| “ | Alone you say? They are my precious pals. Compared to that my pride is worth nothing | ” |
—Momoharu Hanazono, to Vice Principle | ||
Momoharu Hanazono (花園 百春, Hanazono Momoharu) is the second-year center and captain of Kuzuryū High. He can also play the position of Power Forward when the team needs him. He has a twin brother, and his name is Chiaki Hanazono.
Appearance
Momoharu is about 187 cm tall. He has poor eyesight, and he requires glasses, but he rarely wears them. At the beginning of the series, Momoharu had a blond pompadour hairstyle. After the series 1st Inter-High District Qualifiers, Hanazono, to atone for his wrongdoings in causing a fire at the boys' basketball clubhouse, trims his hair. His jersey number is 4, and he wears 'ASICS Gel Double II' sneakers.
Personality
Momoharu has a superiority complex; his swagger is not a dead giveaway, but his attitude is. Due to those personality traits, Hanazono fits well in the position to be Kuzuryū High's captain. His twin brother, Chiaki, recommends others avoid being in any confrontation with him. He's stubborn and somewhat insecure about his basketball capabilities. But with the persistence of Sora, Momoharu found his passion for the sport basketball again.
Despite his horrible quality traits, Momoharu is an experienced basketball player. When he and his colleagues played a 5-on-1 friendly match against Sora, Hanazono was the only one who didn't do any dirty plays or got into any foul trouble. Hence, he is serious about playing basketball. As the team captain, he takes his position very seriously, and when his team gets into any trouble, Momoharu is not afraid to face the consequences for his team's actions.
Biography
Since a young age, Momoharu has been passionate about playing basketball. He, alongside his twin brother Chiaki, would stay late after school hours to practice. After constant training and hard work, Momoharu struggled with depth perception and could not improve his shooting skills. Thus, he could not play most of the time at the official games in his junior high. Due to his lousy shooting skills, Hanazono received a lot of scolding from his middle school coach, which caused him to be discouraged and stopped playing the sport until his sophomore year at Kuzuryū High. Eventually, he met Sora, and Kurumatani's constant zeal and passion for the sport brought him back to play basketball again.
Skills
Momoharu is the centerpiece for both offense and defense to Kuzuryū High. His team heavily relies on his rebounding and blocking skills, backed by the jumping power that enables him to go up against bigger guys, such as Shinichi Chiba of Maru High. Although being a primary center for Kuzuryū High, he is also a great power forward. He only switches his center position to forward when Kaname is on the court. As stated, he is terrible at shooting and layups. Due to his height, he is capable of doing dunks.
| Physical Ability | 10/10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Technique | 8/10 | |
| Stamina | 9/10 | |
| Mental Strength | 9/10 | |
| Special Ability | 9/10 | |
Etymology
- The name Momoharu means "peach."
- Momoharu's surname Hanazono means "flower, blossom" (花) (hana) and "garden" (園) (sono/zono).
Trivia
- The Hanazono twins' respective play styles are the exact opposite of one another where Chiaki excels in offense while Momoharu in defense.
- Momoharu's design is most likely modeled after Hanamichi Sakuragi from the Slam Dunk series, due to the similar hairstyle(s), playing ability, they both specialize in rebounds and they have an amazing talent in jumping ability.
Quotes
- "Lights are on in the gym... No way? It can't be he's been shooting from that line? Just how many shots has he made...?" - to Sora Kurumatani (Chapter 4)
- "In the Middle School I couldn't make a shot at all. Eventually I gave up before I became a senior student." - to Sora Kurumatani (Chapter 4)
- "I don't know what you were looking forward to. I've got no talent in basketball at all." - to Sora Kurumatani (Chapter 4)
- "It's real... That shrimp's expectations and hopes. Coz he's with us for a long time now, basketball hasn't been as boring." - to Chiaki Hanazono (Chapter 5)
- "I thought everything would change if we won. Even if we don't win. I thought something would change. But nothing will if I don't change... Nothing is going to change!!" - to himself (Chapter 138)