How to Watch Kuroko’s Basketball In Order: Complete Guide

Kuroko’s Basketball (also known as Kuroko no Basuke or Kuroko No Basket) is a popular sports anime about a former basketball team from middle school who are all now rivals in high school. If you’re interested in checking out the show or just not sure what to watch after season 1, we’ve got you covered! In this article, we’ll explain how to watch Kuroko’s Basketball in release and chronological order, as well as where to watch it and what it’s about.

What is the best watch order for Kuroko’s Basketball?

The best way to watch Kuroko’s Basketball is in the order it was released. Start with Season 1, Tip Off, Season 2, Idiots Can’t Win!, Would You Mind Doing That Once More, Season 3, The Greatest Present, and Last Game. There are also optional recap episodes, bloopers, and compilation films to check out, too.

Section 1 of 8:

Kuroko’s Basketball Release Watch Order

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While Kuroko’s Basketball only has three seasons, there are a bunch of special episodes and a movie. There are also several recap episodes and films, plus “blooper” episodes for each season, which you may or may not find necessary to watch. Luckily, though, the best and easiest way to watch the anime is in the order all of the content was released! Here’s the order:^{[1]
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- Season 1 — Episodes 1-25 (2012)
- NG-shuu Season 1 — Bloopers, 9 Episodes (2012)
- Let’s Chat (Season 1) — Recap Episode (2012)
- Tip Off — Season 1 Bonus Episode (2013)
- Idiots Can’t Win! — Season 1 Bonus Episode (2013)
- Season 2 — Episodes 1-25 (2013-14)
- Would You Mind Doing That Once More — Season 2 Bonus Episode (2014)
- NG-shuu Season 2 — Bloopers, 9 Episodes (2014)
- Let’s Chat (Season 2) — Recap Episode (2014)
- Season 3 — Episodes 1-25 (2015)
- The Greatest Present — Season 3 Bonus Episode (2015)
- NG-shuu Season 3 — Bloopers, 9 Episodes (2015)
- Winter Cup Compilation ~Shadow and Light~ — Season 1 Compilation Film (2016)
- Winter Cup Compilation ~Beyond the Tears~ — Season 2 Compilation Film (2016)
- Winter Cup Compilation ~Crossing the Door~ — Season 3 Compilation Film (2016)
- Let’s Chat (Season 3) — Recap Episode (2017)
- Kuroko’s Basketball The Movie: Last Game — Film (2017)
- Note: Idiots Can’t Win! was technically released after episode 9 of Season 2. However, it’s actually a bonus episode from Season 1 that was included in the Season 1 DVD.

Section 2 of 8:

Kuroko’s Basketball Chronological Watch Order

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Some of the bonus episodes of Kuroko’s Basketball take place within the anime’s timeline. So, if you’d prefer to watch the show in chronological order, check out the watch order below. Since the three Winter Cup compilation films are condensed forms of each season, we’ve also added those as optional watches in this guide.
- Season 1 — Episodes 1-13
- Idiots Can’t Win! — Bonus Episode^{[2]
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- Season 1 — Episodes 14-22
- Tip Off — Bonus Episode^{[3]
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- Season 1 — Episodes 23-25
  - Optional: Winter Cup Compilation ~Shadow and Light~
- Let’s Chat (Season 1) — Recap Episode
- NG-shuu Season 1 — Bloopers, 9 Episodes
- Season 2 — Episodes 1-16
- Would You Mind Doing That Once More — Bonus Episode^{[4]
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- Season 2 — Episodes 17-25
  - Optional: Winter Cup Compilation ~Beyond the Tears~
- Let’s Chat (Season 2) — Recap Episode
- NG-shuu Season 2 — Bloopers, 9 Episodes
- Season 3 — Episodes 1-25
  - Optional: Winter Cup Compilation ~Crossing the Door~
- The Greatest Present — Bonus Episode^{[5]
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- Let’s Chat (Season 3) — Recap Episode
- NG-shuu Season 3 — Bloopers
- Kuroko’s Basketball The Movie: Last Game — Film (2017)

Section 3 of 8:

Do you have to watch the Kuroko’s Basketball movies?

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We recommended watching Last Game, but the Winter Cup films are just recaps. Last Game is a direct sequel to Season 3 of Kuroko’s Basketball, so if you’re a fan of the show, definitely check it out to see how Kuroko’s story continues! On the other hand, the three Winter Cup films are fine to skip. They’re just condensed recaps of the first three seasons and don’t include any extra content. You can definitely watch them if you want to, though!
- However, we wouldn’t recommend watching the Winter Cup films in place of the first three seasons. The compilation movies just cover the highlights, so they exclude a lot of content from the show.

Section 4 of 8:

Where to Watch Kuroko’s Basketball

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Kuroko’s Basketball is available on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Tubi. All three seasons of Kuroko’s Basketball are streaming on Netflix and Crunchyroll (with a subscription). Crunchyroll also has the Last Game and the Winter Cup compilation films. As a free option, Tubi has the first 2 seasons streaming.

Section 5 of 8:

What is Kuroko’s Basketball about?

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Kuroko’s Basketball is about a former basketball team who are now all rivals. The sports anime primarily follows Tetsuya Kuroko, who was the mysterious member of the famed middle school basketball team, Generation of Miracles. The team split up when the members all went to play basketball at different elite high schools. Kuroko finds himself at the brand new school, Seirin High, and joins the basketball team along with Taiga Kagami, a very talented player. They decide to work together to beat the rest of the high schools and face off against Kuroko’s former teammates.^{[6]
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- The anime is action-packed and fast-paced, with a lot of super hype moments. Plus, it features a large cast of likable and interesting characters, which makes it a great watch.
- This isn’t your average basketball anime, though. Each of the players have special abilities or powers that make them even stronger.

Section 6 of 8:

Kuroko’s Basketball Series Breakdown

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Season 1 Season 1 begins with Kuroko and Kagami joining the basketball team at Seirin High, and over the course of the season, it introduces several of the former Generation of Miracles members, including Ryota Kise, Shintaro Midorima, and Daiki Aomine. And of course, Kuroko and Kagami face off against some of these guys during the Inter-High Championships.^{[7]
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Season 2 The second season focuses on the Winter Cup tournament, with the various high school basketball teams aiming to qualify and then make it to the semi-finals. It also introduces the rest of the Generation of Miracles members, namely Atsushi Murasakibara and Seijuro Akashi. Once again, Kuroko, Kagami, and the rest of the team at Seirin High aim to beat the other high schools.
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Season 3 Season 3 picks up where Season 2 left off, and concludes the intense Winter Cup tournament. The season also includes several flashback episodes of the Generation of Miracles members in middle school, helping to flesh out all of the characters and their relationships.
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Bonus episodes There are four major bonus episodes that weren’t aired during the original run of the show, but were later included in the DVD releases. They mostly involve flashbacks and expand on some events from the show. Here’s a brief summary of each episode:^{[8]
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- Tip Off: A flashback episode where Ryota Kise joins the basketball team in middle school and comes to respect Kuroko.
- Idiots Can’t Win!: The Seirin High basketball team helps Kagami study so he won’t have to sit out on the finals.
- Would You Mind Doing That Once More: A flashback episode where Daiki Aomine first meets Kuroko in middle school.
- The Greatest Present: The former Generation of Miracles members gather to celebrate Kurko’s birthday after the Winter Cup.
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Last Game movie Kuroko’s Basketball The Movie: Last Game acts as a direct sequel to the anime series. The film centers around a street basketball team from the USA, who comes to Japan and defeats one of the best Japanese street teams. This prompts the Generation of Miracles (plus Kagami) to form a new team and face off against the US team.^{[9]
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Section 7 of 8:

Extra Kuroko’s Basketball Content

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Manga Kuroko’s Basketball actually began as a manga series! The manga is written and illustrated by Tadatoshi Fujimaki and was first released in 2008. It finished in 2014 with a total of 275 chapters, so there is a lot more Kuroko’s Basketball for you to check out once you finish the anime!^{[10]
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Video games There are several Kuroko’s Basketball video games, with a new mobile game, Kuroko's Basketball: Street Rivals, just released in the US in March 2026. Besides the mobile game, there have been several platform games, including Kuroko’s Basketball: Miracle Game for PSP, Kuroko’s Basketball: The Path to Victory for 3DS, and Kuroko’s Basketball: Bonds of the Future for 3DS.
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Stage play Interestingly, Kuroko’s Basketball was adapted to the theatre in 2016, with shows running from 2016 to 2018. There were four unique plays that mostly follow the seasons of the anime: The Encounter (first season), Over-Drive (second season), Ignite-Zone (rest of the second season), and Ultimate-Blaze (third season). The best part is that Kuroko’s voice actor in the anime, Kenshō Ono, plays Kuroko!^{[11]
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- There are DVDs of the stage plays, but they’re only in Japanese with no subtitles. You may be able to find uploads of the plays on YouTube, though!

Section 8 of 8:

More Anime Watch Order Guides

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Looking for a new anime series to check out? We’ve compiled the best watch order for some of the most popular series out there, including some more sports anime. Here are some shows to check out: