The following contains spoilers for Season 1 and Season 2 of "Kuroko's Basketball," streaming on Netflix.Whether through frame-by-frame recreation of sports games or in-depth descriptions of sport-specific techniques, almost all sports anime series try to incorporate some form of reality into the worlds they've created. Kuroko's Basketball is no exception to this trend, incorporating everything from magical techniques such as misdirection used by Tetsuya Kuroko to martial arts techniques like the Namba Run used by Seihō High. One of the show's flashiest techniques, The Zone, is, also one of the most inaccurate parts of the plot.

As a quick recap of the show's plot summary, Kuroko's Basketball focuses on the fight against The Generation of Miracles, a group of high-school students possessing phenomenal basketball skills that surpass normal human limits. From Shintarō Midorima's three-point shots that always land in the hoop to Atsushi Murasakibara's Thor's Hammer that blasts away the enemy team, the members of the Generation of Miracles are, without a doubt, prodigies. The show sets up fairly early on that the Zone is the only way Seirin High can defeat these superhuman-like players.

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What is The Zone?

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The "Zone" is a temporary state of heightened concentration experienced by a performing athlete that enables peak performance.

In the real world, there are many types of "zones" that individuals come across, whether that be The Twilight Zone, a 1959 fantasy horror TV series, or the friend zone, a dreaded place no one wants to end up in the dating scene.

According to Psychology Today, athletes alternatively refer to the Zone as the Flow, a state of zero friction, zero viscosity, and superconductivity. When athletes achieve this fluid performance, they not only tap into a state of increased concentration but also maximize their abilities for the task at hand.

In the anime series, The Zone is explained to be a highly-restrictive place that only prodigies can enter. For example, an exceptional player without the Zone can only reach up to 80% of their maximum potential; whereas, the same player with the Zone can access 100% of their full potential.

Who Can Enter the Zone?

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In real-world sports, The Zone is not as selective as it might sound. As it's a state of mind, it can be achieved so long as the athlete can cast away external feelings of failure, desperation, discomfort, and anxiety during the duration of the sport played (e.g. a basketball game or a tennis match). According to Psychology Today, the Zone is created when the inner ear's vestibular reflexes form a connection to the center of the Earth when an athlete accelerates.

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In the anime series, The Zone is highly selective and restrictive. Aside from Taiga Kagami, who forced his way into the Zone, the members of the Generation of Miracles are the only other characters who can enter it. As noted multiple times in the two seasons, the Zone can only be accessed by players who not only have prodigy-like abilities but also have a passion for playing basketball. For example, Murasakibara, while possessing exceptional blocking and dunking skills, couldn't access the Zone until he realized during his match again Seirin High that he actually liked the sport.

What is the Zone Beyond the Zone?

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In real-world sports, the Zone beyond the Zone does have an actual name: Superfluidity.

According to Psychology Today, Superfluidity is a state that can be achieved within the normal fluid channels of the Flow. Described as an egoless and ecstatic out-of-body experience, Superfluidity taps into a strong source within the mind that allows the athlete to exhibit superhuman strength, agility, or speed at a specific point in time through a portal or gateway of sorts. Interestingly, neuroscience also plays a big part in creating this Superfluid state, with the left and right hemispheres showing greater interactions with each other during this time.

In the anime series, the Zone beyond the Zone is sealed behind a closed, metal doorway with an unidentifiable gatekeeper who wards off athletes from entering. Like in real-world psychology, the Zone beyond the Zone is a state that can be reached only within the normal Zone and through a portal or entryway. The major difference, however, between Superfluidity and the Direct Drive Zone that Seirin High achieves is the gatekeeper.

During the final game of the series between Seijuro Akashi's Rakuzan High and Tetsuya Kuroko's Seirin High, Taiga Kagami realizes that the gatekeeper of the Zone beyond the Zone, or the Direct Drive Zone, is Kuroko himself. The power of friendship with his teammates is what allows him access to the full extent of the miraculous power.

Kagami goes on to win the game by using the Direct Drive Zone which allows all of his teammates to coordinate without any verbal or physical cues or signs. This is, however, not very plausible in real life, as the key component of entering the Zone beyond the Zone in the first place requires each of the players to be in the Zone.

While many avid anime fans of the sports genre may not watch Kuroko's Basketball for its realism, the usage of a real-life phenomenon like the Zone in the world of anime allows the audience to further immerse themselves in the show. Whether fantasy or reality, the series opens up endless possibilities for shounen sports anime to implement real-world psychology and science in a flashy yet informative way.

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Source(s): Psychology Today 1, Psychology Today 2, Psychology Today 3, & Merriam-Webster.