Day 9 : Favorite Generation of Miracles
Choosing a favorite member of The Generation of Miracles was really tough for me. Though, in the end, I realised that it just must be Shintarō.
Ever since his first appearance, I thought this guy is a weirdo. Horoscopes, taped fingers, lucky items, blood-types, funny speech, this guy was so strange, I was very curious about what kind of a player and person he was and simply couldn't wait for Taiga and Tetsuya to face him and his team! When that time finally came, he really pissed me off. I thought he was way too confident and selfish, I hated that. He was also really boring to me as a player, just waiting for the ball to be passed to him so he can shoot. Yes, shooting a heavy ball like that and never missing was impressive, but it was also kinda annoying, because it seemed like the only thing he could do. I didn't think of him so highly anymore and I wasn't really curious about him...
Then the episodes where Seirin and Shūtoku ended up on the same campus came. This guy voluntarily shared something very important with Taiga, he shared tips on how he could improve. He just shared something like that with a person who beat him in a basketball match. Out of blue. Well, I started seeing hints of him becoming less and less selfish, and I was living for it. I was into him yet again!
Then, the second match between Shūtoku and Seirin came, and this boy was almost the same as the first time. I expected him to pass the ball once, maybe, and so I was a little disappointed when he didn't do that. But he didn't totally disappoint me because he ran and blocked Taiga and even dribbled the ball. He also had more determination and wasn't overly confident and cocky like the first time he faced Seirin. I was waiting for his improvement still... There just had to be more.
Season 3 came and Rakuzan was getting introduced, and oh boy, it was Shūtoku they were going against. Well, I knew Shūtoku was just going to be a toy used to showcase how powerful Rakuzan is, and so I expected them to lose. Finally, Shintarō changed. He wasn't playing alone anymore. When he said it in the locker room, 'Let me pass the ball', I felt like a proud mother. He finally decided to trust his teammates. When I saw how much he trusted Kazunari, I just couldn't help it, I felt so happy and proud of him! In that match, he did so much, he got out of his comfort zone so many times and we saw him do so much! He was dribbling, passing, blocking, he was shooting the ball in the coolest way possible (Sky Direct 3 Pointer), he even helped his fellow Senpai show off by passing him the ball and giving him an opportunity for an epic dunk, to prove the haters wrong. He was doing all of this because he wanted to achieve victory. Not just for himself, he wanted to do it with his team, his friends. That match was the first time I wanted Shūtoku to win. I really wanted them to win and I was rooting for them deeply. But, of course, they didn't. When Shūtoku lost, I actually cried. When he and Kazunari started crying, I had to pause the episode to cry more and I needed quite some time to recollect myself and continue.
Midorima Shintarō is an incredible character and writing this, I realised his development was one of my favorite things in this entire show. And he is a weirdo in the best way possible. 💚
