, he really played a good move pairing playful and prettyMomoi with introverted Kuroko.
Right after Momoi was introduced in the series, not only the boys in the series went crazy, but even fans couldn’t hold their love for her.
Moreover, because Momoi was so close to Kuroko, many wondered what exactly they were and wanted to know more about them.
Since Momoi was extra lovey-dovey with Kuroko, it was self-evident that she was in love with him but was she really? If yes, why was she in love with him, and how did she even meet Kuroko?
If you want to know the answers, make sure you stick with us till the end but first, let us know a little about these characters.
Who was Kuroko?
Tetsuya Kuroko (黒子 テツヤ Kuroko Tetsuya) or just Kuroko was the Phantom sixth player of the Generation of Miracles at the Teikō Junior High.
The day he saw a basketball match on tv, he got very interested and started playing basketball on a nearby court. At first, he couldn’t join any teams because there weren’t any, but later on, he was on the team of Teiko Junior high, where he was believed to be among the best players.
Starting off with just a tiny court to becoming a regular with the Seirin, Kuroko did his best when it came to achieving his dream.
Kuroko had a different personality while playing and when he was off the court. Having a straight deadpan, and straightforward personality, you wouldn’t think Kuroko much of a ladies’ man, unlike his fellow teammates.
While he had the utmost respect for the seniors, he still believed that the juniors needed to give respect too.
He was a hard-working person and always tried to satisfy the team’s needs above his own. However, he had no presence and was quite discreet as well, which was the reason why the guys couldn’t believe he got a girl like Momoi.
Furthermore, a man of his own beliefs, Kuroko was a different person off the court. Not only was he good with his friends, but he was equally a gentleman when dealing with a woman.
For instance, when Momoi was crying over how Aomine mistreated her, Kuroko handled it like a true gentleman and made her calm, even lecturing Kagami that he should deal with women more delicately.
Also, his friends Kagami, Kise, and Aomine were shocked to see how easily he could cheer Momoi up and even knew what to do on a date.
Who was Momoi?
The pretty, bubbly, and cute girl, Satsuki Momoi (桃井 さつき Momoi Satsuki) was the manager of Tōō Academy’s basketball team as well as the former manager of the Generation of Miracles at the Teikō Junior High.
Momoi had always been a basketball team manager since Junior high school or even maybe before that. Since she had been managing a basketball team for so long, she had a lot of experience with basketball.
Maybe because she loved sports very much, it also helped her become more outgoing and energetic. When it came to socializing, she quickly made friends and had a very lovable and bubbly personality.
Now, just because she was a pretty and bubbly girl didn’t mean she was not good at her job. As a manager, she scouted many teams and reviewed their playing patterns so that she could guide them.
Similarly, she was also able to study the abilities of each and every player on the team and also could foresee their moves, excellent ability for a manager to possess.
While she is earnest about her work, her outgoing personality lets her have some fun, and because she has a romantic vision of love, fell in love too quickly.
Sometimes she acted flirty, especially with Tetsuya Kuroko. And even though it’s a sports anime, we are not complaining, are we?
What episode did they meet?
So, now that we know about these two and a little about their personalities let’s get back to the topic and find out when did they meet.
If we were to follow the series, their official encounter took place in season 1, episode 14, You Look Just Like Him (そっくりだね, Sokkuridane) of the anime, which corresponded to the manga chapters 36,38 and 39.
The episode started with Seirin’s encounter with Kise, Kasamatsu, Midorima, and Takao. Later, Kuroko, Midorima, Kise, and Kagami were left at the same table when Midorima warned Kagami about Aomine.
Just when they were about to leave the restaurant, they encountered a dog and adopted him, calling him Tetsuya #2 because he had similar eye color to Kuroko.
Now, after leaving the restaurant the tea, they headed back to the pool to train, where they met the Generation of Miracles’ former manager, Momoi.
Introducing herself as Kuroko’s girlfriend, Momoi greeted everyone as she was good at gathering information. Recognized each of the Seirin’s starting players.
Kuroko’s friends were shocked to see such beauty at their school and were equally surprised that Kuroko was even acquainted with such a beautiful girl.
Now, although their first encounter was shown in this particular episode, it was actually not their first meeting because just in this same episode, Momoi talked about how she fell in love with Kuroko when he gave her an ice popsicle stick way back when they were in middle school.
Furthermore, Kuroko and Momoi had been friends since Junior high school when they met each other as a part of the Teikō basketball team.
Did Momoi love Kuroko?
Of course, she loved him. I mean- wasn’t it way too obvious? Not only did she love Kuroko, but that girl was head over heels for him.
Well, she had not always loved him to begin with. Although they were a part of the same high school basketball team, she didn’t think much of him because of his size and lack of presence off the court.
But little did she know, the threads of fate were weaving something unexpected for her. As time went by and she saw him practicing, training hard to prove his worth on and off the court, she began to see him in a different light.
Her opinion of Kuroko changed completely as she was impressed by his hard work and amazed at his determination. So, after that, every time she was around Kuroko, she occasionally got surprised and flustered.
It made her wonder why she was like that every time Kuroko surprised her with his presence, to the point that she began to wonder if she was starting to develop feelings for him.
Now, her feelings toward Kuroko were confirmed when she immediately fell in love with Kuroko after he gave her his popsicle stick to her. You might be wondering, just a popsicle stick, and she fell in love?
Well, that popsicle stick was not your ordinary stick, as it was a token for free ice cream. Since everyone else was having ice cream and sharing it with their friends, Momoi had no one to have it with.
So, receiving an ice cream from Kuroko meant a lot to her, and that was when she fell hard for Kuroko and continued to be clingy towards him.
Even in the Replace novel, it was revealed that Kuroko had once challenged to take on five high schoolers in a basketball match all by himself because they were harassing Momoi.
Seeing Kuroko stand up for her, and protect her from the boys who were harassing her, made Momoi fall more deeply in love with him.
It could be seen very clearly just how much in love she was with Kuroko as she would constantly flirt with him by going home together and giving him water during his training sessions.
Because she was such an outgoing girl, she didn’t really hide her feelings and openly delivered her love to Kuroko.
She was so in love that she wanted to go to the same high school as Kuroko, but because she thought it was more important to keep an eye on Aomine, her childhood friend, she didn’t join Kuroko. Instead, she went with Aomine, so she could keep him out of trouble.
Did they end up together?
Well, by now, we are very familiar with how much Momoi loved Kuroko, but the real question arises; were her feelings reciprocated?
We do know that because of Momoi’s naive nature, she instantly fell in love with Kuroko after he gave her free ice cream, but it was not the same case for Kuroko.
To this day, it is still unknown whether Kuroka has returned her feelings or not or if he is even aware of them, as we know how blunt that guy could get when it comes to romance.
So, being the manager of the basketball team that Kuroko used to play for, Momoi and him surely did get closer, and Momoi did bring her A game to make advances. Yet, they were never really answered by Kuroko, who, on his part seemed to be a bit clueless.
However, just because he was clueless and his true feelings towards Momoi weren’t mutual didn’t mean that he didn’t care for her. In fact, he deeply cared for her and treated her very kindly.
Even though he didn’t actually see her in a romantic way, he cared for her as a close friend, even calling her in times of need; such as when Kuroko wanted to get Kagami a new pair of basketball shoes, he immediately called Kagami for her assistance, which showed that he did rely on her a lot.
If we were to talk about Momoi’s advances being neglected, they were not truly neglected as Kuroko never failed to return them in kindness.
Frankly, though Kuroko never admitted Momoi to be his girlfriend, he was attentive to her as he knew how to calm her down and even was there for her when she was crying over a fight with Aomine.
Momoi was very true to her feelings and expressed them openly, but Kuroko was a shy guy and was more reserved. However, he never failed to show that he cared for her as he was always very polite to her and even stood up on her behalf.
And not to mention, he even went out on a date, although judging by Kuroko’s personality, he might have thought it of more as an outing between friends, but still, he agreed to it and even gave her a stuffed toy as a gift.
Maybe guys do need to learn a thing or two from Kuroko!
Sadly both the anime and manga ended, but they didn’t end up together. Many fans were certainly disheartened, but since it was sports series, it was predictable that they wouldn’t have ended up together.
However, even if they didn’t end up together, fans still cheered them on as they knew that Momoi was the one character that Kuroko actually treated with the most care and even saved her many times.
Furthermore, in the Light novels, Kuroko was seen accompanying Momoi whenever she was alone, which gave fans a little hope that they would end up together. So, even before they met each other in the series, they had a special bond between them for a long time.
Their bond and friendship added a lot of fun elements and spice to the anime. The fans absolutely loved it, and so did we. So, let’s hope that someday in the near future, we might get to see them together.
