'Kuroko no Basket' Season 3 Release Date January 2015: Rakuzan 'Uncrowned Kings' Revealed!

Back in August, Crunchyroll announced that "Kuroko's Basketball" Season 3 will return March 2015. According to the latest reports, however, "Kuroko's Basketball" is arriving much sooner! This year's 49th issue of Weekly Shonen Jump confirmed that the "Kuroko's Basketball" Season 3 release date is January 2015 on channel MBS, Tokyo MXTV, and BS11.

According to Anime News Network, "Kuroko's Basketball" Season 3 will begin with episode "51st Quarter." As a refresher, "Kuroko's Basketball" left off with Seirin defeating Yosen by the skin of their teeth. The nail-biting game came to an end with a 73-72 result. Seirin will advance to the Top 4 of the Winter Cup, which suggests that Seiren's toughest game has yet to come. What's more, Generation of Miracles member Ryota Kise and Kaijo High make it to the Final 4 as well, which means Seiren must play in the toughest rematch they have ever faced. Rakuzan High and Shutoku High make the remaining two teams in the Final 4.

As if the charismatic and extremely talented Ryota Kise wasn't enough of a handful for Seirin, Kuroko, Kagami, and their scrappy team will have to face Rakuzan as well. Rakuzan, the defending Winter Cup champions for five years running, will be unlike any team that Seirin high has ever faced.

A team cannot be Winter Cup defending champions without some extraordinary basketball players and that's exactly what Rakuzan High has in spades. Right off the bat, Rakuzan possesses the mysterious Seijuro Akashi, the captain of the Generation of Miracles. We have yet to see Akashi play in the anime, but as the captain, he is arguably the best basketball player among the Generation of Miracles members. What's more, Rakuzan also possess three players that are known as the "Uncrowned Kings." The Uncrowned Kings played at the same time as the Team of Miracles. At a different time, the five players that make up the Uncrowned Kings could be considered Miracle players themselves. However, the individual skills of these Uncrowned Kings were vastly overshadowed by the Generation of Miracles' collective ability.

Three of the five Uncrowned Kings, Reo Mibuchi, Kotaro Hayama, and Eikichi Nebuya, play at Rakuzan with Seijuro Akashi. According to the latest from Shonen Jump, voice actors Wataru Hatano, Toshiki Masuda, and Takashiro Fujiwara will play as Reo, Kotaro, and Eikichi, respectively.

Stay tuned as we learn more about "Kuroko no Basket" in the months ahead. The "Kuroko no Basket" Season 3 release date will be in January 2015.