Kids on the Slope

[Mr Cat Dog]

The beginning of summer, 1966.

Because of his father's job situation, freshman high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious bad boy Sentaro Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru learns the attractions of jazz and finds the first person he can call a "friend." He also discovers how much fun it is to play music with a pal.

Other characters include Sentaro's kind childhood chum, Ritsuko, who is the daughter of a record shop owner; the mysterious upperclassman, Yurika; and Brother Jun, the much-admired leader among their peers.

Four words simple words meant there was no way that I wasn't going to watch this: "Shinichiro Watanabe" and "Yoko Kanno". Being the creative genii behind Cowboy Bebop (its direction and music, respectively), I'd follow these two to the ends of the earth.

So, is anyone else watching this? I'm up to the third episode out of the six already aired so far... and it's quite good, if I do say so myself.

 

[Esper]

I'm watching this, but I'm an episode behind at the moment so DON'T SPOIL IT FOR ME.

It's really good. I have the soundtrack for it already. ;D That's the thing I knew I'd enjoy before I even saw one second of it: the music. Kanno can do no wrong. Everything she touches turns to musical gold. There's also a soundtrack that was put together before there was an anime of it which is a compilation of pieces of music that pop up in the manga. I want to get my hands on that, too.

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

OK, so this is just going to be the CatDog and Scarfy Show then? Oh well, you guys are missing out, but so be it. I'll put my general thoughts out in the open, and then episode specific ones in spoilers so you can find out later.

I'll start with the (slightly) negative: I don't know whether this is an issue that affects just me, but I really feel that there's too much voiceover/interior monologue of Kaoru's thoughts. I get that it's probably from the manga, but not all of it really necessary is it? (Or is this just a thing with anime in general...?) Also, I do wish it would kinda slow down a bit in terms of its plotting; episodes seem to span the course of months at a time, and it often feels like they need to be stuffed full of plot in order to compensate. According to Wikipedia, there's only 11 episodes, so I guess this makes sense; I guess I just feel if it were a more traditional 26-episode series, a lot of these issues wouldn't appear at all.

But everything else is just so, so good. I like all of the characters a lot; the voice acting's good; the emotions all feel really earned in the short space of time; it's absolutely gorgeous to look at; it's wonderfully understated in its presentation (i.e. no crazy anime-style tear drops or ecchi or anything like that); the music is incredible - as per usual - and it makes me want to go and buy all of the jazz records mentioned in the show.

I'm up to episode six now - the last one to have aired in Japan - and here are some thoughts about that one below:

Spoiler:

I do hope that the new kid introduced - Matsuoka or something - either makes his intentions known quickly or stops interfering. Also: the guy at the bar at the end of the episode: Sentaro's dad, right? Can't think who else it'd be...

 

[Esper]

Still haven't seen the latest episode. So tempted to look in that spoiler.

I actually love that there is so much plot in each episode. I think that 10-13 episodes for any kind of series is perfect and the standard 26 can be a bit much for a lot of shows and force them to pad the middle.

The episodes do feel like they end much too quickly though. They're like a roller coaster ride. Quick and intense.

 

[parallelzero]

OK, so this is just going to be the CatDog and Scarfy Show then? Oh well, you guys are missing out, but so be it. I'll put my general thoughts out in the open, and then episode specific ones in spoilers so you can find out later.

I'll start with the (slightly) negative: I don't know whether this is an issue that affects just me, but I really feel that there's too much voiceover/interior monologue of Kaoru's thoughts. I get that it's probably from the manga, but not all of it really necessary is it? (Or is this just a thing with anime in general...?) Also, I do wish it would kinda slow down a bit in terms of its plotting; episodes seem to span the course of months at a time, and it often feels like they need to be stuffed full of plot in order to compensate. According to Wikipedia, there's only 11 episodes, so I guess this makes sense; I guess I just feel if it were a more traditional 26-episode series, a lot of these issues wouldn't appear at all.

But everything else is just so, so good. I like all of the characters a lot; the voice acting's good; the emotions all feel really earned in the short space of time; it's absolutely gorgeous to look at; it's wonderfully understated in its presentation (i.e. no crazy anime-style tear drops or ecchi or anything like that); the music is incredible - as per usual - and it makes me want to go and buy all of the jazz records mentioned in the show.

I'm up to episode six now - the last one to have aired in Japan - and here are some thoughts about that one below:

Spoiler:

I do hope that the new kid introduced - Matsuoka or something - either makes his intentions known quickly or stops interfering. Also: the guy at the bar at the end of the episode: Sentaro's dad, right? Can't think who else it'd be...

Spoiler:

It's Brother Jun at the end, isn't it? He's been gone a long time. But yeah, new kid pisses me off. I just want my Richie x Ri'ko ending. ;.;

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

I actually love that there is so much plot in each episode. I think that 10-13 episodes for any kind of series is perfect and the standard 26 can be a bit much for a lot of shows and force them to pad the middle.

Maybe not 26, then... but certainly a few more episodes. Just to fill in some of the 'gaps', per se. For an example, at the end of the first episode, Kaoru's just starting to get jazz; by the beginning of the second one, it already seems like he's mastered it. I guess it'd just be nice to see some of that stuff, instead of everything happening offscreen.

Spoiler:

It's Brother Jun at the end, isn't it? He's been gone a long time. But yeah, new kid pisses me off. I just want my Richie x Ri'ko ending. ;.;

Spoiler:

Yeah, that makes sense. The hair kinda put me off a bit, as well as the exasperated reaction of the barman.

DON'T LOOK IN THE SPOILER, SCARFY! MAJOR PLOT POINTS!!!

 

[Beelzebub]

I'm enjoying it. Not my favorite of the season, but it's up there. Like everyone else has said, the music is amazing. The soundtrack is a really good listen, I especially like the rendition of Lullaby of Birdland.

I do have an issue with the pacing, but I don't blame them for trying to fit 9(?) volumes of the manga in such short time. Plus that it has a noitamina timeslot, and those very rarely get more than 11 eps. And honestly, I did go into the show expecting jazz and ~friendship~ so I think the drama can get a bit grating at times. I'd wish they would tone it down a bit, but I'm not expecting them to.

I also did like how the soundtrack spoils that

Spoiler:

in a future episode Kaoru and Sentarou are going to play My Favorite Things with Ritsuko singing. Can't wait.

 

[Cherrim]

I've watched the first two episodes. I've been hearing good things about it so I feel obliged to continue with it but does it... you know... get a plot? :( I'll try a few more episodes if it does but otherwise I might be done with it here. Soundtrack's nice so I might just grab that to listen to and leave the series alone otherwise.

I'm also torn on whether I like the art style or not! D: The backgrounds are all gorgeous and so often I've caught myself pausing the video to ponder the merits of screencapping it for a wallpaper. But I am not really a fan of the character designs--all the girls look like men. :c I also don't really like soft-shading (as opposed to cel-shading) when it comes to animation. The animation itself is so top-notch but for some reason the soft-shading is really distracting in pretty much every close-up scene for me.

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

I've watched the first two episodes. I've been hearing good things about it so I feel obliged to continue with it but does it... you know... get a plot? :( I'll try a few more episodes if it does but otherwise I might be done with it here. Soundtrack's nice so I might just grab that to listen to and leave the series alone otherwise.

The first episode sets up the characters, so the slow plot's to be expected - and it's probably the weakest episode of the lot, in my opinion. From then on out, however, I feel it bulldozes through plot. That it's fitting 9 volumes of manga (that's a lot, right?) into 11 episodes means that there's going to be lots of stuff going on. Try the third episode and see if it's more your speed; if it's not, then the show probably isn't for you, I'm sorry to say.

And now onto episode 7 stuff. SCARFY, HURRY UP SO WE CAN TALK ABOUT IT! :D

Spoiler:

This was probably my favourite episode thus far. It had none of the pacing issues that some of the others have had, being set in a relatively short space of time and around a central event - the concert; the voiceover was reduced to when absolutely necessary; the music was great, and I love that there was a nigh-on 5 minute uninterrupted 'My Favourite Things' jazz number - that had me tapping my feet for hours afterwards! And it's interesting to see more shading to Matsuoka; I still don't 'like' him but he's becoming easier to identify with, in my opinion.

Oh, and good call, David! Brother Jun's really let himself go in the hair department; I barely recognised him! :D

 

[Cid]

I randomly came across Sakamichi no Apollon, I think by reading an article from one of those anime sites. That time, I didn't get to watch it right away because the anime wasn't released yet. And honestly I didn't feel like reading a manga about music so I only set out to see the anime (specifically the people behind it, gathering from basically what the article was gushing about). I never even watched Cowboy Bebop yet it was enough to reel me in. Funny thing is, I completely forgot about it before it even started airing.


So!

When I saw this thread with around three replies and found out it was talking about the same Sakamichi no Apollon show, I immediately watched it, of course! Caught up with every single episode by watching them almost back-to-back until the most recent one (6th) that was released by then. And I wouldn't have if I didn't feel it was interesting enough. I can actually say more than the show being simply 'interesting', I was hooked. It's now one of those shows I look forward to every week.

I'm also torn on whether I like the art style or not! D: The backgrounds are all gorgeous and so often I've caught myself pausing the video to ponder the merits of screencapping it for a wallpaper. But I am not really a fan of the character designs--all the girls look like men. :c I also don't really like soft-shading (as opposed to cel-shading) when it comes to animation. The animation itself is so top-notch but for some reason the soft-shading is really distracting in pretty much every close-up scene for me.

I was not a huge fan of the character art for the same reasons that you pointed out. Although I don't mind soft-shading since I'm not too much into the technical stuff to know the difference. XD; Eventually I thought that how the designs felt off, in my case, was my fault. I never really went ahead with watching anime shows that strayed away from the typical deformed art style, it's all about not being used to it. So realizing that I just put it as a refreshing style.

Aside from that and the obvious pacing issues (must this show be so limited? I hate how it sometimes feels rushed) I really found nothing else to frown about. I just thoroughly enjoyed it. The backdrops, the music, the characterization and even those Kaoru inner monologues, I knew the anime was something special from the opening.

I've watched the first two episodes. I've been hearing good things about it so I feel obliged to continue with it but does it... you know... get a plot? :( I'll try a few more episodes if it does but otherwise I might be done with it here.

Granted, the plot for the first few episodes, although the show progresses chronologically, is more of a simple premise that the episodes center on. The episodes in general could have each taken different shares of the manga that makes some more plot-heavy than the others. It picks itself up after those early introductions I think, and eventually just blazes through what the manga contained. So it's all cool.

Spoiler:

This was probably my favourite episode thus far. It had none of the pacing issues that some of the others have had, being set in a relatively short space of time and around a central event - the concert; the voiceover was reduced to when absolutely necessary; the music was great, and I love that there was a nigh-on 5 minute uninterrupted 'My Favourite Things' jazz number - that had me tapping my feet for hours afterwards! And it's interesting to see more shading to Matsuoka; I still don't 'like' him but he's becoming easier to identify with, in my opinion.

Oh, and good call, David! Brother Jun's really let himself go in the hair department; I barely recognised him! :D

spoiler: episode 7

Spoiler:

I liked the episode. At first it felt like they just resolved the dramatic hate towards Sentaro way too quickly. But then I guess it's better to do that than drag the cut-off plot point on for more episodes and... Yikes! Eat up what could have had other things in focus. The My Favorite Things → Moanin' medley was really good. I didn't even know the first song had jazz potential until I heard it here! So I was definitely impressed. It helped resolve the musician pair's issues with each other too-- that's one more great thing about it.

I still don't like Matsuoka. He's presented with another cool, cunning personality behind him and all that, don't like that, especially given how late he was introduced. He felt out-of-place, I think. At least the end of the episode he had no qualms with jazz judging from his reaction, I guess that was really nice. I think he'll stay away from the main characters from now on.

Brother Jun was interesting although I noticed that apart from the whole love triangle with Sentaro and Yurika, they didn't delve into the mental breakdown and rebellious change of nature in that episode, yet. I don't mind it not being resolved, last episode having a Kaoru / Sentaro fight left more of an impression anyway.

The episodes feel so short when you don't watch them back-to-back. ;O;

 

[Mr Cat Dog]

Aside from that and the obvious pacing issues (must this show be so limited? I hate how it sometimes feels rushed) I really found nothing else to frown about. I just thoroughly enjoyed it. The backdrops, the music, the characterization and even those Kaoru inner monologues, I knew the anime was something special from the opening.

OK, I'm glad it's not just me that has slight issues with the pacing... but they are admittedly minor issues in an otherwise-great show. The inner monologues do irk me, though I imagine that's just an anime staple that I'm never going to fully commit to. Ah well...

spoiler: episode 7

Spoiler:

I liked the episode. At first it felt like they just resolved the dramatic hate towards Sentaro way too quickly. But then I guess it's better to do that than drag the cut-off plot point on for more episodes and... Yikes! Eat up what could have had other things in focus. The My Favorite Things → Moanin' medley was really good. I didn't even know the first song had jazz potential until I heard it here! So I was definitely impressed. It helped resolve the musician pair's issues with each other too-- that's one more great thing about it.

I still don't like Matsuoka. He's presented with another cool, cunning personality behind him and all that, don't like that, especially given how late he was introduced. He felt out-of-place, I think. At least the end of the episode he had no qualms with jazz judging from his reaction, I guess that was really nice. I think he'll stay away from the main characters from now on.

Brother Jun was interesting although I noticed that apart from the whole love triangle with Sentaro and Yurika, they didn't delve into the mental breakdown and rebellious change of nature in that episode, yet. I don't mind it not being resolved, last episode having a Kaoru / Sentaro fight left more of an impression anyway.

The episodes feel so short when you don't watch them back-to-back. ;O;

Spoiler:

Re: Matsuoka. Don't get me wrong, I still don't 'like' the guy, but I appreciated that, in this most recent episode, he was less of a moustache-twirling villain and had more dimensions than had been previously shown.

Re: Brother Jun. I definitely assume we'll see more of his 'downfall' in future episodes.

Re: the length. Like you, I watched this most recent episode independently of the others, but because of the anomalous pacing in comparison to other episodes e.g. this one was over a shorter-span than the others, I guess I didn't feel like it was short? I dunno... all I know is that I can't wait until Friday comes around. Especially now that the US TV season has finished! :D