Review: Sakamichi no Apollon (坂道のアポロン)
“Life is like jazz. It goes on an unexpected way.”
Sypnosis: Nishimi Kaoru, an introvert and easily stressed yet smart and attentive high school freshman founds himself moving and transferring schools again (this time to Kyuushu) due to the nature of his father's work: he's a sailor. Despite the not so welcoming reception, he ends up making friends with the famous delinquent Kawabuchi Sentarou and the innocent and gentle Mukae Ritsuko. Kaoru's quiet daily routine is thrown upside down as he experiences the excitement of playing jazz and discovers slowly the meaning of true friendship and the sweetness and bitterness of love.
The story (4.5/5): Sakamichi no Apollon, also known as Kids on the Slope, as one of the most captivating storyline among the 2012 anime (the ones so far), and probably among the ones from the same genre too. To put it simple, it's just a tale of three friends and their adventures in the journey to adulthood. What's so especial about this? There are tons of books and mangas about students, first loves and school as a unifying theme. Even we (and that's you and me) wrote some kind of fiction with these elements in some point of our studying period (and outside that time too). So I dare to ask again: what is so especial about Sakamichi no Apollon?
Without going much further, it's the realism of the plot, the depth of the relationships portrayed and the stunning music (I'll have a corner dedicated to it later).
Set in the 60's (1966 to 1968 and 8 years later), we see a Japan with areas still to develop and recover from the devastating WWII. Tokyo is the metropolitan centre while Kyuushu it's still a rural area. We get glimpses of night clubs and bars for American soldiers and the not so evident but increasing foreign influence on people lives. We witness the restlessness of students. With this background, we throw a slope, a school on top of a hill and 3 different people with one thing in common: jazz. This is where our journey begins.
Instead of using the so cliché “love triangle” and everything is alright in the end because anime-should-have-good-endings, we have the opportunity to observe a bond called friendship flourish and not all the times are like a sea of roses. They fight, they argue, they suffer from rejection and yet there is forgiveness, a mutual understanding beyond words and more importantly, that constant restraining fear of losing someone who accepts you no matter who you are, who you want to be, how wealthy your family is or own much you hate their weaknesses. It's a kind of passion that warms you and makes you reflect about the people around you and what are your true feelings. Check for yourself: open your phone book and start counting how many names you can call, not for work-related issues, not because they important acquaintances (Microsoft's CEO, for example), but because you just want to indulge yourself in a good conversation (and share some good laugh too :P).
Advancing a little on the plot, we delve deeper into our boys’ past, marked with the lack of a warm family (which greatly influences their personalities). Kaoru and company go through their freshman year to senior together. There are unexpected new acquaintances - some turning into first loves, cultural events, Christmas parties, summer holidays... ahhh... it really makes you want to turn back time and revive those good old school times.
Love is not a major topic, although it plays a crucial role. I personally prefer it this way. Kaoru falls for Ritsuko. Ritsuko loves Sentarou, who in turn is infatuated with arts senpai Yurika. Yurika being the heir of a very rich and prominent family develops feelings for Ritsuko's neighbour, Junichi. Maybe we can call this a love polygon. And as this slow pacing (slow but adequate since it creates a good atmosphere for the character's development) may bore some, we are suddenly surprised with a twist nearing the end of the story: Sentarou and his sister suffers a serious traffic accident with the drum player taking all the blames and running away, changing their lives forever.
In a blink of eyes, 8 years already passed. Kaoru accomplishes to be a doctor while Sentarou had entered a seminar and became a priest. The two friends are reunited just like how it all started: with jazz.
The characters (4.5/5):
Nishimi Kaoru: Kaoru is a timid, introvert student who succumbs easily to stress, leading him to have a nauseous feeling. His mother “abandoned” him (later explained that his father's family didn't like her because she was poor and illiterate and she just wanted the best for her son) when he was very young. Since his father is a sailor, he has to frequently go from one place to another, taking Kaoru with him. The inability to adapt to new environments, as well as the cold treatment and mocking stares from the kids in the new schools, shaped his indifferent demeanor until he met Sentarou. At first, he's uncomfortable with his strange quirks but soon get used to being around him. Kaoru plays piano too. He grew up listening to classical records as a mean to remember his father and to escape loneliness but Sentarou introduces him to jazz and he ends up discovering another side of the piano: the pleasure and fun of playing for oneself. Kaoru happens to fall in love with Ritsuko during the course of the anime. In the end, he becomes a doctor.
Kaoru is the personification of indifference. He’s lonely and afraid of being close to others but not depressed. Some people compare him to Shinji from Evangelion but I totally disagree. Kaoru just needed someone to pull him away from the swamp he had fallen to (and he can clean himself after it very well). Kimura Ryohei did a marvelous job and I’ll definitely check more of his works in the future.
Kawabuchi Sentarou: Sentarou is labeled as a “fierce delinquent” (also due to his robust and tall figure), scaring all other students. As a matter of fact, it’s all a façade. He takes an instant liking to Kaoru and remains very tolerant to the other outburst and temperaments. Sentarou cares a lot for his younger siblings, even though his maternal relatives are quite skeptical and cold towards him (mainly because he is half-American; remember this is post war we are talking about). It’s because he’s the older son that most of the responsibilities fall on him. This is where the warm factor rises: Sentarou is unable to say “no” to his brothers and sisters and always face them with a genuine contented smile. Later on the plot, he feels the urge to run away when he receives news about the returning of his foster father. Kaoru prevents him on doing so and we realize that it’s not just the pianist that is dependent on him. Their friendship is a mutual understand confirmed with just a simple helping hand. He falls at first sight with Yurika and experiences the sweetness and bitterness of love.
Sentarou is the character with the biggest twist in the end. A day before their last music festival at school, the drummer (his instrument of election) involves himself and his sister in a traffic accident - he sustains little injuries and that’s not the case for the little Sachiko. Unable to cope with the situation, he leaves everything behind, changing everyone’s lives. Sentarou reappears 8 years later as a priest. In my opinion, I guess it’s a way for him to repent from the sins he attributes to himself.
Mukae Ritsuko: Rii-chan is the class president and part of the trio as well as Kaoru’s love interest during the course of the anime. Her father runs a music store (he’s a bass player by the way). Ritsuko is your typical energetic and optimistic female lead, sometimes playing the role of mediator between Kaoru and Sentarou’s banters. She’s in love with the latter but eventually realizes her growing feelings for the pianist. Like her father, Rii-chan also loves jazz and enjoys the jazz sessions in their house basement. Although not playing any instrument, she rehearsed the vocal parts of My favourite things from the Sound of Music musical, which unfortunately didn’t end up being performed in the last music festival.
Since the action of Sakamichi no Apollon occurs in a postwar Japan (around 50 years ago), Ritsuko is the perfect image of the girl/woman who knows little about emancipation. She takes care of the family, apparently likes to do housechores, cooks, knows how to knit and dreams of being married one day. Although these kind of heroines don’t get my sympathy most of the times, I couldn’t not like her (:P)
The music (5/5):
Oh my, oh my! Let me repeat again, oh my, oh my! Now let’s change this line to another: Yoko Kanno! Yoko Kanno! Does this ring something in you? No!? Once again, Yoko Kanno! Yoko Kanno!
Jokes aside, the music was definitely what attracted me the most in the anime. When I read the manga, I could only see some musical notes drawn here and there and had no notion of how jazz would sound like and why the characters were so immersed on all those songs. I confess, whose listening repertoire is mainly 80’s, 90’s and Jpop, jazz blew my mind. Literally. You can say it’s made of improvising and playing what sounds good to your ears but it’s enough to put me humming and dance in front of my computer (and on the bus too :P). For fans of Cowboy Bebop, you’ll be familiar with Yoko Kanno’s works. It’s so good, but so good, I can barely put in words, so you need to check the OST! Haha! Just to let you have an idea of how majestic the soundtrack can be I’ll write down the names I remember: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (the tune Moanin’ became one of my favourites), Max Roach, Chet Baker, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Sarah Vaughan, The Beatles and The Sound of Music.
Overall appreciation: 4.8/5
Kids on the Slope will be, without any doubts, one of the best animes of 2012. Those 12 episodes are packed with vivid music, overflowing emotions that will make you glued to the screen. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend it!