hotta norio

Norio Hotta leads a gang of fellow Third Year students who are the reigning delinquents at Shohoku High School. Sakuragi catches his attention on the first day when he gets into a fight with two of Hotta's cronies, leading Hotta to issue a direct challenge to Sakuragi by disrupting one of his classes. However, before Sakuragi and his gang can respond, Hotta and his group encounter Rukawa on the school roof, where Rukawa singlehandedly defeats all four of them. Hotta is a close friend of Mitsui and supported him in a fight against Miyagi a year ago. When Miyagi returns, Hotta and his friends once again back Mitsui in his attack on the basketball team. After Kogure reveals Mitsui's past involvement with basketball, Hotta realizes that Mitsui still harbors a desire to play. Persuaded by Sakuragi's gang, Hotta shares the blame for the attack on the team, helping to clear the team from any fighting charges. Despite losing fights to both Sakuragi's gang and Rukawa, Hotta and his friends are considered among the best fighters at Shohoku. Later, Hotta and his gang become supporters of the basketball team during the National Championship Tournament, largely due to their friendship with Mitsui, whom they affectionately call "Honoo no Otoko" (Flaming Man). Even though they get intimidated by the aggressive Toyotama crowd, they remain loyal supporters.