DESCRIPTION

CAST

MANGA DramaSakamichi no Apollon

REVIEWS

• 

  Ezekiel01

  82/100
  Treasure your Friends, Unlike Love Affairs, Friendship is for Life.

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  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.

  

  Kaoru, Sentarou and Ritsuko Friendship

  The story by 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.

  

  Bon and Sen Friendship

  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.

  The Boys Musical Sessions

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  Final Thoughts

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  To Me Kids in the Slope, is 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.

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• 

  Jamiebreeze

  75/100
  An everlasting bond found through music.

  This review contains spoilers.
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  Kids on the slope is a beautiful take on how friendship is for life and about the joy of playing music. It is a show filled with incredible jazz music, fluid animation when the characters are playing their instruments, likable and complex characters, gorgeous soundtrack, and it portrays a friendship so strong and heartwarming that I was a sobbing mess at the end. This is probably one of the best music anime out there. It has comedy, it has romance, and the drama in the show never feels too heavy. The ending reaches a satisfying conclusion and it was a joy to watch from beginning to end.

  

  When the show begins, we get introduced to our main character, Kaoru. He has been changing schools ever since he was little, so he is always misunderstood and just thought of as a rich brat by all of his classmates. (The show does really well in building the tension he feels in the classroom by using darker tones and using the music in their favor while playing Kaoru's voice.) He meets a classmate named Sentaro and the two of them, along with Ritsuko, start being closer friends as the story goes along. The main trio works together and the three of them are well-written but I have to hand it to Kaoru. He is a fantastic protagonist. He begins as this shy kid who wants to throw up whenever problems arise, and little by little, with the help of his friends and also he himself, starts getting out of his shell. So much that he grows bold enough to confess to the girl he likes. The friendship between him and Sentaro is one of the strongest points in this show.

  

  Two people who understand one another even without saying anything, and who in the end bring out the best in one another. Their bond is worked really well and once you reach the ending you can't help but feel immense happiness at their reunion. While the main characters are all fairly likable, some of the supporting cast is not. Their motivations have no deep meaning and they add nothing too important to the plot in the end.

  The show explores many types of love, and those relationships it presents us are nicely laid out in the beginning, but not worked as much as they need to make an impact. I was very wary of the show having a love triangle (which ended up being a love square by the way, but that ended up not being a huge deal.) Kaoru and Ritsuko are a cute couple, but the chemistry between them is just not good enough for me to feel any type of way about them ending up together or not. Many times they never talked about their problems with one another, and their relationship is incredibly boring at times. Kaoru fell in love with her smile and the way her presence makes him feel, and he says it, we know it. Ritsuko however, never tells him or the audience why she likes him, which makes me feel like their bond is not important enough and diminishes their relationship. Ritsuko and Kaoru didn't spend much time together in the show's whole run so while I am happy that both of them ended up together, I wouldn't necessarily have cared if they didn't.

  Another strength of this show is the music and the animation of the characters interacting with their instruments. Some CGI sticks out particularly in the beginning scenes when Kaoru is playing the piano, but other than that, the movements look fluid and it is pleasant to watch their performances. The ones we get always leave an impact and tend to happen at important parts of the show, so nothing feels out of place. The tracks are all beautiful and it was overall very enjoyable to watch the characters having fun while playing music.

  One of the faults of the show, however, is the drama. It is not incredibly painful to watch, but some of the arcs drag way too long and don't reach their full potential, resulting in them not affecting the plot in a way that matters. Some of the drama also comes from characters refusing to notice or address problems. Many times the characters choose to not speak and it is as if they want the other party to just magically know their intentions. No, not everything has to be talked about, but many of the things that happened, especially when Ritsuko gifted Kaoru a pair of gloves, feel like pointless melodrama. At this point in the story, she liked him enough to knit something for him, yet when he asked why she gifted those to him and not Sentaro she just ran away. The show has situations like this in almost every episode and it was very tedious to watch them.

  Overall, Kids on the Slope is a coming-of-age story that manages to forge a strong and beautiful friendship between the two main leads, and show us that even if years pass, their bond is still there and will probably always be. Watching this was a breath of fresh air and while it was not perfect by any means I would still highly recommend it to anyone that likes music and also to those who like stories that pull at the heartstrings.

  
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• 

  YuiHirasawa39

  51/100
  Incredible soundtrack, mediocre visuals, poor characters, meaningless plot

  As I expose myself to more and more anime, I begin to question my original notion – do I seem to follow the trend when it comes to rating shows? I originally sensed a diversion from the popular opinion when watching and reviewing Sangatsu no Lion, but I’m noticing it yet again when reviewing Sakamichi no Apollon. A show that I thought was acceptable in some areas, amazing in just one, and lackluster in several others should yield average reviews, correct? Well, the opposite seems to be true. Kids on the Slope is extremely positively received on MAL, with a score of 8.39 at the time of writing. I do consider “average” to be a 5, which happens to be the score that I’ve given this show myself.

  Let’s get the obvious out of the way first. This soundtrack is a Yoko Kanno and is the single best part of the entire show in my personal opinion. Who would have thought that the mastermind behind so many other incredible soundtracks would create such incredible jazz pieces? The most notable aspect of the soundtrack is its subtlety. Unlike many of her other more popular pieces, no part of this soundtrack overtly commands attention – but that isn’t the point. The soundtrack is an underlayment, a quiet yet powerful stream that may be most noticeable during the performance scenes but continues steadily forward regardless of what’s showing on screen. You may not notice it, but after watching this show it’s difficult not to look back upon it positively. It was the refrain (and you’ll know it when you hear it) that stuck with me best about this anime, rather than the plot or characters. The most disappointing part about the soundtrack is that the rest of the show really failed to live up to it.

  So, then, what of the animation? Actually, I didn’t find it objectionable; actually, it was quite pleasing in some places. While this show isn’t exempt from the common curse of a few badly animated scenes (schoolkids jumping out of windows comes immediately to mind), for the most part, I rarely found the animation distracting. Beautiful? No. The church scenes were the closest the animation might have come to this, but the rest wasn’t too far behind.

  So, then, with an amazing soundtrack and decent animation, what’s not to like about this show? As most shows do, Kids on the Slope fails for me in the area of plot and characterization. In summary, the show is a mediocre drama with forgettable characters that is neither realistic nor fantastical. The plot drags on at points and is rushed to completion at others, characters are either overdeveloped or undercooked, and even the theme of resolution is teased but insufficiently dealt with at the end. I hate to say so many poor things about a show without presenting some evidence for my opinion, so let’s look at some specific examples next.

  It’s no mystery that the show has three main characters – Sentarou, Kaoru, and Ritsuko. Even MAL identifies this correctly. The major theme is that of relationships, involving the aforementioned three and the major supporting characters, Junichi and Yurika. My largest frustration with this show comes with the trite way in which these relationships are developed. Sentarou and Kaoru have a rocky start due to difference in upbringing and character, but find commonality around their passion for music. That’s it. Despite so many other scenes trying to portray otherwise, I can’t seem to locate a legitimate deeper connection between the two main male characters besides jazz. Am I misreading this? Maybe, but it’s very hard not to see their relationship developed any further. Sure, Kaoru may resolve his frustration with Sentarou’s defection to the rock band as the two play in front of the school, but it’s hard for me to see him valued as a person rather than just a decent drummer. On a related note, I also found it rather difficult to find anything redemptive in Kaoru’s character as a whole, not just with relationship to Sentarou – he starts the series as an aloof (perhaps even depressed) friendless smart kid and ends it as an aloof friendless doctor. I never saw him truly developing throughout the series, despite the various scenes to suggest the contrary. Sentarou less so, but to a related extent also lacked true character development. His portrayal as a “tough guy who actually really cares about his siblings and his bird” seemed almost patronizing as it failed to reveal any complexities beyond his character. Also, I felt myself becoming frustrated with the way his love interests were portrayed, particularly with respect to Yurika – it seemed to be shown as nothing more than an infatuation that spurred the fighting nature of this character until passing. On a related note, I also struggled to see much depth in Ritsuko’s character either. I keep on asking myself “what was her purpose?” Provide a friend for Kaoru as he adjust to a new life? Sure, but not in a particularly meaningful way. Mediate between her two friends’ personal spats? Sure, but perhaps at the expense of meaningful character development between the two. Provide the third leg of the ubiquitous love triangle. YES. Anything else? Not really. I hate to rag on her character like this, as she was probably my favorite of the main three, but I really struggled to see much purpose behind her.

  I suppose now is an appropriate time to mount my soapbox and complain about the rest of the relationships and how they pertain to the plot. I felt like Junichi’s role in the entire series was trite and boring at best, and hilariously distracting at worst. Sentarou becomes frustrated at a friend for stealing the attention of his crush, with no meaningful resolution besides some punches and some heavy-handed jazz scenes. This wouldn’t really be a problem if I didn’t see either one coming out of it completely unchanged. Both disappear into Tokyo in episode 9 and are more or less forgotten both by the plot and by Sentarou, who seems suddenly unaffected by both his friend and his love interest’s vanishment. Brother Jun’s involvement and backstory with the Communist Youth also seemed like a bizarrely disjointed way to explain his guilt – perhaps it’s a political statement being made, but I found it extremely separated from the plot of the rest of the anime. I was also frustrated with the way in which Yurika’s character was developed – her parents’ obsession with arranged marriage and hints of abuse are actually interesting and could have served as a more nuanced platform for her relationships with Sentarou and Junichi, but we get very little else about this besides one or two scenes. Speaking again of supporting characters, we’d be remiss not to mention Seiji, who I find unable to identify as a “supporting character” so much as he’s a comedic and convenient figurehead. He seems to be nothing more than a source of friction between two vertices of the love triangle, and seems to be cast to the wayside as soon as this purpose is fulfilled.

  While I’m on the soapbox, I’ll rant briefly about the way this show was concluded. Sentarou, wracked with guilt, disappears. Kaoru reveals his satisfaction with this “friend’s” disappearance and in doing so loses his relationship with Ritsuko, and disappears also to Tokyo. The final reunion scene, eight years in the future, shows a meaningful moment of redemption as the two friends reconnect and talk through their differences given their newfound maturities, explaining how what they learned from each other influence their chosen career paths and restore some of the broken trust that arose between them so much earlier. Oh wait, none of this happens. They play jazz together, because again, that’s their only point of connection, and somehow run into Ritsuko with no further purpose at the base of the slope. Honestly, other than the bizarre window jettisoning and the arise of the Communist Youth scenes, the final episode is the only one I truly remember due to its sheer unsatisfactory nature. Low separations following personal disagreement without communication are common and can intensely strain interpersonal relationships – I speak from experience. But the suggestion that years of aloofness can be resolved through some really good piano and drum playing is incredibly banal. It’s not redemptive, it doesn’t tie up the plot or the characters, and it certainly doesn’t help the taste in my mouth.

  Anyway, on to the conclusion. The soundtrack is excellent – that’s to be expected. The animation and art are adequate, even good, for the most part. But the characters are superficial, the relationships aren’t meaningful, and the plot is disjointed. If you’re a real jazz fan, go for it – the most important part for you will probably be the soundtrack, and that doesn’t really disappoint. But if you’re watching for meaningful relationships and well-developed plot, I regret to recommend you look elsewhere.

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