I absolutely love jazz. I play bass guitar myself, not quite proffessionally but more than just a pasttime.
I also adore most music anime, even if it's not quite a musical genre I like. I still enjoy K-On as well, even with what little focus on music it has. Mio best girl.
That aside, I've rewatched Kids on the Slope recently, after rewatching Your Lie in April beforehand.
This really cleared up some thoughts I had with both shows, either of them pointing out faults in the other or showing similar weaknesses.
In that regard, I'll also write a review on Your Lie in April. I guess you can consider them linked in weird way.
Now on to the actual review.
What to expect:
Your Lie in April is an anime set in a vastly underexplored era for the medium and most of what's in the show actually makes sense for the post-WW2 period of Japan.
In this setting, we learn about 3 main characters along with a handful of sidecharacters.
The show touches on some of the issues of the time period, but it's by no means the focus and at most some setdressing.
Musically, the show focuses on jazz. Our ragtag band seemingly preferring wilder afro american jazz than say, tamer french jazz of the similar period.
Nevertheless, you'll find a bit of every variety of jazz, save for pretty out there stuff like bebop.
Story-wise, the show'll treat you to romance and friendship amidst drama.
The drama is, quite unusually for the music-anime genre, not even really focused on music, but instead mostly on romance.
Now on to the breakdown.
Story:
The story really is massively underwhelming if you expected anything somewhat out of the ordinary.
The setting doesn't hinder the story but it also doesn't help it along the way at all. None of the intricacies of the time period have a proper effect on the story, save for maybe the impending popularity of Rock'n'Roll in japan.
The drama is plagued with the old problem of people just refusing to talk about things, which has been one of my biggest annoyances in anime since forever.
Art:
The art looks pleasant, it really does. They seem to have gone for a bit of a dated look on purpose for the setting, which works pretty well. It takes some time getting used to, but ends up being charming.
Especially the muisic sequences are gorgeous, but with how few of them there actually are in this show, I really don't feel well rasing this score.
Sound:
The choice of music is good, but very safe. Still though, the arrangements are beautiful, which is to be expected of Yoko Kanno.
The Leitmotif of Art Blakey's "Moanin'" is a particularly great choice with its hook that just stays with you.
The OP and ED are pretty good for casual listening, but it seems like the creators were yet again too insecure to actually use the show's musical genre for the OP and ED. Why? You built the entire show around jazz, why's the OP gotta be some pop stuff?
Character:
The characters go hand in hand with the show's story. As in, they're really bland and forgettable.
The entire cast is very archetypal with the exception of 2, which are sadly just a B-plot.
At the very least the chemistry between the main group is pretty endearing, if they're not having one of the dramatic episodes.
Enjoyment:
Especially with my rewatch in mind, I must say that the only real enjoyment I've gotten out of this show are the musical performances, which, I need to mention again, are supremely pleasant.
Aside from that, the poor story actually started to remind me of some bad old pulp novels, which then ended up being a "so blasé it's entertaining again" state.
Trying to find any closing words, I'd honestly just recommend tracking down the musical scenes if you're a fan of jazz and/or want to see some really slick animation.
Aside from this one gimmick, as mean as it sounds, Kids on the Slop sadly has nothing special to offer, as it does nothing worthwhile with its more unique features.
