Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope) Discussion Thread

[Buckeye]

From the director of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo comes this anime adaptation from a josei manga about an honors student befriending a "thug" and forming bonds through jazz. This show is on the Noitamina block and will be streaming on Crunchyroll.

Begins: 4/12

Official Site (http://www.noitamina-apollon.com/)
ANN Page (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=13944)
Crunchyroll Stream (http://www.crunchyroll.com/kids-on-the-slope)

Summer, 1966. Kaoru Nishimi has moved to live with relatives in Kyushu. He's been an aloof honor student his whole life, but that starts changing when he meets Sentarou Kawabuchi, the school's notorious bad boy. Through him, he learns the appeal of jazz and forms his first real friendships.

Notes
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[Buckeye]

So this show begins with how a rich and smart classical pianist becomes friends with an infamous thug and jazz drummer. Kaoru has moved from school to school and has become socially awkward with the roof as his only sanctuary. This episode was great and the music is really something in this show. It will be interesting to see which direction this show goes as the unlikely friendship advances, and how Kaoru learns how to step outside the box. Sentaro is helping him do just that by first getting soaked in the rain, and now playing freestyle piano.

I really liked this first episode as this was mostly about having Kaoru step outside the box from his rich, but sheltered and highly structured, life and into a world that he will find himself liking even if he rattles some nerves along the way. Sentaro is all about living freely, and teaching Kaoru how to do that as well. The jazz band is a symbol of that.

[ookamigirl]

Damn... didn't expect it to be this interesting.
Sentaro & Kaoru, what an unusual friendship ^^
Those two really get into some weird situations LOL
Jazz... seems like an very unusual band idea.
This seems like an interesting anime, will be watching it.

[MelancholicMariya]

Jazz... seems like an very unusual band idea.


In the year 1966, which this anime is set in, it's not all that weird.

[bear]

I was rather indifferent to the show's concept and timeframe, but it just sucked me right in. Amazing. The characters and style hit their marks. Anime tends to lack realism, but this just made a time and place real. I thought the characters would be parodies but they are turning out to be real people. I hope they can keep this up.

[StudioZEL]

The direction of this first episode was outstanding! Shinichiro Watanabe really knows how to create character chemistry with how characters are composed in a shot, or even just their overall body language.

Great stuff, can't wait for next week! :D

[TheGreenMan]

I'm disappointed that the OP and ED are not jazz at all. I was expecting some cool instrumental jazz tracks. Anyway, the episode is really good. Watanabe direction is top notch. The drumming scene is very well animated.

[FUNiOP]

Pretty exciting stuff. Of course I wasn't expecting this to be anything like Cowboy Bebop, and I would have rather Watanabe do another original rather than adapt a manga, especially since I'm not generally a fan of josei stuff, but... this looks pretty damn promising. I highly anticipate more. A shame it only gets 11 total, though.

[Fencedude]

This is a very good show.

I don't know how much I actually care, but its quite good.

Two things though.

A) Ritsuko is voiced by Nanri Yuuka. Which is strange, because she's hardly in anything forever, and then shows up here. Bizarre.

B) Mariko's seiyuu, Satou Amina (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=93096) is in one other show this season. AKB0048. Which is a very funny pairing of shows.

[HitokiriShadow]

Wow, the yaoi levels in this were hilariously off the charts. I figured there would be a bit of sub-text, but nothing that blatant.

Strangely, that actually slightly increased my interest in the show. Up until that point, this was looking to be a good insomnia remedy. Then the two main guys meet and suddenly I'm actually slightly interested.

And by the end, I was actually a little interested despite nothing in the show being inherently interesting to me (other than the girls, and thus far I have no reason to think their going to get to do much of interest). In a slower season, I'd probably stick with this. But I've got plenty to watch this season, so I probably won't watch more of this unless I get really bored.

Edit: Ah, Sentarou's seiyuu was Sorinozuka in Inu x Boku SS. That's why I thought his voice sounded really familiar. .... And he was also Shichika in Katanagatari. Was definitely *not* thinking of that role. Interesting.

[something]

Episode 1:

- Nice OP sequence.
- Wait, both noitaminA shows this season are about high school boys who transfer a lot? That's an odd coincidence.
- Oh good. Kaoru gets off on a... well, if not a good start, at least a much better start with Sentarou than I expected. I was definitely hoping we wouldn't be wasting a lot of time with bullying nonsense when there's only 11 eps to be had.
- I really like Sentarou. And Kaoru is pretty god for a gloomy kid. But Ritsuko is just <3 <3 <3 <3

- Mariko. Very first impression of her after a few seconds was bad. She came off as a conniving step-sister or something (actually, I assume cousin).
- But then she started throwing a cute tantrum over the piano and I decided she's awesome.
- And then she threw him under the bus and I decided she's a bitch after all. Damnit.

- Sentarou on the drums was awesome. And they didn't even CG the hell out of it like most shows would. Fuckin' respect.
- And Kaoru buys his first jazz record. =D

Tsuritama was okay, but I think it's obvious which noitmainA show is the real winner this season. This was a fantastic episode.

[SeijiSensei]

The direction of this first episode was outstanding! Shinichiro Watanabe really knows how to create character chemistry with how characters are composed in a shot, or even just their overall body language.

I liked the subtle touch of Kaoru removing his glasses when approached by Ritsuko while they were sweeping the floor. The day before, of course, she told him how pretty, oops handsome, he is without his glasses. I didn't notice this the first time I watched the episode, but I did when I watched it for the second time.

Wow, the yaoi levels in this were hilariously off the charts. I figured there would be a bit of sub-text, but nothing that blatant.

I don't see this show ending up with yaoi pairing at all. It's pretty obvious Kaoru is interested in Ritsuko, and being an osama-najimi character it's probably unlikely she'll end up with Sentaro. I thought the hand-holding scene when Kaoru and Sentaro first meet was more parody than anything else.

[FUNiOP]

So both guys have girls they're already in love with. I guess that means everyone will get out of this with a happy ending. Assuming the yaoi subtext doesn't develop, of course. And Sentaro is also a Christian, along with being a jazz drummer. Definitely not the delinquent stereotype you might expect, especially since most of his fights are due to him standing up for someone who needs it.

[bear]

This is turning out to be my favorite show of the season. It seems to hit all the right notes (no pun intended). The interactions of the main characters feel very real to me as does the time and place. Kaoru's attempt to play jazz by reproducing it note for note was expected, and I love the way they just pushed him to jump in and play with the trio and improvise. Even the scene of Ritsuko listening to them play was sweet to watch.

I had a sneaking suspicion about Sentarou after the church scene and the comment Ritsuko-chan made, but with the addition of the new girl....

[Buckeye]

- Learning to play freestyle jazz looks tough.
- Bullied again. But this time, Kaoru can fight back.
- Now "Brother Jun" joins the band as the trumpet player.
- Not bad on his first attempt at jazz on the piano.
- So Sentaro and Ritsuko are Christians.
- Off to the sea for a swim.
- Kaoru, swimming in circles, and then rowing in circles.
- Love at first sight? Sentaro saves a girl and apparently has something for her.

After a great first episode, this adds to the greatness. It shows more instances where Kaoru breaks through from his sheltered life (fighting back, jumping into the ocean, and taking the oar) much like what jazz music is about. And now, we are introduced to Yurika, the girl that Sentaro saves. The next episode will probably be about her after being saved by bullies much like Kaoru was.

[ookamigirl]

Kaoru is determined to learn jazz.
Sentaro always seems to save his ass.
Their jazz band sounded really nice.
Even Kaoru relaxed and enjoyed himself.
His feelings for Ri-chan were pretty obvious.
Day at the beach was nice.

[something]

Episode 2:

- Jazz is hard.
- Heh. Ritsuko's blushing is adorable. And man Kaoru is not made for fighting. :sd:
- And Kaoru gets his introduction to a reall jazz session. I guess that introduces the other two people from the OP. I didn't make the connection between the old guy and Ritsuko's dad at first.
- Kaoru looks like, 5000% less stick-in-the-mud with his glasses off.
- And scores a date with Kaoru but you know Sentarou will show up too.

- Heh yeah. And they're both Christians, which is going to be fairly unusual. I mean th Church exists in most any anime that needs to insert a nun fetish, but in realistic shows like this it's a bit less common.
- Whelp, he's officially hopelessly in love.
- Kaoru rows about as well as he swims.
- Speaking of falling in love... this could be convenient for Kaou. Sentarou is totally smitten with new girl.

[Damius]

- This is the third shows this season I watch, up to now, with a transfer student in the first episode.
- When you see a girl for the first time, you won’t feel sick anymore.
- Ritsuko is definitely my favorite.
- Sentaro on the drums was amazing.

Great first episode, nice atmosphere. This show can be really interesting, I hope it will.

[ookamigirl]

It was love at first sight.
Guess even big delinquent guys like him get lovesick.
Sentaro & Yurika ^^ It was fun watching him all awkward are embarrassed.
Group date was nice, but not everyone was happy.
Hope Richie gets his answer soon..

[FUNiOP]

Well that would have worked out well if Sentaro wasn't such a nervous idiot. Fortunately, Kaoru gathers his courage and manages to get a nice confession out in only the third episode. Love polygons are love polygons, but at least there's some more understanding in this one than there normally would be, and I wasn't expecting that from Kaoru so early on. Nice job, man. Good luck.

[bear]

Just unbelievably great. I would be hard pressed to come up with a way of improving on this story. Watching them play just makes me feel the exuberance someone gets when they're fully engaged in something they love. The relationships and personalities all work to make this show one of the best and certainly the one I look forward to the most. If Ri-chan becomes any more adorable I don't think I could take it.

[Damius]

- Arg, Kaoru is about to get bullied. I hope Ritsuko will get help fast enough.
- That was quite a kick from Sentaro.
- Sentaro is really a good person; he rushes to help even if he didn’t know who was bullied.
- Jazz. Live session.
- First date: Homework together… Well, he needs to start somewhere, I guess.
- Poor Kaoru, Sentaro is with Ritsuko…he won’t be alone with her.
- The swimming scene was well done.
- Sentaro is in love too.

I wonder how both relationships will develop.

[something]

Episode 3:

- Hah, this is a very pleasant role reversal. Kaoru has Sentarou on the defensive.
- And now he's giving Sentarou love advice. I wonder how much Kaoru really knows about that himself. Was he ever in love before he met Ricchan?
- Sentarou dates pigeons. I guess you had nothing to worry about, Kaoru!

- Most awkward invitation to a date ever. Heh. Silly Sen-chan.
- Ahahaha, and Sentarou self destructs. But hey at least she's going. It would be very awkward for her to find out Kaoru isn't actually the one who asked but she seems more than smart enough to realize what was actually going on.
- Or maybe not? She isn't revealing it but I'm still pretty sure she knows. It was so damn obvious, but you can't underestimate how oblivious anime characters can be.
- But just to make it extra awkward I'm still pretty darn sure Ricchan likes Sen, not Kaoru, so yay for double the misunderstandings. I hope it gets cleared up soon.

- Alright, Yurika is directing all her attention at Sen, she must know.
- So does Ricchan, though. Yeah she definitely likes Sentarou.
- Awww, she's sooooooo cute when she's jealous.
- Ouch. Ricchan has it bad. Kaoru, you've got good intentions but you're going to end up with neither girl now.
- Crying Ricchan. ;_; Thankfully Kaoru is a bit quicker on the uptake than a lot of anime guys, and realizes what's going on.

- Uh, though he isn't acting on that information in the most intelligent way.
- Wait. Ricchan thinks Kaoru likes Yurika. Hm. Or is she just fishing for information?
- And the boys make up quite quickly thanks to jazz.

- And suddenly Sentarou is nearly nude modeling for Yurika. o_O
- Wow, you go Kaoru. Nicely done confession.

I wish Ricchan played the drums. Because... y'know? That's just how it should be.

Great episode again.

[FUNiOP]

Wow, a lot happens in this episode. It's almost Christmas now, which is also Sentaro's birthday. Kaoru goes to buy him a present and Ri-chan is there to do the same, so they split it. Ri-chan is captivated by the beauty of snow and can't resist dancing around in it, while Kaoru is captivated by the beauty of Ri-chan and can't resist kissing her. The result may be a little less than desired, and Sentaro's family comes by to see her crying and running off. Kaoru is jealous of Sentaro for a multitude of reasons and lets him know about some of it pretty clearly, then throwing his present at him and running off. Fortunately, Sentaro is kind of a great guy despite being a delinquent, and follows Kaoru to tell him that his past isn't the most desirable either. Meanwhile, they have a show lined up to perform for American troops, a little ironic considering Sentaro's newly revealed origins, and while they kick ass at it, one drunk racist in the crowd isn't having any of it. And hey, he actually spoke English perfectly. I guess Sentaro asking Kaoru to translate will be problematic in the dub. While Sentaro unsurprisingly isn't going to give in to this guy, Jun knows how to handle the situation, and everything works out pretty well considering. Well, other than another angle being added to our love polygon, of course. Good stuff.

I can't believe how much they managed to pack into that one episode and not feel rushed. I guess maybe only being 11 episodes isn't going to end up being quite as detrimental to the series as I had thought it might be.

[MelancholicMariya]

I can't believe how much they managed to pack into that one episode and not feel rushed. I guess maybe only being 11 episodes isn't going to end up being quite as detrimental to the series as I had thought it might be.

The official sites DVD/BD listing (http://www.noitamina-apollon.com/12goods/index.html) says that the fourth DVD/BD will contain episodes 10 to 12. So this must be a noitaminA anime that is running for 12 episodes, which isn't exactly the norm for this block.

[ookamigirl]

Their jazz band got a chance to perform live, nice!
The kiss in the park... a rash mistake?
Sentaro didn't have an easy life, but I guess Kaoru envies his closeness with Ri-chan.
Their performance didn't go over without a hitch, but it ended up well.

[FUNiOP]

I can't believe how much they managed to pack into that one episode and not feel rushed. I guess maybe only being 11 episodes isn't going to end up being quite as detrimental to the series as I had thought it might be.

The official sites DVD/BD listing (http://www.noitamina-apollon.com/12goods/index.html) says that the fourth DVD/BD will contain episodes 10 to 12. So this must be a noitaminA anime that is running for 12 episodes, which isn't exactly the norm for this block.

Oh hey, look at that. Nice to see we'll be getting one more.

[bear]

Damn, they did it again. Another amazing episode. I'm so used to the multihued hair and western eyes in anime that it never crossed my mind that Sentaro might have an American father. This show has a reality to it that I'm not used to in anime. Yurika getting interested in Jun was a twist that really throws things into a spin. How this is going to play out is anyones guess at this point. Kaoru's frustrations at first seemed like jealousy over Rinchan, but when it all came bubbling out it showed how little love was in his life. Sentaro then topped him. Wow. Everybody's got problems to deal with. Now what's Rinchan's? I was thinking of Sentaro maybe joining the priesthood was a possibility early on, but Rinchan?

[Buckeye]

- So it's love at first sight between Yurika and Sentaro.
- Sentaro sure has a large family in a run-down house. At least the kids there do whatever they want.
- Whoa, Sentaro sure is messed up when he's in love. He can't ask for an outing properly in that state.
- Going berserk over a hanky?
- What? Sentaro is modeling for Yurika?
- The prince has arrived, and Kaoru's the prince with Ri-chan being the princess.

This is another nice episode and now, the love interests are all established. And then the way Kaoru declared his love for Ritsuko was really something.

[Buckeye]

- Brother Jun's back, and now the band will go live for the first time.
- Christmas is coming, and Sentaro gets a drumstick from Kaoru, and Ricchan.
- Talk about awkward. Kaoru kissing Ricchan in the snow, and Sentaro appears to start a fight with Kaoru.
- Time heals some wounds, I guess. At least Sentaro's in a much better mood with the new drumsticks.
- So the secret is out: Sentaro is half-white and the son of an American soldier.
- Kaoru may have been socially awkward, but that's nothing compared to what Sentaro went through. So that explains his aggressiveness.
- Hey you, drunk American! Don't ruin the mood with those racist comments.
- Nice save, Brother Jun! A duet to restore the mood.

Up to this point, this is the best episode by far. We learn a lot more about Sentaro and how he became a Christian, being a kid that's half-American and heavily bullied. And taking the cake was the concert where we finally hear the band in performance, antics of that drunk American racist notwithstanding.

[Damius]

- First seconds after the OP confirm that Sentarou is in love.
- Kaoru did research on her. Awesome.
- Have more confidence Sentarou! I’m sure you can ask Yurika for a group date.
- Sentarou have a girlfriend already? Oh, it’s a bird… Well, we are in a open world.
- Well, Yurika agreed…but well Sentarou could have done better than that. Well, it’s the result that is important I guess.
- But, why did it say it was Kaoru who invited her…
- Good for Sentarou, Yurika pays attention to him. ^_^
- So…Ritsuko is jealous… she is in love with Sentarou too… Poor Kaoru
- And now, Ritsuko is crying…
- It’s a good thing Ritsuko was there to stop them… it could have end badly…
- Music has so much power.
- Ritsuko thinks that Kaoru likes Yurika… You need to confess to her now, Kaoru.
- And he actually did it! Awesome.

Fantastic episode. This series continues to surprise me.

[something]

Episode 4:

- Huh, feels like a lot of time passed. It was just summer, early fall at latest, and now it's almost Christmas? How long is Ricchan making him wait for an answer?
- Kaoru references the art room thing as "the other day"? Okay I guess the skip of a few months happened in the previous episode and I wasn't paying attention.
- Hahaha, classmates wonder if Kaoru is the real "banchou" here. XD

- I'm glad we don't get much of Kaoru's home life. His family sucks.
- That was one violent sneeze.
- What. Kaoru, you do not just kiss girls completely without warning. Especially when you're waiting to hear how they feel about you.
- You made her crying, damnit Kaoru. =/

- Sentarou backstory time! So he's half American and his mom ran out. And stuff just sucked ever since, until now I guess.
- Realllllly great stuff between Kaoru and Sentarou. Especially when they show Kaoru's face after Sentarou's backstory is done.
- Well that's the first time I've ever heard "coon" used in an anime. o_O Great jazz scene interrupted by drunken racist. Bad racist, go away.
- Wooooooah. Dude, is that actually Suwabe Jun'ichi singing? Sure it's got some engrishy accent but overall it's shockingly good for a Japanese seiyuu, even if it's only a couple lines.
- But uh oh. Yurika has fallen for Jun-nii.

Well that was phenomenal.

[ookamigirl]

Kaoru and Ritsuko... so awkward.
Guess Sentaro is the only one for her after all..
Poor Kaoru just can't get a break with her.
Well, at least he got a chance to see his mother again.

[bear]

Kaoru and Ritsuko... so awkward.
Guess Sentaro is the only one for her after all..
Poor Kaoru just can't get a break with her.
Well, at least he got a chance to see his mother again.

Well, crap. I'd hoped that Richan would have actually reciprocated his feelings but it's obvious that it's Sentaro. Sentaro is not going to let his playing partner and friend get away, but then Kaoru is probably the only (male) friend that Sentaro has ever had. Kaoru saying that they weren't friends probably really hurt him.

You wonder what caused such a rift that Kaoru's mom never kept in touch with him.

And where is Brother Jun? Shacked up with Yurika?

[FUNiOP]

Everything is confirmed: Kaoru loves Ritsuko loves Sentaro loves Yurika loves Junichi. Kaoru is the only one who no one loves. :( Sentaro seems to have some feelings for Ritsuko, at least more than anyone else has for the ones in love with them. Well, I'm sure we'll see Jun shacked up with Yurika next time, just because he's a player like that. I was expecting that when they went to his place, but while it didn't happen, they basically confirmed that it would right there. This is the second anime episode I've watched today with unintentional underage drinking. I was expecting them to spill some stuff, but I guess most of it is already so obvious that they wouldn't need to. I'm curious to find out why Kaoru's mom never contacted him in all this time, though. I hope to eventually see her singing that song as Kaoru and maybe the rest play it, perhaps in glorious Engrish.

[bear]

Everything is confirmed: Kaoru loves Ritsuko loves Sentaro loves Yurika loves Junichi. Kaoru is the only one who no one loves. :( Sentaro seems to have some feelings for Ritsuko, at least more than anyone else has for the ones in love with them.

I'm beginning to think that Sentaro just never thought that Ritsuko cared that way about him so he never even thought that he had a shot. He seemed obviously shaken and may actually be really interested in her, but given how he acted with Yurika, the doofus is going to have a hard time admitting how he feels to her.

[something]

Episode 5:
- Ricchan with her hair down and blushing <3
- Heh, this is such a weird episode. Kaoru on the string phone, Sentarou being oblivious to Yuri's feelings for Jun, etc.
- Ouch. Kaoru gets rejected, and doesn't take it well.
- And Sentarou still has no idea who Ricchan likes. Silly Sen-chan.
- Ouch, Kaoru isn't even talking to Ricchan now. Kinda harsh, since he knew she liked Sentarou already.

- Kaoru's dad must be blind. How does he not notice the enormous lump under the blankets? :sd:
- Heh I love how he needs to hide Sentarou like a secret girlfriend. :sd:
- So, Kaoru is off to see his mother. With Sentarou, haha.

- Oh jeeze. Hints that Jun is a playboy and isn't taking Yurika seriously. I guess that gives Sentarou his chance back.
- Jun isn't there so it's DRUNK TIME WITH STRANGERS!
- And Kaoru meets his mother.
- Sentarou can read the atmosphere well enough sometimes, even if he's totally oblivious other times.
- Kaoru clears his head, and is back to practicing. All is well again! Except with Yurika, most likely.

Great as usual. Very well paced for 11 eps too, shouldn't be hard to finish this up in 6 more.

[something]

Well, I'm sure we'll see Jun shacked up with Yurika next time, just because he's a player like that.
And where is Brother Jun? Shacked up with Yurika?
But there were a ton of unread letters from Yurika in Jun's mail slot so I'd be a bit surprised if they were together. The "unanswered mail" cliche usually implies unrequited feelings.

[Damius]

I can't believe how much they managed to pack into that one episode and not feel rushed. I guess maybe only being 11 episodes isn't going to end up being quite as detrimental to the series as I had thought it might be.

The official sites DVD/BD listing (http://www.noitamina-apollon.com/12goods/index.html) says that the fourth DVD/BD will contain episodes 10 to 12. So this must be a noitaminA anime that is running for 12 episodes, which isn't exactly the norm for this block.

Oh hey, look at that. Nice to see we'll be getting one more.

Indeed. Nice that this show will get one more, it definitely deserve at least one. Can I ask for even more?

[Damius]

- They will play in front of an audience for Christmas? Awesome.
- I really like the friendship between each members of the band. I hope it will still be like it.
- Well, the atmosphere in Kaoru’s family is not that good… It’s great he have the band.
- Kaoru, everything was great…nice atmosphere, Ricchan was happy… Why did you kiss her? She didn’t even give you an answer yet… Bad move.
- Sentarou life when he was a child was definitely not easy… Ouch…
- Sentarou and Kaoru definitely need each other. Plus, this series shows it quite nicely.
- Ouch…I hate that drunken guy…The music was great… Kick that guy out.
- Jun knows how to sing… Wow.
- Oh! Yurika is in love with Jun.

Wow, that was a fantastic episode. This series is definitely better than expected.

[Delariean]

Kaoru and Ritsuko... so awkward.
Guess Sentaro is the only one for her after all..
Poor Kaoru just can't get a break with her.
Well, at least he got a chance to see his mother again.

Well, crap. I'd hoped that Richan would have actually reciprocated his feelings but it's obvious that it's Sentaro. Sentaro is not going to let his playing partner and friend get away, but then Kaoru is probably the only (male) friend that Sentaro has ever had. Kaoru saying that they weren't friends probably really hurt him.

You wonder what caused such a rift that Kaoru's mom never kept in touch with him.

And where is Brother Jun? Shacked up with Yurika?




The manga explains a bit more as to why Karou's Mom didn't keep in touch.

Spoiler Karou's mom did not have a lot of education growing up and was unable to read or write. So she couldn't contact her son even if she wanted to. After her marriage to Karou's father and he went away to work, the relatives were talking behind her back and pressuring her to leave. In fact, she did plan to leave with her son, but the grandfather stopped them as they were about to board a train. At first, he was going to say goodbye, but then he basically grabbed Karou and left her at the train station. When she got back to the mansion, she realized that as a poor woman she wouldn't be able to care for him

[something]

The manga explains a bit more as to why Karou's Mom didn't keep in touch.
But I don't see any indication at this point that the anime is going to omit this material (maybe it will, but maybe it won't), so I'd rather we don't post spoiler material about it, even in tags. Kaoru was wondering at the end of the episode why she left, so one would assume he'll (and thus we'll) find out too. It'd be a little different if the mom subplot had already been completely wrapped up and done with; then maybe letting people know what was missed is ok. But he only just met her in this episode so I'm guessing there's more coming on that front, even if not immediately.

[FUNiOP]

Rock? In MY jazz show? I like rock more, so it's a little funny to view it as the "enemy" here, but I get the idea. All kinds of things tearing them apart now.

[ookamigirl]

Another school year...
Sentaro fighting on the first day... nothing strange there.
Date with Yurika went well, but his friendship with Kaoru is not doing too well.
Matsuoka seems like Sen's new friend since he could relate to his life story.
Guess that guy had his own agenda after all.
Kaoru took Sen's sudden switch to Matsuoka & his rock band as flat out betrayal.

[bear]

Rock? In MY jazz show? I like rock more, so it's a little funny to view it as the "enemy" here, but I get the idea. All kinds of things tearing them apart now.

Given the era, that was a perfect monkey wrench to throw in the mix. The whole story has a "real" feeling to me.

Well, at least I now know what the literal translation referred to. I hate when they try to make the translation "relevant" by changing the original meaning.

I agree with Sen, that weasel gives me a chill too. There is just something slimy about him.

I couldn't make it out.Who was that at the end of the bar? Jun?

[something]

Episode 6:

- Lots of emotional juggling. Sentarou and Kaoru are bot trying to set Ricchan up with the other, and then there's the whole Yurika/Jun situation.
- And now another guy enters the equation. Uh oh, Kaoru is jealous.
- Well, Kaoru completely overreacts. But it's slightly less dumb than it would be, only because that's exactly what the new guy was sceming to incite.

Not sure what I think about introducing this guy but I guess they were going to have to do something other than missed romantic connections for the second half.

[Damius]

- Well, the huge Kaoru mistake shown again.
- Ricchan and Kaoru can finally speak, but on a string phone…
- Kaoru got rejected…
- Sentarou is a really good guy. Tries to help Kaoru quite a lot.
- He his hiding something…but I don’t think you could guess what it is…
- Kaoru meets his mother…
- “…My mind emptied out” Well, that’s really good to hear.
- And they are back together, practicing.

Another great episode of a great show.

[FUNiOP]

I enjoyed some aspects of their rock, but it was a little too focused on making girls squeal. So as it turns out, I may like the jazz in this show better than the rock. It's just got so much personality packed in it. That whole performance with Kaoru and Sentaro in this episode was gold. The entire school flocking to see them was a little overkill, but it did enhance the fun the scene that much more. And that's all it takes to be done with those conflicts. Now all is right again. Well, except for the whole Yurika/Jun thing. I imagine we'll be following up on that in much greater detail in the next episode.

[bear]

Yeah, it was emotionally over the top, but dang! In some respects the students flocking in made sense. if the word was passed that that music was being made by the school trouble maker and the studious transfer student I could see everyone wanting to see it for themselves.

As a coming of age story this is just gold.

It seems like the upperclassmen in that school are real shits.

Jun... how fallen the mighty.

I got a kick out of the girls realizing Karou was not only available but approachable. It was like sharks swimming around a crippled fish. :sdsmiley:

As a side note. The english title has always bugged me a little because it's translated as "Kids on the Slope" when the title is "Apollo on the Slope". I got playing around with the kanji and Sakamichi gets translated as Slope, but "Saka" (坂) by itself is "Hill" and "Michi" is "Road"(道). The scene of Karou walking to school got me thinking that "Hill Road" makes more sense as a literal translation. Slope does have some connotations that may make it more appropriate in a literary sense though. Don't know if I'm off track because of my extremely limited knowledge of Japanese.

[ookamigirl]

Nishimi and Ri-chan do seem to hang out more lately.
It's kinda counterproductive since she rejected him.
At least he got more popular with the girls.
Sentaro is acting all weird too since Nishimi & him are on bad terms.
It felt like Sentaro betrayed them both.
It was nice how they connected again in the most unexpected way.

[Buckeye]

I've fallen behind, so it is time to catch up on this show.

- Something's up between Ritsuko and Kaoru.
- A string phone conversation? I wonder what's up.
- Poor Kaoru. Ritsuko dumped him.
- Sentaro must have something urgent if he sneaks into Kaoru's room.
- So now Kaoru knows where his mother lives. This calls for a trip to Tokyo.
- And back to Tokyo he goes. With Sentaro tagging along.
- Mother is out, so to Brother Jun's place they go.
- What? Jun has been missing for a month now.
- Next day, it's time to finally meet mother. In the rain, no less.
- Some mother to son time, which Kaoru had very little of.
- Back to Kyushu and now practicing again.

After things start to get rocky for Kaoru, a trip to see his mother does a lot of good for him. Things were great the previous episode, but now hardships are coming fast. It will be interesting to see what happens now that Kaoru feels renewed after that visit.

[Damius]

- So Kaoru decided to tell Yurika about Jun…
- Sentarou went on a date with Yurika and it didn’t went well…they spoke a lot about Jun. Kaoru was right on that one.
- Well, Kaoru did overreact at the end, but it could be understandable because of the memories it brings back and the situation he is in right now.

I have to say that I’m not a fan of the new character, it just makes the situation which is complicated enough even more complicated…

[something]

Episode 7:

- Suddenly Kaoru is a hit with the ladies.
- I definitely feel bad for Sentarou. He did nothing to deserve a cold shoulder.
- Then rock'n'roll isn't really doing it for him. And Coltrane dies. And Jun-nii shows back up, just time time to interrupt Sen kidding Yurika. And Sen punches Jun. This is a bad day for Sentarou.

But then... holy fuck that was amazing. To be honest a little of the flair this show had was lacking for me in the past few episodes, but this episode was just downright phenomenal. Amazing amazing concert scene, wonderful interplay between Kaoru and Sentarou.

Sooo good.

[Buckeye]

- Time for a new school year. Ritsuko and Kaoru are in the same class.
- First day, and Sentaro is already fighting.
- That's some pretty impressive piece of artwork. It even has the tears.
- Kaoru is playing My Favorite Things from the Sound of Music.
- Going clam digging now with friends.
- Now Sentaro is the drummer for the rock band in the school festival.
- And Kaoru is left at a loss since he thought that Sentaro only does jazz.

This episode is the start of a big test of friendship. Sentaro has an opportunity to expand his horizons after being so fixated on jazz, while Kaoru does not take this well. With the way things are set up in this episode, the next one should really tell a lot about the friendship and how there is a lot more to life than jazz.

[FUNiOP]

Back to our love pentagon, and all five parts are in a complicated place for the first time. Kaoru has accepted that Ritsuko loves Sentaro, but it's starting to hurt again. But she doesn't? Ritsuko doesn't have a thought about Sentaro in this episode, her thoughts instead focused on Kaoru! I never doubted that our lead would get his happy ending, but it's still a big deal to see this major change in the feelings of the main characters. This leaves Sentaro with no one, because even though we all knew all along that he never had a chance with Yurika, he gets the ultimate confirmation himself by finding her in Junichi's house. After venting his anger about it with Kaoru (I love how Kaoru just instinctively plays along with his crazy drumming as soon as he gets there), he gets some hints about Ritsuko's feelings for him, or at least what Kaoru thought was the case as it was up until just now. It's a little annoying for Kaoru to just drop those hints like that instead of telling him straight out after he just lost his chance at love he had been hoping for, but it's obviously hard for him because he still definitely has the same feelings for Ritsuko that he's had all along, plus he's right that Sentaro really should have realized it by now. Well Sentaro does finally realize it at the end of the episode, so now he may be ready to accept the feelings that Ritsuko has had for him all this time right as her feelings are starting to move away from his and toward Kaoru. Then there's Yurika, who cut her hair and threw everything away for Junichi, who admitted to being fine with throwing her away and never had any real feelings her for. Junichi is having his own problems, but not quite the love-related ones like these high school kids. He's dealing with bigger stuff, and he'll accept the comfort that Yurika is there to provide, even if his feelings aren't what they should be.

[bear]

What started as a story about jazz and finding something to love is turning into a major drama about finding someone to love. This has turned into one of the most mature stories I've seen in a long time. Ri-chan's changing feelings towards Karou with Sentaro starting to realize she had feelings toward him (coupled with Jun and Yurika) make me think this is heading towards a tragic ending. Now if Karou decides to drown his sorrows by picking up one or more of his "groupies"....

I don't care for downer endings but this show is so good I'll take whatever I can get.

It's funny that we've got two stories (Hyouka) this season that have major themes related to student unrest in the sixties.

[ookamigirl]

All about Junichi and his past.
Nishimi's popularity still growing.
That little performance at the festival boosted his popularity even more.
Sentaro got his feelings hurt by his idol. Just sad.

[something]

Episode 8:

- Heh. Sen and Kaoru are the school heartthrobs now.
- But jeeze, things with Yurika and Jun'ichi are messy as hell.
- Yay, Ricchan is finally realizing, slowly, that she likes Kaoru.

- Goddamnit Yurika. I like how she stands up to Jun'ichi when he's being immature, but cutting her hair, whyyyyyyyy? ;_;
- Well, looks like she got through to him. So I guess Sentarou will be the one without a date.

- And Sentarou finally finds out. Ouch. Poor guy.
- Ohhh what a mess. Ricchan is coming around on Kaoru, but he doesn't know it, and is still trying to support her with Sen, and, jeeze.. :sd:
- Then Sen realizes what Kaoru was saying. Next episode will be interesting, for sure.

Lots of relationship movement. Can't wait for the last few episode.

[Damius]

- Kaoru just needs to speak a little to have 4 new ladies around him…
- Kaoru is still overreacting with Sentarou.
- Sentarou was about to kiss Yurika… but Yurika didn’t want to kiss him… The worst person possible to be there, was there… Jun-nii. Yurika runs away crying… That is not a good episode for Sentarou at all, not at all.
- Kaoru, now that you know about Sentarou, will you go help your friend?
- Ricchan did her little contribution for that to happen. Thank you Ricchan.
- Speak Kaoru…Sentarou is leaving…do it fast...
- Arg…that guy sure has a bad timing…just when they were about to speak…
- It was Kaoru who changed the name from Za Olympus, to The Olympus. Not something big, but it speaks for itself…
- Oh wow, well done. They made Kaoru listens to what Sentarou said to that other band guy when he was on stage.
- And just after that, Kaoru doesn’t want people to leave, so he plays the piano. Wonderful.
- They were speaking with music. What a scene. Fantastic…
- Everyone runs to listen to them.
- And both Sentarou and Kaoru are running away.

What an amazing episode it was.

[Buckeye]

- So after that disaster that was the clam-digging trip, it seems like Sentaro and Kaoru are avoiding each other.
- Something is wrong with Yurika.
- Kaoru is sure busy these days with the festival.
- It's "ji" (thee) Olympus, not "za" (da) Olympus.
- So that's why Sentaro played the drums for this band: he wants to help someone reach his dreams to support his family.
- This was a one-time deal all-along since Sentaro is all about jazz.
- The concert is on. Pretty good until...
- Oh no! Technical problems! This crowd is getting restless.
- Kaoru to the rescue with "My Favorite Thing" jazz style.
- And to follow it up with "Moaning" for a performance the whole school wants a part of.
- Friends once again.

After the last two episodes were lacking in a relative sense, this one is just awesome. Like episode 4, what seals the deal is how Kaoru manages to do something great in a bad situation. This friendship was being threatened by a simple misunderstanding and Kaoru was too quick to jump to conclusions here. All of that is water under the bridge once the truth came out and Sentaro was just doing a favor for someone who really needs one. This episode was just awesome much like episode 4 is.

[Buckeye]

- So the girls are still mobbing the duo.
- Brother Jun's life sure is a big mess. Go to college in Tokyo, drop out, and get disowned.
- Yurika is sure worried. Go from a highly respected figure to someone who smokes and drinks.
- A young lady no more. Yurika cuts her hair to show it.
- The truth is out to Sentaro.
- Dad to Yurika: Don't ever see Jun again.
- Looks like Sentaro has a plan for him.

So something bad happened to Jun since the boys went to Tokyo to see him only to find him gone missing, and now we know why. Jun sure looked like he was the ideal man, but it turns out he lives in a family that is against everything that he has done. And now there is tension between him and Yurika. Looks like something is brewing.

[Buckeye]

- A Christmas party with The Olympus. Riko can't go, so Kaoru does to put some distance.
- So Riko is knitting something for Kaoru?
- Is that for Sentaro? That sure made Riko upset.
- Into the dumpster the knitted gloves in progress go.
- That was idiotic. But now, Sentaro is talking sense into her.
- So Brother Jun has been rescued by Yurika. Back to Tokyo for a job never to return.
- Get the gloves from the dumpster, with Yurika.
- Sentaro, please see Jun one last time.
- And instead of going to Jun, Jun comes over for one last session.
- What a session that was, with a dueling drummer and trumpet.
- And off to Tokyo Jun goes, but before that...
- Say goodbye to Yurika. Back to her own world she goes...
- Scratch that. Yurika is coming along, too.
- Time for a session, and on the piano keys are the gloves.

This was an excellent episode, one where a relationship is fully resolved, and another one is close to being resolved. Jun and Yurika will begin their new lives in Tokyo and in dramatic fashion. Both of them are doing something they want that their parents do not want them to do, and they realize that dream at last. It was pretty clear that Jun and Yurika were meant for each other, and that Yurika finally had the courage to stand up against her family to do what is right for herself. Then there is Kaoru and Ritsuko who are experiencing difficulties, and then the love triangle between Ritsuko, Kaoru, and Sentaro begins to clear up now that Sentaro thinks of her more as a sister than his lover. Two more episodes to go.

[ookamigirl]

Kaoru didn't have much fun at the Christmas party.
Sentaro finally realized Ritsuko's feelings.
Jun leaving again...
Sentaro vs Jun in a music challenge.
It was nice how Jun took Yurika with him.
Hope they'll have a good life together.

[Ingraman]

Then there is Kaoru and Ritsuko who are experiencing difficulties, and then the love triangle between Ritsuko, Kaoru, and Sentaro begins to clear up now that Sentaro thinks of her more as a sister than his lover. Two more episodes to go.
I can't wait to see what happens when Kaoru introduces Ritsuko to his family (or they find out about it in some other fashion). ^^

There are two more episodes? Not three more? Yeah, I know it's Noitamina, and they love eleven. What comes next? I'm looking forward to finding out. Should I import this series? It's beautiful to look at, and I'm enjoying it. Those seem to be the two most important factors. ^_^

[FUNiOP]

Looks like the romantic outcomes are pretty much decided. Junichi and Yurika head off to live together in Tokyo, and Ritsuko tells Sentaro she doesn't have romantic feelings for him and gives her knitted gloves to Kaoru. This just leaves Sentaro alone, which is sad, but I feel like he'd the one who could take it the best. I really love how he never stays mad at Kaoru for any amount of time after he leaves. Since Kaoru is very sensitive and insecure, he really needs that in his best friend to keep him, or at least their friendship, stable. It's easy to feel bad for Kaoru, too, as he gets the same kind of negative reaction from Ritsuko for trying to encourage her pursuit of Sentaro as he did for trying to express his own feelings for her. At least she figured out the right thing to do at the end, thanks in part to Sentaro realizing her feelings. Although he never talks about it, he's got to be pretty confused about what's going on. And Yurika sure does what she wants regardless of anyone's opinion of her. That's got to be her strongest defining characteristic at this point. Her decision to spend her life with Junichi seemed questionable, but after seeing both her family situation and the fact that he really does care about her, I can accept that outcome for them. It's just too bad that she didn't get to have a final meeting with Sentaro. Things only got more uncomfortable between them as time went on. Then again, I wouldn't rule out the possibility of the recently-separated groups of characters coming together again near the end. After all, Kaoru and Sentaro do need to meet back up with Kaoru's mom for more reconciliation of their relationship and to play that song together. I love that Sentaro's method of fighting Junichi is by playing music together. Not what you might expect from the area's supposed top delinquent.

Oh, and the "what, we're not playing the Beatles?" thing seems to be a running gag at this point, but now that it's happened multiple times, I realize that it's because they can't afford to license Beatles songs to cover. I wonder if it's different in the manga.

How the hell does this show fit so much into a single episode without the pace seeming remotely rushed? And the passage of time in-story is quite brisk as well.

And yes, this is going to be a rare case among noitaminA shows in that it will have 12 episodes.

[bear]

Another great episode. Things are starting to play out in what looks like a predictable fashion but it's still beautifully done.
Yurika's revelation that Jun has only kissed her was a surprise (does that manga follow that path or is it more explicit?).
Actually, the Spiders (http://radiodiffusion.wordpress.com/2008/06/23/the-spiders/) were a reasonable replacement for the Beatles it seems.
Poor Karou. His head must be spinning by now. (I thought after he slapped Sen that his head would be actually spinning).
I really want a happy ending out of this. This week is going to be long.

[something]

Episode 9:

- Ricchan is such a lovable character. The moment between her and Sentarou was especially good. It's a good thing Sentarou isn't in love with her because if he confessed right after she realized she liked someone else, that would be awkward.
- Now if only Kaoru would realize the shift she's made...
- Great jam session, or rather battle, between Jun and Sen.
- Then haha, wow, Jun takes Yurika with him after finding out she was getting an arranged marriage set up. Well that sure concludes Yurika's arc.
- And Kaoru sees the gloves and realizes what he needs to realize. I hope.

Great episode.

[Damius]

- Sentarou and Kaoru run away again, this time with Ricchan.
- Jun'ichi his completely ignoring Yurika…
- Well, Yurika pushed it, so now he let her in, but the atmosphere sure is not good.
- Oh… Ricchan is jealous? She is starting to realize that she is in love with Kaoru…
- Yurika is cutting her hair….noooo… why?
- Well, at least, she knows more about him now. And he accepts for her to support him.
- Sentarou found out about Yurika and Jun'ichi… That hurts him a lot…
- Be honest with your feelings, it hurts Kaoru for you to support Ricchan and Sentarou.
- Finally Sentarou realizes what Kaoru was trying to tell him… But is it too late for Sentarou?

To be continued…

[ookamigirl]

Kaoru confused.
Looks like there is still hope for him and Ritsuko, erm, maybe.
Sentaro in a down mood 'cause of Yurika, but handling himself as best as he could.
Kaoru & Sentaro's studying sleepover turn out to be really interesting.
The bath part was very illuminating ^^
Preparations for yet another festival are starting again.
Wonder if they'll win again or that rock guys will have better luck.

[FUNiOP]

Although there were some issues in sorting out and admitting their feelings and insecurities, Kaoru and Ritsuko are pretty much set in stone as a couple now, although there's been no actual progress for months and they don't appear to be actually dating, nor did they presumably ever actually kiss other than the time that Ritsuko had no desire to be a part of it way back when. Again, the seasons just keep flying on by in this series. Were they starting high school in the beginning? It would be pretty fitting for the series to cover their entire high school lives. At any rate, a few years covered in a one-cour show is pretty impressive, especially with no real "timeskips", just perfectly naturally progressions of time when appropriate to tell the full story. But now that all the romantic conflicts are more or less out of the way, some other life problems have to kick in, in this case Sentaro's dad returning. And despite the concerns of everyone around him, he's just not having that, and he's taking off right away. This is certainly an appropriate setup for the last couple of episodes. I assume Kaoru and Ritsuko will have to chase him down, maybe reconnecting with Junichi and Yurika, and/or Kaoru's mother in the process, and they'll have to bring him back in time to blow everyone away at their final school festival. The final confirmation of Kaoru and Ritsuko's relationship will probably come after that.

[Buckeye]

- Something is wrong with Kaoru if he is not wearing those gloves.
- A scandalous painting is disposed of.
- All those delinquent acts are catching up to Sen, in danger of flunking. Repeating is not an option for the family's sake.
- Oh, no! Someone peed on Kaoru at Sen's house. Time to hit the baths.
- Seriously? Sen and Ritsuko bathed together? It's a different story with Kaoru there.
- Kaoru is sure feeling ill, but still walks out to Ritsuko.
- That darned fever got in the way of a kiss.
- It's summer, and Kaoru and Ritsuko, the gap hasn't closed.
- A challenge by The Olympus. Time to pull out all the stops.
- Sen's father is coming? He sure isn't thrilled about it.
- Sen sure is keeping a huge secret, and sneaking out in the middle of the night.

So while the Jun and Yurika relationship has been settled, Kaoru and Ritsuko are still far apart as the months pass by (although they have been gradually closing the gap). And then there is something about Sentaro. He does not get along with his father, and now he is going somewhere. What that place is, that is yet to be determined. Another pretty nice episode and one that moves pretty fast as now, the episode ends during summer of their senior year at high school.

[Damius]

- Ricchan threw away the gloves she was knitting for Kaoru… Will Kaoru realize how Ricchan feels now?
- Episodes after episodes, we have more reasons to think Sentarou is a really good guy…
- Jun'ichi will leave for Tokyo and won’t see Yurika ever again? That can’t be true…
- And now, Ricchan is looking for the gloves in the trash, I hope she will find them…
- Nice scene between Yurika and Ricchan, it was the first time Ricchan was able to tell someone how she really feels at this point.
- The last jam session with Jun'ichi…
- Jun'ichi took Yurika with him to Tokyo, what a great ending for both of them.
- Kaoru got the gloves!

That was an awesome episode!

[something]

Episode 10:

- Damnit Kaoru, don't be dense.
- And finally he gets it, ok, good.
- Hah, the girls walks in on the guy, an unusual arrangement. Ricchan, you so cute.
- Argh. Damnit Kaoru. You keep stopping relationship progress dead in its tracks. Stop saying stupid things.
- ...Damnit Kaoru #3.
- And, um, a really weird awkward confession. :sd: But at least they got that out of the way.

- Then nothing happens for months, errr, ok. Bit of an awkward way to rush things along to a culture festival ending.
- But Sen is gonna leave home anyway. Silly Sen.

Not really the best writing the show has given us, but still okay.

[Buckeye]

- Not so fast, my friend. Sen, you can't fool Kaoru like that.
- So father gives Sen an expensive fountain pen. Must mean something.
- Need a bass? Ritsuko's father can lend a hand.
- The jazz performance has substance, but no style. Now how to reach out to those who not interested jazz...
- That's it, sing My Favorite Things. For a beginner, Riko sings pretty well.
- Kaoru left something behind. Sen is out to deliver it by motorcycle.
- OMG!!!!! A swerving vehicle, and this is going to really hurt.
- So much for the festival. Can't perform with a heavy heart.
- Sen's OK, but Sachiko...
- Sen is off to heaven. No wait, he is just covered in a white sheet on the rooftop.
- And Sachiko is OK as well, but is in for a long recovery.
- Now Sen is really gone. What now?
- According to the priest, by leaving his rosary the world has abandoned him.

So it turns out that Sentaro really left, in a way much different than we thought it would happen. The emotional roller coaster was in full swing this episode, starting with the fact that Sentaro is attempting to run away from his father, and then things reach a peak during the rehearsal the night before the festival. Just when things are going well, the accident happens and emotions are spinning out of control. One more episode to go.

[ookamigirl]

Preparing for the festival.
Al least Kaoru & Sentaro are on good terms again.
It was nice watching them practice together too.
Including Ritsuko as the singer was a really good idea.
That motorcycle accident sure messed things up in so many ways...

[FUNiOP]

This show always goes against all my expectations. Sentaro doesn't get any farther than his door before being stopped by Kaoru and everyone else, and he doesn't even confront his "dad", although I think he should have at least somewhat. Then he's all back to normal and ready for the festival. And Ritsuko gets to sing! Is that her seiyuu or someone else? Her English was actually pretty good compared to how it usually would be in a case like this. The night before the festival, Sentaro goes out on his motorcycle to return Kaoru's sheet music, even though he doesn't need it, and a car happens to go into his side of the road after already seeing him, putting him in the hospital. But it turns out that Sachiko was riding on his bike for some reason, and while she may never wake up, he's pretty much fine. The scene on the rooftop calls back to the first episode, which was strange back then, but rather beautiful coming full circle like this, and after crying together for the first time, Kaoru falls asleep and finds Sachiko feeling fine and Sentaro missing. I still don't know why Sachiko had to ride with Sentaro when he was just going to give Kaoru something. The last festival for the protagonists passed by without any of them participating, or any of us seeing any of it. Now we're at the point that I kind of expected we'd be at the beginning of the episode, and there's one episode left. I don't know if they'll be able to wrap up everything they've introduced throughout the series so far in that one episode while keeping a good pace. I must say that while this episode had a lot of really great moments as usual, there were definitely quite a few writing choices that stuck out to me as unusually inferior for this show's usual standard of quality. Hopefully the final episode doesn't suffer any of that, because that's where everything really counts, and I feel like one cour may not have been quite enough to tell this story after all, even with one more episode than most noitaminA shows get.

[bear]

Sen running away.
Sen's father trying to patch things up showing he does care for Sen.
Richan agreeing to sing with them
Accident
Sen leaving...

Emotional roller coaster. Yeah, that it was. The emotional dynamic between Karou and Sen has been one of the major treasures of this show. Both the scene at the beginning and on the roof had me choking up. "This way we don't have to see each other cry". Damn, has Karou grown during this story. Now if Karou just would get his act together with Richan....

Sen's non confrontation with his father, the pen and how the two interacted was so typical of men who can't say what they feel but have to show it in a roundabout fashion. Yes, you are my son and important to me. The impact on Sen conveyed just by the way he held the pen when he was alone. Then...close to the worst thing that could have happened to Sen and a twist that caught me totally off guard.

No matter if Sen comes back or if they end it with him gone forever, it still will rank as one of the best of it's type in my book.

[something]

It feels weird when episode 11 of a 1-cour noitaminA show isn't the end.

Episode 11:

- Ricchan with her hair down is always <3<3<3
- So. Sentarou was going to leave home and it turns out dad isn't so bad anymore after all. ...If you choose to believe that. Let's see what happens the first time he gets drunk.

- OH HELL YES! Ricchan, singing? Fuck yes please.
- Woooow, is that really Nanri Yuuka? Has she done English in other roles? Because, for an anime seiyuu, she sounds pretty damn good. It's still obviously engrishy but her pronunciation is among the best I've heard in an anime.
- Ricchan is in top cuteness form this episode. I really like the simple skirt and blue shirt, and her hair is as always adooooooorable.
- Day before the concert. Sounds like we're on schedule for a drunken Sen's dad rampage.
- Orrrrrrr someone could just crash into him on the road. That works too!

- Oh wow, nice twist. It's Sachiko (Sacchan!! ;_; ) who is in critical condition, not Sen. But that's got to be even worse for him.
- Ffffffffff amazing scene on the roof of the hospital, goddamnit.
- And then Sentarou runs away for real this time.

So glad this is 12 episodes instead of 11.

[Ingraman]

(Sacchan!! ;_;)

Gotta love those damned, yellow smileys...

<sigh> I wish that there was a way to keep from having to look at them. ;_;

I liked episode 11, but I wish that time didn't move quite so quickly in the series.

[Damius]

- No, Kaoru…the gloves are not a mistake… Wake up!
- Finally he wears the gloves.
- Why did you have to ask Ricchan why she gave you the mittens? In addition, adding what you said afterward…. Come on Kaoru…
- Oh, Sen shows Ricchan where Kaoru lives… It’s your chance Kaoru…don’t burn it again.
- He did it again…. He did it again…
- After hearing Ricchan words, he “runs” to her and confess again. About time.
- Nothing happened for months… no progress at all…
- Sen’s dad will be back home…
- Sen will leave?

[Buckeye]

- With Sen gone, the only thing Kaoru can do is study.
- The rooftop has become a more lively place now.
- Kaoru clearly loves Ri'ko, but...
- So Kaoru is going to college in Tokyo, while Ri'ko is staying local.
- Time to say goodbye to the Mukae shop, but not before a behind-the-wall confession.
- And off to Tokyo Kaoru goes, with a parting gift from Ri'ko.
- Just after the train departs, Ri'ko arrives for one last goodbye.
- Eight years later, Kaoru is a doctor.
- Looks like Seiji's dream came true.
- And a pregnant Yurika arrives with a photo that changes everything.
- Back to Kyushu, and to a certain Christian church.
- So Sentaro is a priest-in-training.
- Let's jam one more time on the organ and a drumset hidden under a white sheet.
- Once more, Kaoru and Sen run away.
- And meet up with Ri'ko for the first time in eight years.

This is a great way to finish the show, seeing how Kaoru is becoming successful at pursuing his goals in life to become a successful doctor, but has that feeling of emptiness lingering on for eight years. And just like the start of the series, something triggers him to break from that linear path to live a life of freedom. Kaoru may have his life in Tokyo now, but it was equally as important for him to reconnect with his friends. Overall, this is an awesome show to watch and is the best show of the year so far. Shinichiro Watanabe and Yoko Kanno definitely brought that essence that made Cowboy Bebop so great into this show. It moved pretty fast since Kaoru's entire high school life was covered, but the story and development was done very nicely.

[ookamigirl]

Nishimi was slipping back into his old lonely life without Sentaro.
Without him things are kinda more relaxed in school and with Ritsuko.
Kaoru's feelings were obviously deeply hurt by Sentaro.
High school ended and sad goodbye's followed.
Life continued for all of them and carrier choices they made were pretty cool ^^
The reunion sure was full of nostalgia and really nice.
Great final episode!

[FUNiOP]

I cannot even fathom how much happened in this episode. As great as it all was, I feel like a two-cour version would be far better. I've always been amazed by how fast everything has gone in this series, but this was just crazy. Their whole last year of high school passes by, then eight more years, with no word about Sentaro or connection with each other. I feel like someone should have tried to do something in all that time, but they just let it pass them by until Sentaro's whereabouts happened to fall into Kaoru's hands randomly, and then it's like nothing ever happened, and at least from what we see, Kaoru doesn't try to get any explanation of how Sentaro could do that to them. Then they call Ritsuko back, and she seems happy to see them, even though they didn't seem to try to connect in all that time. Could their romance develop again from this point? It seems a little unrealistic after all this time that neither of them would have found anyone else, and would keep their feelings for the other, even though they didn't try to pursue them in all this time. In fact, it seems like everyone but the leads made out better. Matsuoka fulfilled his dream, and Yurika and Junichi are a happy couple.

But that doesn't mean I didn't love the series. It just seems like I can hardly say much about why I did, because anyone who watched that has to be able to see the reasons very clearly. For adapting a 45-chapter manga in 12 episodes, I think Watanabe and crew did absolutely the best they possibly could, and probably better than anyone else could have managed. I was skeptical when I heard Watanabe's next anime would be a one-cour josei manga adaptation, but it surpassed my every expectations. And while Yoko Kanno's presence is always very appreciated, there are few cases in which it is more critical to the series than in this one. And you can just tell those two work together just like Kaoru and Sentaro. And it's been even longer than eight years for them. I hope we don't have to wait as long for this to happen again, or at least for another Watanabe series. It has been eight years since the last one, which is really ridiculous. He's clearly a master of this craft.

Series Grade: B

[bear]

After thinking about it for awhile, I think the story would have been better served if Richan had not reciprocated Kaoru's feelings after she had resolved her relationship with Sen. Their relationship never went anywhere and if Kaoru had accepted that and just maintained their friendship the story would have flowed better at the end. The story was about friendship not romance, unless you consider the love of jazz to be a romance.

[something]

Episodes 12:

That was an okay ending. Serviceable, but not much more. The first half was somewhat annoying, as I knew it would be, since we had to go through Kaoru retreating into his shell with Sen gone. After that, a big time skip and quick reunion between the real couple of the show. :sd:

I suppose there wasn't much else they could do with the story after Sentarou left. ::shrugs:: Still wished for a stronger ending though.

[Damius]

- Sentarou, is not running away for now anyway…
- Oh wow, Ricchan is singing! Love it! Why did you wait 11 episodes Ricchan?
- Wait, Sachiko is in critical condition? Not Sentarou… Poor Sachiko… ;_;
- Sentarou is hurt, but not badly…
- What a scene on the roof. A powerful scene. Nice music too.
- Sentarou ran away for real this time…

How will they conclude the series?

[Damius]

Well, that ending was good… Nothing spectacular, but it was good. The thing is many episodes of this show were spectacular, so I would have like the last episode and ending to be, but I don’t feel it was. Maybe my expectations were too high… I guess it doesn’t give me the closure I would have like it to… The series is general was really good.