Hey there!~

I haven't done an anime review in a long time.
Mostly because I don't have the time. But the following was just too good to skip!

Today I want to introduce "Sakamichi no Apollon" (坂道のアポロン) or "Kids on the Slope" as it's called in English.



It's a story about jazz, friendship, love and becoming an adult.

The trailer of the series IMMEDIATELY caught my eye and I just new I'd love this series.
And I surely wasn't disappointed.

In my opinion it's a VERY refreshing series compared to all the "standard stuff" out there.
Most anime either take place in the future, the present, the historic ones display the time when samurai and ninja were still around .... or show us what happened during WW II.
This one, however, takes place in Japan in the late 60s.
And that alone sets the series into a completely different atmosphere from what you might be used to.



Not so many anime are set in Kyushu. There are a few, but not many.
If you've travelled a bit through Japan, you'll immediately notice that it must be located somewhere in Nagasaki (Sasebo to be precise).
Nagasaki in the 60s - and we get to see bits and pieces of it!
Almost all of the characters speak a certain Kyushu dialect - which gives the series some extra charm.

As sugar cream on top - at least for me - there were some of my favorite seiyuu in the series such as Suwabe Junichi-sama, Hosoya Yoshimasa, Kimura Ryohei....



I don't want to spoil you, so I'm just giving you a rough introduction.
Kaoru is from a rich family and because his father is away on a business trip, he's moving from Tokyo to Sasebo to live in his aunt's house.
The introverted boy is used to moving a lot due to his father's job.
And he's used to the atmosphere of a classroom where he's the new guy, not fitting in. He's not even trying anymore.

Surprisingly he soon gets involved with Sentaro, a huge, strong-looking guy everyone is afraid of at school.

While Kaoru is into classical music, he's infected by Sentaro's love for jazz music.
It doesn't take long and the two become great friends, practicing jazz music together.
Lovely bromance, guys!



The story evolves as more characters are being introduced.
Their relationships are getting complicated, but jazz is what brought them all together.



Kyushu-ben, the beautiful scenery of Nagasaki, the absolutely awesome jazz soundtrack, the drawing style and the heart-warming character development is why this series works!
I can't imagine that there's anybody out there who wouldn't like this show.
So, give it a try!



On MAL I rated it with 8/10, but it's actually closer to a 9. ;)


If you've already watched this series, let me know how you liked it.



Bye~chuu!~