As always, my reviews are spoiler free.
Jokes aside, looking at the surface of Kids on the Slope, one might think that it is a just another music SOL anime such as K-On! or Tari Tari. After all, each of these series is about a number of high school students living out their normal lives, all brought together by music. Look a bit deeper however, and you will see that Kids on the Slope, directed by the famous Shinichiro Watanabe of Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, is a totally different entity entirely.
Story - 7/10
Kids on a Slope is set in 1960s Japan, a time when American Jazz was a powerful part of Japan’s musical culture. During this time, an unlikely group of students gather together, united by this one common interest. From here their story unfolds, and in some ways the anime changes form entirely; for at its heart, Kids on a Slope is not a SOL. It is, in fact, a romance through and through.
The series often forgoes the focus on jazz that it presents in the first episodes of the series to focus on the relationships between the characters. That’s not to say that the viewer isn’t treated to frequent jam sessions throughout the series, but it becomes obvious that the character’s connections are now the main point of the series. I’ll go into this a bit more later.
As far as the setting goes, it’s pretty easy to forget that you are in 1960s Japan. There are indications, of course; mainly music references, but also the cars, record players, etc. However, the series uses its setting almost entirely for the music, and I feel a bit of potential is lost where it could have brought out a bit more character of the era.
Animation - 8/10
The animation in the show is well above average. Gradients are used to great effect, and shadows on the characters faces and backgrounds show great attention to detail. Character designs are unique, perhaps even polarizing. While the character designs are well done, the backgrounds can be a bit plain, and the frequently revisited areas are disappointingly plain.
Animation itself is beautiful. Everything is very fluid, especially the scenes in which instruments are played. The level of detail during these scenes is absolutely fantastic, but it makes me wish they would have used a bit of the animation budget on more detailed sets.
Sound - 8/10
Despite my insistence that this is a romance anime at heart, that doesn’t mean that a huge amount of attention went towards the music. Famous jazz makes up the majority of the music focused scenes, and this is where Kids on a Slope truly shines. However, its original soundtrack is average at best, relying on popular music of the time to keep the viewer entertained. Aside from the jazz, early rock begins to make its way into Japan (and therefore the series) as well, and becomes a source of contention among the characters.
Characters – 7/10
Kids on a Slope has a main cast of three characters: Sentarou, Ritsuko, and Kaoru. Sentarou and Ritsuko are childhood friends, with Kaoru having started attending the same school as them. Being new and rich, he quickly finds himself a social outcast. However, when looking for the key to the roof, he finds himself getting along strangely well with the short-tempered Sentarou. When Kaoru reveals he is a classical pianist, they find themselves playing jazz together often.
However, Kaoru soon develops feelings for the overly kind Ritsuko, who is the embodiment of indecisiveness when it comes to her feelings. The relationship between them, with the complication of Ritsuko’s maybe-not-so-sure feelings for Sentarou, makes up the vast majority of the series.
The supporting cast is more of the same. Yurika, a brief love interest of Sentarou’s, finds herself involved with Junichi, an older friend of Sentarou’s, and her life begins to change as well.
The characters are a mixed bag, really. In one respect, the indecisiveness when it comes to romantic feelings in the teenage years is accurately portrayed, and the characters realistic and likable. On the other hand, this indecisiveness and the classic “misunderstandings” starts to get old after some time, and I found Yurika and Junichi’s relationship a bit exhausting. Your enjoyment of the characters in this series will largely depend on how well you can handle the usual tropes that comes with a romantic anime. A surprising level of backstory is given for relevant characters in a series of this length.
Enjoyment - 7/10
If you go into this series expecting a light-hearted comedy with a music focus, you may be disappointed. What it does present is a slow romance with a musical base drawing the characters together. A nice collection of jazz music, good animation, and a solid romance between the main cast was all tied up together nicely for a twelve episode series.
Other Thoughts
Some say there may be some gay undertones between the two male leads. I didn’t really see this, but it is Josei after all, so men aren’t at their manliest.
