Taiga Kagami

Taiga Kagami is the deuteragonist of the Kuroko no Basuke anime and manga.

Taiga is the ace and power forward of Seirin High. He is Tetsuya Kuroko's basketball colleague and friend. He is determined to defeat the Generation of Miracles and become the best in Japan.

Kagami has exceptional basketball talents and has been called "The Miracle who did not become one of the Miracles".

In the AWA fics, Taiga is a student at the AWA Academy and is part of Class 4.

Appearance
Kagami is very muscular for a high school student. He is very tall, giving him an overwhelming aura, which some say is like the intensity of a wild tiger. He has two-toned dark red and black hair and red eyes. His eyes are pointed and narrow and his eyebrows are quite thick and split in two, which Murasakibara does not fail to remark on. He wears the red, black and white Seirin High jersey with the number 10 and wears black and red basketball shoes. He is also occasionally seen with a shiny metal necklace with a ring on it, which represents his brotherhood with Tatsuya Himuro. When he wears his school uniform, he keeps his gakuran unzipped, while wearing a white shirt underneath.

Personality
Kagami is very ambitious, stubborn and determined. He refuses to give up in a difficult situation and he is also very head strong. He is well known for his undying and furious fighting spirit. Kagami enjoys to play against strong opponents and sees no point in playing basketball when there are no challenges; this was evident when Kagami faced Kuroko Tetsuya for the first time. The down-side of this, is that he is also very hot-headed and has a short temper.

When Kuroko brought Tetsuya #2 to training, it is revealed that Kagami is scared of dogs and suffered Cynophobia. This fear originates from his time in America, where he was once bitten by a dog. He overcame this fear when he realized that Tetsuya #2 is good motivation for the team. He is also a glutton and is able to eat at least five times a normal meal. He is shown to be a great cook when Riko Aida tried to cook for the team to save money, but ended up almost killing everyone with her food, leading to Kagami cooking instead and teaching Riko how to cook too.

During the series, and especially after the Interhigh and during the Winter Cup, Kagami matured a lot. Instead of going up against every provocation and loosing his temper quickly, he thinks before he acts and has developed some sort of hindsight that lets him simulate a possible one-on-one battle. Even though he still hates losing, he has somewhat accepted peace with it. Now, he has become a much more clever player that doesn't plunge into battles without thinking first.

Abilities
Kagami is a incredible basketball player he has been said to be equal to the Generation of Miracles multiple times by many people, even some of the miracles themeselves. He is a naturally gifted player that trained in the States prior to coming back to Japan. Kagami is a very powerful and fast player that is able to execute the fast cuts that can foil even Aomine and Kise. His reflexes are top-notch, as he is able to react extremely quickly when facing a ball handling expert such as Aomine, and in the Zone Hayama's five finger dribble was not fast enough to pass even while Hayama himself was in a zone-like state. He could also block Aomine's formless shot due to his reflexes and sheer skill. While being marked by a double team of two Tsugawa level defenders, Kagami was able to easily pass them both.

Kagami has beaten a number of tough opponents including some of the Generation of Miracles and Uncrowned Kings on one-on-one plays. Kagami has beaten his teammate Kiyoshi (an Uncrowend King) in a one on one. Additionally, he has beaten Kise of the Generation of Miracles in a one on one isolation play, and has also beaten Aomine and Murasakibara of the Generation of Miracles in one on one isolation plays on separate occasions when both sides were in the zone. Murasakibara also mentioned that even if it was unlikely, Kagami is the only one who could beat Akashi.

Kagami's skill drew the attention of scouts in America who believe he can make to the NBA, Kagami has moved back to America to achieve this goal and try to become an NBA player.

At first, he is a poor shooter who only relies on dunks, lay ups and his jumping ability. However as time progresses, he has improved this and is able to shoot mid range shoots with amazing accuracy. He also trained his left hand enabling him to pass the ball at the last second to Kiyoshi during their match against Tōō and win. During his Match against team Jabberwock he along with Aomine is called the "double ace" of team vorpal sword (a team made up of the generation of miracles).

When Kagami is in the "zone" his style of basketball becomes similar to Aomine's, somehow imitating his flexible streetball. Another reason for his sudden peak in ability, is the control of his animal instinct.[153] This instinct enables him to play purely on feeling and greatly enhance his five senses, making his reflexes and speed top notch. His instincts have been compared to that of a tiger.

Jumping Power
While he is a powerful all-around player, Kagami's unique skill lies in his ability to jump to great heights, his jump is said to get higher and higher as a match progress. This skill facilitates not only his most common move, the dunk, but also allows him to defend well, get rebounds against taller players such as Wakamatsu and Otsubo; he even used it to break Midorima's perfect shooting. When he makes a jumpshot, he also stays in the air longer than the blocker, making it almost unblockable. While he generally jumps with his left leg in order to allow him the use of his more dexterous right arm, his right is far stronger, allowing him to touch the top of the backboard (while tired) as opposed to just hitting the ring. The drawback to this ability is that, like certain members of the Generation of Miracles, his body is still too underdeveloped. Thus prolonged use of his jumping prowess can cause damage to his body.

Having trained extensively since the Interhigh school championships, he can now dunk from the free-throw line, a feat that may have put him on a level with the Generation of Miracles. He is also able to jump from far away in a difficult position and still be able to block a shot. In the Zone, he can jump even higher that he can effortlessly block Himuro's Mirage Shot or out-jump Murasakibara, who is taller than him and was also in the Zone. Murasakibara compared his jumping ability to Michael Jordan's Airwalk.

Self Alley-Oop
A normal alley-oop is when a team-mate throws the ball up high and the scoring player catches the ball and scores without having to fall. Kagami has found a way to do this by himself, that is instead of receiving the ball by passing, shooting the ball himself, grabbing and dunking the ball when it misses. This was a response to Midorima's shooting spree in Seirin's match against Shūtoku High. He tried this again in the match against Tōō Academy, but was screened out by Susa, Kagami being unable to reach the goal. This is also the one obvious weakness of the skill.

Lane Up
A lane up is a dunk from the free-throw line. Kagami had the ability to dunk normally and very high, but in the Winter Cup, against Josei High, he ended the game by breaking through their defense, jumping from the free-throw line and dunking. A lane up is very difficult, because being able to reach the basket after jumping such a distance is only possible with an extraordinary jumping strength, the kind that Kagami possesses. With the development of the lane up, he forced open the "Gate" and awakened his true abilities, reaching the same level as the Generation of Miracles. This is also called "Airwalk", which was made famous by retired NBA legend, Michael Jordan.

Meteor Jam
A new dunk Kagami learned from Alexandra. While in the zone, Kagami prepares the dunk by leaping from the free-throw line, however; instead of following through with a lane up, Kagami uses his jumping power to gain height rather than distance. At the peak of his jump, he then hurls the ball into the basket which possesses even the power to penetrate through Murasakibara's defense while he was in the Zone. Kagami's way of throwing the ball directly into the ring is similar to a meteor crashing into earth (hence the name).

Although the meteor jam has the capability of being an unrivaled dunk, it is a delicate technique that requires Kagami to calculate the location, height, and angle of his jump along with the balance and ball control after that jump which explains the reason why he needs the zone's assistance. Though, even with the zone, the distance from the basket drastically affects the accuracy of his shot.

Vanishing Drive
Kuroko's signature skill is, in fact, a collaborative effort between himself and Kagami. Kuroko ducks in and flies by his opponent with quick cuts while Kagami provides the necessary distraction needed to draw attention away from Kuroko and onto himself. These conditions make for a successful Vanishing Drive.

Zone
The Zone is a state of focused attention and energy that enhances one's performance. Kagami first experienced 'being in the zone' during the 4th quarter of 1st round match of the Winter Cup, playing for Seirin against Tōō. The combination of intense oppositional pressure from Aomine (ace of the Generation of Miracles) and sheer tenacity was enough to push Kagami into the Zone.

When a player enters the Zone, electricity shoots and streams from their eyes and their true physical prowess can be expressed. Kagami experiences these same effects while in the Zone, with his reflexes, speed and especially jumping power, and strength being greatly augmented. He gains a greater field of vision similar to the eagle eye and hawk eye, His shooting accuracy noticeably improves, as evident from his successfully three-pointers while playing Point Guard in the match against Yosen. Kagami is even able to perform a perfect fake better than Himuro's. Riko even said that Kagami's Zone could counter Kise's Perfect Copy.

Operating at such a high level of performance gives Kagami an incredible field of influence from which he can respond and react to the actions of players on the court with extraordinary speed and technique; even players of Akashi's caliber, completely stopping Akashi from, doing anything other than passing, even with his Emperor Eye. Those who are inside the sphere will be reached by him because it means that it's Kagami's territory. Kagami does this by combing his animals instincts with his Zone.

Kagami like Aomine is (by the time of the Rakuzan game) able to willing enter Zone. The main condition for Kagami to enter the zone is "the will to fight for his teammates".He was also able to enter it again even though Akashi managed to shut it down earlier in the match. With the return of Kuroko, motivating him, he is able to enter the Zone twice during the match. Moreover, the second time he entered, he is able to stay in it, pressuring Akashi with his large sphere of defense due to entering it at a "deeper" level.

Kagami's skill with the Zone is so great that he can it limit to his usage of the Zone to specific moments in order to converse stamina. During his match against Rakuzan, he only used the Zone for offense and not for other things such as escaping from a double team.

Kagami entered the Zone again during the match against the Team Jabberwock. In this state, he is able to both dunk on and block Jason Silver repeatedly.

Direct Drive Zone
Kagami gained access to this second door when he have reached his limit and his teammates starts to synchronize with him. The gatekeeper is revealed to be Kuroko all along who opened the door for him containing his teammates inside. This second level of the Zone is all about teamwork. The presumed reason for the name "Direct Drive Zone" is due to the uninterrupted play Kagami shows while in this state which makes use of his teammates coordination. The main reason this becomes unstoppable is not only the Zone user but the others are involved as well and the ball rotation creates a lot of openings, leaving the defense stunned.

Kuroko-Kagami Alley-Oop
A move that Kuroko and Kagami often execute. One of the opponents tries to pass, but Kuroko intercepts the ball. He smacks the ball onto the ground in the direction of the basket. Kagami jumps high in the air, grabs the ball and dunks it in. They have first showed this in the match against Shinkyō Academy and did it again in the game against Seihō High.

Pressure Defense
During the match against Shinkyō Academy; Kagami had to defend against Papa Mbaye Siki, a foreign player who is 10 cm taller than Kagami. Before the match Riko had Mitobe teach Kagami how to defend against a player taller than yourself. This technique is simply putting a lot pressure on the regular defense, with the thought "I won't let you play as you want" in your head. When a player is pressured like this, he will experience playing a lot harder and won't get ready as easily. Tanimura called this pressure killing intent. Kagami also uses this against Okamura, another player who is 10 cm taller than Kagami.

Trivia

 * 'Kagami' can mean 'Mirror' In Japanese.
 * Kagami's abilities might be taken from the nba player Michael Jordan because both of them have crazy air time and can dunk from the free throw line.
 * According to the CHARACTERS BIBLE:
 * Kagami would become a fireman if he had an alternative job.
 * His type of person is someone who's stable.
 * His motto is: "Eat well, play well".
 * His favorite food is cheeseburgers.
 * His hobby is surfing.
 * His specialty outside of basketball is cooking. He could even teach Riko to successfully make curry.
 * In the CHARACTERS BIBLE, an early character concept of Kagami is seen. He was still tall and muscular, but his hairstyle was completely different. Instead of red and dark red, it was black with a wide stripe of blonde in the middle. His hair was also short and spiky. His name was originally Shigehiro Akibara. Shigehiro Ogiwara's name shares the same kanji as Shigehiro Akibara, It is only pronounced differently.
 * His name, Taiga, is a common Japanese way of pronouncing and writing (in katakana) "tiger".
 * While Kagami's name is associated with the "tiger", Himuro's name means "dragon". In Chinese mythology, the Azure Dragon of the East and the White Tiger of the West are eternal rivals. This rivalry is further expressed in their surnames: "Hi" means "ice" while "Ka" translates as "fire".
 * On the first character poll, Kagami ranked 3rd, with 1116 votes.
 * He went down to 4th place on the second poll, with 1036 votes.
 * Apart from basketball, his skills also include walking on his hands.
 * Kagami has been given the nickname Baka-gami (lit. idiot-gami, freely translated as Kagamidiot), due to his simple-mindedness and short temper.
 * Kagami does traveling (which is a violation of the rules) when he is running along with Kise in the first opening.
 * As revealed in the novels, Kagami is afraid of ghosts.
 * Kagami is known for his huge appetite.
 * Kagami wears Michael Jordan's signature shoe, the Nike Air Jordan I. He previously wore the same brand, in a black and red color scheme, but he broke that pair and received a new one from Aomine, this one having the original Air Jordan scheme, white, red and black. As stated by Momoi, his shoe size is similar to Aomine's, 29.5 cm.
 * Based on his growth and still growing skills, it seems that he resembles Michael Jordan in his early years.
 * Murasakibara compared Kagami's Meteor Jam to Michael Jordan's Airwalk, but historically, the first free throw line dunk was performed by Julius Eriving.
 * Kagami has the most NG-Shū apperances.
 * Kagami has many similarities with Hanamichi Sakuragi from the basketball manga/anime series Slam Dunk. Both are power forwards, red-haired, jump high and wear the same jersey # 10. But Kagami is more skillful than Sakuragi as he can shoot anywhere and even shoot 3-pointers. Kagami also has signature skills due to the manga's concept, as every player has their very own signature skills. But Sakuragi has a stronger physique and stamina than Kagami.
 * Kagami lives alone while his father live overseas in America. It was mentioned that he was supposed to live with his father but due to work he was unable to stay in Japan, leaving Kagami to live by himself.
 * In Kuroko no Basket: Game of Miracles it is shown that Kagami is surprisingly popular with older women (college girls), who call him 'cute'.
 * Kagami's grades are atrocious, failing every subject, including English even though he has lived in America.
 * He reveals that he doesn't like dogs after meeting, who is now called, Tetsuya 2.
 * According to KUROFES:
 * Kagami only has a father.
 * He is an only child.
 * Kagami's family is rich.
 * His father works as a consultant for big companies in America.
 * The best dish he can make is gyouza, and he makes more than 100 at a time, which he then freezes.
 * The players he has his eyes on are the Generation of Miracles.


 * When they were younger, Taiga and Tatsuya always went to eat hamburgers after playing basketball. Taiga had a habit of giving his pickles to Tatsuya.
 * Kagami hates the cold.
 * Amazingly, the two most important people in Kagami’s life have only one letter difference in their names: his brother and rival, T(a)tsuya Himuro and T(e)tsuya Kuroko, the shadow to his light.
 * Kagami and Himuro always address each other by their first names; the only exception was the Seirin High vs Yosen High game during the Winter Cup.
 * Kagami's dunking style resembles Blake Griffin as well as Michael Jordan, from the first dunk sequence copied by Kise, to his Meteor Jam.
 * Kagami’s grades are pitiful; however, after he uses Midorima’s lucky pencil (which Kuroko gave him), he scores well on his exams (90th out of 308 students).
 * Kagami knows how to surf.