KnB 30-Days Challenge
Day 14 : Favorite Member of Kaijō
Kasamatsu Yukio 💙
Well, it took me quite a few rewatches and quite a lot of thinking to realise that Kasamatsu Yukio is probably the best captain in the entire series, and my favorite Kaijō member. Everything about this guy is amazing.
I will never forget rewatching Season 3, for the millonth time, and finishing the Kaijō-Seirin match and needing... a moment. It suddenly struck me, out of blue, the urge to think more deeply about Yukio. In the matches he has played in Season 3 he showed some amazing qualities that I never seemed to notice before. He showed some incredible skill as a player, he showed how determined, motivated, strong, serious and sensible he is, he also never failed to support his teammates and motivate them to fight. I suddenly needed to rewatch some other matches, and when I did, I just fell in love with this man more. What surprised me the most was how awesome he was on the court, and how I never noticed that? He never allowed himself to loose his cool, for the sake of keeping the good mood and the victorious and undefeatble feel in the team. He is also very serious, focused and, oh, incredibly skilled. When I watched KuroBasu with a friend who is into basketball, after we finished the show, I asked him who his favorite player was. He said Yukio, without hesitation. Why? Because he has polished the most fundamental skills and became a weapon on both the inside and on the outside. He is good at dribbling and getting through opponents, finishing under the rim and scoring with a layup. However, if he is ever stopped or the circumstances don't allow him to score from the inside, he just shoots from the outside, sinking the ball in with ease. After The Generation of Miracles and The Uncrowned Kings, he is one of the best players. What I love about him is how he is extremely courageous. He never hesitated to face opponents who he knew were stronger than him. He literally didn't even think twice before trying to stop players like Daiki and Shōgō. His will and fighting spirit are to not be underestimated!
His past is something that I also somehow ignored at first, and noticed just later. It is pretty tragic, and honestly, ever after thinking about it, I cannot watch the scenes where he cries without needing a moment to let a tear out. He has gone through so much grief, and now he is a captain, and the pillar, of the Kaijō team, respected and known.
Now, I wouldn't be me if I didn't talk about personality at least a little. He is pretty strict and he respects hierarchy, he knows his worth and he demands respect. Usually, those are the only things people know. He is most usually that way, there is no denying in that, but he has another side that people seem to talk about a lot less. It usually gets exposed when he is with, well, girls. He becomes so awkward, shy, blushes heavily and stutters when he tries to speak. He is so frozen up that girls from his class only talk to him by asking him Yes-or-No questions! That is just so unexpected, but also so sweet and maybe even a little cute to imagine! Seriously though, he is really handsome, he is a sportsman, he is a good student, pretty smart, he plays the coolest instrument even, the guitar, he is just so cool, and I know many girls like him. Perhaps, Ryōta should teach him how to be less awkward when he is introduced to a cute girl!
Well, I also want to talk about another aspect of him: his mental strength. After missing a pass that cost Kaijō an important victory, he felt such blame and guilt that he decided he was quitting basketball, something that he was exceptional at, something that he put so much time, effort and love in. However, his coach not only didn't allow him to do that, but he made him the captain of the team. It must have been so hard for him. He surely needed a lot of courage to accept the jersey with the number 4 on it, a lot of strenght to bear the responsibility of leading a team that he previously disappointed, betrayed. Still, after everything, he became who he is now. I also have to mention the Jabberwock-Strky game. The fact that he stayed so calm and composed after he literally got humiliated and made fun of on the court and had enough respect amd decency to offer a handshake and thank his opponents for the game, and in return had to listen to Nash's 'Kill yourselves' talk and get spit on his hand... He didn't deserve that, at all. However, in that scene, he proved how mature he was and showed incredible self-control. His mental strenght is on another level.
I love Yukio. That's all. 💙✨️
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