| Introduction |
| “ | My skills are mine and mine alone. Nobody can do them but me | ” |
—Tarou Kabachi, to Sora Kurumatani | ||
Tarou Kabachi (蒲地太郎, Kabachi Tarou) is a second-year shooting guard who plays for Kitasumi High. He is Nanao Nao's cousin. His motto is to "always look cool." Due to his energetic and show-off personality, Kenji has jokingly nicknamed him "Farto Kabachi," and Chiaki calls him "Silky Seaweed Hair."
Appearance[]
Taro is about 178 cm tall. He has medium-length black hair that ends before his shoulders with corresponding eyes. His jersey number is 7, and he wears 'Reebok X Beam Franchise' sneakers.
Personality[]
Tarou is an extremely show-off and competitive individual. When speaking to others, he has a habit of highly talking about himself, especially in terms of his basketball skills. Which, in return, makes him look annoying to most people. He also hates skilled and good looking basketball players, especially Tokiwa. The two of them have an extreme rivalry against each other. Whenever they meet, Tokiwa knowing about his competitive and show-off nature, often teases Tarou how much better he is basketball skill-wise.
Tarou also takes a lot of pride in being the teams' ace and works diligently hard to maintain that position. He is a fierce competitor, utmost belief in his basketball skills, and never backs down even when facing a challenging adversary such as Yokohama Taiei High. He also hates people who look down on him or his team, especially during the Kanagawa Prefecture semifinals. When Sakamaki, Yokohama Taiei High's coach, replaced Shiraishi with Fuwa, Tarou took that personally, making him perform harder to prove his teams' worth.
Biography[]
Tarou is from Kawasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture. He is Nanao Nao's cousin, and the two, being enthusiasts of the sport of basketball, developed a close and friendly relationship. Since Nao's family operated a sports goods store, Tarou would often visit that site, primarily for basketball sneaker shopping. Initially, Tarou treated Nao as a cousin. But as both have aged, his affection towards Nanao also grown. At present, he is deeply in love with her, and on multiple occasions, has expressed his loving desires to her. Nao finds it creepy, as both are cousins, and she usually ignores him or runs away when Tarou is in his affection mode with her. Tarou also has a soft and carrying side for Nanao; when someone is talking against her or questions her coaching skills, Tarou jumps in support of her.
Tarou made his official appearance in the series during Kuzuryū High's first training camp. After finding out that Nao has become the manager of Kuzuryu High. Tarou decided to pay a friendly visit to Nanao as she was giving training instructions to her team. He gave her a surprise hug from behind and later introduced himself to the Kuzuryū High squad as Kitasumi High's ace. He also challenged Nabe to a one-on-one friendly bout. Upon leaving, he informed Nao's team that there would be a practice match between his team and Kuzuryū High. The practice game was intense between the two schools, with constant change in score lead from both sides, and in the end, Tarou's team came out victorious.
Tarou has also been very critical of the Kuzuryū High teams' performance, as the club wasn't able to initially win most of their matches. He questioned Nao's decision to join the team and viewed that Kuzuryū High's bad performance tarnished her efficient coaching skills. Later in the series, in hopes of seeing Kuzuryū High's first-ever victory, he went to the Monster Bash Tournament accompanied by his good friend Katori. Tarou arrived at that tourney mid-way during the fierce battle between Kuzuryū High and The Gorillaz. Before the game's conclusion, when Nao's team was down a couple of points, Tarou commented that if Kuzuryu High doesn't win this match, they are unworthy of his cousin, Nao. In the end, Kuzuryū High won that intense match, and he was relieved and happy for Nanao.
Skills[]
Taro is the 'ace' of Kitasumi High. He is a well-rounded player and an efficient shooting guard with a sharp drive and an excellent perimeter shooting skill. Although being 178 cm tall (5 feet 9 1/3 inches), he has the physical ability to be able to dunk. His signature move is the stop-and-go shot. His form is always uneven, and due to that, he is tough to guard.
| Physical Ability | 9/10 | |
|---|---|---|
| Technique | 10/10 | |
| Stamina | 10/10 | |
| Mental Strength | 7/10 | |
| Special Ability | 9/10 | |
Etymology[]
- The name Tarou means "eldest son."
- Tarou's surname Kabachi means "objection, quibble, yammer."
Quotes[]
- “Ah is this Kuzuryu High basketball team? I’ve missed you Nao-pe. Ossu, It’s been a while.” - to Nao Nanao (Chapter 35)
- “I am Kitasumi High’s ace Tarou Kabachi. Nao is my cousin. Nice to meet ya.” - to Kuzuryū High (Chapter 35)
- “Nao asked us to be your training match partners and all. So, I came to check it out.” - to Kuzuryū High (Chapter 35)
- “Now then... It’s you! You the ace here right? You have the smell of an ace.” - to Ryuuhei Nabeshima (Chapter 35)
- “Tokiwa!... We may have lost before, but I got more points than you. So, don’t get all confident.” - to Tokitaka Tokiwa (Chapter 37)
- "Listen up, squirt! You're not on anybody's radar! The only winner here is me!" - to Sora Kurumatani (Chapter 37)
- "You're sure slow on the uptake, Koga-ji (gramps). The coach should be the last one to need a damn pep talk. We were ready to put everything into this game from the very start!" - to Koga (Chapter 38)
- "I told you didn't! I will be the one to win. Your three pointers aren't half bad. But that alone isn't enough. Let me tell you this, its not about the height difference. The decisive factor between us is that I have wings you don't and that's all there is to it." - to Sora Kurumatani (Chapter 40)
- "Of course I refuse to help you. Do you think a ramen chef gives out the secret of his soup to just anybody?" - to Sora Kurumatani (Chapter 111)
- "It's getting rowdy in there. I've come to bear witness Kuzuryū High's first victory." - to himself (Chapter 148)
- "If they (Kuzuryū High) don't win this match, they're unworthy of Nao." - to Shingo Katori (Chapter 149)