Natsuyuki Rendezvous, Chihayafuru, Nodame Cantabile, Your Lie in April, Planetes
Kids on the slope sakamichi no apollon rese a manga
Kids on the Slope(坂道のアポロン,Sakamichi no Apollon, lit. "Apollo on the Slope") is a Japanese manga series by Yuki Kodama. An anime television series adaptation of the same name aired in 2012. It is directed by Shinichirō Watanabe at MAPPA and Tezuka Productions with music provided by acclaimed composer Yoko Kanno, reuniting the two who previously worked together on Macross Plus and Cowboy Bebop. The anime has been licensed in North America by Sentai Filmworks.
The beginning of summer, 1966; because of his father's job situation, freshman high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Sasebo in Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious "bad boy" Sentaro Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru learns how much fun it is to play jazz and finds the first person he can call a real friend.
Characters
Kaoru Nishimi(西見薫,Nishimi Kaoru)
Voiced by: Ryōhei Kimura (Japanese); Chris Patton (English)
Kaoru is a brainy young man who moves during the summer of his first year in high school from Yokosuka to his uncle's house in Kyushu. In fact, Kaoru has been moving from place to place ever since he was a little kid due to his father's constant departure to work on a ship. That, combined with his expanded family's expectations for him, causes him to become an extreme introvert. But after Kaoru encounters Sentarō, he starts to change, all while learning the joys of jazz. Kaoru is a skilled pianist, familiar with classical music until he meets Sentarō and he starts practicing jazz music with him. Kaoru has unrequited feelings for Ritsuko who initially loves Sentarō instead, until Ritsuko starts reciprocating his feelings. In the last chapter of the manga he and Ritsuko are revealed to have gotten married, and Ritsuko is pregnant with their child.
Sentarō Kawabuchi(川渕 千太郎,Kawabuchi Sentarō)
Voiced by: Yoshimasa Hosoya (Japanese); Andrew Love (English)
Sentarō is a wild 1st-year high school student who meets incoming student Kaoru at Higashi High School. Sentarō is mistakenly thought of as a thug by his peers, who fear him due to his tall and strong figure, but really he is a kind and bighearted person. In the beginning it seems he is the exact opposite of Kaoru, yet somehow they hit it off when Sentarō starts to share his love for jazz. As the child of an American soldier and a Japanese mother, Sentarō is shunned by his grandmother and foster father, but gets along well with his younger siblings. The drums are Sentarō's instrument of choice. Like Ritsuko, he is a Christian, indicated by the rosary he wears around his neck at all times.
Ritsuko Mukae(迎 律子,Mukae Ritsuko)
Voiced by: Yuuka Nanri (Japanese); Rebekah Stevens (English)
Ritsuko is a classmate of Kaoru and Sentarō and an old friend of the latter. This kind, always cheerful and charmingly-freckled high school freshman is also the poster girl for Mukae Records, her family's record shop. The basement of the shop has a practice studio that serves as a hangout for Sentarō, Kaoru, her father, and occasionally Junichi. She is a devoted Catholic just like Sentarō, and is in love with him. However, even though Ritsuko denies Kaoru's initial advance and confesses her love of Sentarō to Kaoru, she later begins to feel emotions for Kaoru instead. In the last chapter of the manga she and Kaoru are revealed to have gotten married, and she is pregnant with their child.
Junichi Katsuragi(桂木淳一,Katsuragi Junichi)
Voiced by: Junichi Suwabe (Japanese); David Matranga (English)
Junichi is idolized by Sentarō, whom he affectionately calls “Brother Jun.” The friendship between Junichi, Sentarō, and Ritsuko goes back to when they were kids. He comes from a wealthy family. Junichi goes to college in Tokyo, but whenever he comes home, he always stops in at Mukae Records and jams on the trumpet, playing jazz with Sentarō and Ritsuko's father. Later, Junichi becomes involved with a political revolutionist movement; as a result, he stops attending college and is disinherited by his family. At the end of the manga, he eventually ends up marrying Yurika and they have a family together.
Tsutomu Mukae(迎 勉,Mukae Tsutomu)
Voiced by: Zenki Kitajima (Japanese); David Wald (English)
Tsutomu is Ritsuko's father and the owner of the record shop where Sentarō and Kaoru play jazz. He plays double bass and occasionally joins in with Sentarō and Kaoru (and sometimes Junichi).
Yurika Fukahori(深堀百合香,Fukahori Yurika)
Voiced by: Aya Endō (Japanese); Maggie Flecknoe (English)
Yurika is a sophomore at Higashi High. Though the daughter of a well-to-do family, Yurika has a spunky, polite and strong personality and is brimming with curiosity. She becomes acquainted with Kaoru and the gang after Sentarō helps her out by chance. Sentarō falls in love with Yurika, but she takes a liking to Junichi instead, after she is introduced to him by his friends. Later, after Junichi becomes disinherited, Yurika begins living with him, which causes a drastic change in her life. Although Junichi tries to leave her in order to protect her, she follows him and at the end of the manga the two have gotten married and have a child together.
Shigetora Maruo(丸尾 重虎,Maruo Shigetora)
Voiced by: Ayumu Murase (Japanese); Greg Ayres (English)
Shigetora is Kaoru's seemingly dorky classmate who has a passion for trains. He is the one who arranges Sentarō's ticket when Kaoru travels to meet his mother and also becomes part of Matsuoka's rock band. At the beginning of the anime, classmates compare him to Kaoru in order to mock Kaoru.
Seiji Matsuoka(松岡星児,Matsuoka Seiji)
Voiced by: Nobuhiko Okamoto (Japanese); Blake Shepard (English)
Seiji is originally seen with Yurika in the art club, Matsuoka's secret dream is to start a rock band to help support his family. He asks Sentarō to play drums at the spring festival with his rock band, much to the chagrin of Kaoru.
Mariko(まり子)
Voiced by: Amina Satō (Japanese); Cynthia Martinez (English)
Mariko is Kaoru's cousin, who often acts bratty towards him and sometimes uses the favor of her mother to get Kaoru into trouble. It seems that she enjoys hearing Kaoru play the piano.
Anime
An anime TV series adaptation of the manga started airing on the noitaminA timeslot of Fuji TV on 12 April 2012. The opening theme is "Sakamichi no Melody" by YUKI while the ending theme is "Altair" by Motohiro Hata. The anime series was broadcast on Viz Media's Neon Alley online channel on January 17, 2014. The anime also aired and continues to be available on Crunchyroll in English-speaking countries around the world.
Reception
The manga series won the 57th Shogakukan Manga Award for general manga.
