I would like to know the basketball comic "Transition Game"!
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by Our Founder/CEO&CTO Hiroyuki Chishiro
- He has worked as a visiting scholar at Michael Jordan's alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), from September 2012 to August 2013, and is familiar with US college basketball (NCAA) and the NBA. He is Japanese and also familiar with Japan basketball and B.LEAGUE (Japan).
- He is presently working as CTO at Guarantee Happiness LLC in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States (the town where UNC is located) from January 2020 and as CEO and CTO of Japanese Tar Heel, Inc. in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States from June 2022. He is familiar with the latest basketball in United States.
- We have written more than 110 articles on North Carolina and UNC and more than 20 articles on basketball.
- He played basketball in junior high and high school, and was in the top 8 in Chiba Prefecture in junior high school and in the top 16 in Chiba Prefecture in high school (Japan). He has experience playing American basketball with UNC students and North Carolina locals.
Table of Contents
Transition Game
Transition Game is a full-color basketball comic produced by twin NBA players Robin Lopez and Brook Lopez.
Transition Game is available as a web comic in English, Japanese, and Chinese.
The main character of Transition Game is Kameron Ford (Kam Ford), an American high school student playing in Germany.
The production company for Transition Games is Halcyon1142 LLC and the producers are the following four people, including Robin Lopez and Brook Lopez.
- Robin Lopez
- Brook Lopez
- Chris Lopez (eldest brother of Robin and Brook Lopez) (also scenario writer)
- Mizuho Nishio
An introduction of the producers can be found in this article.
The artist in charge of drawing the transition game is TATSUZ (according to this article (in Japanese), comic artist Katsumi Tatsuzawa).
Katsumi Tatsuzawa is an apprentice of the creator of the basketball comic "SLAM DUNK", Takehiko Inoue, and was the chief assistant for SLAM DUNK.
The relationship between Katsumi Tatezawa and Inoue is explained in detail in "#1: Secret Stories from the SLAM DUNK Era" (in Japanese).
If you want to know more about SLAM DUNK, please click the following.
The Twitter exchange between Robin Lopez and Takehiko Inoue is very interesting...
These are introduction videos of Transition Game.
Origin of Name of Transition Game
In basketball terminology, the transition game refers to a game in which players switch offensively and defensively.
However, the origin of the name transition game is based on their boyhood experience.
- The main character, Kam Ford, is a high school freshman living with his mother on a U.S. military base in Germany. However, due to his mother's work, they had to move to a remote island in Okinawa.
- Robin Lopez and her mother were teachers and taught at various schools, so they moved every time. My older brother (Chris) moved from Los Angeles when he was in middle school and lived on an island about 2 hours from Seattle. My mother also taught in Germany, so my brother had lived there before we were born.
For more details, please read this article (in Japanese) together with this one!
Creating Transition Game [Robin Lopez, SLAM DUNK, Rui Hachimura]
Robin Lopez also said, "SLAM DUNK is the most influential basketball comic in history".
Robin Lopez was teammates with Rui Hachimura on the Washington Wizards during the 2020-2021 season.
Characters of Transition Game
This section introduces the characters in the transition game.
Since many details are still unknown, we will add or revise the contents as new information becomes available.
Kameron Ford (Kam Ford)
Kameron Ford (#15) is the American protagonist of the transition game, a freshman at Stuttgart High School in Germany (junior high school in Japan). （His nickname is "Kam".)
Kameron Ford's position is point guard.
Kameron Ford is a big point guard (6.4 feet (195 cm) tall), like Magic Johnson (6.9 feet (206 cm) tall).
He is only 15 years old, so he has plenty of room to grow.
He wears the NBA All-Star jersey #32, so he probably idolizes Magic Johnson.
Kameron Ford's personality and style of play is a combination of Miyagi, Mitsui, and Rukawa in SLAM DUNK.
He can play not only point guard, but also shooting guard and small forward. (Maybe even center?!).
Loretta Ford
Loretta Ford is the mother of Kameron Ford.
She is currently a Lieutenant Commander, United States Navy, and has the following impressive educational background
- United States Naval Academy, Annapolis
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography
- UC San Diego
- MIT
Bruce Ford
Bruce Ford is a brother of Kameron Ford.
Simon Ford
Simon Ford is a brother of Kameron Ford.
NOTE: Bruce Ford is probably his twin older brother and Simon Ford is his twin younger brother. We will add or revise as soon as the details become available.
Eldwin Flakenrath
Eldwin Falkenrath (#31) is a teammate of Kameron Ford at Stuttgart High School.
Eldwin Falkenrath plays the position of power forward.
Tobias Scharfman (Tobi)
Tobias Scharfman (number #8) is a teammate of Kameron Ford at Stuttgart High School. (His nickname is "Tobyi).
Tobias Scharfman's position is shooting guard.
Miki (Mikio Yukio)
Miki (Mikio Yukio) is a genuine 3-point shooter who met on Kume Island, Okinawa, Japan.
He reminds us of Jin from SLAM DUNK.
He is a provisional member of the Kume High School basketball team.
Miki's position is shooting guard.
Miki will participate in the 3X3 tournament with Kam.
Raymond Abayan
Raymond Abayan is a teammate of Kam and Miki in the 3X3 tournament.
Raymond Abayan's position is guard-forward.
Chapters of Transition Game
We introduce each chapter of Transition Game.
Transition Game is available on the official website and on Amazon.com, but Amazon.com is the better price.
If you would like to read Transition Game, please click the following.
Official Website of Transition Game (Amazon.com)
Transition Game: VOLUME 1 (Amazon.com)
Transition Game: VOLUME 2 (Amazon.com)
Chapter 1: The 1st Quarter
The story of the U17 German Club Cup Finals in Wurzberg, Germany, begins with 42 seconds left in the game.
It reminded me of the game scene in SLAM DUNK when Mitsui was in junior high school.
It's an interesting story that makes you want to read the rest of the story to see what kind of drama will be created.
Chapter 2: Meeting Miki Pt. 1
The setting has changed from Germany to Kume Island, Okinawa, Japan.
There, he meets Miki (Mikio), a 3-point shooter with a beautiful shooting form.
Chapter 3: Meeting Miki Pt.2
While Kam and Mikio are enjoying their shooting practice, a mysterious boy stands in their way.
Chapter 4: Of Doubt and the Allure of Gashapon Pt. 1
This time, the main focus is on Kam's daily life and reminiscences.
Chapter 5: Of Doubt and the Allure of Gashapon Pt. 2
Once again, the main focus is on Kam's daily life and reminiscences.
The story takes place in the vast sugarcane fields of Kume Island (Okinawa).
Chapter 6: Bikes, Blisters, and Ol’ Blue Eyes
This chapter talks about bicycles.
You can enjoy the daily life in Okinawa!
Chapter 7: Life's a b@#ch
This story shows Kam's suffering on Kume Island.
Chapter 8: Life's a b@#ch Pt. 2
This is a story about Kam playing basketball with sailors on Kume Island.
Chapter 9: Open Gym at the Once Legendary Kume High Part 1
This is the story of Kam's participation in a 3X3 tournament.
Chapter 10: Open Gym at the Once Legendary Kume High Part 2
This is the story of Kam's encounter with the heroine at a 3X3 tournament.
Summary
We introduced Transition Game, a full-color basketball comic produced by twin NBA players "Robin Lopez and Brook Lopez".
Transition Game is a recommended work that promises to become a masterpiece like SLAM DUNK.
Official Website of Transition Game (Amazon.com)
Transition Game: VOLUME 1 (Amazon.com)
Transition Game: VOLUME 2 (Amazon.com)