Written by: Nicole Castro
Published on: December 7, 2021 at 17:00 PHT (GMT+8)
Looking for a new take on basketball? Well, we're in luck because a new basketball manga series titled SECOND BREAK!! by Tomohiro Inaki began serialization under Kodansha's Weekly Shōnen Magazine last Dec. 1, 2021.
Plot
The series protagonist is Nozomi Komine, a 24-year-old student at Ritsuou Daigaku Daigakuin who lost his dream of playing in the NBA after sustaining a serious injury nine years ago. Since he couldn't let go of basketball, he changed course with the goal of entering the NBA as a coach. But one day, he gets into an accident that sends him back nine years into the past, right before his injury. Not just that, he discovers there's something different about his basketball abilities this time…could this be his second chance to play for the NBA?
Initial Impressions
There's definitely a special place for this kind of plot in many athletes' hearts. Anyone whose sports dreams were shattered by a career-ending injury will be able to relate. We say this manga series has the potential to be the kind of healing you need if you're going through something similar.
Komine is a lovable character who opens the series with a realistically optimistic attitude. No, he couldn't play for the NBA anymore because of his injury, but he didn't sink into despair by quitting basketball forever. He loved the sport too much and decided to aim for being a coach to keep basketball in his life. Still, the manga gets real about his regrets, of him being unable to move his body the way he used to.
So imagine his joy when he realizes his high school self could run again:
We're definitely here for Komine's happiness. But we have to wonder, how exactly did he manage to travel back in time? Will he finally get to play for the NBA, or will other events lead him to despair? It's time to find out.
The first chapter is available for free (in Japanese) on Pocket Magazine.
Digest by AniradioPlus
Reference: Second Break official Twitter, Comic Natalie
