Shoyo High School basketball team
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The Shoyo High School basketball team is a fictional Japanese high school basketball team depicted in the anime and manga series Slam Dunk from Kanagawa Prefecture. Shoyo is considered the top rival of Kainan, the top team in the prefecture and defending Kanagawa Interhigh Tournament champions for 17 years running. The team was seeded first in their respective division during the Interhigh Tournament, and is the only team so seeded not to make it into the final four because of their loss to Shohoku. The height of Shoyo's players are among the tallest in Kanagawa; this was revealed in their match against Shohoku, where only Akagi was as tall as his marker (Toru Hanagata). However, their one weakness is the lack of a dedicated coach and Kenji Fujima is forced to play the roles of both coach and point guard. Shoyo is known for their large cheering section, all of whom are members of the basketball club but are not actually players.
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[edit] Roster
[edit] Kenji Fujima
(藤真健司 Fujima Kenji)
- Year: 3rd Year
- Height/Weight: 178 cm, 66 kg
- Jersey Number: #4
- Position: Point Guard/Coach
- Birthday: N/A
- Voice Actors: Koji Tsujitani
Kenji Fujima is the player/coach of Shoyo High. As such, he only enters the court when his presence is really needed, such as when the team is behind and struggling. Fujima is so respected by his teammates that as much as possible they try not to make it necessary for him to get on the court, and even the hint of his getting off the bench to join them inspires them to play harder. His personality also varies depending on which role he is playing in the game; as a coach and off the court, he is calm, mild-mannered and friendly (he even personally deals with his fangirls and is very kind to them), but he becomes confident, high-spirited and even ruthless when he's on court. As Maki says in volume #10, "As a player, he's far from rational."
Fujima plays as a typical point guard, leading his team and passing the ball, but also shooting and scoring when necessary. He is one of the top point guards in the Kanagawa prefecture and a force to be reckoned with on the court. He is also left handed, which frustrates Miyagi in the anime. According to several characters, Fujima is seen as the second best point guard in the Kanagawa prefecture, only edged out by Maki.
Fujima is referenced during the first round of the National Championships when Shohoku plays against Toyotama High School. Toyotama's captain, Tsuyoshi Minami, known as the "Ace Killer" injured Fujima in a match resulting in his removal from the game due to his injury. Subsequently, Shoyo lost the match to Toyotama. Throughout the National Championships, there are occasional cut scenes showing Fujima training.
[edit] Toru Hanagata
(花形透 Hanagata Tōru)
- Year: 3rd Year
- Height/Weight: 197 cm, 83 kg
- Jersey Number: #5
- Position: Center
- Birthday: N/A
- Voice Actors: Nobuhiko Kazama
Hanagata is considered one of the top centers in the Kanagawa prefecture along with Akagi and Uozumi. He mixes strength and tactical skill in his playing, being able to easily avoid defensive play. When Fujima is not on court, he takes the role of captain, being responsible for psyching up the team. For this, he is quite a trustworthy player for Shoyo. He is known for his fade away shot, which is difficult to block. Hanagata is the only starter shown to wear glasses, though they are knocked off his face when Sakuragi commits his fourth foul, and Hanagata plays the rest of the match without them.
Hanagata holds his own in the Shohoku match against Akagi, but is totally outclassed by Sakuragi in rebounding. Being a top center, he is quite agile for his height. In both the manga and anime, viewers see that Akagi has some problems defending Hanagata, with Hanagata getting eight points in a short span of time. After this, Ryonan's coach Taoka says that if Akagi cannot guard Hanagata well enough, the game could be one-sided. Akagi successfully blocks one of Hanagata's shots though. The spectators were shocked when both Hanagata and Takano were blocked by Akagi and Sakuragi, as no one had ever seen the tall Hanagata and Takano both receive blocks. He takes on the cudgels of scoring for his team when Fujima is not on the court. He also knows how to use his teammates effectively. He and Nagano are knocked down by Sakuragi after the latter dunked on them, but despite the effort Sakuragi still got his fifth foul. Nevertheless, he is cheered by the fans. Hanagata also missed a desperate three-point attempt against Shohoku, marking the final score, 62-60.
[edit] Kazushi Hasegawa
(長谷川一志 Hasegawa Kazushi)
- Year: 3rd Year
- Height/Weight: 190 cm, 81 kg
- Jersey Number: #6
- Position: Shooting Guard
- Birthday: N/A
- Voice Actors: Kouzou Shioya
Hasegawa has a personal history with Mitsui. Back in junior high school, he faced Mitsui's confidence as well as his own inability to beat him in a match. Later on in high school, he encountered Mitsui again after the latter had become a delinquent and was shocked to see how much he had changed. They met again in the last match before the Kanagawa Interhigh Tournament, when he offered to mark Mitsui personally in a box-and-one. There, Hasegawa brought his memories back and marked Mitsui relentlessly, but to no avail, as Mitsui had already managed to turn the tide of the match for Shohoku. His words ("don't underestimate high school basketball") made Mitsui think about how much he could not let his efforts be in vain. Before the match, he had stated that he would hold Mitsui to no more than 5 points. Having accidentally overheard this, the reawakened Mitsui went on to score 20 points, including five consecutive 3 pointers in the second half, to erase Shoyo's 12 point lead over Shohoku.
[edit] Taku Ito
(伊藤卓 Itō Taku)
- Year: 2nd Year
- Height/Weight: 180 cm, 71 kg
- Jersey Number: #9
- Position: Point Guard
- Birthday: N/A
- Voice Actor: Shinobu Satouchi
The most discrete presence in Shoyo, Ito's duty seems to be just filling in for Fujima when the latter is not playing, as he is the weakest of Shoyo's regular players, though his passing abilities make him one not to be underrated. Despite being one of the team's shorter members, he is still a formidable defender, well evidenced when he was in charge of marking Shohoku's Miyagi.
[edit] Mitsuru Nagano
(長野満 Nagano Mitsuru)
- Year: 3rd Year
- Height/Weight: 191 cm, 84 kg
- Jersey Number: #7
- Position: Small Forward
- Birthday: N/A
- Voice Actor: Nobutoshi Kanna
Nagano forms a nice playmaking couple with Takano, his best friend. His build also allows for him to be a good defensive player. Though he does not seem like it, Nagano is a bit overconfident. A player with the same name appears in another manga by Takehiko Inoue, Real.
[edit] Shoichi Takano
(高野正一 Takano Shōichi)
- Year: 3rd Year
- Height/Weight: 193 cm, 85 kg
- Jersey Number: #8
- Position: Power Forward
- Birthday: N/A
- Voice Actor: Yuji Mikimoto
Takano, along with Nagano, is one of the playmakers for Shoyo. His specialty are rebounds. Takano seems far more energetic than his teammates, except for Fujima and Hanagata. Also, like Nagano, he is very self-confident.
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