Hanazono Chiaki is a tall, afro-haired high school student who appears in "Ahiru no Sora". Chiaki is a character with many elements, including a genius basketball sense, past trauma, and eccentric gags, but this time we will introduce the charms of Hanazono Chiaki.
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
1. Genius passing sense
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Hanazono Chiaki's basketball appeal is undoubtedly his exceptional passing sense. In the early game against Shinmaruko High School, he easily pulls off the advanced technique of an elbow pass, and astonishes his opponents with tricky passes that curve. This pass has earned him the deep trust of his teammates, and the team members run knowing that Chiaki will pass to this spot. Chiba of Shinmaruko High School said, "I've never seen a better player than him." In the early stages, he played the role of point guard and played as the team's commander, but gradually he began to take on positions such as center and small forward to make the most of his strength on the inside, and to score points himself. Like his twin brother Momoharu, he seems to have some difficulty shooting.
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Hinata Takeshi, Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
2. As a point guard, he has a wide field of vision.
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Chiaki's extraordinary passing sense is made possible by his incredible field of vision. Making use of this field of vision, he is a player who excels in game-making as a point guard. In fact, even before Chiaki started playing basketball at Kuzu High, Sora had noticed Chiaki's broad perspective. A symbolic episode is when Chiaki accidentally showed up in Sora's class at the start of the new semester, and in the brief moment before leaving the classroom, he looked over the entire class and handed Sora a piece of paper with a list of girls he liked, along with their seating arrangements. Sora had seen through Chiaki's excellent perspective and ability to judge situations in the brief moment he showed up in class, and at Shinmaruko High School, he was entrusted with the team as point guard without Chiaki having to be asked.
3. He quit basketball in middle school.
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata/Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Chiaki, like Momoharu, quit the basketball club in middle school. In fact, Chiaki's abilities were outstanding from middle school, and he had such an impact that Chiba from Shinmaruko High School said, "I've never seen a better player than him." However, his teammates were unable to keep up with the passes that Chiaki made, and as a result, his passes were often deemed to be Chiaki's mistakes, and he failed to gain the trust of his team. The reason for this was that Chiaki's passes were always on a high level, always half a step ahead of his opponents, and no one could keep up with them. Then, when Chiaki played against a strong school, he was completely defeated, and looked so uncool that he ran away in the middle of the game. This incident caused Chiaki to take a break from basketball for a while. Many of the characters who appear in Ahiru no Sora have experienced failure or dropped out at some point, and this is one of their charms.
4. He hates being uncool
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
While he has a comical appearance, he hates being uncool. When he was in middle school, he ran away from a game because he couldn't stand how uncool he was. This hasn't changed even after he became a high school student, and he says at every opportunity, "I hate being uncool." However, as Chiaki grows in the Kuzu High basketball club, he becomes more greedy and actively tries things that he used to dislike, such as working hard. This is probably because Chiaki naturally senses that there are opponents he cannot beat unless he overcomes these things.
5. He takes out sweets out of nowhere.
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Chiaki takes out sweets out of nowhere. Sometimes, he takes them out of his clothes, sometimes out of his afro, and he often finds himself eating them without realizing it. His favorite sweets are curls, and on Chiaki's birthday, his father gives him a box of curls with their tails cut off. She also likes Garigari-kun snacks. It has not yet been revealed where Chiaki gets her snacks from, which is one of the mysteries of Ahiru no Sora.
6. He gets furious when someone eats his sweets
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Chiaki loves sweets, but when someone eats his sweets, he gets so angry he can't control himself. For example, once, Momoharu mistakenly thought that he had eaten Chiaki's pudding, which led to a fight that ended up with the police and Momoharu breaking six ribs. Also, when Tobi returned from Hiroshima and bought a momiji manju as a souvenir, Sora ate his share, which enraged Momoharu, causing him to grow huge and go on a rampage. At that time, Momoharu tried to stop Chiaki as a last resort, but was powerless and lost.
7. He's also pretty good at things other than basketball
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Chiaki has an outstanding talent for basketball, but he also shows his genius side in other areas. He is so good at school that he has achieved good results on par with Mokichi, and his hobbies include martial arts and, surprisingly, flower arranging. He also shows extraordinary abilities in sports other than basketball. The difference between the brothers is clear when compared to Momoharu, who has no athletic or academic talent whatsoever. In a sense, when it comes to the twins Chiaki and Momoharu, it is not surprising to think that Chiaki absorbed all of his parents' genes, and that the only thing that remained was the jumping ability that Momoharu possessed.
8. He has a mature personality among the Kuzu High basketball team.
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata/Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Chiaki usually gives the impression of being comical and in charge of gags, but he has the most mature personality in the team, and sometimes makes objective remarks and calmly analyzes situations even during games, keeping a cool head. For example, after losing to Shinjo Towa, he tells the members in the team room who are dejected by the shock of the loss that "it's not going to be that easy to fix with just three months of hard work." Also, during training camp, when there is a clash between Tobi and the beginners such as Nabeshima and Chaki due to the difference in motivation, he stands between them and convinces them that while he understands the desire for teammates to be more conscious, it is unreasonable to force that on beginners. I think it is because Chiaki has experienced failure despite his genius talent that he is able to speak from many different perspectives.
9. When he throws a softball, it exceeds the speed of sound
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
In the story, Chiaki sometimes displays abilities that are unimaginable to ordinary people, showing his monstrous side. The gigantism introduced earlier is one of them, but there are many other episodes. It happened during a class softball match. Pitcher Chiaki was playing against the powerful hitter Nabeshima. He tried to hold Nabe back by throwing a fastball faster than the speed of sound. The ball was so fast that the catcher fainted, lost control and had to retreat several times. However, Nabe, who was using a metal bat, hit a home run against that fastball.
10. A serious gamer
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Chiaki is also a serious gamer. We often see him playing games in the clubroom, and he is especially known for playing the Famicom. "Tokimeki Memorial" and "Makaimura" are mentioned in the story, and he has progressed to a fairly difficult stage in Super Mario, so it seems he has a lot of knowledge and skill. By the way, I'm also an avid reader of Famitsu, and call September 1st "Famitsu Day." This is because "Famitsu 3 2" was written as "August 32 = September 1st," so I call it that.
Summary
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Chiaki is probably the character with the biggest gap in "Ahiru no Sora". Although he looks and acts like a comedian, he is reliable in serious situations and is also a key person who leads the team. It is probably because of this charm that Chiaki is so popular in the series. It will be interesting to see who will be the voice actors for the animated version of "Ahiru no Sora."
