In "Ahiru no Sora", the Kuzuryu High School boys' basketball team, where Sora and the others play, has a number of unique players with various pasts. Looking at each of these players, you can understand the story more deeply. So this time, we will introduce the members of the Kuzuryu High School boys' basketball team.
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
1. Sora Kurumatani
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Shooting guard, point guard
・Special skill: 3P shot
Although she is at a disadvantage when playing basketball, being around 150cm tall (she grows a little in the story), she is the protagonist of this work who can compete with opponents bigger than her with her 3P point shot and game-making ability. His mother is a former Japan national team player, and he is good at 3-point shots, which he learned from his mother. He has outstanding depth perception, which is necessary for a shooter, and this allows him to have an outstanding shooting sense. In the story, in order to overcome the frequent blockages of his shots, he learns stop-and-shoot from Taro of Kitasumiyoshi, and masters the quick shot taught to him by Coach Sakata, thereby honing his natural 3-point shots. He is always conscious of his height, and drinks milk every day. He has a cat at home. He is good at basketball, but his grades at school are barely passing.
2. Hanazono Momoharu
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Center, power forward
・Special skill: Flying
Captain of the Kuzuryu High School boys' basketball team, he is the twin of Hanazono Chiaki, and Momoharu is his younger brother. With his incredible jumping ability, he demonstrates high ability in rebounding and blocking. She has overwhelming jumping power, and at times has beaten Chiba of Shinmaruko High School, who is over 2 meters tall, in a jump ball contest. However, she has no shooting sense, and even misses layups and dunks. She had left basketball for a while because she couldn't make shots, but she started playing again after being recruited by Sora. She has a strong sense of responsibility and excellent leadership, making her a reliable player. When the clubroom caught fire, it was impressive to see her desperately apologizing out of a sense of responsibility as captain. She has a good relationship with En, a member of the girls' basketball club.
3. Hanazono Chiaki
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha/"Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Point guard, small forward, center
・Special skill: Brainbuster
Influenced by his younger brother Momoharu's basketball start, he started playing basketball. He has a genius talent as a passer and outstanding game-making ability as a point guard, and Chiba, a student at Shinmaruko High School, who saw Chiaki play in junior high school, said, "I've never seen a better player than him." He likes to make people work hard, and that personality led him to play point guard, but in junior high school, no one could react to Chiaki's passes, and as a result, he was treated as Chiaki's missed passes. After experiencing a crushing defeat in a tournament, he distanced himself from basketball. Inspired by a practice match between Kuzu High and Shinmaruko, he joined the game halfway through and decided to join the basketball club in earnest. Contrary to his appearance, he hates being uncool. He also eats sweets out of nowhere. His favorite is "curl". Although he seems to have a careless personality, he also speaks logically and is able to settle friction with those around him. When his position changed from point guard to center, he went to Shigeyoshi's house every night to practice, and is a hard worker.
4. Natsume Kenji
Source: Ahiru no Sora © Hinata Takeshi, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Small forward, shooting guard
・Special skill: Driving
He has a rare basketball sense and is an ace at Kuzu High. He has cornrow hair, tattoos, and speaks in Hiroshima dialect. Although he has absolute strength in 1-on-1 due to his natural basketball sense, he often plays uncooperatively, which often caused him to be isolated from the team until he entered Kuzu High. Even at Kuzu High, there were many times when he felt a difference in temperature with those around him, and he often had conflicts with the team members. However, as the team grew, Natsume himself became more tolerant, and a sense of responsibility as a key person on the team began to emerge. He considers Fuwa from Yokohama Daiei High School his rival because they have a similar playing style. His nickname is "Tobi." He is popular with girls, so he is often envied by those around him.
5. Shigeyoshi Kaname
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Center
・Specialty: Hook shot
A player with a blessed physique, standing 198 cm tall. His specialty is hook shots that make use of his tall body and long limbs, and sometimes he hits sky hooks that are theoretically impossible to block. On the other hand, his stamina is a weakness, so he has limited time to play at full power. In his junior high school days, Mokichi also played at the strong Saijo Junior High School thanks to his natural physique, but contrary to the expectations of those around him, he was unable to live up to them as he had hoped, and unable to bear the pressure, he quit basketball. At Kuzu High, when he participated in a class basketball match, Sora recruited him after showing off his hook shot. As a person, he doesn't say much, but he is surprisingly sarcastic and doesn't hesitate to say some pretty harsh things. His academic results were excellent, and he got full marks in all subjects in his first year. His parents were wealthy, and there was a basketball goal installed in the garden, where Sora and Chiaki often came to practice.
6. Yasuhara Shinichi
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Small forward
・Special skill: Roundhouse kick
One of the newbies at Kuzu High, originally a delinquent who made Kuzu High's basketball club his base. When he started playing basketball, his natural athletic ability and desire to improve led him to gradually develop his driving talent, and although he only started playing basketball in high school, he has the ability to compete on equal terms with his opponents in matches. He was originally a member of the karate club and was skilled, but he was placed on probation after he could no longer bear the bullying from the upperclassmen and resorted to violence. After the clubroom fire incident, he felt guilty about being protected by Momoharu due to his strong sense of responsibility, and he was noticeably avoiding her, but they reconciled during the Yokohama Daiei match. After helping her when she was being harassed by delinquents, he fell in love at first sight with Sekiya Tomoko of the Satomi Nishi High School girls' basketball club, but when he found out about her basketball skills, he decided that she was no match for him and stepped aside. His parents are greengrocers.
7. Nabeshima Ryuhei
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Shooting guard
・Special skill: Home run
He was one of the beginners in the Kuzu High basketball club, and a delinquent who made the basketball club room his base. He started playing basketball after being recruited by Sora, but at first he had no motivation, and even during a training camp during Golden Week, he ignored Nanao's instructions to "touch the ball when not practicing" and played video games instead. After that, while Yasuhara's skills improved dramatically and opportunities to play increased, Nabeshima, who was unable to find his role, made up his mind and asked Shigeyoshi for advice, working hard to master the three-point shot. Thanks to that, he became a player who could perform at the most important times, such as hitting a buzzer beater that decided the game in a match against Kitasumiyoshi. In fact, he has good motor skills and an excellent sense for baseball, and in class matches he showed batting that overwhelmed other classes. He has a distinctive moustache. His nickname is "Nabe".
8. Masahiro Saki
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Point guard, shooting guard
・Specialty: Defense
The last of the Kuzu High beginners. At first, he was unmotivated like Nabe, but as his defensive skills improved, he gradually began to be recognized within the team. However, while Yasuhara and Nabe, fellow beginners whose skills have improved, have been able to find a role in the absence of a team, Chaki has not been able to find one. Amidst all this, he loses a game in which he was given the starting position as point guard, which causes him to lose his passion for basketball and quit the team. Chaki is the only character among the Kuzu High members to quit basketball, and he leaves an impression on many readers. Incidentally, Chaki comes from a wealthy family and was raised as a spoiled young man, so he is very proud and his mother calls him "Ma-kun."
9. Konno Michirou
Source: Ahiru no Sora © Hinata Takeshi, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Power forward, center
・Special skill: Jump
A first-year student who joined the club when he was in his third year of junior high school after being inspired by Kuzu High's performance in the regional qualifying rounds. He is known for his stamina and jumping ability, and was expected to be a player like Momoharu, but he is weak under pressure and suffers from the yips, which causes his body to become immobile due to extreme tension. To relieve tension, he writes the character for "person" on his palm and swallows it, which has led to his teammates mocking him and calling him the "man eater." When he came on as a substitute in the match against Tamagawa Gakuen, he developed the yips and was unable to perform to his full potential, but he is inspired when Chiaki tells him that whether he can overcome the yips will be the key to Kuzu High's victory.
10. Yoshio Tanaka
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
A freshman at Kuzu High who joined the basketball club despite being inexperienced. He is loved by the seniors for his shaved head. In middle school, he wanted to join the basketball club, but was turned down due to his height, so he was a member of the after-school club for three years. He lives far away, so he is a hard worker who runs more than 10km every day.
11. Igarashi Kota
Source: Ahiru no Sora © Hinata Takeshi, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Point guard
He is from Shinjo Junior High School and is one of the members who received instruction from Takahashi and Kojima. He participates in Monster Bash as a member of the Gorillaz. Despite his cocky manner of speech, he has excellent basketball sense and is a talented player who overwhelms his opponents despite his small stature. However, his play is inconsistent and he has a tendency to get carried away. After playing against Kuzu High in Monster Bash, he decides to attend Kuzu High. Everyone around him thinks it's a betrayal, and Igarashi has mixed feelings, but when Takahashi says to him, "You chose it yourself, right? Don't waver," he decides to join the team.
12. Haruo Konan
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
・Position: Shooting guard
Although he only played basketball for three months in middle school, he has a first-class sense and is such a player that Nanao calls him a "genius." However, since he had received special musical training from an early age and showed extraordinary talent in that field, he was opposed to playing basketball by those around him, but he overcame their objections and decided to join the basketball club.
13. Sakata
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
He is one of the members who Sora and the others faced in the first round of Monster Bash, and later becomes the coach of the Kuzu High boys' basketball team. He is such a talented player that he even participated in the Inter-High during his high school days, and he has earned the trust of Sora and the others by giving them accurate advice and coaching them without worrying about work. He is often hospitalized due to his age and poor daily habits.
14. Satsuki Sensei
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
He is the first advisor for the Kuzu High basketball club. At first, he didn't have any knowledge of basketball and reluctantly accepted the role, but he was inspired by the passion of the club members and started studying basketball. Also, when the basketball club was suspended, he was impressive in his defense of the club members while yelling at the teachers around him.
15. Tomohisa Kurumatani
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
Ahiru no Sora's father, he became the coach of the boys' basketball club and the girls' basketball club when the boys' basketball club participated in the prefectural tournament. The training is extremely strict, and he sometimes preaches about mental health, but even in that strictness he keeps a close eye on each player and takes great care of them. He is extremely bad at directions.
Summary
Source: Ahiru no Sora ©Takeshi Hinata, Kodansha / "Ahiru no Sora" Production Committee
The Kuzuryu High School basketball club, which is at the center of "Ahiru no Sora," is a group of players with various pasts who are trying their best at basketball in their own way. It will be even more interesting if you read it while thinking about the backgrounds of each character.
