Kids On The Slope - Crim Reviews Anime
Kids On The Slope (2012)
Version: Japanese (Subbed/Subtitled) The further roots of jazz carried a need for unpredictability. The progression from the 30s to the 60s sought the rise of musicians like Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakley, John Coltrane, and the likes. In came instrumental solos unlike the ones of classical music. The theme of unpredictability is a recurring one in the manga (and by extension its anime adaptation) Kids On The Slope. First-year high school student Kaoru Nishimi finds himself out of place. A classically trained figure in mind and music, recently moved to his close relatives' place, Kaoru finds himself meeting some of his classmates with unease. One of them is Sentaro, impetuously labeled the class thug due to barest of circumstances, who fancies Kaoru a fascinating character. Likewise, Kaoru finds himself clashing in peculiar ways with Sentaro. It starts to build when Kaoru is invited by another of his classmates, Ritsuko, to join her at her family's store 'Mukae Records." There, he learns of the extemporized ways of Sentaro and his drumming. From there, the two begin to clash in enlightening fashions. Kaoru was trained in an extensive period on classical piano, yet comes to a dissonance with his discovery of jazz via Sentaro. Everything in his dim life suddenly goes out of the ordinary, much more unpredictably. Most of his time is now spent in the underside of his surface life. From the underside also spurns a kindred fire between the 3 classmates.
Much like the unpredictability of jazz, anime director Shinichiro Watanabe's foray into the TV medium remains an intriguing mixture. Musically, he's always been curious, particularly in his animation work. Cowboy Bebop saw him take on western blues with a blend of space sci-fi antics; Samurai Champloo portrayed his take on the Chanbara genre, albeit with an edge in hip-hop. Kids On The Slope sees Watanabe with familiar musical accent, but in a much more grounded place, namely in a coming-of-age setting. He feels at home working with this material (originally a manga), yet still maintains variety in his work with the setting. Because of the setting as well as the themes, Watanabe's able to provide realism as well as a splash of his signature grit apparent from his previous shows. Combine that with the musical prowess of Yoko Kanno, in her 2nd collaboration with Shinichiro, who helps bring to life the breathtaking audio of Slope. Much of the classical tones set through the world clash with the intense, jazzy exploits of its story. One plot induces a string of romance among the characters- a classical element, yet feels quite unpredictable, not unlike to that of a jazz performance. The whole of the show feels like a performance, right down to the final episode, which itself feels like the last movement of a suite. Motifs often recur in Kids (not just in music) and change in both stifling and relieving forms. The entire arc between Kaoru, Sentaro and Ritsuko is put at the forefront and is consistently kept on edge. Solace is rare yet rewarding when is arrives, since the connections among the friends are strong. It's more than worth it to power through the tough moments. Because the tension is created from a well-grounded root, it blooms to fruition. Rating: ★★★★½