THE SUPER TALENT : KAEDE RUKAWA

Kaede Rukawa (流川 楓 Rukawa Kaede) is the small forward of the Shohoku team, and Hanamichi Sakuragi's rival. He is the polar opposite to Sakuragi — attractive to girls, skilled at basketball, and very cold and aloof, although he does share some traits with Sakuragi in that they are not academically inclined and are good fighters. Although he regards Sakuragi as an idiot and the two frequently get into conflicts, he seems to realize that Sakuragi can put his talents to better use. Takenori Akagi's younger sister, Haruko, has a crush on him, though she does not confess it and he himself is completely unaware of her feelings. Rukawa's chief hobby outside basketball is sleeping, and he is usually seen asleep whenever he's not on the court because he spends his nights practicing further. Due to this, he is prone to falling asleep even while riding his bicycle. He has also been in his fair share of off-court fights, but can hold his own. Rukawa's goal is to be the best high school player in Japan, and he considers Sendoh of Ryonan to be his greatest rival. He is often referred to as the "super-rookie" and the "ace of Shohoku". Rukawa is extremely good at basketball, and possesses a wide range of skills to complement his height, athleticism and drive to win. Despite being merely a first-year high school player, he is the undisputed ace of Shohoku's team. In the Kanagawa Inter-high Tournament, he was named one of the top five players, the only first-year player so honored. He has changed the course of many games, such as when he single-handedly brought Shohoku back from a double-digit deficit against Kainan. However, his style is criticized as being too selfish and lone wolf, and he sometimes gets into conflict with his teammates for various reasons. This was one of the reasons why Coach Mitsuyoshi Anzai refused to give him his approval when Rukawa told him that he intended to go to the United States, and told him to become the top-ranking player in Japan before he even thought of it. When he was outplayed by Sawakita during the match against Sannoh though, he realized that he had to change his style of play and pass the ball. It was his pass that led to Sakuragi's buzzer-beating shot, winning the match. Rukawa is later named a member of the All-Japan basketball team. In the anime he is voiced by Hikaru Midorikawa.