Kids on the Slope (2012) User Reviews

Like a great jam session

[wandereramor · 8/10 · 29 September 2012]

One might expect something a bit different for Shinichiro Watanabe's first anime series in ages. Rather than the kind of genre-fusion madcap adventures for which Watanabe became famous for (Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo), Kids on the Slope is a gentle coming-of-age drama about a pair of teenage boys who don't fit in and find release through jazz music. Well, it's not that much of a surprise if you saw his short film Baby Blue, but it's still worth applauding such a doggedly realist show in a medium that specializes in flights of fancy.

Indeed, Kids on the Slope is at its best when it flows with the languorous, irregular rhythm of jazz, letting us soak in the aesthetics and hang out with its characters. The animation is beautifully done, and the music is of course excellent (and what's more, we actually see the characters playing the notes -- no Nodame Cantabile-esque still frames here). The attempts to interject drama, especially towards the back half of the series, take away from this appeal a bit, but even at its most serious Kids on the Slope is never melodramatic.

The main attraction here is the relationship between Kaoru and Sentaro, a curious mix of friendship, rivalry, and admiration. They drag each other towards something approaching adulthood, even if there's always a distance between them. Anime has plenty of shows about male-male bonding, but few have a central relationship as complex as this one. Ritsuko, the third wheel to this bromance, is handled less well and never really comes off as more than a love interest.

Along the way there are historical subplots, moments of ambiguous redemption, a hilarious wannabe pop band, and more jam sessions than you can shake a drumstick at. It doesn't live up to Cowboy Bebop, but nothing does, and unlike Samurai Champloo, Kids on the Slope doesn't really try. Instead, it's its own thing, strange and a little funky, but ultimately pretty enjoyable.

Jazz as a way of life

[tom-culliver · 9/10 · 6 June 2012]

Shinichiro Watanabe is as close to a cult anime director as you get and with Kids on the Slope he addresses directly the stylistic thread that runs through everything he does, music.

Kaoru Nishimi is the buttoned down, classically trained protagonist, carrying his emotions bundled up in his suitcase through an endless carousel of schools and communities. Never having time for friends or even acquaintances, and drawing his only pleasure from the structured performance of classical piano. The series begins with the door to his sheltered existence creaked open by the self-styled drummer Sentaro Kawabuchi. In a cacophony of fists, romance, and blaring jazz, Sentaro awakens Kaoru to the wonders of expression.

Shinichiro Watanabe, along with composer Yoko Kanno, has sketched a nostalgic portrait of 60s Japan, and in what i'm sure are touches of autobiography shown an adrift young man find a home in the beautifully flawed world of jazz. Watanabe draws his characters with a loving hand, appreciating nuance and weakness as part and parcel, however this adoration can sometimes come across as sentimentally watery. But the show is made with a joy that leaps out from every vivid image and roaring musical number, that would suppress any criticism in sheer enthusiasm.

Drawing from the American Beatniks and his own experience Watanabe produces a delicate character play enriched by one of the finer soundtracks i've heard.

Much more emotional and earthly than Shinichirō Watanabe's previous works....

[pradyuminater · 9/10 · 26 August 2012]

Much more emotional and earthly than Shinichirō Watanabe's previous works... why, yes there are several reasons for that....first ,the characters are high school students ,more like makato sinkai's characters...second ,they show a deeper level of love and friendship among them which is very naive ... third, the music and the soundtracks used in the whole series...

Yoko Kanno joined Watanabe for the third time and together they created a magical musical journey... direction is not edgier as that of cowboy bebop or samurai champloo but still its great... highly recommendable... my ratings-9/10

Don't hesitate to give this one a chance, it's amazing!

[bryan-dlyle · 10/10 · 1 July 2012]

If you've ever in your life sat down and spent some free time watching anime, odds are you've heard the name Shinichirō Watanabe and Yoko Kanno. With two of the best well-known names in anime, you will not be disappointed when you get high hopes for this piece of work. My purpose of this review is not to go in depth of the story or its characters, but to hopefully help those who are undecided about putting this one on their watch-list.

The animation is incredible, the colors perfect, as expected the score is remarkable, character development is on point, and this story can be quite touching at times. I'm usually not interested into the more drama driven anime, but Kids on the Slope is an easy exception.

But to make the point perfectly clear, if you're debating watching Kids on the Slope, stop debating and watch it, period.

Jazz Is Life

[Cat-Wings · 10/10 · 8 July 2012]

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.

Music, Friendship, and Growing Up

[Chloe-h1994 · 8/10 · 28 January 2020]

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.

Kids on the Slope

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 21 June 2015]

Set in the late 1960s this series is centred on a small group of friends who are brought together through their love of music; specifically jazz. Kaoru Nishimi has moved from school to school as his father's job moved around the country; he is a classically trained pianist from a wealthy background who makes an unlikely friendship with jazz loving drummer and school 'bad boy' Sentaro. They start playing together in the basement of a local record shop which is run by the father of their classmate Ritsuko. The group of friends grows to include Sentaro's friend 'Brother Jun' and older girl Yurika. Over the course of the series relationships develop and friendships are tested and people move away but aren't forgotten.

At first sight this doesn't seem like the sort of series one would expect from the creator of 'Cowboy Bebop' and 'Samurai Champloo' Shinichiro Watanabe however even if the series lacks the obvious action it has deep characters and a clear love of the music it is centred around. Yoko Kanno's music is a highlight of the series. The characters are all too human with believable flaws without feeling melodramatic making us care about them even when we see them making mistakes. The characters are well designed and beautifully animated; this is especially true of the scenes were they are playing their instruments. Overall I heartily recommend this emotional slice of life series that also features some great music; expect to shed a few tears; some of sorrow some of joy.

Makes you love jazz whether you want to or not!

[minky-99 · 9/10 · 12 August 2015]

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!

watch this anime if you are missing your school days

[nikhilshah-21701 · 10/10 · 19 July 2017]

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.

I've never been so charmed by an anime in a long time

[dhm-38848 · 9/10 · 2 July 2021]

Is it perfect nope.

But I can't help but smile throughout watching this show its slice of life element remind me of my high school days and the music my god the music is magnificent it's entrancing and fun in a way jazz can only be

God bless shinchiro Watanabe for his amazing taste in music.

Its ok, I guess.

[invisibleunicornninja · 6/10 · 20 August 2018]

I got halfway through episode one before quitting. The animation is gorgeous, and the characters are realistic, but its really, really boring. There's nothing wrong with the scenes themselves but they are so dull when watched together. Maybe there's a plot in episode 2, but so far its really dull and aside from the animation there's nothing that looks worth watching.

Meh (mild mild mild spoilers)

[dougom · 5/10 · 18 May 2013]

I am a huge Shinichiro Watanabe fan. I thought Cowboy Bebop was brilliant (and am very frustrated by it's continuing unavailability on iTunes), and Samurai Champloo nearly as good-- although I am more kindly disposed to SF than Samurai entertainment, so that partially colors my opinions. Heck, his Animatrix shorts were the best of the lot in my opinion. But this?

Meh.

It's not the animation itself, which is up to the same high standards of those other two series. It's certainly not the music, which is by the wonderful Yoko Kanno, who did the music for both Champloo and Bebop as well. So what is it?

Partially the storyline, I suspect; I am probably at this point in my life too old for teenage bildungsroman stories, particularly those set in the recent past of a country I've never visited. Partly it's the characters, none of whom I am able to find myself caring about (particularly the whiny lead character). And partly it's "the girl" of the romantic love triangle, the pigtailed schoolgirl looks of whom just annoys me on a level way too deep to analyze. This is the direction Watanabe has gone since the gun-toting Faye Valentine of "Cowboy Bebop"? Seriously? Oy.

So you put it all together and you end up with what is, for me, "Meh". Two episodes, and I just gave up. My 17 year-old, anime- and manga-loving daughter might like it, but if you're a fan of Bebop or Champloo, well, I'm just not so sure. And it bums me that, judging by his previous output, we're going to have to wait until 2018 or so before we see another new series by Watanabe. Sigh.

Your mileage may vary, obviously.

Really brillant teenage music anime

[Irishchatter · 9/10 · 18 June 2018]

I have to say, this anime was totally cool like the jazz music would make you dance the night away or even let the music play in the background while you're having dinner at a fancy restaurant lol! This anime was even interesting to watch because we never get to see a deliquent and an introvert nerd play in a band together! I felt bad for Kaoru (a doctor in the future also) that his high school sweetheart Ritsuko didnt bother making contact to him for 8 years. However at least in the end of this anime, we get to see them reuniting together with Sentaro (who became a priest but probably will get kicked out lol) and got married in the manga!

Brillant anime to follow, it surely has some humour, love and friendship involved in it which I pretty much liked! Since its definately by the same crowd who did Cowboy Bepop and Macross Plus (whom I haven't seen yet), anime should surely give this a watch !

Inspired me enough to write the review, I highly recommend it

[ham-ma242 · 10/10 · 15 August 2019]

At least for me it was even emotionally touching, I rarely get pushed my buttons. This anime is amazing, it creates a great atmosphere (for me from the first glance). The art and the feel of it really shines out.

This anime is set in the scene of school life (yet doesn't really go deep into it), this anime goes deep into drama and emotions also has great music which I excitedly listened with my face all lit up and was like "yessss give me moar!". The whole plot fulfilled a great deal except maybe the romance part (but well it's me who wanted more of it :D).

So I highly recommend it for you if you are into music/jazz and into deeper emotional/psychological drama. From the first look it might seem that it's not that serious, but it really develops and envelops a lot about characters and their backgrounds. I really loved the feel of this deepness which just attracted me to keep watching it episode after episode instead of deciding if it's really worth it or not wanting to watch it like some trashy ones. This anime is great of great artistic value.

Beautiful

[johnelkaz · 10/10 · 16 September 2021]

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.

1 season great script and direction

[sharmadolraj · 10/10 · 29 September 2021]

It's a great story where you are able to see how music lover's chase their different love i.e jazz and classical.

Love the way the main characters become friends.

I've not seen such a friend series where a jazz lover and a classical music lover play together.

Truly Beautiful

[thesupermonkey-97214 · 9/10 · 11 April 2022]

This is a truly beautiful experience. The creators' love of music is the pulsing heartbeat behind this surprisingly realistic and heartfelt story. I'm surprised this is so hard to find, because it is worth celebrating.