Kids on the Slope

I started watching this anime as i thought it would similar to "your life in April " but it has more than that, after watching this one would definite start liking jazz music too. The emotions and types love have been well framed and all the characters were interesting. so much emotions have been put on all the characters, I like how well they have presented the bond of friendship between the main characters, makes think about my old schools friends too. Not for a single minute i felt that story is dragging. the motion and feelings of the characters were so natural doesn't feel like watching it on screen, it was more like experiencing it and you might relate it with story to. give this anime a shot you feel disappointed.

The anime has a total of 12 episodes and was broadcast between April and June in 2012. The story begins with a high school boy (Kaoru Nishimi) who moves to Saseho in Nagasaki prefecture due to his father's business matter. Kaoru is the best student at his previous school but he doesn't fit into the environment and doesn't have friends because of his frequent changes of schools. After he meets a problem kid and a Jazz drummer, Sentaro, Kaoru finds a light in his school life. As Kaoru is a classic pianist, he starts playing Jazz under Sentaro's influence. Soon after Kaoru falls in love with Ritsuko, Sentaro's childhood friend. However, Kaoru is rejected because he finds out that Ritsuko's favourite person is Sentaro. Meanwhile, Ritsuko also notices that Sentaro comes to like a mysterious upperclass student, Yurika. Yurika loves Junichi who is a saxophone player and comes back from Tokyo after joining a student movement and is renounced by his father.

Love and relationship are unpredictable just like jams and Jazz improvisations, and they are leaping impulses and swinging like a person running down a slope. Each episode is composed of a small story along with a Jazz song such as "Someday My Prince Will Come," "Now's the Time," "Moanin," "Summertime," etc. The story is a really heartwarming. Perhaps, the time background of the story in the 1970s, where people listen to records, no musical score, transcriptions of songs, student movements, and people, makes the viewer feel warm. Above all, the music is brilliant! Yoko Kanno worked on the songs; the arrangement of Jazz songs, and the jams and improvisations are top-notch! I highly recommend this anime, and you will find passion and bittersweet in the story.

As an older person who isn't into anime I have nevertheless watched all of Watanabe's works and find this one to be my absolute favourite. Don't be put off by the fact that Cowboy Beebop or Samurai Champloo are more popular and highly rated than Kids on the Slope. This has probably got more to do with the fact that you are more likely to appreciate Kids on the slope if you have a passion for music and know how it can bring people together. It also helps if there is some distance between your school days and now, as older people have a much warmer place for that period in their life and know to place a higher value on it.

This show works wonderfully well as a 4 hour movie and manages to capture the naivety, innocence and passion of youth in all it's charming glory. Personally, having changed schools and countries throughout my childhood, as well as loving music, and having experienced the way music always made new friends for me, some which still last to this day, I can say that this series is overwhelmingly powerful and true in every sense. To laugh and cry with a smile on your face and remember the first time you heard Bill Evans, Miles Davis, or the rhythm section on Coltrane's My Favourite Things and be shocked by beauty once again.

If any of this sounds familiar to you, buy it, watch it. And then watch it again every year or so.

A perfect coming of age story and love letter to Jazz and friendship. I loved the characters. The drama was realistic and believable. None of the 12 episodes was wasted and each one led the characters through growth and challenges. Growth and challenges aside, the characters themselves are compelling with interesting backstories and motivations. The soundtrack is amazing and the animators nailed the characters playing their instruments - extremely impressive. I would recommend giving this show a watch - it touched me and I have rewatched it since my initial viewing.

Its seriously an amazing anime. its one of my favorites! but sadly it is very overlooked and underrated. The reason i tried this in the first place is because i was watching all the generic anime like Naruto, Attack on Titan, Soul Eater, and the like and i just wanted to try something different, specifically dramas. But the thing is i hate the kind where people get dramatic over little things like "You stole my hair brush!Jason's hair was in that brush! You're going down!!!" god! i don't know why anyone would like that. This on the other hand is a really down to earth, feel good, coming of age drama with likable characters. Just give it a try!