Anime Eureka

Biodata

Name: Kaede Rukawa
A.k.a.: Wild Fox, Super Rookie, Shohoku’s Ace player
Age: 15 - 16
Birtday: January 1st
Highschool: Shohoku Highschool
Junior High: Tomigaoka Junior Highschool
Grade: 1st
Class: 10
Height: 187 cm (6′1 ½)
Weight: 75 kg (165 lbs.)
Position: small forward (SF)
Jersey no.: 11
Shoe Brand: Nike Air Jordan 5
Voice actor: Hikaru Midorikawa

    Rukawa Kaede is, in many ways, the opposite of Sakuragi - attractive to girls, skilled at basketball, and very cold and unfeeling. The only traits they share are that they are not academically inclined and good fighters. He regards Sakuragi as an idiot, and is not shy about calling him an idiot to his face - actually, he knows Sakuragi can put his talents to a better use, but is ashamed to see the immaturity with which he deals with things. His hobby is sleeping, and is usually seen asleep whenever he’s not on the court; he can even ride his bike while asleep often crashing with objects when doing so. Waking Rukawa from a nap is considered unforgivable, since he will almost automatically beat up the culprit. Unsurprisingly, he has also been in his fair share of off-court fights, but can hold his own. Rukawa’s goal is to be the best high school player in Japan, and he considers Sendoh of Ryonan to be his greatest rival.

 
    Rukawa is extremely good at basketball, and possesses a wide range of skills to complement his height, athleticism and drive to win. Despite being merely a first-year high school player, he is the undisputed ace of Shohoku’s team. In the Kanagawa Interhigh Tournament, he was named one of the top five players, the only first year player so honored. He has managed to change the course of many games, such as when he single-handedly brought Shohoku back from a double-digit deficit against Kainan. He even managed to continue in the game against Toyotama despite losing the vision in one eye due to an intentional foul and could take free throws with his eyes closed. However, his style was criticized as being too selfish, and he sometimes comes into conflict with his teammates for various reasons; this was one of the reasons why Coach Anzai refused to give him his blessing when Rukawa told him that he intended to go to the USA, and told him to become the best in Japan before he even thought of it. When he was outplayed by Sawakita during the match against Sannoh Technical, though, he realized that he had to change his style and pass the ball. It was his pass that led to Hanamichi’s buzzer-beating shot, winning the match. Rukawa is subsequently named a member of the All-Japan basketball team.

 
Family and background:
    There is not much known about Rukawa’s family. But as we look at his Nike outfit, Panasonic walkman and cool bike we get the idea that he’s from a quite wealthy family. He attended the Tomigaoka Junior High. He was the basketball team captain and was already a very well known player. Although Ryonan’s coach asked him to join the Ryonan Basketball Team, Rukawa chose for Shohoku. (Because it’s near his home…) He doesn’t have any close friends. Rukawa is extremely popular in his school, he has his own cheerleaders club, that started with three girls but grew out to a LOT. Besides, he also has a great fan called Ichiro Mizumasa who is still attending his Junior Highschool and has become the basketball team’s captain after Rukawa left. Ichiro’s biggest dream is to become national champion along with Rukawa. Unfortunately, Ichiro has a terrible injury on his knee, has to undergo surgery and won’t be able to play basketball anymore.

Personality:
    Rukawa is a very cool person and seems not to care about anything but basketball. His passion for basketball and sleeping are the only things he has in mind. He is kinda rude to most of the people he meets, but to the ladies he is less rude, just silent. He hates when people disturb him when he’s asleep, mostly he’ll beat those people up, even if those are teachers. Rukawa is definitely a person of action rather than words. When his team is behind, he’s always the person who steps up and takes over the game. A lot of people consider Rukawa as the most selfish person ever, but he doesn’t care about what others think about him. Rukawa is a confident and independent person for sure. He only has respect for people that are strong and capable, but those are also the people that he sees as rivals and wants to defeat very badly. He hates to lose and just can’t stand it.

Source: [link1] [link2]

COMMENT:

    I was madly in love with Rukawa the first time he appeared on the show. Just by looking at him, it made me say “Yes! He’s my type of a guy!” It was funny to watch a cool looking guy having a serious face all the time sleeping on his desk in class hours with dripping saliva. He was so cute being like that. Rukawa isn’t just a talented basket ball player, and he always wants the best. He had this determination to win and is a perfectionist on his own. That’s why Sakuragi and Rukawa doesn’t go together too well.