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Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope)
Hello, I'm writing again today. I just finished an anime series called Sakamichi no Apollon 
...which is also called Kids on the Slope
I actually started watching this show because some of my favourite illustrators posted about how really good it is and stuffs like that. In addition, they're playing jazz~ One of the hardest genre to play. The story is mainly narrated by Kaoru Nishimi, the bespectacled guy, a quiet brooding boy who was used to being transferred around and had a slight phobic (?) of attention or being surrounded by strangers. Finally at the year of 1966, he moved to Kyushu, where he came across this brawny, typical troublemaker named Sentarou Kawaguchi (the guy with the striped shirt, obviously), who apparently had the passion for drumming and jazz. In addition, Kaoru also developed an instant crush towards his class representative named Ritsuko Mukae who was Sentarou's childhood friend. Together, Sentarou and Ritsuko (mostly Sentarou though) dragged Kaoru out of his lonely shell and into the world of jazz while being entangled in the strings of love. (omygodwhydoifeeltheressomuchcheeseinmysentence) So yeah, the story basically revolves around Jazz (of course), friendship (slight bromance maybe?), young love (drrrrrrama), and finding a place in the world. In other words: Genre: Slice of Life. It was good. I'm not kidding. I read many people love it and they also feel deeply for this anime. I personally don't though. Not to get you wrong, this anime is epic; it is simplistic and real, the characters are also very easy to relate with. I just..don't feel that much, maybe because I don't understand certain aspects of this gem.. And let's not forget: THE MUSIC. Oh my god. The soundtrack of this anime is heavenly. The drums! THE DRUMS! OMYGOD THE DRUMS! I'm so in love with the drums! I have never noticed that drums in jazz sound so godly! And of course, the horns too (come on, the opening track!!) but it didn't appear a lot in the anime as the character who plays the horns is obviously not one of the two in the picture. The pieces they play in the anime are total classics and very well played too ;w; And of course, the animation! During their sessions, oh my god, they are so well made. Again, the drums! It's as if they pay extra attention in animating the drummer. It's just...wow.. I haven't really watched a lot of anime with soft-cell shading, now that I think of it, this is actually the first anime of mine as such! To be really honest I was slightly put off by it at first, but really, it fits so perfectly with the storyline, characters and the time phase. The art is lovely too, very shoujo-ish.. All in all, if anyone is interested in anime of this genre, this is a must-watch~ Ah, I should probably post a sample song here? I'll post a recurring song then. Now I'm assured, every time I hear the intro of this song I'll smile and remember their whole friendship. Anyhow, there's one more song that I love to death (it's actually one of the reasons why I decided to give this series a try) It was sung by one of my favourite singers (with her calming voice). I practically anticipated like crazy for this song during the show thinking that one of the characters would actually be voiced by her, but to my disappointment, it appeared only as a really soft background music and it wasn't even the whole song. But yeah, it was minor, so whatevs. Again, it is a really good series :D (Maybe you'll get the feels too, like the others) |