Can I say what's been on my mind for a while?
I think Shuutoku is the real rival of the series.
You can even say Shuutoku, and particularly Midorima, is the secondary protagonist.
Let me explain :) *pulls out a board filled with red strings* So :)))
Out of all the schools with a Generation of Miracles member, Shuutoku is the only one with no emotional stake to them, except the fact that the second years lost to them the previous year because they lost Kiyoshi and there's Midorima, one of the GoM.
Kuroko is close with Aomine (and kinda Kise), and Akashi is the reason he found out his style of basketball. So Touou, Kaijou, and Rakuzan already have high stakes to them for Kuroko personally.
Yosen is a bit different because it's more emotionally staked to Kagami. Because Kuroko does not get along well with Murasakibara (and even after getting defeated, Murasakibara didn't change much, really) so the series introduced Himuro.
Shuutoku, on the other hand? Kuroko is also not really that close to Midorima, so nothing really had stake in that area. But what do they have instead?
Opposition. The "natural enemy", if you will.
Our two main characters are Kagami and Kuroko.
Kagami is known to be able to jump high, rivaled with Midorima, whose shooting style defies the law of physics–I mean shoots really fucking high.
Kuroko's whole thing is his misdirection, the fact that his presence is really low, people don't tend to notice him, so enter Takao, who has the ability to see him even outside of court.
And then there's the fact that Seirin fought against Shuutoku twice, technically thrice or more if we count the training camp. Yes, they also fought Touou and Kaijou twice, but those stakes are different. So already, Shuutoku is the school we see the most of after Seirin.
There's also the character development. Midorima didn't change much from when they're in Teikou. In fact, he's the one working the hardest, often seen practicing after everyone else leaves (except Takao who decided to accompany him), as opposed to the other three whose grown compliant and Akashi whose all about he never loses. It also didn't help the fact that, when the others get new abilities when they're about to lose *coughcoughzonecoughcough* Midorima instead learn teamwork.
Hm, a character who started as arrogant and selfish, who is so sure of himself, slowly learns to trust his teammates and that he can't win alone? Sounds like a typical protagonist character development to me.
Have you ever realized that? The others, even Kagami, ultimately is dependant on themselves, but Midorima is the only one who actually embody teamwork *screams about the sky direct 3p shot*.
Hell, the Shuutoku vs Rakuzan have the same vibe as Seirin vs Touou.
There's a reason why Midorima and Takao are the only duo officially called the "Light and Shadow" in the series.
Anyway, Shuutoku is my school and I will continue crying over Midorima and Takao being the only two left of the original starter, goodbye ✌️
