Kids on the Slope

I love jazz. Some of my favorite memories of my time living in Florida have to be going downtown to listen to the local jazz festival. Sitting in front of that gazebo and getting into the spirit of the musicians is something you can only experience if you listen to jazz. It’s so different from any other musical genre and I was excited as hell to get to watch an anime centered around this amazing style of music. The problem is Sakamichi no Apollon isn’t as much about jazz as it is about lame characters. There’s jazz in the series, and it definitely plays a part,but it doesn’t play as large a part as I wish it would. This seems to be the theme of music-based anime, not paying attention to the music as much as the boring lives of the characters. Jazz is frantic, it changes with the mood. There are a lot of things about jazz that could have been played out in Sakamichi no Apollon that aren’t. That heart and soul of jazz are only seen during the portions where the characters play music. Other than that, the series falls flat. Kaoru is a guy. He goes to high school. He’s a bookworm. Sentarou is a guy. He goes to high school. He fights a lot. Ritsuko is a girl. She goes to high school. I can’t discern her character besides “love interest”. Together they are the three main characters of our little drama. Kaoru goes to high school as the new kid. He meets Sentarou who is a pretty violent guy who skips classes (the delinquent). Sentarou is a drummer who plays jazz with Ritsuko’s father and a guy named Jun. Kaoru, who can play the piano, joins in on the fun and learns how to evolve from his classical roots into the realm of jazz. There are, of course, some bumps on the road. A couple of love triangles (those are the main plague that infest this anime), Sentarou’s problems with his father, and Jun’s becoming a good-for-nothing. The plot is really not that exciting. You’re watching this for the music more than likely, not the duo of love triangles that seem to give way to more of a bromance at the end than anything else. This is where the plot becomes especially painful. The series plot is loose, and by that I mean nothing is consequential or matters. It’s there to hold the series together and give it a reason for being, but it’s mediocre at best. By the end, nothing really matters and the series goes back to square one. “BUT RATCHET! WHAT ABOUT THE MUSIC?” What music? There’s a little bit of music going around, but for a music based anime there’s not enough. As I said in the beginning of the review, there’s not a lot of music going on. There are a few songs here and there, but not enough to warrant being considered as “musically focused”. It’s more just a school life anime than anything else and suffers because of the fact it tries to be something it is not. “BUT AT LEAST IS HAS GOOD CHARACTERS!” All the characters were generic at best. While Sentarou was a decent character, I grew to hate Kaoru more and more as the series progressed. It reached the pinnacle when he nearly raped Ritsuko. Ritsuko wasn’t a bad character, but she didn’t actually have a lot of character there. She was just there as a love interest and a plot point more so than anything. Jun was okay, but he also had some issues that made him dislikable. His girlfriend, Yurika, was okay. I wasn’t really impressed by anything that concerned the plot. I was impressed with some of the music (the little that there was) and the animation was especially good during jam sessions and concerts, unbelievably so. I’m unable to say too much about Sakamichi no Apollon because it’s so average. It’s the definition of average. Good music and good animation, mediocre characters and plot, and an overall disappointment. If the series had been longer I feel that perhaps the plot and characters would have been more entertaining. But as it is, Sakamichi no Apollon is merely adequate. The last episode feels especially rushed and I assumed I was meant to feel emotions of some sort, but was left not really caring. And when, by the end, I could care less what happens, then I know that I’m not watching anything special. Sakamichi no Apollon is a hesitant pass for me. It’s overhyped, and that hype is probably why you decided to jump on the bandwagon and check this anime out. There are some qualities that are enjoyable, but taken as a whole, it’s merely adequate in satiating the thirst for jazz, as well as the search for a good music anime.

Sakamichi no Apollon is a school drama from 2012. The original manga was written by Kodama Yuki. The anime version was brought to us by MAPPA & Tezuka, neither of which I've seen a lot from. I don't know what to expect from this one at all. So, let's just get right into it. Story: Our focus is on Nishimi Kaoru, a bright young student who plays the piano and moves a lot. He's also a complete drama queen, but we'll talk about that later. Nishimi suffers from social anxiety issues and feels the need to get some air on the roof after things take aslightly unanticipated turn. Fortunately for him, he's able to overcome that within about five minutes of meeting Kawabuchi Sentarou. Aren't we all glad that plot point was there? I mean, it contributed so much to the narrative. He and Sentarou wind up becoming friends and playing jazz together while filling the time between sessions with melodrama. Therein lies the massive underlying problem with the series. Everything has to be overly melodramatic. Dude falls in love after knowing a girl for all of two minutes? Better act like this is super serious and dramatic. Someone gets rejected? Total drama. Sentarou might play... rock music with a band made up of their class mates? This is clearly the most important disaster in history. Don't even pretend that worse things have happened. Although, in all fairness, the series actually acknowledges that that one is childish. To exacerbate things, however, the vast majority of these “hyper, ultra dramatic situations” get resolved, at least to a satisfactory degree, in the next episode. Probably would've worked better with fewer sources of drama that were ongoing. Here's the thing, teenagers can be overly dramatic about stupid things but watching teenagers be overly dramatic about stupid things is really annoying. Especially when the narrative treats it like it's super serious. This shite isn't serious, it's dumb teenagers being drama queens. So, when two things that are actually serious happen in the last couple episodes they just don't have much weight. Especially when one, an injury, gets resolved in less than five minutes. The romance is honestly where it's at its worst. We start with a ridiculous situation where one dude likes a girl, she likes another guy, he likes a different girl and she likes this other guy. From there, we get a lot of overblown angst and aggravation because we can't pummel these wankers. The only good parts of the series are the jazz jam sessions where the characters are just enjoying themselves for once. Unfortunately, these scenes are vastly outweighed by the scenes where drama is happening over something that really doesn't matter. Characters: The characters in this are reminiscent of the worst people you knew in secondary school. You know the ones. They treat everything that's remotely upsetting to them as an unmitigated disaster. Then they get mad at you because you openly don't care and won't even remotely validate them. Kaoru is the worst about it, putting distance between himself and his friends on multiple occasions but always for petty reasons. Kodama, you do know that introverts don't have those kinds of rifts just because we're socially awkward and need to limit our time around people, right? Usually we just excuse ourselves from an event or don't go out for a while when we need time alone. And, trust me on this one, your friends will understand if you just tell them “Hey, I need some time alone. Can you try calling back tomorrow?” Yes, even in High school. Art: The artwork is one positive the series has going for it. The backgrounds are well detailed and look quite nice. The characters are drawn well. The animation is nice and smooth. So, I'll give them full credit on that one. They may not have produced something with a compelling narrative or tolerable characters but they made what they had look pretty. Sound: The acting in this is passable enough. Our main cast is made up of Hosoya Yoshimasa (Reiner Braun), Kimura Ryouhei (Sorey) & Nanri Yuuka (Takakura Erika). Their performances here are perfectly fine. The music is pretty good, mostly. I won't pretend that I cared for the theme tune and its whiny sounding singing but the jazz is good. Kanno Yoko's soundtrack in general works nicely. Ho-yay: There's a little bit. Kaouru goes off on a tangent about how handsome Sentarou is at one point. And Sentarou calls him an angel at another. Bad dialogue writing or unexplored sexual tension, you make the call. Final Thoughts: When it comes to the basics, the artwork, music and acting, Sakamichi no Apollon does just fine for itself. Unfortunately, it doesn't do so well in terms of the main content. The characters are overly melodramatic to the point of being quite obnoxious a lot of the time. The narrative is a lot of annoying, all too easily resolved melodrama with the occasional good jazz session thrown in. All factors considered, it's kind of a bad series. Although you might enjoy it if you like that High school melodrama. For myself, I lost all patience for that while I was still in High school and watching this was, more often than not, an irritation. So, for myself, I give it a 3/10. Next week I'll look at Wizardry.

First of all, I must say it's been a while since I've enjoyed a series as much as I enjoyed Sakamichi no Apollon. The story itself has an amazing pace, and in my opinion, has the perfect combination of romance, drama and music. The developments feel very natural and there are no fillers. The only "complain" I can have from the story is that the ending might feel a little unsatisfying. Luckily, if you end up feeling unsatisfied like me, you can read the extra volume from the manga and I can assure you that you'll feel a lot better after reading it. The art is okay,I guess. It has a very realistic vibe, and fits the story really well. I didn't see any error in the animation either, which is always appreciated. Also, the animation during the musical scenes was particularly good. The soundtrack fits every scene perfectly, so kudos to the studio. It is always nice to have consistently good animation as well as a good soundtrack throughout a whole series. There are two main characters in the series, and they are best friends even though they make an odd couple. I feel that the two main characters are really well developed. You can see how the two of them grow up as characters as the story moves on. On the other hand, except for one specific character, most secondary characters don't get a proper development. I mention this because there are a couple of secondary characters that I'm sure most viewers would've loved for them to have more screen time. The series in general is very enjoyable. If you're into jazz music (or good music in general), you're definitely gonna love watching this series. Also, this is one of the few anime where the English singing is actually pretty good. I had a really good time listening to every single music piece played, as well as with the tons of drama generated from the different love situations that develop. I gave the series an 8/10. I loved it, but I felt there were some things that could've been told better, especially the ending. I recommend this series a 100%. Actually, I'd say this is a must watch series. Also, don't forget to read the extra volume from the manga once you finish the series. Have a great time watching Sakamichi no Apollon!

Treasure your Friends, Unlike Love Affairs, Friendship is for Life. Kids on the Slope follow the story of Nishimi, Kaoru as he started a new life in the far countryside of japan. Kaoru has been struggling to form meaningful relationships with peers of his age, due to his constant switching school because of family circumstances. This unfortunate lifestyle is the sole reason why he felt alienated when encountering new people. He develops “Anxiety Nausea” as a coping mechanism whenever he becomes socially stress or nervous when people approach him. But everything changes once he forms an unlikely friendship with Mukae, Ritsuko, and Kawabuchi, Sentarou. The storyby itself is simple and down to earth but it excels in handling most of its genre elements. It focuses more on the coming of age slice of life aspect than romance and music. The plot values the importance of forming and preserving personal relationships. It teaches us to have the perspective that not everybody can be interpreted easily by just looking at them on the surface. Kids on the Slope have balance spacing when it comes to school drama and romance even though it is rather slow. When it comes to the romance aspect of the show, it was never the primary focus. The romance part is used as a means of the narrative to tour our main character's internal feelings that would be very hard to show without any timed triggers. Romantic relationships exist in the show, as a form of subplot. Ultimately the purpose of romance is to strengthen the bonds of our main characters. Sometimes true love is not always about hugs, kisses, and sex but rather about the mature acceptance and respect, seeking the best for the person we love even it is painful. For Character Relationship, the only thing worth mentioning is Bon (Kaoru’s nickname) and Sentarou interaction. Their relationship is the deciding factor whether you will like the series or not. It can be interpreted some sort of homosexual relationship for the attraction of female demographics, understandably because this show is “Josei”, or a remarkable example of a brotherly bond between two close friends. As a guy, I chose the latter interpretation. Bon and Sentarou are the complete opposite of each other when it comes to strengths and specialty. What establishes their relationship is the deep admiration for a certain music genre as a form of escapism in their daily lives, a special bond they both share. As Bon and Sentarou's friendship grew over time with a little help from Ritsuko, they both realize they share more common characteristics and weaknesses. So far there isn’t much to say to the supporting cast, most interactions, character exposition, and development are focus on Bon, Sentarou, and Ritsuko. Some characters do have a fair share of exposition and development. Another thing I see in the narrative that was handled incredibly well is the “conflict”. Sure the conflict and stake are most of the time are misunderstandings and sometimes 1st world problems. For me as an adult, I see the first world problem is quite common for teenagers, based on experience. But it is nice that these conflicts wouldn’t last for more than at least 2 episodes and not longer than 3 episodes. This is an amazing tactic the story uses to flesh out and develops our main characters. For every problem they encounter and every simple squabble, they manage to fix, it is a reflection that they are still innocent kids but willing to accept mistakes to maturely grow. They learn from their mistakes and they are willing to help each other out unconditional which I love to see in a slice of life anime. It’s well written and natural. The conflict presented is not too overdramatic and grey. It interprets problems as a part of our life that we must engage it forward than running away from it. It is a nice message that the story has to offer. For the technical stuff like Music and Animation, I say this anime did an amazing job adapting the source of the highest quality. First of all the background and character design is great, special mention when it comes to lightning and shadowing. The anime has a good soundtrack. The OST’s is incredible in setting the mood. Musical performance is off the roof! The animation for performance accuracy is outstanding, that’s one amazing drum roll! There is a passion put on it. The direction with the music I say well-thought-out in the story narrative. Using music as a medium to express essential character emotion and resolve is something to credit the show for. (Final Thoughts) To Me Kids in the Slope, not a groundbreaking anime when it comes to the story especially for a slice of life, school drama romances type, I think it did what it wanted to accomplish, it has a good story and satisfying characters. I liked how the characters grow and develop over time. The main characters interaction and solid bond make me keep on watching the anime. I always like how the story explores Bon and Sentarou's struggles in life. Their friendship, I say the most remarkable thing the anime has to offer and the music is a good bonus. If people are looking for a simple, relaxing, and not too long coming of age slice of life, I will gladly recommend this anime.