Licensed Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope) [Archive] - Page 2

SeijiSensei

2012-04-19, 21:37

You've never seen the side stroke before? That's surprises me to be honest.

I do the side stroke; I don't go around in circles though!

So is Sentarou going to fight his way through every episode? This episode has both a bullying scene and a damsel in distress. Perhaps the damsel will soothe his violent temperament.

The translation says "Christians," but Ri-chan's chapel veil and rosary almost certainly makes them Roman Catholics. What an unusual story line for an anime. Most anime treats Christianity as a cupboard of cultural icons that can be ransacked to add a hint of the exotic for a Japanese audience. Evangelion is perhaps most notorious for this use of Christian symbolism, but I saw the same process at work during Kyouko's back story in Madoka. I don't think Ritsuko's and Sentaro's Catholicism can or will be treated in the same off-hand manner given how strongly the point of their religion is driven home. I wondered whether Ritsuko had brought Sentaro into the Church as his osamanajimi, perhaps hoping that religion would cure his fighting.

I can't see how a romance might develop between Kaoru and Ritsuko that doesn't address her religion, and his religion or lack thereof. (The same might be said of any romance between Sentaro and the beauty from the beach.) Being both raised Catholic and not being Japanese, I can't begin to imagine how Japanese viewers will read these developments. Has her religion suddenly created a gulf between Kaoru and Ritsuko that their growing attraction cannot overcome? I won't be surprised to learn, given her overall rather naive characterization, that she's quite devout. In this time period, she's probably going to demand that their relationship remain pretty chaste.I was beginning to get Sophie's Choice vibes from this show during the boat scene. It had that same awkward threesome feeling with Kaoru in the role of Stingo and Sentaro and Ritsuko as Nathan and Sophie. I hope the beauty from the beach adds another vertex to the love poiygon.

I did wonder about Kaoru's comments in the narration at the end of the beach scene. From his words and the expression on his face, I wasn't entirely sure whether his comments about love at first sight applied to Sentaro or to himself, or to both of them. She's probably not a Catholic, for whatever that's worth.

Kirarakim

2012-04-19, 21:45

I have to admit tough guy Sen and the bullies remind me the most of early 60's films Ive seen. It's what makes the setting the most for me for some reason.

Loved the jam session & how Sen clearly sees Kaoru as a friend. I do wish Kaoru would show more appreciation for Sen though.

Anyways I am glad there is another girl for Sen so a love triangle hopefully won't get in the way of friendship (the religious angle is interesting though much more interesting than a triangle). Plus it's nice to get another female cast member besides Ri-chan.

Edit: For some reason Sen is reminding me of James Dean a bit (although he is from the 50's not 60's)

Mare Boy

2012-04-19, 22:02

I think I fell in love with this episode, as well as the series so far. Pretty funny too throughout it.The jazz session was the best pert of it if you ask me. :D

I was rewatching the first episode with a few friends not so long ago, we all really liked it. That'd have to be my third time rewatching it actually lol

SeijiSensei

2012-04-19, 22:19

Sen clearly sees Kaoru as a friend. I do wish Kaoru would show more appreciation for Sen though.

I worried about Kaoru's fingers as well. I thought a lot transpired emotionally in that scene, especially on Kaoru's part. I thought Kaoru appreciated Sentaro a lot more after that exchange. It was like the bit with his glasses in episode one, a small detail conveyed a lot of meaning. Kaoru has probably had at most just one or two friends over his whole life, and Sentaro is not the kind of boy that auntie would be pleased to see dropping by for a visit. Whatever expectations Kaoru has about the kinds of friends he might make in life, I'm guessing Sentaro doesn't fit that image.

TurkeyPotPie

2012-04-19, 23:29

I liked that Kaoru didn't seem to be too hung up on what happened with the bullies. I kind of expected him to have a grudge against Sentaro for a bit for saving him as well as the humiliation in front of Ritsuko, but fortunately that didn't happen. I'm also glad that thus far a love triangle doesn't seem to be in the cards with Ritusko, although...

I did wonder about Kaoru's comments in the narration at the end of the beach scene. From his words and the expression on his face, I wasn't entirely sure whether his comments about love at first sight applied to Sentaro or to himself, or to both of them.

I also wondered if Kaoru was referring to himself, Sentaro, or both in that scene. I'm not in favor of a triangle with Ritsuko, but something a little more complicated would be okay. I also wonder if Ritsuko might have feelings for Jun, although nothing was really shown to indicate that yet.

One other thing about the setting and something I normally pay little attention to: I love everyone's clothes! :heh: So much neater than our modern sloppy dress. Ritsuko's swimsuit was adorable, although I am surprised that Kaoru was so willing to strip down to his undies (tighty whities no less!) to swim.

velocd

2012-04-19, 23:46

Not much to say that hasn't been said. Very enjoyable episode. I didn't expect any religious undertones in this series (not a manga reader), so I'll be curious how that plays out.

Quarkboy

2012-04-19, 23:50

The translation says "Christians," but Ri-chan's chapel veil and rosary almost certainly makes them Roman Catholics.
Kaoru actually says "Christian"... It's doubtful he'd know the difference in terminology anyway.

Somnus

2012-04-20, 00:07

I don't even know what to say, or rather how to say it properly. This show acts as if making a classic is a piece of cake. Once again, my only real complaint is the fact I have to wait another week for another dose.

Everything in this episode kept me highly entertained, as well as amazed at what the episode was able to encompass. If someone were to describe the variety of scenes this episode covered to another they would think it would be rushed, and full of holes. Normally this would be an accurate and justified assumption. Yet this show manages to tie everything together and transition between them so fluidly it's somewhat impeccable.

Simply watch the series of events flow into each other as they unfold. The fight, into the live, into the beach scene. There is no disjoint between these events, and further insights and development of the characters are woven in between as well (the church, summer break, etc.)

As for the live, I enjoyed it as much as everyone else. A definite treat for the eyes and ears. No catch, no reference, no history lesson, you just had to sit back and enjoy it.

Lastly, I have to say how much I adore Ritsuko. Obviously the time period this takes place in is a factor, but there's no need for skimpy clothes or a moeblob with a catchphrase. She's a joy to watch, and a very welcome breath of fresh air. Though speaking of breaths of fresh air, Kaoru is impressing me as well. He's doing things I don't expect him to do, and is surprisingly multi-dimensional.

As always, can't wait for more.

TinyRedLeaf

2012-04-20, 00:13

Nice drumming dude. That was pretty awesome.

OMG, I hope you didn't think that was me drumming. :heh: It was just a clip I came across while wandering the internets.

============================

The translation says "Christians," but Ri-chan's chapel veil and rosary almost certainly makes them Roman Catholics. What an unusual story line for an anime. Most anime treats Christianity as a cupboard of cultural icons that can be ransacked to add a hint of the exotic for a Japanese audience. Evangelion is perhaps most notorious for this use of Christian symbolism, but I saw the same process at work during Kyouko's back story in Madoka. I don't think Ritsuko's and Sentaro's Catholicism can or will be treated in the same off-hand manner given how strongly the point of their religion is driven home. I wondered whether Ritsuko had brought Sentaro into the Church as his osamanajimi, perhaps hoping that religion would cure his fighting.

I can't see how a romance might develop between Kaoru and Ritsuko that doesn't address her religion, and his religion or lack thereof. (The same might be said of any romance between Sentaro and the beauty from the beach.) Being both raised Catholic and not being Japanese, I can't begin to imagine how Japanese viewers will read these developments. Has her religion suddenly created a gulf between Kaoru and Ritsuko that their growing attraction cannot overcome? I won't be surprised to learn, given her overall rather naive characterization, that she's quite devout. In this time period, she's probably going to demand that their relationship remain pretty chaste.

Kaoru actually says "Christian"... It's doubtful he'd know the difference in terminology anyway.

A bit of historical background is needed. The story is set in Kyushu, the southernmost island of the four "home islands" of Japan and also incidentally where Jesuit priests (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirishitan) first landed in the 1500s. Now, as some of you may know, the Jesuits were among the preeminent Catholic missionaries of their time. Highly educated and often very politically astute, the Jesuits usually integrated very quickly with the local culture of whichever place they proselytised.

As far as the Japanese — particularly those in Kyushu — were concerned, they identified these missionaries as "Christian". The dogmatic differences between Catholicism and Protestantism never arrived to Japan, even with the later arrival of Dutch traders, who were more interested in commerce than the conversion of souls. More importantly, in the context of the Sengoku period, converted Japanese were specifically referred to as Kirishitan, that is, Christians, and were considered a powerful, and sometimes rebellious, faction that the Tokugawa Shogunate eventually crushed during the Shimabara Rebellion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shimabara_Rebellion).

It should be noted that the Kirishitan approach to the religion isn't necessarily as evangelical as many in the West may think. It has been observed that they keep the religion sometimes because of tradition and loyalty to ancestors who converted to the faith. So, it's not necessarily a result of some sort of epiphany that they became "Christians".

Although, in Sentarou's case, there seems to be a deeper reason. I get the feeling that he is doing some sort of penance. It is a feature of Catholicism to have adherents explicitly confess to sins and be absolved through atonement. Given Sentarou's wayward nature, his religion is probably what keeps him grounded and on the side of "good", as it were.

By the way, what's Watanabe's religion? Does anyone know? I would guess he's Christian/Catholic, too. The Christian element was also introduced in Samurai Champloo, if I remember correctly.

I believe the Sunflower Samurai, that is, Fuu's exiled father, was a Christian fleeing persecution, hence the reason he "abandoned" Fuu and her mother.

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-20, 03:14

By the way, what's Watanabe's religion? Does anyone know? I would guess he's Christian/Catholic, too. The Christian element was also introduced in Samurai Champloo, if I remember correctly.

I've seen nothing indicating that Watanabe is anything but the "Born Shinto, die Buddhist" combination that's predominant in Japan - including no mention by him in an interview he did with the mangaka, Kodama Yuki, where her religion was discussed.

During that interview, incidentally, Kodama-sensei said that she's not a Christian, but attended a Christian school as a young girl and fell in love with Jesus because she thought he was hot...

Saturn Beaver

2012-04-20, 05:35

During that interview, incidentally, Kodama-sensei said that she's not a Christian, but attended a Christian school as a young girl and fell in love with Jesus because she thought he was hot...

For some reason, I can't stop laughing when I read that.

Well, everything I can say has been said by other people already, but this really is a well-done anime. To add a bit about the song they played at the Church, the song is unmistakably the hymn 'What a Friend We Have in Jesus.' I think that's an excellent touch that showed a great amount of research, as that is EXACTLY the kind of song they'll be playing in an old church like that. I'm seeing that the women in the church are wearing a hood, and I'm pretty sure it's not usually mandatory...there's probably a denomination where that's encouraged, but I don't know which one.

SeijiSensei

2012-04-20, 07:29

there's probably a denomination where that's encouraged, but I don't know which one.

Roman Catholic women were required to cover their heads during Mass at this time. (I'm pretty sure it's no longer required these days at least in the US.) That's why Ritsuko is wearing that veil.

Kaoru actually says "Christian"... It's doubtful he'd know the difference in terminology anyway.

I wasn't taking issue with your translation, Quark. You know I've been an admirer of your work for years now. Crunchyroll is lucky to have you on their team. I'm sure Kaoru wouldn't know the difference either.

To my ears trained in Catholic traditions, I did find the hymn amusingly out-of-place, though. "What a Friend We Have in Jesus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_a_Friend_We_Have_in_Jesus)" is a Lutheran hymn and, in my mind, distinctly tied to evangelical Protestant practices here in the US. Even after the growth of ecumenism within the Catholic Church that followed Vatican Council II and the brief papacy of John XXIII, it would be an implausible choice for a Catholic liturgy in 1966, at least here and probably in Europe as well.

The Wikipedia article suggests the hymn is rather well-known in Japan, though. Three different sets of Japanese lyrics have been set to the tune, and apparently it's commonly played during weddings. However the titles of the Japanese lyrics ("World of Stars") makes me wonder whether Jesus is left out of those versions altogether. As TinyRedLeaf's historical notes suggest, I suspect Japanese Christian liturgies incorporate a variety of themes from both Catholic and Protestant practices. Alternatively the use of the hymn here could represent the same process of incorporating Christian symbolism in anime that I mentioned above. That wouldn't be too surprising if the author's view of Christianity is that "Jesus was hot."

The role of Christians in the Sengoku period has begun to appear in the most recent fansub releases of Hyouge Mono, by the way.

duckroll

2012-04-20, 07:42

I wasn't taking issue with your translation, Quark. You know I've been an admirer of your work for years now. Crunchyroll is lucky to have you on their team. I'm sure Kaoru wouldn't know the difference either.

I did find the hymn amusingly out-of-place, though. "What a Friend We Have in Jesus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_a_Friend_We_Have_in_Jesus)" is a Lutheran hymn and, in my mind, distinctly tied to evangelical Protestant practices here in the US. Even after the tumult within the Catholic Church that followed Vatican Council II and the brief papacy of John XXIII, it would be an implausible choice for a Catholic liturgy in 1966, at least here and in Europe.

The Wikipedia article notes that three different sets of Japanese lyrics have been set to the tune and that it's commonly played during weddings. As TinyRedLeaf's historical notes suggest, I suspect Japanese Christian liturgies incorporate a variety of themes from both Catholic and Protestant religions. Alternatively it could represent the same process of blending Christian symbolism that I mentioned above. That wouldn't be too surprising if the author's view of Christianity is that Jesus was "hot."

The role of Christians in the Sengoku period has appeared in the most recent fansub releases of Hyouge Mono, by the way.

I don't know about the Europe and the US, but I'm from Asia and my family is Catholic. What a friend we have in Jesus is a popular hymn among both Catholics and Protestants (I attended a Methodist school in my childhood) and I've been familiar with it all my life. Historical research suggests that it would not be unusual at all for the hymn to be used in Japan at the time either.

One thing to understand is that hymns are not actually part of the liturgy itself, but they are selected and planned by the choirs of the individual churches. It's really not unusual for hymn selections to differ greatly based on the cultural environment of that region. Occasionally if there are complaints to the local Archdiocese or if visiting priests or cardinals get word back to Vatican that certain regions are doing things which are deemed to be unconventional or does not conform with what is deemed proper, then there might be instructions handed down to the region to stop doing certain things. But aside from that, there is a lot of autonomy for minor things like this.

I didn't find the scene out of place at all.

kuromitsu

2012-04-20, 07:51

Well, Roman Catholics are Christian, too... But for someone like Kaoru who doesn't know Christianity well (like most Japanese) except for the usual "church-cross-Jesus" thing, I suppose all Christian denominations seem the same.

As far as the Japanese — particularly those in Kyushu — were concerned, they identified these missionaries as "Christian". The dogmatic differences between Catholicism and Protestantism never arrived to Japan, even with the later arrival of Dutch traders,
Actually, Protestantism is very much present in Japan, but it's mostly a late 19th-20th century thing that spread mainly due to American influence. Catholicism has a much longer and more complicated background (for obvious reasons).

TinyRedLeaf

2012-04-20, 08:07

During that interview, incidentally, Kodama-sensei said that she's not a Christian, but attended a Christian school as a young girl and fell in love with Jesus because she thought he was hot...
For some reason, I can't stop laughing when I read that.

As TinyRedLeaf's historical notes suggest, I suspect Japanese Christian liturgies incorporate a variety of themes from both Catholic and Protestant practices. Alternatively it could represent the same process of blending Christian symbolism in anime that I mentioned above. That wouldn't be too surprising if the author's view of Christianity is that "Jesus was hot."
This is off-topic but, still, I'd like to add that I can easily see where Yuki Kodama is coming from when she said she found Jesus "hot".

That's because it reminds me instantly of an extremely powerful British film (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priest_%281994_film%29) I watched way back in the mid '90s while I was still an undergrad: Priest (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqHsXSG6A0U) (1994). The title character is a Catholic priest who had to reconcile his homosexuality with his vocation. These were his words: "Sitting in my room, sweating, I turn to Him for help. I see a naked man... utterly desirable. God wants me to be a priest. I don't think it; I don't just believe it; I know it."

Dop

2012-04-20, 09:04

During that interview, incidentally, Kodama-sensei said that she's not a Christian, but attended a Christian school as a young girl and fell in love with Jesus because she thought he was hot...

Well, according to this (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/SaintYoungMen?from=Main.SaintYoungMen) he looks like Johnny Depp....!

But back on topic, the idea that both Ri'ko and Sentarou are Christians was pretty unexpected, and it'll be interesting to see where the story goes with that.

I loved the jam session, easily the best one since Whisper of the Heart, and when Kaoru joined in and got the hang of it was a real development from the start of the episode when he was trying to analyse the hell out of Moanin'.

Easily my favourite show of the season.

SeijiSensei

2012-04-20, 09:38

Well, according to this (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/SaintYoungMen?from=Main.SaintYoungMen) he looks like Johnny Depp....!

No, that's not right. I think Jesus would look better as a bishounen though a change of hair color (silver or gold perhaps?) would help.

DragoonKain3

2012-04-20, 10:00

Kaoru actually says "Christian"... It's doubtful he'd know the difference in terminology anyway.
Hell, I'm a Roman Catholic, and I'm blissfully ignorant of other denominations. I know that they're there, but hell if I can name the difference. How much more for the typical outsider? XD

ookamigirl

2012-04-20, 11:43

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.

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-20, 13:07

Well, according to this (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/SaintYoungMen?from=Main.SaintYoungMen) he looks like Johnny Depp....!

But back on topic, the idea that both Ri'ko and Sentarou are Christians was pretty unexpected, and it'll be interesting to see where the story goes with that.

I loved the jam session, easily the best one since Whisper of the Heart, and when Kaoru joined in and got the hang of it was a real development from the start of the episode when he was trying to analyse the hell out of Moanin'.

Easily my favourite show of the season.

I loved that line, “I thought I understood the distinctive features of jazz in my head, but reproducing them was proving to be extremely difficult”. :heh: That's jazz right there - and the frustration of every music lover with no musical talent. Kaoru is all about structure and order, and he tries to apply that methodology to jazz - which is all about freedom and improvisation (which is what Sentarou is all about). It's only when Kaoru has to join in on a piece he's never heard before that he begins to get the idea.

That freedom vs. inhibition meme runs through everything in the series. The growing cultural divide of the 60's, jazz vs. classical, boxers vs. briefs, the titular slope itself.

MeoTwister5

2012-04-21, 04:50

At least in Western countries at the time religiosity went hand in hand with genres like Blues, R&B and Jazz, so I'm not surprised if there exists such a link for Sentarou and Ritsuko with regards to music. It's more evident in Protestant denominations however, as Catholic Churches tend to be more conservative with their church music. Historically however I'm more inclined to think they're Catholic than Protestant.

The clash between the more rigidly structural life Kaoru has with Sentarou's more easy going and free as a bird life is starting to shift, something reflected upon by their musical influences. I think Kaoru's starting to realize that he can have both if he tried.

Fantastic music as usual. I'm starting to think though that this won't be a trend; the animation for the live jam session will not likely send any messages to the industry, it's something special for this show and this show alone.

SeijiSensei

2012-04-21, 08:05

At least in Western countries at the time religiosity went hand in hand with genres like Blues, R&B and Jazz, so I'm not surprised if there exists such a link for Sentarou and Ritsuko with regards to music.

I don't really see this connection, Meo. What differentiated those genres in the United States was race, not religiosity. There might be a "spurious correlation" between genre and religiosity because black Americans have been somewhat more religious than whites. But to say that jazz was the music of more religious Americans of all races is almost certainly false. Conservative religious groups powered the movement to prohibit alcohol, the lubricant of the jazz clubs in the Roaring Twenties. The modernization of jazz in the fifties had strong ties to the Beat Movement who were certainly no friends of organized religion and critics of "whitebread" America more generally.

While the "black" genres like blues, R&B, and jazz can trace their roots to African-American church music and gospel traditions, I wouldn't call those genres the musical voice of religious America.

As I mentioned earlier, Jazz (http://www.hulu.com/ken-burns-jazz) by Ken Burns covers a lot the relevant historical material.

Kaioshin Sama

2012-04-21, 08:50

This show shows more effort in attempting to care about the material it's presenting in two episodes than your average anime does in it's entire run. You can tell that Watanabe really REALLY loves Jazz and that this show is essentially his love letter to the genre. Please don't let this go entirely unrewarded Japan.....I know there's no cutesy girls in this one and it's not based on a hit Light Novel or anything, but see it in your hearts to reward this show, Watanabe and co. for their efforts even if it means just letting it break even.

Honestly if I had even one complaint so far it's that the head movements during the live sessions look a little unnatural and kind of like a stop motion animation such that it's a little distracting, but otherwise far from a major issue.

Flower

2012-04-21, 12:55

Finished up ep 2 last evening, and wow - this is definitely my fave new series for this season. It is serious, realistic and thought-provoking material with pleasing visuals and audio - even with my not liking Jazz music in general.

And the OP and ED are without doubt some of the best of the season for me! :)

8/10 vote for ep 2 from me....

BBOvenGuy

2012-04-21, 23:07

While the "black" genres like blues, R&B, and jazz can trace their roots to African-American church music and gospel traditions, I wouldn't call those genres the musical voice of religious America.

Definitely not the voice of white religious America back in the 1960s. There's a very good reason why Martin Luther King once said, "the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o'clock on Sunday morning." Things are somewhat better now, but still hardly ideal.

The hymn being played in the church was "What a friend we have in Jesus," which is a decidedly Protestant song. However, the rosary and the big statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary are decidedly Catholic symbols. My guess is that the people making the show don't understand the difference. :uhoh:

In any event, any Christian church in Japan back in the 60s would have been started by white missionaries, which means they would have had a white musical tradition. No jazz there.

An interesting side note - a number of "mainline" churches today have introduced a Sunday evening service called "Jazz Vespers," in which a jazz combo comes in and performs music to encourage a contemplative/meditative state. It's very popular at my Episcopal church in Southern California. My choir also has a jazz musician who writes stuff for us and performs with us a couple of times each year. You've got to love living near LA. :D

TJR

2012-04-22, 00:38

Well, Roman Catholics are Christian, too... But for someone like Kaoru who doesn't know Christianity well (like most Japanese) except for the usual "church-cross-Jesus" thing, I suppose all Christian denominations seem the same.

For what it's worth, several Protestant denominations teach that the Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox traditions are not Christian. The assertion is that those faiths have become heretical/Satanic/corrupted for various reasons (i.e. the use of icons and the veneration of the Virgin Mary/Theotokos, the introduction of non-Biblical concepts into doctrine, the lack of predestined salvation in their beliefs, etc.), thus they may no longer lay claim to the designation.

I'm not sure if this is causing some of the confusion in this thread, but I've come across it in various discussions about religion. Catholicism is generally considered the largest branch of Christianity (and Catholics will identify themselves as Christians), but some draw a distinction between the two.

FredFriendly

2012-04-22, 19:04

I couldn't find a copy of this complete image anywhere, so I extracted it from episode 2.

http://www.mrmoon.net/images/Mukae%20Ritsuko%20in%20a%20Swimsuit%20-%20thumbnail.jpg (http://www.mrmoon.net/images/Mukae%20Ritsuko%20in%20a%20Swimsuit%20-%20640x1024.jpg)

I can't fault Kaoru at all for having feelings for this sweet and lovely beauty.

PS: Although I have been wandering around animesuki for quite a while now, this is only my second post to any of the forums. Please bear with me while I hone my skills as a poster. I hope to be able to get along with everyone.

monir

2012-04-22, 19:09

PS: Although I have been wandering around animesuki for quite a while now, this is only my second post to any of the forums. Please bear with me while I hone my skills as a poster. I hope to be able to get along with everyone.

Welcome to the forum! Just so you know, I can't see the picture you posted. I reuploaded your url at PostImage in the following:

http://s18.postimage.org/exzzo4jit/Mukae_Ritsuko_in_a_Swimsuit_640x1024.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/exzzo4jit/)

She is gorgeous!

FredFriendly

2012-04-22, 20:31

Welcome to the forum! Just so you know, I can't see the picture you posted. I reuploaded your url at PostImage in the following:

http://s18.postimage.org/exzzo4jit/Mukae_Ritsuko_in_a_Swimsuit_640x1024.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/exzzo4jit/)

She is gorgeous!

Thanks monir! Since I have read thousands of posts of many, many animesuki threads, I figured it was time for me to contribute a little something to the community.

I don't know why you couldn't see the image, as it works for me. Did you get an error message? You've confused me though, if you couldn't see the image, how could you post it somewhere else (not that I mind).

And, yes, she really is beautiful. It's a pleasure to see a woman in an anime who actually looks like an honest-to-goodness, down-to-earth beauty, and not the typical female caricature with exaggeratedly enhanced assets.

White Manju Bun

2012-04-23, 12:07

Liked epi 2 a lot more then epi 1, live session was amazing. As others have stated Im hoping Kaoru's narration at the end was more on Sen then himself since I dont want a love triangle or square in this case if you throw in Ri-chan. Hoping they stick to the pairings that have been kind of established.

Flower

2012-04-23, 15:25

On all the discussions about Kaoru encountering Christianity....

Historically R. Cath. was the earliest of the Christian churches to preach in Japan. But it also contributed to Europeans in general (except the Dutch on a once a year basis) from setting foot on Japan for over 200 years. Ever since Europeans were kicked out of Japan several centuries back in the minds of most Japanese Christianity in general is associated with R. Cath. and as something that is "European"; i.e. that is not naturally ... erm ... organic to Japanese culture and people, etc.

Many Japanese retain the basic (sometimes unspoken) belief system they grew up, which is kinda synchrotistic in the sense that they kinda "absorb" aspects of Christianity and take it to themselves while making it "their own" (i.e. in contrast with the paradigm change most of us are familiar with Christianity expecting from one).

A lot of that is reflected in Enzo's earlier post:

I've seen nothing indicating that Watanabe is anything but the "Born Shinto, die Buddhist" combination that's predominant in Japan - including no mention by him in an interview he did with the mangaka, Kodama Yuki, where her religion was discussed.

During that interview, incidentally, Kodama-sensei said that she's not a Christian, but attended a Christian school as a young girl and fell in love with Jesus because she thought he was hot...

Therefore, with all that being said it is absolutely true that "American Black Gospel hymns" would have been rarer over in Japan than Hen's teeth at this time, as BBOven Guy rightly pointed out. The main exposure to music that had origins in similar roots as the Black Gospel hymns sung in some American churches would definitely be in Jazz and any other musical "blossomings" from the stream that produced Jazz later on.

It is also true what TJR pointed out - many Protestants nowadays do regard R. Cath., East. Orthod., etc. as deviations from what they consider to be Christianity, and in Japan today there are a fair number of "sects" (some with Christian roots, some not) that have intense followings - picture the hard core otaku spirit immersed in religion ... only the most extreme generally "make the news" in the English speaking world.

Anyway, all these only further add to the confusion in how to regard Christianity, any variation thereof, or religious things from the European/American continents to begin with. But one thing many people still hold to somewhere inside is that "all that sort of thing" is something "non Japanese".

So Kaoru's reaction to the Church as only "Christian" and not as specific as English speaking audience's might have identified is hardly surprising to me.

Still ... all that being said I must admit I was quite surprised to see Christianity pop up (and in a semi normal light?) in ep 2. Lets face it - most (perhaps not all) of the time when Christianity does pop up in contemporary anime series it is R. Cath. in an all girl's school with yuri undertones....

Oh yes - one more thing: SeijiSensei is totally correct - Ri-chan's head covering was very "standard" in the R. Cath. churches at the time. Even after Vatican II (I think the anime is supposed to take place in 1966?) the changes were introduced slowly in some places, and some parts of Catholicism even deliberately kept the older practices.

BBOvenGuy

2012-04-23, 17:40

The other thing that caught my attention was Sentaro wearing the rosary around his neck, and Ritsuko saying him doing that was a special case or something. The first thing that popped into my head was the notion that Sentaro was aiming for the priesthood - thus falling in love with a girl would be a problem if he was Catholic but not if he was Protestant.

However, then I did some poking around and found that wearing the rosary around your neck is not something associated with priests - although some wear one on their belts. So maybe there's nothing to that bit after all.

SeijiSensei

2012-04-23, 18:44

I went back and watched the scene again, and he is wearing a rosary. As Ritsuko says that's not common; I wondered if it was hers Sentaro was wearing.

We all carried our rosaries in little plastic pouches in our pockets. Nuns sometimes wear them hanging from their waists, but I don't recall any parish priests who did that. I was an altar boy and attended Catholic school for a good chunk of my childhood, so I think I would have noticed. It wasn't uncommon to wear a crucifix hanging from a chain or string around one's neck, a common symbol of Christian belief in anime, but never a rosary.

For those unfamiliar with rosaries, it's a prayer tool (http://www.rosary-center.org/howto.htm) consisting of fifty lengths of ten beads separated by spacing beads, with a part that hangs down at the bottom with five beads and ending with a crucifix. The rosary begins by holding the crucifix and reciting the "Apostle's Creed," a shortened version of the Nicene Creed (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed) that first codified the basic beliefs of Catholicism in 325 CE. The rest of rosary consists of reciting the "Our Father" and "Glory Be" prayers on the spacers, and the "Hail Mary" on the rest. It ends with the "Hail, Holy Mary" prayer. I don't recall learning about the various "mysteries" described in the linked article though. I do recall having to say the rosary on the school bus whenever the nun riding with us decided the children had become too rowdy.
Now that I watched it again, I can see how, from his reaction to Ritsuko's comments about their priest, Sentaro might be considering a vocation in the priesthood. Maybe wearing a rosary about the neck is a Japanese Catholic practice, or maybe just an invention by the writers. (The script for episode two is by Kakihara Yuuko; I can't find any biographical information about her via Google.)

Pacify

2012-04-23, 19:36

So far this is proving to be my favourite series of the season. its a really lovely feel to it, very refreshing from the norm

DragoonKain3

2012-04-23, 19:56

Iunno, but new girl IMO looks about 3x more attractive as Ri'ko. Such a shame Sen thinks the same, though. :(

(But don't worry, love isn't all about lust... yeah, that's it!)

Now that I watched it again, I can see how, from his reaction to Ritsuko's comments about their priest, Sentaro might be considering a vocation in the priesthood. Maybe wearing a rosary about the neck is a Japanese Catholic practice, or maybe just an invention by the writers. (The script for episode two is by Kakihara Yuuko; I can't find any biographical information about her via Google.)

No no no, anything but that :(. I'd take Sen choosing damsel-in-distress rather than taking to priesthood. I dunno, it just kinda undermines his 'free-spirited delinquent with a passion for music' character for me. T_T

But thinking about it, if Sen does become ordained, I can't help thinking he'll be the Great Priest Sentaro... setting you back towards the path of goodness through hands-on "tough love". XD

SeijiSensei

2012-04-23, 23:34

I happened to see a slightly older friend tonight who was also raised Catholic and works as a criminal defense attorney. (He usually handles career criminals and the occasional murderer.) When I asked him if he recalled ever seeing someone wear a rosary around the neck, he said he had seen it only once. One of his defendants wore a rosary as a necklace to court, presumably to encourage the judge or jury to think of him as a nice Catholic boy who at worst had strayed. (He was acquitted, as it turns out.) Other than that my friend has also never seen a rosary worn as a necklace. Hearing about his client felt strangely coincidental, though, since it resonated with Sentaro's bad-boy role.

I'd prefer it if wearing the rosary proves to be some form of penance as TinyRedLeaf suggested, perhaps for some horrible act in his past. I hope it's not that he killed someone. You'd think if he had that to carry around in his life he wouldn't be so quick to mix it up with the seniors on the roof.

kuromitsu

2012-04-24, 02:01

Re: rosary, it's actually a bit complicated (we learn the full details in volume 8, I just hope the anime gets around it... damn this shortness). It's less about religion and more of a personal thing, sort of.

Btw, one thing that was cut from the anime is that when Sen and Kaoru first meet, Sen takes his hand because, half-asleep and half-dreaming, he thinks Kaoru is an angel who's come to take him away. This will also come back in later volumes...

(Also, to be honest, without wanting to offend anyone, I'm a bit baffled about "Catholics/etc. are not Christian"... Am I right in thinking that this is mostly an American thing? In my country many Protestant denominations use a variation on our cognate for "Christian" when they refer to themselves, claiming that's the real/traditional form of the word, but I don't think I've seen any Protestants claim that Catholics are not Christians.)

sa547

2012-04-24, 02:02

Finally got to watch Episode 02. As cool as it gets, and perfectly in time for summer (in my country, where we're experiencing very hot afternoons right now, according to the weather service)... and a little bit of Ritsuko's brand of service under the Sasebo (I found this out while watching one of the vids on the official site) sun. :D

It's not unusual in my country where some devotees (including Pacquiao) wear the rosary on a daily basis, both as a talisman for good luck and a way to show one's faith.

If one wonders why there are some Navy sailors wandering about in town, since the end of World War II, Sasebo served as a home port for a portion of the US Seventh Fleet and of the Maritime Self-Defense Force, which explains why the town is influenced by the influx of American culture from the servicemen, especially jazz.

Oh, and I forgot one more thing:
SHERYL! :D

sergel02

2012-04-24, 02:15

Just dropping by. I've heard good things and read good reviews about this anime, so i may check it out. Tho i hope it's funny too.

LKK

2012-04-24, 08:15

(Also, to be honest, without wanting to offend anyone, I'm a bit baffled about "Catholics/etc. are not Christian"... Am I right in thinking that this is mostly an American thing? In my country many Protestant denominations use a variation on our cognate for "Christian" when they refer to themselves, claiming that's the real/traditional form of the word, but I don't think I've seen any Protestants claim that Catholics are not Christians.)
It's a belief held by some of the more evangelical Protestants. Not all evangelicals believe this, of course, and it may not be official evangelical doctrine. But yes, some do believe it. For example, my freshman college roommate was Catholic. When my grandparents asked what her religion was, their response to my answer was and I quote "We were hoping you'd get a good Christian girl."

-Sho-

2012-04-24, 10:20

This anime is really refreshing. Damn some good old jazz !

AbZeroNow

2012-04-24, 13:25

Watched the second episode last night. Really liked the fight sequence where Sentarou comes to Kaoru's rescue after a group of thugs jumped him and tied him to a statue. It was interesting to see Kaoru man up himself after Ritsuko untied him, and try to help Sentarou win the fight.

I also loved seeing the details on the "Moanin'" record like the Blue Note label, and how Kaoru kept trying to match the recording by running down to the piano while his aunt was away. The music in this anime is really good, but then again since Yoko Kanno is the composer, I would expect that.

The jam session was pure joy, and it was good to see "Brother Jun" the trumpeter(interesting how there are two good characters this season who play the trumpet) and Ritsuko's dad the bassist. Kaoru's hesistation and then finally his ability to get into it with the piano was a sight to see.

Also really liked the BGM while Kaoru was swimming around Ritsuko(after Sentarou basically threw them both into the water. Don't try that at home :heh:).

Overall, the first two episodes of this series have been very strong. It has had great subtle character moments(Kaoru noticing Sentarou's rosary, Kaoru handing Ritsuko his glasses before charging at the bullies), fantastic music, and the direction is top-notch. While others may hype up Hyouka and Fate/Zero for their animation and story, Sakamichi no Appollon marks very well in both animation and story, and it has heart to boot. If the series keeps doing its magic through its 12 episode run, then this will be the best anime of the season in a very strong season(right now I'd say that this and Uchuu Kyoudai are the top shows of the season followed closely by Fate/Zero)

Sides

2012-04-24, 14:05

Gosh, so many good series this season. This one will stay on my to watch list. Not too sure what to think about religion being, probably, central part of the story. However that actually grab my attention, besides that little jam session they had in the cellar, kind of reminded me of my youth.

duckroll

2012-04-24, 20:35

http://www.apollon-jazz.com/

The samples for every single track is up now, including information about who composed what. Enjoy! :)

Yoko Kanno - Tracks 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 17, 22
mabanua - Tracks 11, 20
Takashi Matsunaga - Track 19

Jazz Standards - Tracks 3, 4, 5, 6, 12, 13, 16, 18, 21, 23, 24

kuromitsu

2012-04-25, 01:24

^Also, the vocals:

Tejima Aoi, Nanri Yuuka as Rikko (!) and Furukawa Masayoshi as Junichi (!! Why not Suwabe Junichi, it's not like he can't sing... I suppose his English is not good enough).

So we'll have Rikko sing "My Favorite Things" and we'll have the scene where Junichi sings "But Not For Me." (But I can't help but be a little disappointed that it's not going to be Suwabe Junichi...)

sa547

2012-04-25, 05:32

Pleased with the soundtrack, something to provide a new twist for my listening experience (I love instrumentals, mostly OSTs), and given the list, it's a good starter set to move on to other portions of jazz. :D

http://www.noitamina-apollon.com/index_en.html
Now we have four. :)

Interesting note for us Macross fans: it's the first time the two generation of Nomes -- Mao and Sheryl -- are present in this Episode 2. :D

Edit: OMG, I'm surprised Ri'ko is singing My Favorite Things... in English!

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-25, 11:14

You can also pre-order Kaoru's glasses from the NoitaminA shop...

Kirarakim

2012-04-25, 12:00

You can also pre-order Kaoru's glasses from the NoitaminA shop...

Woah until you said this I had no idea there was a store, that's pretty cool.

LKK

2012-04-25, 12:34

You can also pre-order Kaoru's glasses from the NoitaminA shop...
Those glasses remind me so much of the ones my father wore when I was younger. I thought they were dorky looking back then and I still do. :heh:

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-25, 16:38

Dorky is the new cool.

LKK

2012-04-26, 08:40

kuromitsu

2012-04-26, 09:29

Crunchyroll reports that the final volume of the Kids on the Slope manga is on sale now. (http://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2012/04/26/final-kids-on-the-slope-manga-volume-on-sale-in-japan) There are a total of 9 volumes in the series. I wonder if that means the anime will reach the manga conclusion?
It may mean that - eps 1-2 were basically volume 1, if they apply some serious cuts to some later developments (I think they'll cut most of Junichi's storyline and Kaoru's uh, family issues) they may even reach the conclusion. I just hope they won't rush it, or cut so much they leave only the bare bones of the story...

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-26, 11:18

Watanabe's already said he's adapting the entire manga, so prepare yourself...

sikvod00

2012-04-26, 12:26

There's some romantic misunderstandings this episode, but Kaouro untangles some of that by confessesing to Ritsuko. So glad that they decided to get that out of the way instead of dragging it on until the end of the series.

totoum

2012-04-26, 13:21

Episode 3: There's some romantic misunderstandings this episode, but Kaouro untangles some of that by confessesing to Ritsuko. So glad that they decided to get that out of the way instead of dragging it on until the end of the series.

Yeah I got scared as well and was glad there was progress quickly though it does look we might have a love circle on our hands,those need to be handled with great care but I'll trust Watanabe.

Both musical sequences were great,espialy the piano piece,I like how ri chan was drawn on the partition.

SeijiSensei

2012-04-26, 13:49

Can I ask that people please use spoiler tags for at least the first twenty-four hours after an episode is streamed? Up until 0401 GMT on Saturday (or 00:01 am Saturday in the US Eastern time zone) would be nice.

@sikvod00
Please add spoilers to your post.

ookamigirl

2012-04-26, 13:51

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..

Flawfinder

2012-04-26, 14:07

I'm just going to laugh at the MANY people who thought there wouldn't be complicated love triangles in this anime because I am that evil. Muahahahaha.

Kanon

2012-04-26, 14:11

There was more romantic development in this one episode than in the entirety of some romance series. The story is progressing very smoothly so far. I very much appreciate the lack of overblown drama as well. Hope I'm not speaking too fast... but I'm pretty sure I have nothing to fear here.

Looking forward to how they'll solve the love rectangle. I'd be more than fine with Kaoru x Riko and Sentarou x Yurika.

FredFriendly

2012-04-26, 14:37

Here's a couple of avatars I created if anyone wants to use them:

http://www.mrmoon.net/images/Avatar%20-%20Mukae%20Ritsuko%20in%20a%20Swimsuit%20-%20100x100.gif

http://www.mrmoon.net/images/Avatar%20-%20Fukahori%20Yurika%20-%20100x100.gif

Unfortunately, I couldn't get the one I wanted to use down to less than 100Kb:

http://www.mrmoon.net/images/Fukahori%20Yurika%20100x100x32.gif

TurkeyPotPie

2012-04-26, 14:57

Well, I'm glad that this show avoided a simple love triangle (or worse a love rectangle). When Sentaro screwed up the invite, I feared a rectangle was forming. Fortunately, it appears that Rurika only has eyes for Sentaro. And Sentaro is such a big, lovable dork. I thought he had major guts at first to ask Rurika out in front of her friends, but he just doesn't know any better. :heh: The scenes with Sentaro's family were great too, a huge contrast with Kaoru.

I finally noticed this episode that everyone's jaws move when they talk. That's rare to see in anime, mouth flaps with no moving jaw are one of the things that makes anime look so cheap sometimes.

Sides

2012-04-26, 15:53

I have to say that this show is written and directed really really good. The situation are handled more realistically than most show I have seen.
After seeing the last few episodes I am kind of envy people who can script down music, so wished I went to schools that did offer music as a module or club..

Saturn Beaver

2012-04-26, 15:53

Sentaro MOEEEE!!

But seriously, this episode is great.

First of all, although with the staff behind it this should be a given, but that festival jam session is really amazing, just like all the soundtrack in this anime. I look forward for when the OST is out.

What's great is how in a single episode this anime has done what most other anime let fester for at least 50% of their show, with Kaoru confessing at the end here. I have to give it up to him, at first I was facepalming a bit when I saw the misunderstandings forming, but him confessing as early as episode 3 makes things much more unpredictable now.

Really, the characters here are great, nowhere near being dense as usual, but instead sharp enough to realize each other's feeling except for Sentarou (and how Ritsuko mistook which girl Kaoru likes, though I suspect that that's partly wishful thinking as well - her hoping that Kaoru will take Yurika away from Sentarou, leaving him for herself). I call BS on the topless Sentarou thing though, guy stutters just for asking her out and getting a handkerchief, no way things can go so fast without him freaking out. Personally, I suspect that with the canvasses and all, she was being platonic in asking him to model for her or something.

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-26, 16:23

Why does everyone make this anime thing out to be so hard? Just do it like that.

ars89

2012-04-26, 18:19

Lol Sentaro inviting Yurika was funny. Good thing Kaoru noticed the triangle forming and confessed.

novalysis

2012-04-26, 21:22

Kaoru is a Tsundere. Confirmed by his interactions.

And his confession was brief, short, but probably one of the best executed I've seen in a very long time.

Kirarakim

2012-04-26, 22:26

I kind of feel things moved a bit fast with the confession scene. I feel like we were missing something inbetween.

Anyways I am finding my favorite moments involve Sen. Honestly I never would expect to go for his character type but I just really like the contrast of how he acts like a tough guy but he seems really sweet & even a bit dorky underneath.

Somnus

2012-04-26, 22:49

Why does everyone make this anime thing out to be so hard? Just do it like that.

This. Word for word.

The jazz festival was yet another example of pure joy for the ears, and as always there were many great moments throughout. My favourite bit was the challenge of climbing that rock, simply because Yurika's reaction to it all made me smile and blew away any preconceptions I had towards her.

Oh, I also second the thumbs up for Sentaro asking Yurika in front of her friends. Whether he was aware of it or not, it deserves kudos.

EDIT: Throw in that confession too. Couldn't have asked for more.

Cal-Reflector

2012-04-27, 02:34

Garrest anime since Tengen Toppa: When Kaoru's glasses come off, it means shit's gonna get serious!!! I watched that episode and I was ready to go run 20 laps, at midnight.

Seriously though, awesome, great episode. Did all that just happen in 20 minutes? It's already a better romance than 20 episodes from most anime.

So refreshing to have a unique protagonist like this: Kaoru seemed like a weak, moody uke at first, but is showing himself to be clever, observant, flirty, and decisive. A Napoleon of romance, a man of action.

The onigiri was a nice touch, though it is scary how Kaoru was so fast to pick up that he was eating the onigiri that Ritsu had prepared and intended for Sentarou.

Kaoru has got an uphill battle, but with cojones and smarts and looks and piano skills like that, I think he's got a good fighting chance.

MeoTwister5

2012-04-27, 04:12

The old-fashioned embarrassments and awkwardness is simply hilarious.

But seriously though, I wish this series would become popular so that people will see how it's setting a new higher bar on how dynamic scenes of activity will be animated in the future. Watching every new episode with every new jam session, almost all animated performances in the past look like they were made by a first year animation student.

As for the last scene... I've been in that situation more times than I'm willing to count. I've lost to the better man every time, but a part of me is an idealist, so I'll be rooting for the underdog (Kaoru) as I oft do.

Haak

2012-04-27, 04:20

And here I was afraid the new character would solve the love triangle conveniently. This anime is the shitz, no doubt about that. I love the characters and how they interact.

Merilyn Mensola

2012-04-27, 04:46

Ok..i start to watch this show...

i didn't give a credit first..however..i was wrong..ho man..really wrong..this show is good....

Yesterday, when i came home from my box workout..I watched the first and second ep..i fell relaxed..and happy...i don't know how to put in word...is strange...

the music..was relaxing...and i found the behavior of the protagonists like a real behavior...

I'm looking forward to this show...is really original...

Edit..just watched ep 3...and wow...really good ep..

So, Kaoru is in love with Ritsuko, Ritsuko is in love with Sentaro, Sentaro is in love with Yurika, and Yurika?

i have to admit, i liked Kaoru confession, yeah, for me, the confession wasn't too fast, because he know that she is in love with Sentaro,and he know that Senataro is in love with Yurika, so there is no need to hold back his feelings. and if you are a boy...you must have b*** to make it clear...really well done..if he wants have a chance with her..this was the best solution...

Morisato

2012-04-27, 09:27

Is this like... closet yaoi?

Haak

2012-04-27, 09:29

Not even remotely.

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-27, 11:50

Jeebus...:uhoh:

Eragon

2012-04-27, 12:21

Two confessions in the 3rd episode already. This show couldn't get any better=3
Sen and Yurika at the end of the ep............that girl's one smooth operator:naughty: - Sen too:heh: And just when I recover from that they hit me with another sucker punch with that confession from Kaoru. I don't think I've seen an MC from a slice-of-life(I'm using it for convenience) show who actually uses his head in such situations.

sa547

2012-04-27, 14:13

My sides hurts, trying not to laugh out loud in the middle of early morning watching this episode.

The great and invincible skin-thumping Sentaro, has succumbed to Yurika's lissome beauty!

Flower

2012-04-27, 17:36

Whoa.

Just ... whoa.

Episode 3 was amazing. Just ... amazing. I am blown away.

I agree with Enzo - why can't all anime be so beautifully executed.

Hands down the best series of the season for me.

Ayumi08

2012-04-27, 17:44

I wonder why there are still some thinking this is yaoi. 3 episodes in, things should be clear that it is far from anything like that happening. I'm loving every minute of this anime. It has been a while since a series excites me this much. Sentarou is so adorkable in this episode and closeted Kaoru is surely opening up. Him being courageous in conveying his feelings is a step towards growth in his character. And oh the misunderstandings? Can't wait to see how everything unfold next.

kuromitsu

2012-04-27, 17:46

Well, while it's not BL at all, the manga is very... bromantic, I think that's the word? :3

SeijiSensei

2012-04-27, 18:13

I'd say my one misgiving about this show is that Ritsuko's character seems so underdeveloped. I find myself wondering what it is that Kaoru sees in her beyond being cute and cheerful. They haven't really spent a whole lot of time alone together, and their conversations seem rather superficial. I'd find his infatuation more plausible if she displayed some greater depth and perhaps a bit more intelligence. You would think that Kaoru would want to talk about books or movies or something that would enable him to engage with her on a deeper level than what we've seen so far. I hope this will change in the weeks to come, but comments from people who have read ahead in the manga aren't very encouraging on this score. It seems like it will be more about the "bromance" and less about the romance.

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-27, 18:16

I think "cute & cheerful" is more than enough to spark the attraction of the 17 year-old male.

Apart from that, he's obviously a lonely navy brat who's never really had any friends, and she immediately treated him kindly and showed a genuine interest in him. I think there's more than enough there to explain his interest, though I agree we certainly haven't gotten as deeply into who she really is as we have the two male leads.

Flower

2012-04-27, 18:22

I can see where Seiji is coming from, I guess.

But then again, a crush is a crush, right? :D

SeijiSensei

2012-04-27, 18:27

I think "cute & cheerful" is more than enough to spark the attraction of the 17 year-old male.

I've used that argument to rationalize his attraction to myself, so I understand your point. Still both of the boy/girl relationships seem based largely on physical attraction and not much else. What we've seen of Sentaro and Yurika's relationship has an even stronger physical focus, both when he first sees her on the beach and later in the shirtless scene. Yet even though we've seen much less of Yurika than of Ritsuko, I have a stronger sense of Yurika as a personality, a more feisty and adventuresome young woman than Ritsuko.

Even when I was seventeen, lo those many years ago, there were cute and cheerful girls that I couldn't imagine being romantically interested in because there just wasn't enough "there" there.

Kirarakim

2012-04-27, 18:39

Actually I find Ritsuko's love for Sentaro the most compelling. She's known him for a long time & she's the one that encouraged the friendship between Sen & Kaoru. It's like she wanted Kaoru to see the real Sen that she knows.

But I have to admit the Bromance does interest me more than the romance. I think so far Sen & Kaoru do have the most chemistry.

Theowne

2012-04-27, 19:54

TinyRedLeaf

2012-04-27, 22:08

But seriously though, I wish this series would become popular so that people will see how it's setting a new higher bar on how dynamic scenes of activity will be animated in the future. Watching every new episode with every new jam session, almost all animated performances in the past look like they were made by a first year animation student.
While I love the animation quality of Sakamichi, I wouldn't go so far as to praise it to the high heavens. It's one thing to re-create movement through rotoscoping, and quite another to create a sense of weight and fluidity through pure animation (that is, the kind of animation expressed by Hayao Miyazaki). In my case, the "uncanny valley" effect often pops up during the jam sessions. Yes, I'm awed by the high level of "fidelity" — I greatly respect the amount of time and money invested in the jam sequences; the producers clearly care a lot about them — but, no, they aren't necessarily a smooth fit with the rest of the animation and are, in fact, somewhat jarring at times, creating a dissonant effect.

As for the romance angle, it's playing out more or less as I expected, though I am surprised that Ri'ko is, in fact, infatuated with Sentaro. I thought she regarded him as a childhood friend whom she enjoyed mothering. (The relevation changes significantly the way I would interpret their church session in the previous episode; it gives rise to the possibility that Ri'ko was promised to Sentaro some time in the past, and that they wear their rosaries as a symbol of that promise.)

I don't find the relationships superficial. In the case of Sentaro, he's always been the impulsive free spirit. Once he got over the initial awkwardness, I can easily imagine him going all out for Yurika. As for Yurika, my reading of the situation is that she wasn't fooled for a moment who had actually "invited" her to the date. She's a city girl and, from the get go, she struck me as a woman who is experienced in love and the ways of the world. Meaning to say, she likely knows that men are attracted to her and she doesn't mind going along with a relationship to see if it "works". It's very much in keeping with the evolving social liberation of the '60s counter-culture movement, when women started, for the first time, to take control of their romantic relationships, pursuing as often as they were pursued.

fertygo

2012-04-27, 23:55

Yeah, I love appolon animation but saying it setting new bar of animation level bar is very stretching.

I mean one of short movies of Classic Tom & Jerry have better piano animation. Just look at this. the animation is just simply outstanding and not using some CGi like appolon did.

QbxArVlS5tU

That's not a hit to appolon though, current ages animation just not simply up par with the past animation level. (and those tom & jerry short movies in 40s have far higher budget than appolon)

Still gotta respect the production staff for making thing that anyone ain't making anymore. I really hope this title got recognition that its deserved. (albeit I still liking more tsuritama than this :P) we need more anime like this, Albeit its seems not that many discussion arise for this show in japanese board currently.

Pocari_Sweat

2012-04-28, 06:27

Yeah, I love appolon animation but saying it setting new bar of animation level bar is very stretching.

Which I agree, and was also trying to argue on the Hyou-ka forums as well. There's so many "good" looking anime these days, to label one or a studio as "new bar" is kinda dumb.

Still gotta respect the production staff for making thing that anyone ain't making anymore. I really hope this title got recognition that its deserved. (albeit I still liking more tsuritama than this :P) we need more anime like this, Albeit its seems not that many discussion arise for this show in japanese board currently.

Which is a shame but is expected. The only way this series will get the attention of the "hardcore otaku" crowd is if they bump up the homo-erotica features between Sentaro and Kaouri then maybe the yaoi fans might come along. Or hope that the old audiences of noitamina's early days are still alive.

Which leaves me curious. How are the ratings for Sakamichi and Tsuritama? Might pop in to the noitamina thread for that question.

As for the episode 3 itself, it was a bit of a drop in quality due to it moving so fast and introducing all these relationship lines/triangles etc. I don't mind "shipping" but it felt really fast paced and something like that would be solved by the penultimate ep of a 1-cour series. Guess Watanabe isn't keen bullshitting around relationship issues.

Kirarakim

2012-04-28, 06:57

I think the ratings are only in the 2% so not awful but not great either. I think this slot made a mistake when it moved to a later time slot.

kuromitsu

2012-04-28, 08:49

Which is a shame but is expected. The only way this series will get the attention of the "hardcore otaku" crowd is if they bump up the homo-erotica features between Sentaro and Kaouri then maybe the yaoi fans might come along.
Ha. No self-respecting fangirl needs to have things spelled out for her... (It's a bit funny how the writing seems to go out of its way to tone it down, though. xD As much as the manga is definitely not BL, the bromance runs pretty deep.)

I think it's just that unless you're a jazz enthusiast (and not everyone is), there's not a whole lot to talk about. The tone of the show is fairly low-key, there's no epic story, the characters are mostly straightforward (so far), it's not controversial (yet), there's not much space for speculation or wild guessing... The romance/love quadrangle provides a new aspect but it's not presented in a particularly exciting way.

All this of course doesn't mean that Apollon is bad or uninteresting - quite the opposite. But it's not the sort of show that people get very enthusiastic about, or one that generates much discussion, at least not at this point. I think the discussion will pick up after certain revelations and developments.

SeijiSensei

2012-04-28, 09:21

I meant to post this the other day: Sarah Vaughan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Vaughan)

Here she is with Count Basie singing "You Turned the Tables on Me":

1n8GbAPMpCs

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-28, 10:23

Ratings so far are among the best for the Block, actually. And with two great shows instead of the usual one (or none) it's not surprising.

Kirarakim

2012-04-28, 10:32

Ratings so far are among the best for the Block, actually. And with two great shows instead of the usual one (or none) it's not surprising.

Actually the ratings seem average for the block. They are pretty good but not necessarily spectacular. Although compared to other late night shows it is very good.

Guardian Enzo

2012-04-28, 10:42

Actually the ratings seem average for the block. They are pretty good but not necessarily spectacular. Although compared to other late night shows it is very good.

Well, so far the average is third best in the last ten seasons, which is hardly average.

hikarihikari

2012-04-28, 11:08

that session rules!

Kirarakim

2012-04-28, 11:22

Well, so far the average is third best in the last ten seasons, which is hardly average.

I think it just depends on your perspective. Like I said I admit it is very good for late night anime and it's on the higher end of the block (at least since they went to showing 2 series). But I don't think 2% is an amazing rating by itself. I think we will see how well the series are doing when we see sales figures or if manga sales go up significantly for Apollon.

For example Ano Hana & C also got similar ratings (in large part probably because of Ano Hana) but Ano Hana also sold fairly well. I hoping the same for Apollon and Tsuritama.

CWW

2012-04-28, 17:55

Going to have to say that I have a tinge of disappointment after this episode. At the moment I find the infatuation between Kaoru and Ritsuko, as well as that of Sentarou and Yurika, to be relatively superficial and uninteresting to me (I echo Seiji's comments and perhaps would be even harsher), and so the quick turn towards love triangle antics comes off as melodrama to me, particularly after the grounded approach and pacing of the initial episode (which hooked me in the first place, along with the musical aspect). Just my little opinion.

I couldn't agree more. The first episode had me hooked, but it's been a downward spiral ever since. The love triangle (or rectangle to be more accurate) is too complicated for its own good and takes away the thing that hooked me in the first place: the comradery when playing in a band. The pacing is fine, but it's all unnecessary drama that's been done before and better. I understand they can't show sessions of 5 or more minutes, but I want to see them actively improve their skills through their (growing) passion for jazz. For now, it's just been a catalyst that got them together.

kuromitsu

2012-04-28, 18:14

I understand they can't show sessions of 5 or more minutes, but I want to see them actively improve their skills through their (growing) passion for jazz. For now, it's just been a catalyst that got them together.
But this show is not about the characters improving their skills through their growing passion for jazz.

Perhaps due to the pre-airing hype, especially over Kanno's involvement, it seems that many people have the misconception that Apollon is about jazz. It's not. It's about Kaoru (and to a lesser extent, Sen) dealing with life, with all its joy and drama. Obviously jazz is very important, but it's a catalyst, something for the characters to bond over, to express themselves by. Playing jazz is not the focus of the story.

CWW

2012-04-28, 18:40

karice67

2012-04-28, 18:46

leokiko

2012-04-28, 18:59

I couldn't agree more. The first episode had me hooked, but it's been a downward spiral ever since. The love triangle (or rectangle to be more accurate) is too complicated for its own good and takes away the thing that hooked me in the first place: the comradery when playing in a band. The pacing is fine, but it's all unnecessary drama that's been done before and better. I understand they can't show sessions of 5 or more minutes, but I want to see them actively improve their skills through their (growing) passion for jazz. For now, it's just been a catalyst that got them together.

Haha, from the moment this started I knew there would be comments like this. You seem to have forgotten something. This isn't just about jazz. It's how they all come together through jazz, getting through a bunch of things, like falling in love for the first time etc.

When ppl started this, were they expecting JUST jazz? If it's about that don't worry, there will be more.

kuromitsu

2012-04-28, 19:09

Well, I'm sorry, but the OP clearly depicts the two main characters playing together, standing outside a jazz bar and prepping for a live session. If the actual show has nothing of the sort, then they shouldn't have made it that way. An OP is supposed to invite you in and introduce you to the show's premise, its characters and possible hints at future events that you can look forward to. This is just false advertisement if true.
I'm sorry but I don't get it - when you see the OP of say, Tsuritama or Utena do you go into the shows expecting everyone to break into a dance every few minutes, or fly around on horses? :heh:

It seems to me you simply had certain expectations that were proven to be, if not entirely false, but not quite correct. Not entirely false, because music is very important, the characters are playing together every now and then (pretty often, actually, it just doesn't get shown for obvious reasons), there'll be a performance in a jazz bar (sort of) and they will have live sessions. However, these are mostly tied to plot and characterization. The focus is not on the music and the characters playing it and forming a band and whatever else people imagined this would be about. (I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to the pre-airing advertising, but it seems like many people had somehow decided that Kanno + Watanabe = Bebop -> jazz -> Apollon has jazz -> Apollon will be totally about jazz.)

I'm not saying the music should be the central focus, but it should at least be a moderate part of it going by the OP. For now, they're having a session every episode that has little relevance to the story. The only significant development is Kaoru's piano performance for Ri, which I hope there will be more of, namely expressing their feelings and emotions through music.
How were those sessions not significant? They were both great character moments. Kaoru and Sen making up via playing music is exactly like what you seem to be asking for... And if you think the session in the previous episode was not significant I have no idea what you think is significant.

Flawfinder

2012-04-28, 19:25

Yay, finally something to argue about and generate discussion. And seriously, were people thinking Glee when they came into this anime or something?

CWW

2012-04-28, 20:20

I'm sorry but I don't get it - when you see the OP of say, Tsuritama or Utena do you go into the shows expecting everyone to break into a dance every few minutes, or fly around on horses? :heh:

That's not a fair comparison. Kids on the Slope is a romantic slice of life show grounded in reality. An OP can be abstract and avant-garde, but it can still be intelligently presented to be relevant to the theme of the show. See: The Tatami Galaxy.

It seems to me you simply had certain expectations that were proven to be, if not entirely false, but not quite correct. Not entirely false, because music is very important, the characters are playing together every now and then (pretty often, actually, it just doesn't get shown for obvious reasons), there'll be a performance in a jazz bar (sort of) and they will have live sessions. However, these are mostly tied to plot and characterization. The focus is not on the music and the characters playing it and forming a band and whatever else people have imagined this would be about. (I hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to the pre-airing advertising, but it seems like many people had somehow decided that Kanno + Watanabe = Bebop -> jazz -> Apollon has jazz -> Apollon will be totally about jazz.)

No, not just about jazz, but like Nodame Cantabile, I expected character development by building up the various relationships and improving one's musical abilities. Neither of the two overbearing the other. Like I said earlier, hardships in love have been done to death, but the notion of combining it with expressive music rooted in improvisation is one that has unique potential, especially considering the staff. Sadly, the romance is overbearing by now, to the point it's strangling the other thematic concept.

How were those sessions not significant? They were both great character moments. Kaoru and Sen making up via playing music is exactly like what you seem to be asking for... And if you think the session in the previous episode was not significant I have no idea what you think is significant.

I don't see how the session in episode 2 can be classified as significant, besides maybe revealing that Sentarou has great respect for and perhaps even idolizes the trumpetist. In episode 3, they make up, sure, except Kaoru could have prevented it by not being such a numpty and taken his handkerchief, or at the very least resolved it by telling him the reason. It was all pointless in the end except to start a fight or otherwise drama.

Anyway, this isn't the point. The point I'm trying to make is that the drama is oppressing. It isn't even clever drama. It's simply an old-fashioned love triangle propagated by shallowness and misunderstandings. I hope there's a better balance in future episodes between the romance and music, because the characters are certainly not making themselves endearing this way.

orion

2012-04-28, 20:24

Anyway, this isn't the point. The point I'm trying to make is that the drama is oppressing. It isn't even clever drama. It's simply an old-fashioned love triangle propagated by shallowness and misunderstandings. I hope there's a better balance in future episodes between the romance and music, because the characters are certainly not making themselves endearing this way.

I'm waiting for the college guy to come back. He's more Yurika's type than Sen.

Flawfinder

2012-04-28, 23:58

You know, if the biggest problem you have with the show is "expectations" are wrong, then I don't think it's that big a deal. And I honestly don't have a problem with the drama. I think it's done very well, especially given the dramas I've seen (long story short, I hated most of them).

Anyways, yeah. I forgot about the Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry piano playing. That is some great animation right there. Stuff these days are just too conservative and you can't get away with as much as you could in the old days.

Kaoru Chujo

2012-04-29, 00:48

When we got to the scene where Sen suddenly blurted out that it was Kaoru who was inviting her, I had to stop for a couple of hours. That just repelled me. Seemed so false and hackneyed and nasty, like an ordinary silly triangle love comedy.

But when I came back, I realized that this was different, that the senpai maybe actually realized what was going on. In the end, this was yet another terrific episode. The pain was real, the emotions were real, the characters had interesting relations. Now I can just wait confidently for the heartache and joy to evolve.

In the end, Kaoru will leave again, and Ri and Sen can settle down for a long life together in the boonies. The senpai is just having some fun, or so it seems.

To me, this is good drama, with strong feelings and emotional events that make sense, and that stop well short of over-the-top melodrama.

DragoonKain3

2012-04-29, 01:07

Whoah, Senpai isn't as stupid as I thought she would be (you know how ojou-samas usually are depicted). Even though Sen said it was Kaoru who asking her out, in the end, she went straight for Sen.

In the end, Kaoru will leave again, and Ri and Sen can settle down for a long life together in the boonies. The senpai is just having some fun, or so it seems.
Lol, don't get my hopes up like that, especially with Sen right now being a total douche and not noticing Ri'ko. To the point where I almost cheered for Kaoru for what he did because he indeed noticed Ri'ko's suffering. :heh:

Master Chibi

2012-04-29, 02:24

God this is everything that K-ON should have been, and it deserves every bit of sales that moe fluff shit got to boot.

It's amazing how great this series and how well it carries itself.

SeijiSensei

2012-04-29, 02:40

To me, this is good drama, with strong feelings and emotional events that make sense, and that stop well short of over-the-top melodrama.

Oh, admit it. You just like this series because the main character's name is Kaoru!

kuromitsu

2012-04-29, 06:13

That's not a fair comparison. Kids on the Slope is a romantic slice of life show grounded in reality. An OP can be abstract and avant-garde, but it can still be intelligently presented to be relevant to the theme of the show. See: The Tatami Galaxy.
Point is: it can. It's an artistic decision. I mean, I don't know about you, but I don't rely entirely on the OP to tell me what an anime is going to be about. In case of Apollon, it shows the characters playing music, as they actually do in the show - no more, no less. (As for Apollon being a romantic slice of life... well. Romantic in the sense of relating to Romanticism, maybe. Without spoiling anything, I think you'll find that even the romance is mostly about characterization.)

No, not just about jazz, but like Nodame Cantabile, I expected character development by building up the various relationships and improving one's musical abilities. Neither of the two overbearing the other. Like I said earlier, hardships in love have been done to death, but the notion of combining it with expressive music rooted in improvisation is one that has unique potential, especially considering the staff. Sadly, the romance is overbearing by now, to the point it's strangling the other thematic concept.
What thematic concept? How is it being strangled? Again - you expected something that the show never actually promised. Just because a manga/anime involves people playing music music doesn't mean it has to be like other manga/anime that involve people playing music. Nodame Cantabile had a completely different setting, different mood and different themes. (And the differences are actually pretty obvious if you read up on both manga...)

Besides, so far it's been one (1) episode where the romance played a bigger part. How is that overbearing? Re: what I said above about the romance - even here it wasn't simply about ~love~ it was also used to add a new aspect to Sentarou and Kaoru's relationship, and their characters in general. The laid-back, cool Sen suddenly has no idea what he should do, Kaoru find he has the upper hand for once, and he decides to abuse the situation for his own purposes - get Sen involved with a girl so he would go away and not be a third wheel when Kaoru is trying to woo Rikko. And so on and so forth, the writing uses the romance to add touches to the characters and their non-romantic relationships, develop them and move things forward. I think this is worth a lot more than watching the characters playing music all the time.

I don't see how the session in episode 2 can be classified as significant, besides maybe revealing that Sentarou has great respect for and perhaps even idolizes the trumpetist. In episode 3, they make up, sure, except Kaoru could have prevented it by not being such a numpty and taken his handkerchief, or at the very least resolved it by telling him the reason. It was all pointless in the end except to start a fight or otherwise drama.
The session in ep 2 was not only about introducing Junichi, it was Kaoru's first time participating in a session. How is that not significant? Until then he only wanted to learn to play jazz to impress Rikko and show up Sen, but during that session he experienced, for the first time, what it's like to play together with others, how great and liberating it feels. (Especially if you look at how he's being treated by his foster family.)
And as for ep 3, yes, it could've been prevented, except if you look at it that way, there should be no conflicts whatsoever because everything can be prevented one way or another, so all conflicts should be avoidable. Really, come on. :heh:

IAnyway, this isn't the point. The point I'm trying to make is that the drama is oppressing. It isn't even clever drama. It's simply an old-fashioned love triangle propagated by shallowness and misunderstandings.
Have you read the manga, or looked up the story somewhere? If not, how can you say this after one (1) episode? If anything, the fact that Kaoru confessed to Rikko shows that things are not going to go the usual love triangle way...

Arya

2012-04-29, 07:58

I'm a bit late here, but I thought it was something about jazz so I left this series in the limbo for a while. And obviously I was wrong, I made the same mistake I did with Cross Game. :heh:
Anyways, it is really good in many ways, but what I like the most is the two male leads relation development and the characterization in general. Even if basically we don't know anything about the girls. Surely I didn't expect such a turn into a full romance drama, or so it seems now. :D

We got the new girl Yuriko that seems to be not serious about Sen, I mean, that question was odd enough to tell us that she didn't get impressed at all by Sen rescuing her. And I'd add that the scene remembered me a bit of Cyrano de Bergerac. Surely on paper Yuriko seems to fit perfectly with Kaoru.
So I wouldn't complain about how the infatuations seem superficial, because they do are. I mean, Sen just had a crush on Yuriko, but he didn't know anything about her and vice versa. Kaoru's crush is similar. Ri'ko was probably the first girl who has been nice to him. So even if Ri'ko is suffering of a lack of development, it is irrelevant to Kaoru. Even if it is true for us, and she is even not really expressive. I lol'd a bit when I saw how static Ri'ko was during that "someday my prince will come". Even if in that case I thought that she was bored. (I thought that just because I was, I'm not a fan of Jazz. Kaoru, go all the way with "Clair the lune" as you did before :heh: )

Anyways a lot of misunderstanding for a single episode, just the first one, Sen lying about Kaoru being the "dater", usually could be the main plot of a generic romcom these days, instead here they got over it w/o a word. And I won't just start talking about that nude painting session misunderstanding. :heh:

kitten320

2012-04-29, 14:38

God this is everything that K-ON should have been, and it deserves every bit of sales that moe fluff shit got to boot.

It's amazing how great this series and how well it carries itself.

Duno why you are bringing K-ON into this. The only thing similar is the music theme... like that you can bring in any music orientated show. :uhoh:

gianna

2012-04-30, 02:04

Just listened to their performance of But not for Me and very much looking forward to seeing it this week! (Jun-nii has some serious bedroom eyes ahahaha
Early on I kept thinking of what Duke said "By and large, jazz has always been like the kind of a man you wouldn’t want your daughter to associate with.")

(editing myself here)
I think they will make it with twelve episodes
If they can round off episode five with the end of volume three it should continue well
The pace may get a little quick but I cannot doubt the team behind this (especially with what they've presented so far!!)
We can see they're already headed into the heavier story of volume three with episode four
This could be an actual turn off for those wanting more of what the first episode gave but yeah the core of this series are the characters
What and how each has come to be and becomes through their friendships not just the jazz that bonds them

Ha. No self-respecting fangirl needs to have things spelled out for her... (It's a bit funny how the writing seems to go out of its way to tone it down, though. xD As much as the manga is definitely not BL, the bromance runs pretty deep.)

They do have an interesting relationship huh
I was thinking maybe platonic or no that could be too strong or not even the right word but either way Sentarou can be quite caring with Kaoru
He can be a nice guy after all just didn't get to show many for a long time

I'm completely loving this series
Even found myself openly cheering on Kaoru during certain scenes with Ri!

And because not a single person has said even one word -- the music is great and the session animation is stunningly amazing
Kaoru'shands reflected in the piano and Jun's movements
They could have gotten away without doing yet they did! They've gone all out and it shows man

And thanks for the explanation on why catholic=christian to them tinyredleaf

ID555

2012-04-30, 12:14

Wow this is awesome. Just started watching this; it's been a long time since a Nodame-ish show came along.

I hope Kaoru ends up with Sentaro

gianna

2012-04-30, 14:24

Wow this is awesome. Just started watching this; it's been a long time since a Nodame-ish show came along.

I hope Kaoru ends up with Sentaro

Oh you...
Jazz bros yo!
This along with Space Bros and Fishing Bros is making for a very broful season for me

thanks for the laugh

Somnus

2012-04-30, 16:54

Wait, wait, wait...forgive me if I'm misunderstanding one of the points that's been touched upon in this topic but some posts make it sound as if there was something more going on in that room between Yurika and Sen, besides him simply modelling for an art piece. Or rather, considering the room Kaoru had entered that's all I took it for. Sen's feelings are quite obvious, but I thought that scene was to be taken at face value. Am I mistaken?

gianna

2012-04-30, 17:18

It will be brought up in the beginning
Kaoru asks Sen himself while they are in pe class
(you see Kaoru sitting on Sen's back in the preview)

Just in case

He answers embarrassingly that he only modeled for her - nothing happened

Flower

2012-04-30, 17:30

....In the end, Kaoru will leave again...To me, this is good drama, with strong feelings and emotional events that make sense, and that stop well short of over-the-top melodrama.

Hafta agree that it is good drama ... but also that I have been thinking for a while that Kaoru will have to leave once again. I am not convinced that the childhood friends will wind up together after such a thing (although I would not be surprised if it did turn out that way, I guess), I am kinda hoping that Ri will slowly come to appreciate Kaoru for who he is and that Kaoru's transfer will be the "nail in the coffin" for her resolution to accept Kaoru.

Of course this could just be the "romantic" in me ... Kaoru moving away after Ri confesses to him (perhaps Ri even will initially reject him some time earlier?) but having both Ri's love and his newfound emotional growth from his involvement with his new found friends and newfound passion for music he is able to grow a little more and mature.

Something like that would be nice ... though I must admit while I am a romantic and such part of me remembers many a case where the male/female part ways even though they love each other - 5 Centimeters Per Second and Arriety the Borrower are two immediate examples that come to mind.

kuromitsu

2012-04-30, 20:23

So, I'm listening to the OST.

I can't really say anything about the jazz pieces - I'm no jazz enthusiast, and I'm rarely in the mood to listen to this type of jazz anyway. The vocal pieces are pretty good, Rikko's "My Favorite Things" is so cute, and the "Kaoru & Sentaro duet" track is pretty fun and easy to listen to even for me.

But to be honest, it feels like Kanno is kind of phoning in. Kind of, because the Kanno original BGMs are mostly very good as standalone pieces, even though they don't have a whole lot of character. There are some great tracks, especially the main theme ("Kids on the Slope") and "Yurika". But there are just so... few of them. And some of them are so completely different from the show's overall mood and character (let alone the non-Kanno BGMs and pieces) that I can't even imagine in what scenes they're going to be used. It's as if Kanno went "whatever, I'll just write some stuff that I like."

I've been wondering about this earlier, seeing how the BGM is used in the show... I don't quite understand why they felt the need to enlist Kanno on this project (apparently she doesn't even particularly like jazz). Her music works a lot better when it's the integral part of a show... then again, we still have 9 episodes to see how the soundtrack works.

ID555

2012-04-30, 21:31

Oh you...
Jazz bros yo!
This along with Space Bros and Fishing Bros is making for a very broful season for me

thanks for the laugh

Hey, even the ED is all about K X S S X K....

Seriously though, it's still early to decide on which pairing to ship :D. Right now I'm more interested in seeing Kaoru gradually come out of his shell.

orion

2012-04-30, 22:28

Hafta agree that it is good drama ... but also that I have been thinking for a while that Kaoru will have to leave once again. I am not convinced that the childhood friends will wind up together after such a thing (although I would not be surprised if it did turn out that way, I guess), I am kinda hoping that Ri will slowly come to appreciate Kaoru for who he is and that Kaoru's transfer will be the "nail in the coffin" for her resolution to accept Kaoru.

Of course this could just be the "romantic" in me ... Kaoru moving away after Ri confesses to him (perhaps Ri even will initially reject him some time earlier?) but having both Ri's love and his newfound emotional growth from his involvement with his new found friends and newfound passion for music he is able to grow a little more and mature.

What's the point in confessing to someone's who is leaving and not coming back? It's a waste of energy and time to me. Best to hook up with someone who is going to be around for a while.

leokiko

2012-05-01, 03:45

Next episode's preview looking good....

Should be kinda sad though.

sa547

2012-05-01, 04:08

BREAKING NEWS: Yuki's single is out now. :D

Artist : YUKI
Title (Single) : プレイボール/坂道のメロディ
Release Date : 2012.05.02

1. プレイボール (4:35)
2. 坂道のメロディ (4:43)

kuromitsu

2012-05-01, 04:09

Oooh thanks for the heads up! :D

Arya

2012-05-01, 10:02

What's the point in confessing to someone's who is leaving and not coming back? It's a waste of energy and time to me. Best to hook up with someone who is going to be around for a while.

Why not? I think if you like someone you do need to tell her/him eventually. Even if it is crystal clear that you have no chances. At least it helps to get over it. In a way you earn time instead of wasting it. :)
Yes, in a specific "farewell" situation it could seem useless, but I guess at least it falls into the "no regrets" field. Surely, it is not the kind of romance ending I would like to see, generally speaking.

Speaking of the series, I also think that Kaoru in the end will leave again. On the other hand I can't see Ri changing her heart along the road, she seems damn serious about Sen (even if I have the feelings that she instead will).

Edit: forgot to ask, when will the next episode be aired, tomorrow?

gianna

2012-05-01, 11:31

Airs Thursdays at twelve thirty!

It will be interesting to see what happens with Ri
I'm not seeing Sen having those feelings for her

Hey, even the ED is all about K X S S X K....

Seriously though, it's still early to decide on which pairing to ship :D. Right now I'm more interested in seeing Kaoru gradually come out of his shell.

Lol we shall see if any of those connections turn romantic
And yes! He already is huh
He went for it with Ri and so earnestly!

duckroll

2012-05-02, 03:21

http://www.oricon.co.jp/rank/ja/w/2012-05-07/more/5/

In the first week of release the soundtrack CD sold a mere 3,011 copies. It is ranked as the 37th best selling album of the week in Japan. Pretty pathetic. :/

kuromitsu

2012-05-02, 04:40

Well, 37th best selling album for an anime soundtrack is pretty good - maybe they expected more sales for this given the pedigree, but to be honest, it's not a very good soundtrack album.

I don't understand the rationale of releasing it so soon. We haven't heard a lot of BGM in the show so far, and what we did hear is nothing that would make people rush to buy the soundtrack. :/ Did they think people would buy it just because Kanno's name is attached?

-Sho-

2012-05-02, 09:12

I love this show.
Don't know why people are bashing the drama cuz it feels real & it's real , well at least for me even "the scene where Sen suddenly blurted out that it was Kaoru who was inviting her"
But it's true that the pacing was too fast , i was expecting something slower for the romance but in 1 episode it was done.... we don't know if Yurika loves or simply date Sentaro...

Anyway , i noticed a good joke :

Sentarou talking to Sarah "What is it Sarah? you're really agitated today"
Kaoru "She's probably jealous"
Sentarou "Huh?"
Kaoru "Since you keep talking about another girl..." nice one :heh:

gianna

2012-05-02, 23:18

Possibly
It is an award winning manga with such names attached to this project
Perhaps that attention along with the series being twelve eps made them decide to release kind of while it's hot

Of maybe not that at all!

AbZeroNow

2012-05-02, 23:34

It's remarkable in a strong season like Spring is, how this series manages to be a cut above the rest. The third episode just sucked me in for about 22 minutes, and the pacing remains perfect. It never drags, nor does it every feel rushed. It always manages to have the right timing. As Enzo says, it makes this whole anime thing look easy. In some ways, it's like Ano Natsu which how the characters feel real and it doesn't waste time on misunderstandings. Kaoru manned up(and he beats like 90% of male leads these days just by doing that) and he let the Bill Evans song convey his feelings, and he made sure Ritsuko knew that she was the girl he wanted. Also like Ano Natsu, this anime is essentially timeless. It could have aired and done well twenty years ago, it could have easily aired ten years ago, and still be considered a classic. But it's airing now, and if things continue as they are, by the time it ends, we may have a masterpiece on our hands.

I often think about how I enjoy anime, and I have to say being exposed to the series that I have that I do enjoy the moe anime, and the ecchi ones with all the fanservice, and I do love the deep anime like Madoka and Fate/Zero. But I look at this series with how it shows these characters coming of age, and the way the musical scenes are lovingly and painstakingly animated, and I say to myself that Sakamichi no Apollon is why I am an anime fan. I plan on recommending this series because it needs to be seen, and maybe people will be saying that this is more of a masterclass work than Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop(a series that I really liked) and Samurai Champloo(a series that I probably should see).

Kaioshin Sama

2012-05-03, 00:10

Guardian Enzo

2012-05-03, 01:19

Sentarou shirts now available at the NoitaminA shop.

gianna

2012-05-03, 11:47

Wow
Wow wow wow

That was beautiful and heavy -- is all I can say right now

sentarou's story! you may shed a tear and surely see a whole new person entirely -- i always felt sorry when kaoru was taking advantage of him -- after this you care for him even more and you hope that kaoru sees what a wonderful and true friend he really has
time and time again kaoru has being so negative towards him openly and in thought - yet sen keeps sticking around and pushing him for the better (prepare for more bromance!)

kaoru going in for the kiss! and jun laying the bedroom eyes on yurika pretty thick
(i'll leave the proper and more emotionally detailed writing to guardian enzo lol)

I'm going to have to watch this again

(with next weeks ep they'll already be into volume four btw)

Bern-san

2012-05-03, 12:18

I'm officially a Brother Jun fangirl:love:
But not for me was incredible
Sentarou's story was really sad, especially since it seems like his father blamed him for his grandmother's death
Didn't expect Kaoru to be so straightforward, I thought we would get a kiss in later episodes and that Kaoru was going to be more timid. I hope that Rit-chan corresponds him soon
And Sentarou's not going to be happy with Brother Jun since Yurika has an eye on him...

sikvod00

2012-05-03, 12:26

Wow

sentarou's story! you may shed a tear and surely see a whole new person entirely -- i always felt sorry when kaoru was taking advantage of him -- after this you care for him even more and you hope that kaoru sees what a wonderful and true friend he really has
Time and time again kaoru has being so negative towards him openly and in thought - yet sen keeps sticking around and pushing him for the better

Kaoru going in for the kiss! and jun laying the bedroom eyes on yurika pretty thick

It's clearly shown that Kaoru does indeed regret his outburst and wallowing in self-pity after hearing such a heartbreaking back-story from Sentarou. He even admitted to understanding how Richi could fall for such a guy and how in comparison his own love appeared petty. I don't know if that means he's going to give up on trying to win her heart though, or it's an admittance that he just needs to grow more as a person. While being lovesick is not an excuse to be a douche to a good friend, I understand why he'd be so jealous of Sentauro for attracting a wonderful girl like Richi.

I love how they seamlessly connect jazz to the unpredictably of life and all ups and downs it entails. Music truly is a cathartic experience, and jazz is perhaps the best representation of that. I totally did not expect an anime to touch on the whole racial aspect of jazz, even if it was for a few seconds. Kudos to them. The people working on this show not only love the music, but seem to really appreciate its historical origins.

But seriously, this show needs to STOP being so damn awesome. My mind can't be blown every episode, can it?

ID555

2012-05-03, 12:29

Holy crap! And another holy crap right after that!! O_O

That's it, this is the show of the season right here...

Back to watching.

......

Man, I absolutely did not expect him to do that. And the way Ritsuko was shown right before that, you completely understand how he got that impulse. Just beautiful. Also, her horror right after that... :heh:

Well, someone correctly predicted Yurika falling for Jun. Yeah, she's the type that goes for mature men anyway. That's one pairing settled. Dammit, Jun's so cool it's unfair. I feel sorry for Sen and Kaoru. At least they have each other... :upset:

Oh, Ritsuko looked fine at the end. Guess it wasn't so devastating to have her first kiss stolen? :heh:

kuromitsu

2012-05-03, 13:05

Fast, fast, so fast! :/

I mean, seriously, they're breezing through the story. I have to give it to Watanabe, though, he's doing a great job, mostly, but I really wish this was a 2-cour series... :/

I really hoped they would spend more time on Sen's background, since it's such a "wham" development. (Plus, I wanted to hear more of Hosoya Yoshimasa being all serious and angsty. Mmmmyeah.) But it was just so fast, it lost much of its emotional impact. And as for the evil grandma... can't anyone die in anime without vomiting blood? ^^;; Honestly I found that an unnecessary embellishment. It was just too heavy-handed. (In the manga she just falls and dies, without any blood or walking up to Sen or such. I guess they wanted to make it more obvious that Sen was in an incriminating situation, but still...)

And yet the anime didn't change the part that I found a flaw in the manga - namely, that Kaoru narrates too much. :heh: It's not a huge thing but in anime it's more obvious and a little annoying at times, for example in this episode.

Also, I absolutely love Suwabe Junichi (aka Junichi) in this show. I don't even know if he's ever had a role like this in anime, where he doesn't have to ham it up and just has to talk normally (well, using a dialect). It's such a pleasure listening to him in this role.

The people working on this show not only love the music, but seem to really appreciate its historical origins.
You mean, the woman who wrote the manga. ^^;; That part was taken word for word from the manga.

ookamigirl

2012-05-03, 14:09

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.

Somnus

2012-05-03, 15:16

Fast, fast, so fast! :/

I mean, seriously, they're breezing through the story. I have to give it to Watanabe, though, he's doing a great job, mostly, but I really wish this was a 2-cour series... :/

I really hoped they would spend more time on Sen's background, since it's such a "wham" development. (Plus, I wanted to hear more of Hosoya Yoshimasa being all serious and angsty. Mmmmyeah.) But it was just so fast, it lost much of its emotional impact. And as for the evil grandma... can't anyone die in anime without vomiting blood? ^^;; Honestly I found that an unnecessary embellishment. It was just too heavy-handed. (In the manga she just falls and dies, without any blood or walking up to Sen or such. I guess they wanted to make it more obvious that Sen was in an incriminating situation, but still...)

This may be an instance where I'm thankful for NOT knowing the source material beforehand, since I'm finding the story to be flowing perfectly. As it was mentioned in another post, it seems we're flying through the volumes, and yet I don't feel as if I'm missing anything .

Perhaps it's just personal preference, but I'm glad those flashbacks/aftereffects were as short as they were. We didn't need the added angst, they portrayed all the feelings that needed to be implied right away. That goes for more than just the angsty moments though. Again, maybe it is an effect of the episode length, but it feels like we're spending the "right" amounts of time on the various "moments" throughout the show.

This show incorporates the jazz segments flawlessly, and I always find myself wanting more. As terrible and shallow as this may sound (I don't mean it to be) the English used this episode is fantastic. When Jun started singing I'm pretty sure my jaw hit the floor, it was really well done.

As usual, I want more...but alas, it's back to the waiting game.

kuromitsu

2012-05-03, 15:59

This may be an instance where I'm thankful for NOT knowing the source material beforehand, since I'm finding the story to be flowing perfectly. As it was mentioned in another post, it seems we're flying through the volumes, and yet I don't feel as if I'm missing anything .
FWIW I agree? I'm not saying anything in particular is "missing" - so far the writing and directing has been doing a fantastic job streamlining the story and the character development. (It helps, of course, that not a whole lot of things actually happen...) It's just that, there are all those little and not-so little details that give the characters and the story more depth, make them easier to understand, etc. - and these can't be included because of the time constraints. 26 episodes would've been perfect, but alas, the curse of Noitamina shortness strikes again... at least the Apollon staff does a great job where others have failed or didn't manage to rise above mediocrity.

I'm not one of those who constantly compare adaptations to the original, looking for flaws, and I think the Apollon anime is doing a great job so far, I'm just lamenting the "what could've been" and that I won't hear certain scenes played by the seiyuu. ^^;;

Perhaps it's just personal preference, but I'm glad those flashbacks/aftereffects were as short as they were. We didn't need the added angst, they portrayed all the feelings that needed to be implied right away. That goes for more than just the angsty moments though.
It's not the angst (it's not particularly angsty, btw) it's that this is a huge part of Sentarou and a huge and shocking discovery for Kaoru, and I felt it didn't have enough weight. Yes, things were implied, but they sort of breezed through the whole thing, like, "So, Sen had a difficult childhood." While it's more like, "No, really, Sen had a pretty damn difficult childhood." (Plus, while it's fairly irrelevant in the big picture, it would've been nice if they showed how Sen got into jazz and drumming in the first place.)

Btw that was another point where Kaoru's narration was annoying. It's like Honey and Clover where at some points I just wanted to reach in and make Takemoto shut up. ^^;;

gianna

2012-05-03, 16:41

FWIW I agree? I'm not saying anything in particular is "missing" - so far the writing and directing has been doing a fantastic job streamlining the story and the character development. (It helps, of course, that not a whole lot of things actually happen...) It's just that, there are all those little and not-so little details that give the characters and the story more depth, make them easier to understand, etc. - and these can't be included because of the time constraints. 26 episodes would've been perfect, but alas, the curse of Noitamina shortness strikes again... at least the Apollon staff does a great job where others have failed or didn't manage to rise above mediocrity.

I'm not one of those who constantly compare adaptations to the original, looking for flaws, and I think the Apollon anime is doing a great job so far, I'm just lamenting the "what could've been" and that I won't hear certain scenes played by the seiyuu. ^^;;

It's not the angst (it's not particularly angsty, btw) it's that this is a huge part of Sentarou and a huge and shocking discovery for Kaoru, and I felt it didn't have enough weight. Yes, things were implied, but they sort of breezed through the whole thing, like, "So, Sen had a difficult childhood." While it's more like, "No, really, Sen had a pretty damn difficult childhood." (Plus, while it's fairly irrelevant in the big picture, it would've been nice if they showed how Sen got into jazz and drumming in the first place.)

Btw that was another point where Kaoru's narration was annoying. It's like Honey and Clover where at some points I just wanted to reach in and make Takemoto shut up. ^^;;

I know what you mean
I too do not want to always compare yet I get a little disappointed when the little yet important as they are insightful things get left out (not! a complaint as I do love it do far and know I will until the end)

Have you read the entire manga?
I stumbled across the first page of the last chapter and it was too late
I had already seen enough to tell me where it goes (I ended up just reading some very short chapter summaries)

not really a spoiler but it was beautiful! I cried

Do you happen to know how many bonus tracks there will be after the second

CWW

2012-05-03, 17:05

So angsty. Still an insufferable twit I see.

At least it's heading into a direction I approve. The larger focus on music, not necessarily the expansion to a love quintet. Jun is alright though. Anything that shortens the screentime of Kaoru is okay in my book. What a silly tit.

sikvod00

2012-05-03, 17:15

That "insufferable twit" is one of the main characters in the show and is the one narrating the story from time to time, so don't expect his screen-time to diminish much.:heh: The only thing that will happen is he gets some much deserved character development to improve his image, which actually occurred this episode. It should be crystal clear that music is not the biggest focus of this anime, but instead serves as a reflection of their life experiences, including the romantic aspect. That isn't going away.

leokiko

2012-05-03, 17:17

I came here to watch them play jazz all day long. Whatever the rest of the characters. Who needs character development if you can just animate some jazz being played?

;)

Kaoru Chujo

2012-05-03, 17:42

I didn't love ep4, but I take a completely opposite point of view on Kaoru from those who are criticizing him. He is a strong lead, in my opinion. The "angst" that turns some people off is a necessary component of true humanity. This guy is not a childish robot like some boring shounen hero, but a real person, with feelings and doubts. Moreover, he has made friends with a guy no-one else dares to even speak to; he has learned to play jazz in a few months; and he has declared himself to the girl he loves. Not bad for four episodes.

His stolen kiss was a mistake, and unkind, but it showed more gumption than a hundred normal anime MCs have.

I do want to second kuromitsu's praise of Suwabe Junichi as Jun-nii. Suwabe-san is excellent in everything he does, in my opinion.

Kirarakim

2012-05-03, 17:44

Btw that was another point where Kaoru's narration was annoying. It's like Honey and Clover where at some points I just wanted to reach in and make Takemoto shut up. ^^;;

Takemoto's narrations were one of my favorite parts about Honey & Clover and that is what made me fall in love with Kamiyan in the first place :heh:

Now Kimura, Ryohei isn't quite Kamiyan for me, but I still think he is doing a very good job as Kaoru. At first I heard a bit of Shouma in his character but that has completely gone away and I fully hear Kaoru's voice.

Anyways I like Kaoru and I don't think he is a "twit" at all. I think he certainly has issues. And honestly he isn't used to having friends so I think some of his behavior is due to that. He is learning to appreciate Sentaro though which I like. Actually if I am going to compare Kaoru to another recent Tsundere, he is reminding me a lot of Barnaby from Tiger & Bunny.

Now Sentaro I just adore. His flashback even makes that more so (although I have to admit I am confused who is raising him now) He is just so passionate and full of vibrancy. He's definitely my favorite of the male characters.

Jun is cool & I really like his character design but he seems more settled than the other two. Maybe I am wrong about that but I think I prefer a character with more issues like Kaoru & Sentaro have.

As for the Ri & Yurika I kind of wish they were given more to do in the story than just be the love interests. At least Ri is responsible for bringing Kaoru & Sentaro together in a way.

Anyways even though I have not read the manga I do feel like something is missing in-between scenes. I am highly enjoying this anime but I feel that lack of something due to the short length will probably prevent it from being a favorite.

ars89

2012-05-03, 17:54

Wow didn't think Kaoru would do that to Ritsuko. So we learn the truth about Sentaro. Oh man Ju and Yurika getting close, looks like Sentaro's out of of the running. Had some nice jazz moments.

CWW

2012-05-03, 17:59

kuromitsu

2012-05-03, 18:47

Have you read the entire manga?
No, I haven't read the last volume yet, though I think I have come across at least one spoiler (thanks, pixiv...).

Takemoto's narrations were one of my favorite parts about Honey & Clover and that is what made me fall in love with Kamiyan in the first place :heh:
I normally didn't mind Takemoto's narrations but I thought that after a certain point they were just... superfluous and utterly trite. ^^;; Plus back then Kamiya had a sort of raw quality to his voice which irritated me after a while (he gradually lost it but oh, in season 1...).

Re: Kaoru, I think he's a great character because he's not only flawed, he's flawed in a realistic way. I personally don't think he's unlikeable at all, but he's certainly not perfect, and overall he's a very believable character, struggling with very real issues in a very believable way.

Kaoru Chujo

2012-05-03, 19:03

If you browse my posting history, which admittedly is not much, you'd get to know me as a romance aficionado and an advocator of character development. Unfortunately, sometimes you just can't stand a main character and I'm afraid Kaoru falls into that category. So what do I have left? Exactly.

By the way, he is childish. That's his whole shtick when the situation asks for drama.My reaction is different, but this makes sense. I see him as fifteen rather than childish. Seems normal to me. But I can see how you can legitimately feel it differently.

TurkeyPotPie

2012-05-03, 19:19

Wow, the whole reveal of Sentaro's background was a real sucker punch to me. I'm so used to crazy hair colors in anime it never occurred to me that Sentaro was biracial. That whole sequence went by a little too quickly though; it's the first time I've felt the pacing of this series was off.

And way back in episode 1 I thought maybe Ritsuko would end up falling for Jun, but instead it's Rurika? Poor Sentaro, although I wonder if Kaoru will end up forever alone by the time this series is over. I've got to give him props though for going in for the kiss even if it was the wrong time. Better than most of the teenage protagonists in anime at least.

By the way, he is childish. That's his whole shtick when the situation asks for drama.

Well, he is still a kid. He's acting about how I would expect someone of that age to act with their first love.

Arya

2012-05-03, 19:22

Well, another excellent episode. It is definitely the most anticipated episode of the week, and the only probably. Even if I didn't read the manga I somehow feel that it is a bit implicitly rushed, I mean Kaoru goes really stright to the point, a little too much maybe :)
The idea I got of him at first was of a shy guy with angst/issues about relating to others and so with a low self-confidence. But I was wrong, the way he dealt with his feeling toward Ri and even how he faced their first live performance proved I was wrong. He even *challenged* Sen who instead was really stiff.
So basically Kaoru is the one that is self-confident, instead of Sen. And I can't say that Kaoru is chilidish. On the contrary. The way he faced Ritsuko with the confession, the kiss and in general how he is well aware of his own feeling (not only romance-wise) and his "tricky" side say the contrary.
On the other hand who is childish is Sen, he didn't even see Yuriko and Jun flirting. He is still stuck at the male friendship stadium :heh: His constant care for Kaoru really jars in comparison with the total lack of it toward Ritsuko ( :( ).

Talking about Sentaro I'm glad they gave us a bit of his past. Really a bit, and I agree here with kuromitsu, even if as I said, I didn't read the manga
Yes, things were implied, but they sort of breezed through the whole thing, like, "So, Sen had a difficult childhood." While it's more like, "No, really, Sen had a pretty damn difficult childhood."

The way they showed Sentaro's flashbacks seemed to be meant more for Kaoru development than for a real viewer' understanding of Sentaro as a character. I had preferred that they developed a bit more that part. Even if the pics of Sentaro and Ritsuko were really cute. :)

Last thing about the love polygon, so Yuriko calls herself out of the games apparently. I'm not surprised. Now I'm curious to know how much time Sentaro will waste to see that. Even if there is something more important that he should see. Even if I don't completely buy it yet, I mean that he is in the dark of Ritsuko's feelings.

duckroll

2012-05-03, 19:26

Kaoru is definitely not a pleasant character to watch, but I think the point is that he isn't supposed to be particularly likable or someone you root for completely, at least not at this point. His family is wealthy, he is smart and talented, and he's not exactly shy or soft-spoken either. That sort of combination generally results in a character who will unintentionally hurt others and speak out of turn simply because he feels entitled or he doesn't understand enough about the circumstances of other people.

What makes the relationship between Kaoru and Sentaro engaging and powerful is that they are very different characters who both have their faults but at the same time both are also honest with each other. The development of their relationship using both actual dialogue as well as purely communicating using their expression of music is something very emotionally powerful, and I think for me that overwrites any undesirable elements either characters have.

Sure, they're both assholes from time to time, they can be insufferable in the wrong situation, but watching how they work these problems out, and how they either dig themselves out of the hole or dig themselves deeper into the hole is part of the drama.

Guardian Enzo

2012-05-03, 19:38

I could obviously spout superlatives all day, but one interesting thing I want to point out is that the scene at Bar Stella where Kaoru "goes crazy" on the piano to shake Sentarou out of his nervousness was a nod to a very famous moment in jazz. In 1938 Benny Goodman's big band played Carengie Hall, the first time a jazz band had every been allowed to play the great temple of classical music - and the band was nervous and "tight". Legendary drummer Gene Krupa sensed this and "went crazy" during "Sing, Sing Sing" and blasted the rest of the band out of their stupor, and it went on to become one of the most famous jazz recordings of all time.

AvianWing

2012-05-03, 19:56

I don't understand the kaoru hate. He's like the opposite of a male romance lead. Selfish but observant, and willing to correct his own mistakes. A little scheming and not entirely chivalrous, but have the penchant to hit the right note at the right time. He is not afraid to pull the trigger and knows what he wants. He is actually earning my respect with the last couple of episodes, and is not just on the fortunate end of smitten girls after some random kind acts.

totoum

2012-05-03, 19:57

I find myself wondering what it is that Kaoru sees in her beyond being cute and cheerful.

I just want to bring this quote back out because I had it in mind when Kaoru said this week "my love feels so petty in comparison".

That was one of the highlights of this week's episode and what actually makes me like Kaoru as a character,yes he has his faults and can be immature but he acknowledges that and I think he's already quite improved compared to how he was at the start of episode 1 and hope that the growth will continue as the show continues.

SeijiSensei

2012-05-03, 20:27

After I worried that this show might be heading in the direction of becoming trite, we get this spectacular episode, probably the best single episode of an anime I've watched this year. I don't think the pacing is rushed at all. A lot of development is conveyed in small moments like Sen's father refusing to hold his hand. We don't really need to know much more than that. Ritsuko's expression after the kiss is equally effective, as is the close-up on Rurika's eye, or how she tells Jun her first name right off the bat. We even get a reasonable dose of jazz in this episode fit in amongst all the other events taking place.

As for Kim's question about who is raising Sentaro, I think the answer is pretty clearly no one. I do wonder where his siblings spend their after-school time while Sen is in the basement of the music store. Perhaps the older sister is in charge then?

I was also glad to see the rosary-as-necklace story resolved. It's a little detail that could have been written off as simply being unfamiliar with Catholic practices by the Japanese staff. Instead we find it represents an attention to detail uncommon in most anime I've seen, even the best shows.

I was left wondering whether Jun "ni-san" might actually be a "Brother" in the Catholic sense, as a man en route to being ordained as a priest. If so, it's bad news for Yurika.

Finally I agree with totoum that Kaoru has grown considerably in just a few episodes. I find it refreshing to see a young man who has some insight into his own feelings and motives. Usually these reflective emotional types of roles are assigned to women. Sentaro has some of that as well, but he doesn't seem quite as deep a personality as Kaoru, as least not yet.

I do wish we could have seen what happened later on after the duet with Jun and Kaoru. I would have liked to see Sentaro beat the daylights out of that racist bastard at the bar. Did Sentaro perform once more, or did he sit out the rest of the show? Thinking about that event, I suspect Sentaro's own mixed-race parentage makes him more sensitive to racial slurs than the purely Japanese characters around him. Of course his love of jazz, and Blakey in particular, would make him more appreciative of the contribution of African-Americans to the art form he so admires.

Flawfinder

2012-05-03, 20:29

I like him well as a character and somewhat as a person, particularly because his angst never lasts very long and we aren't beaten over the head with it. Above all, he feels natural. Nothing is really forced about him, which I really like.

ZODDGUTS

2012-05-03, 20:33

In this anime everyone is in love with someone. So who's Jun gonna be into? Kaoru? lol

sikvod00

2012-05-03, 20:40

Na, it's clear that Jun is also into Yurika (at least that's what I got from the scene at the end of the episode...).

DragoonKain3

2012-05-03, 23:22

What you guys talking about? Jun ain't gonna be into Kaoru, as Sen already has his hands all over him (quite literally might I add). :heh:

Seriously speaking now, I don't know if I should punch or cheer on Kaoru. On one hand, he stole a kiss from Ri'ko, which going by her reaction, was her first kiss that she was probably wanting to save for Sen. On the other hand, Kaoru finally understands why Ri'ko loves Sen, and seems to be backing down for now at least.

All that said, I find it amusing that all of Sen's pics in that book was him with Ri'ko... every single one of them. Can I take that as a sign that he loves Ri'ko but just hasn't been conscious of it yet? lol XD

Finally, a bit sad that the love polygon seems to end with Jun. It looks like Jun reciprocates Yurika's interest... it would've been much more interesting if Jun has another LI. The bigger the better I say, but alas I don't write the story.

karice67

2012-05-03, 23:23

I really like the discussion here - but a request to the people who've read / are reading some of the manga.

Could you all leave anything that hasn't been covered in the anime out of this thread, please? There have been at least two examples today, only one of which I was able to avoid because neither of the spoiler tags was tagged properly.

Whether it's been covered by this stage in the manga (end of volume 3, I'm guessing) or not doesn't matter - the anime writers may bring a particular detail in later in the show, so please go to the manga thread (or VM/PM) to discuss them.

Thanks.

gianna

2012-05-03, 23:41

My comment huh
Really sorry about that honestly

Deleted

I thought that bit wasn't something the anime would make a point to go back to show but I should not have assumed so

ID555

2012-05-03, 23:52

In this anime everyone is in love with someone. So who's Jun gonna be into? Kaoru? lol

Hmm... maybe. He seems too perfect of a guy...:uhoh:

Forgot to mention that I really liked that little moment at the sports field where Ritsuko was afraid to meet Kaoru's gaze. As well as the other classmates reacting to Kaoru and Sen flirting...

novalysis

2012-05-03, 23:54

For some reason, I'm reminded of the Ano Natsu Scenario, where one of the characters would be left out in the end, once the chain of romances resolve themselves.

Let's see- we have a Love Chain of Five characters, starting with Kaoru, ending with Jun.

Is Sentarou going to be forever alone, this time round?

Guardian Enzo

2012-05-04, 02:16

Haak

2012-05-04, 02:25

And they both understand group dynamics. This was just another excellent episode but I really hate taking about these kinda shows because I've never been good at articulating positive aspects of shows and this show has simply been perfect. SeijiSensei pretty much covers it (http://forums.animesuki.com/showpost.php?p=4144102&postcount=415).

Kanon

2012-05-04, 06:58

Each episode is even better than the last. Wonderful.

I enjoyed that they addressed the complaint some of the viewers had about Kaoru's love for Ritsuko by having him admit that yes, his infatuation with Ritsuko is indeed quite petty and superficial, especially when compared to Ritsuko's love for Sentarou. It's currently just a teenager's crush, which makes sense since he's a teenager. That doesn't mean his feelings can't evolve and become deeper.

Sentarou's background took me aback. I never expected him to have such a heavy past. This made me like him even more. I'm happy he managed to become such an energetic and compassionate individual in spite of it all (though he doesn't show that side of him to everybody).

As great as the band's performance at the bar (and everything that took place there) was, my favorite scene has to be the one where Kaoru and Sentarou finally call each other by their name. It was about time Kaoru stopped referring to Sen as "that guy" and Sen stopped calling Kaoru "Bon". This marks the true beginning of their friendship.

The story progressed on the romance side too. It's incredible how much content they managed to pack into this one episode without making it feel rushed. Yurika has now fallen for Jun, and I too think this is reciprocal. That increases Ritsuko's chance with Sentarou. After seeing this episode, I'm definitely rooting for that pairing now (sorry Kaoru!).

Soconfused

2012-05-04, 10:04

I have a feeling everyone's gonna be forever alone by the end of the series. I just can't see one person being left out in the cold. Or at least, it'll be business as usual for the main 3, Jun and Yurika might go off and do their own thing.

gianna

2012-05-04, 10:15

I've been reminded of Ano Natsu several times with this series . Both are examples of how really, really great anime directors can make things look ridiculously effortless with perfect pacing and not trying too hard. This is obviously a more serious show with the added jazz element, but they're both superb directors at their best.

Ano Natsu as in Ano Natsu se Matteru?
Looks like I need to check it out

The scenes with Kaoru and Ri and Yurika and Jun were done beautifully
So much was said and felt without being said
With Kaoru and Ri dead silence save for a car breaking in the distance
Then with Jun and Yurika just asking each others names but clearly so much more acknowledged between the two

I see what you mean when you say he makes it looks effortless with this episode in particular
Whether sincere or being awkard and making mistakes he's handled the series with a maturity that takes the characters seriously because those feelings behind their actions are still genuine

LKK

2012-05-04, 10:54

SeijiSensei

2012-05-04, 13:14

When Jun says they've been asked to perform, someone mentions they have a month to prepare. So the scene in the music shop and the kiss happens sometime within that month. The time between the confession and Jun's announcement is less obvious. We see them outside on the sports field in shorts after the confession so it can't yet be very cold. Also Kaoru brings up the modelling session on the sports field which happened near the end of the previous episode, so I'd guess only a brief period, maybe even just a couple of days, passed between those events. However a good bit of time might have elapsed between the scene on the sports field and Jun's announcement. Kaoru has obviously become much more adept at playing jazz at that point. Even given his talents as a pianist you'd think that development would have taken some weeks of practice.

duckroll

2012-05-04, 13:31

If there was one thing I think this series could do better, it would be to better establish how much time has passed between scenes. How much time passed between Karou's confession and the decision to perform live at the club & revelation of Sentarou's upcoming birthday? How much time passed between the revelation of Sentarou's birthday and the gift-buying / kiss scene? How much time passed between the kiss and the live performance? The series isn't giving me a good of the passage of time.

That's probably because they're rushing through a lot of material to fit everything into 12 episodes. It's one of the only major flaws of the fast pacing in the series. It is literally so fast that unless you pay extreme attention to every frame and every line spoken, it is almost impossible to get a great idea of how much time is passing in each scene transition. There are clues given in both the visuals and the dialogue though.

Just in case I'll put the following in spoiler tags.

- The show starts in early Summer 1966. There is nothing in the first episode establishing this other than the general weather and the story synopsis on the website before it aired, but this isn't very important because...

- In episode 2 it is established that Kaoru has been playing Jazz for 2 weeks by the time he meets Junichi. Episode 1 probably took place over 1-2 weeks, after which he started playing Jazz more regularly, so this puts it at 2-3 weeks by that point. It is also established in this episode that it is mid-Summer, so retroactively it establishes that ep1 started in early Summer.

- The Summer vacation date took place the Sunday after the jam session, so that adds another week to the equation. By the time Sentaro first meets Yurika, a month has passed since the start of the series.

- Kaoru would have needed time to gather information about Yurika for Sentaro, plus, as they walk to Sentaro's home there is a sign indicating shops are starting their end of Summer sales. It is hard to determine exactly how much time has passed, since they met Yurika, but it could be anything from 2 weeks to a month.

- The group date takes place on a weekend, so another week would have passed after they invite Yurika. The fight takes place the day after, on a Monday, and they make up on the same day. If the show started in early July (Summer), it would either be late August or early/mid September now.

- This is when it gets very fuzzy. After Kaoru decides to learn the song for Ri-chan, there's actually a long passage of time in a single transition. The background shot outside of the school shows that leaves are already falling, and Autumn has started. It would mean that Kaoru probably practiced the song for about a whole month before playing it. This places the scene sometime in October.

- The scene at the start of ep4 is set in November, so it would be a month after the confession. We know this because the performance is supposed to be for Christmas, and they have about a month to prepare.

- The next scene with Kaoru and Ri-chan has to be set in December, since Kaoru already completed his exams and got the results. It also makes sense because he would probably shop for a present for Sentaro closer to his birthday. So I would say between his confession and the kiss, it would be 2 months.

- Kaoru tells Sentaro that they should practice every day until their performance after making up with him. This indicates that there's still some time before Dec 25; maybe a week or two. Either way ep4 ends on Dec 25, which would mean within a span of four episodes, the series covered about 6 months of the characters' lives.

Edit:

Also Kaoru brings up the modelling session on the sports field which happened near the end of the previous episode, so I'd guess only a brief period, maybe even just a couple of days, passed between those events.

That's a good catch. I forgot about that. If that's the case, then it would mean that even more time passed in the previous transitions I documented. Maybe Kaoru practiced the song for 2 months? Lol.

LKK

2012-05-04, 14:02

- The scene at the start of ep4 is set in November, so it would be a month after the confession.
Thank you for the nice timeline. You confirmed my sense that more time has passed than seems at first viewing. The part I quoted is what interests me the most at the moment. As far as we've been shown, Ri-chan has not given Kaoru an answer to his confession for at least a month. I feel sorry for the guy. :(

duckroll

2012-05-04, 14:12

Thank you for the nice timeline. You confirmed my sense that more time has passed than seems at first viewing. The part I quoted is what interests me the most at the moment. As far as we've been shown, Ri-chan has not given Kaoru an answer to his confession for at least a month. I feel sorry for the guy. :(

Well, if you read my edit, SeijiSensei brought up a point which contradicts that suggestion. It seems that a few days passed instead. Which means that more time passed -before- the confession. Ep3 is really the trickiest one here, where I feel they really failed to properly establish a good sense of time flow. Ep4 does start in November, but that means that the end of Ep3 was around that time too. Argh!! :/

nil

2012-05-04, 15:05

SeijiSensei

2012-05-04, 15:19

As far as we've been shown, Ri-chan has not given Kaoru an answer to his confession for at least a month.

I thought we got her answer as the snow was falling.

sikvod00

2012-05-04, 15:23

I don't understand what you mean by giving her answer "as the snow was falling". Do you mean her reaction during the snow scene, right after he kissed her?

duckroll

2012-05-04, 15:31

This article explains how sessions in this show were animated.
http://www.oricon.co.jp/news/movie/2008951/full/

During recording sound track musics, players are taken from various directions by over 10 cameras.
And based on those videos, animators draw the music playing scenes. Those are not CG.

The article doesn't say that it's not CG, only that they use the footage as reference for animation. This applies to both 2D and 3D animation. They probably use whichever method suits a given specific scene. There's definitely CG in some sequences after all.

SeijiSensei

2012-05-04, 15:54

I don't understand what you mean by giving her answer "as the snow was falling". Do you mean her reaction during the snow scene, right after he kissed her?

Yes, her reaction to the kiss.

TinyRedLeaf

2012-05-04, 20:27

If words are the notes I use to play my song, which would I use to paint each individual?

Ri'ko: Innocence

Kaouru: Repressed, awkward

Sentarou: Live-wire, impulse, spontaneous

Yurika: Desire, refined, sultry, lonely, vulnerable

and lastly,

Junichi: Debonair, smooth, suave, urbane

Hmm... yup, Yurika and Junichi go together like a moth to a flame. :p Kudos to the guys who thought they made a likelier pair last week.

Ungrateful

2012-05-04, 21:09

ah, episode 4 was well done, it seems like each episode is getting better.
anyway whats with the love twist D:
aha i really think everyones gonna be left forever alone at the end of the series.

gianna

2012-05-05, 01:28

Well, if you read my edit, SeijiSensei brought up a point which contradicts that suggestion. It seems that a few days passed instead. Which means that more time passed -before- the confession. Ep3 is really the trickiest one here, where I feel they really failed to properly establish a good sense of time flow. Ep4 does start in November, but that means that the end of Ep3 was around that time too. Argh!! :/

I wish I had seen your comment before spending the time to type out a time frame myself!

Ours are very similar -- I'm thinking it was closer to a full month between the beach and the next event
And given he decided around the beginning of September but didn't perform until a month before Christmas it was indeed nearly two months of practicing

When I went back to episode three I was surprised to see it was already November

Hmm... yup, Yurika and Junichi go together like a moth to a flame. :p

heh I like what you did there

hikarihikari

2012-05-05, 02:07

The story and pace was the best so far, which was really nice.
The session was great as usual, however, I smell something bad name "running low on budget". You can tell the session anime was not as delicate and detailed as before.

Arya

2012-05-05, 07:59

Hmm... yup, Yurika and Junichi go together like a moth to a flame. :p
mmm, I don't know, I didn't get the vibes from Junichi of being a womanizer, if that's what you meant. Surely if he were I don't know how they could continue with the jam sessions.

aha i really think everyones gonna be left forever alone at the end of the series.
I got the same feeling, sort of. It depends which role the romance will have. I haven't got it yet. I mean, the story revolves all around Kaoru's growing-up, so in his ripening the romance is relevant in any case, positive or negative. But if they really decide to bend toward a romance drama, well, having all the three friends being left alone it would be a waste of efforts. If they decide to bend even more toward drama, well I wouldn't consider that path :heh:

Bern-san

2012-05-05, 09:20

Arya

2012-05-05, 10:00

It may be a silly question but... does Ritsuko like Sentaro?
When watching the episodes I haven't got that feeling, I was under the impression she thinks of him as a dear friend and that Kaoru misinterpreted their relationship
But I can approve Ritsuko x Sentaro pairing (although I'll wait if Kaoru grows more on me in the future)

Waiting for a more accurate answer, for what I got by her cryptic character, she is deeply in love with Sentarou, and for years. The third episode showed that. The biggest clue is Ritsuko going away in tears, unable to bear Sentarou and Yurika first date. And if you re-watched the episode you would note the onigiri she had in her hands, the same type Sentarou was eating on the roof earlier.
And secondly when she returned the handkerchief to Sentarou well knowing that it was Yurika's handkerchief. That showed me how devoted she is to him.
My question is why Sentarou doesn't know about her feeling. Ok, he looks not so sensible to love matters, but I don't think that he really is, but I hope he just seems.

My idea is that he's protecting Ritsuko from himself, I mean, being an half american and having all that really bad memories related to her mother and his past in general. So he is willingly ignoring her. To avoiding her to be hurt in the future. But, it is a mere speculation, probably I'm just overthinking and he is just dense. :)

ID555

2012-05-05, 10:17

Waiting for a more accurate answer, for what I got by her cryptic character, she is deeply in love with Sentarou, and for years. The third episode showed that. The biggest clue is Ritsuko going away in tears, unable to bear Sentarou and Yurika first date. And if you re-watched the episode you would note the onigiri she had in her hands, the same type Sentarou was eating on the roof earlier.
And secondly when she returned the handkerchief to Sentarou well knowing that it was Yurika's handkerchief. That showed me how devoted she is to him.
My question is why Sentarou doesn't know about her feeling. Ok, he looks not so sensible to love matters, but I don't think that he really is, but I hope he just seems.

My idea is that he's protecting Ritsuko from himself, I mean, being an half american and having all that really bad memories related to her mother and his past in general. So he is willingly ignoring her. To avoiding her to be hurt in the future. But, it is a mere speculation, probably I'm just overthinking and he is just dense. :)

I think he's just dense/ Ritsuko's not his type. Kaoru had to point out to him that he has a crush on Yurika.

TinyRedLeaf

2012-05-05, 10:44

mmm, I don't know, I didn't get the vibes from Junichi of being a womanizer, if that's what you meant. Surely if he were I don't know how they could continue with the jam sessions.
I meant that, despite her facade of sophisticated elan, Yurika strikes me as a woman who wants what most women want: her very own knight in shining armour. Given her elegance and natural intelligence, I can easily imagine most guys believing she's out of their league. Jinichi is likely the first man she has met who is her intellectual and emotional equal, hence her instant attraction to him.

gianna

2012-05-05, 10:50

I think he's just dense/ Ritsuko's not his type. Kaoru had to point out to him that he has a crush on Yurika.

Just a comment on what we've seen so far

And she was in a place where she was closests to him and happy (to a point)
She didn't have to act on her feelings or maybe up until that time she didn't realize how she felt
Enter Yurika to threaten their relationship whatever it may be

Then in a mere moment he completely falls for Yurika and Ri realizes that he's never seen her in that way
You can see she became a bit nervous when Yurika arrives annd is relieved when Yurika says that she was invited by Kaoru

That upset of her relationship with him forced her feelings out

I meant that, despite her facade of sophisticated elan, Yurika strikes me as a woman who wants what most women want: her very own knight in shining armour. Given her elegance and natural intelligence, I can easily imagine most guys believing she's out of their league. Jinichi is likely the first man she has met who is her intellectual and emotional equal, hence her instant attraction to him.

The guy kind of exudes coolness (also due to Suwabe)
You can be lead to think that he's a bit of a ladies man -- he's seemingly a mature confident type Tokyo college student who works in a bar and plays jazz and they all love him in that sense
That's a dreamy set up right there lol

SeijiSensei

2012-05-05, 12:10

Ritsuko is a classic "osananajimi" ("childhood friend") character. It's often the case that stories about these pairings portray one member as deeply in love with the other, but that love is unrequited. One reason why I worried that Sakamichi no Apollon might be headed down a trite "slope" was the inclusion of the Sentaro and Ritsuko pairing. As gianna says, I don't think Sentaro ever saw Ritsuko in "that way," and the encounter between him and Yurika on the beach just drives that point home. Sometimes these stories end up with the Sentaro character discovering that he or she was truly in love with the childhood friend all along. I don't think we can conclude anything about how things will turn out for the Sentaro and Ritsuko pairing based on what we've seen so far. If Yurika turns to Jun, perhaps Sentaro will discover he has a deep yearning for Ritsuko. Or he may always consider her as the girl who was with him during the life portrayed in the photo album but never a romantic passion.

The childhood-friend meme seems much more common in anime than in Western literature. Any speculations on why that might be the case?

TinyRedLeaf

2012-05-05, 12:24

The childhood-friend meme seems much more common in anime than in Western literature. Any speculations on why that might be the case?
It's a common TV trope in most of the Japanese, Taiwanese and Hong Kong dramas I've watched over the years. In other words, the meme is not just limited to Japan or to anime. I don't know how it started, but the fans of such shows have long since come to expect such pairings and don't think very deeply about why that is so, even though such relationships rarely exist in urban East Asia today. Myths, once established, rarely go away, after all.

If I had to hazard a few guesses, I'd say it's because:

1) It's a convenient way to set up a romantic relationship that is "destined" to happen. It's supposedly more romantic that way. (It works for me; I'm a sucker for the idea, actually.)

2) It reflects the conservatism of Confucianist culture, in that good guys and girls are not supposed to actively pursue romantic interests, but are meant to stick with people their parents and relatives approve of. (Childhood friends usually fit that requirement.)

3) Extrapolating from point (1), it's also a handy way to develop the plot. The hero would sometimes leave town to make his fortune in distant places, but promise to return home to his "destined" beloved. The heroine would stay in town and faithfully await his return. It's all very romantic, you see.

SeijiSensei

2012-05-05, 12:41

I wondered if (2) might be the case. The convenience arguments in (1) and (3) would apply to almost any romantic story in any culture.

Childhood friends are also likely to occupy a similar position in the class structure. Western romances often include a cross-class relationship between a (usually male) person of higher status and a (usually female) person of lower status. In these stories you have the "love conquers all" romantic plot with the woman ultimately whisked into the man's upper-class life and living happily ever after. Cinderella is a good exemplar of this type of story.

DoctorG

2012-05-05, 13:31

There are about 20 other things I should be doing instead of posting in this forum, but sometimes it's just too much - "it" being episode 4 of Sakamichi no Appollon. This series is getting better and better, and the contrast between Kaoru's stiff and miserable classical music in his aunt's house and Kaoru throwing himself into the jazz gig in this episode made the heart leap.

There's a kind of unpredictability about this anime that's very refreshing - the portrayal of Kaoru taking advantage of his new-found confidence, and then going too far with Ritsuko in this episode was just right, and while it was clear that Sentaro would have some kind of "tragic" backstory, it wasn't what might have been expected. And the scene with the drunk in the jazz club got a bit "edgy" - I didn't think they would go there.

Sorry, I'm fanboying now, but - what a good anime!

Arya

2012-05-05, 18:42

The childhood-friend meme seems much more common in anime than in Western literature. Any speculations on why that might be the case?

I have no basis to state what I'm gonna say, but my perception is that the two different concepts of love reflect the more mite and meditative nature of the eastern culture in comparison to a more, I'd say, aggressive, or fighting nature of the western one. Starting from religions. Crusades or inquisition are examples of that kind of nature.
So it reflects the attitude in the western culture to depict a romance story more as a fighting and conquering route than a "safer" fated route.
Another way to see that is saying how eastern culture seems to focus more on the "falling in love" part of the whole, instead western culture focuses more on the "conquest" part of it. The man has to wins the woman's love and to fights the obstacles fate puts along the road.
Sort of :)

1) It's a convenient way to set up a romantic relationship that is "destined" to happen. It's supposedly more romantic that way. (It works for me; I'm a sucker for the idea, actually.)

Speaking of tropes I always prefer every other girl over the osananajimi, because in this case the story usually happened in the past so it difficult for me, narrative-wise, to relate with the osananajimi. I usually prefer tsundere types. Well, I'm a western after all.
Ah, except this anime, but it doesn't count because it is not romance-driven and we have only one girl so what really matter are the male leads. :)

Master Chibi

2012-05-05, 21:30

I love the music and atmosphere more than I can really put into words but I already hate the love square / pentagon / whatever the hell it is we have going on on already. It reeks of Honey Clover, and that series had excellent execution and shit content.

Well whatever, it's not like it's bad, I can just already see it being grating to endure.

DragoonKain3

2012-05-05, 22:20

The childhood-friend meme seems much more common in anime than in Western literature. Any speculations on why that might be the case?
I always thought it was just a cultural thing that Japanese like to pair up childhood friends, just like in some cultures you're pretty much gonna marry one of your cousins.

Because really? They have these aspects of this culture that is their identity or they hold in high regard, and the childhood friend just happens to fit into it. Stuff I can think of includes...

1) Formality - Everyone knows how polite the Japanese are. Thing is, this is a double edged sword, as more often than not it's an indication of how distant, rather than how close you are to a person. And the childhood friend is one you have connected before all these social barriers have taken form? You skip all the work of breaking these barriers

2) Stability - Japanese are not known to be two things in industry: innovators and risk takers. Now industry and romance are two very different things, but maybe both are connected because it's just the general mindset of the Japanese. And applying it to romance, you can NOT have a more 'safe choice' than the childhood friend

I like to compare this to the western, or at least what I know of the american ideal, where it's about being adventurous and explore every possibility. As such, one can see why passionate love and love at first sight is such a big thing in fiction

In other words, Western, or at least Americans, would take Veronica more often than not. Japanese on the other hand, Betty has a better chance

3) Unspoken Love - Japanese are infamous for not saying "I love you" (best you'd get is "I really really like you" most of the time, while I've heard stories of old couples who can count how many times they said "I love you" in one hand). One Japanese person's response why this is the case was....

“Well, we would not say such a thing because it is something we should feel intuitively rather than express verbally. Once we say it, it sounds rather cheap.”

The childhood friend is just an extension of this, where their close understanding of the other, is shown for them to have a near telepathic communication with each other. Thus, no need for these words

4) Family love vs Romantic love - the feeling I get from Japanese marriage is that its 'old' true purpose is not to join two people in love, but to make children with someone the family approves of. As such, arranged marriage were pretty common back then, and as someone else has said, childhood friend usually is someone the family approves of anyway that they may very well be an arranged marriage in all but name

It just so happens that childhood friend didn't go the way of arranged marriages BECAUSE they can also go the way of romantic love as well. So its a best of both worlds kinda thing

5) Values - I don't know where I read it from but from what I remember, the Japanese generally values the traits "always be there for you", "accepting for who you are", and "does not hesitate to help" in terms of looking values for a prospective spouse.

Might be because of the Japanese long held the virtues of Bushido for a very long time (which the above translates to Loyalty, Respect, and Benevolence). Or the Yamato Nadeshiko archetype might have influenced it, or the above traits are a result of the stereotypical view of the 'good' father typically using EVERYTHING he has earned for the sake of his family. Maybe its a combination of all of the above, I dunno.

But regardless, if there's three things that I have seen ALL childhood friend characters possess, it would be the above traits because one wouldn't have been friends for that long if any of the above are missing

Anyways, that's just a layman's speculation on the matter. Lots of generalizing and stereotyping, so I hope the Japanese or whoever else reads this don't get offended :heh:

Anh_Minh

2012-05-06, 11:18

So... Now we need a girl for Jun to fall in love with, but who will love Kaoru?

duckroll

2012-05-06, 11:20

So... Now we need a girl for Jun to fall in love with, but who will love Kaoru?

Jun x Kaoru. OTP.

Lilith

2012-05-06, 12:28

I LOVE this! Ah, it's a been a such a long time.

I enjoyed the pacing and the BGM but mostly I enjoyed the characters and their interactions. :D In my own twisted mind, I like to think of them as xxxHolic gang in an alternative dimension. :heh:

Kaioshin Sama

2012-05-06, 12:41

Finally found the time to watch the latest installment. Couple things stuck out to me. One is that while we haven't seen much of Kaoru's life at home, what we have seen of his Aunt makes it look like a pretty stifling atmosphere. Looks like we've got a regular Mrs. Pressure on our hands there. Sentaro I was surprised to learn didn't actually have sex with his sempai, but the explanation actually makes perfect sense and I can see why she'd ask him to model for her since he's quite the rare giant of a physical specimen. Speaking of him he doesn't exactly have it easy either since this episode confirms what I've long suspected from his hair color, religion, and large build, that's he's mixed race and therefore a shunned "mistake" in his household. The part where he went to grasp his fathers hand for comfort and he jerked it away was one of the most powerful and telling scenes of the series so far. That's Watanabe and his cinematography for you.

The highlight of this show in the past couple weeks though has been seeing Kaoru try to pursue his relationship with Ritsuko and the little rivalry he has going on witrh Sentaro in trying to beat him to securing a girlfriend. Last week it looked like he was light years behind, but the whole realization about the modeling makes a huge difference and now I'd say that Kaoru is actually ahead since he's managed to convey his feelings and he and Ritsuko have been engaging in meaningful conversations this week. Still I can see the potential for this still friendly rivalry turning sour in a hurry and last weeks little tiff on the rooftop foreshadows where things could go from here and one of the two or even both girls could end up being hurt in the process, but more likely Ritsuko since she's shown to be very sensitive.

Also liked the climactic scene in the bar where they kicked it up a notch right in the middle of the song. A shame that one guy had to be a dick though and ruin the moment for Sentaro, but he could very well have done more lasting damage than that since it forced Jun to save the show and now Yurika seems to have eyes for him. Understandable though since Jun comes off as a really mature and charming guy. Romantic stuff in this show is getting complicated, but not convoluted, which is also quite nice to see.

Overall I like how they've captured all the uncertainty that goes along with being at that age though, and it's in a way that doesn't feel unnecessarily melodramatic as well which is a nice touch. There's so many elements going into this show now like gender gaps, friendships, romance, rivalries, finding a way to express oneself that it's a shame it only has 11 episodes to explore it all. Though given how things are progressing and how much it's managed to cover so far in only 4 episodes it might honestly not be a problem and I can see Kids on The Slope as being a rare recent example of a noitaminA show using it's time well.

Also of note is that Kanno is starting to pick it up in recent episodes. I especially liked the little refrain in the streets when Kaoru and Ritsuko met up while shopping for Sentaro's gift, it kind of reminded me a bit of the music in the old Peanuts cartoons.

edit: Have I mentioned how much I hate my phones auto-correct choices? Cause I do. Thank you mysterious stranger for pointing that one out to me.

ID555

2012-05-06, 13:41

So... Now we need a girl for Jun to fall in love with, but who will love Kaoru?

Let's see.... at the moment there's Ritsuko's dad, or Kaoru's cousin.

Master Chibi

2012-05-06, 18:20

So... Now we need a girl for Jun to fall in love with, but who will love Kaoru?

GET THE KIDS TO DO IT

Oh man this is getting stupid lol

DragoonKain3

2012-05-06, 21:41

Perfect answer would be that Jun is into MUCH younger girls and ends up liking Kaoru's cousin. Of course, Kaoru's cousin is in fact in love with Kaoru and her bullying is just her way of showing her affection. Yeah, that's right! :D

Grifis

2012-05-06, 23:38

I like this very much. Characters are likeable. Music is good. The romances are to the point. And there was Jun, so suave, singing in a nice voice. This pentagon would be complete with the focus of JunxKaoru BL love.

Kaoru loves Ri, Ri loves Sen, Sen loves Yurika, Yurika loves Jun, Jun loves Kaoru. Sen returns Ri's feelings. Kaoru returns Jun's feelings and Yurika goes away to bigger fish. There's the happy end.

BBOvenGuy

2012-05-07, 12:18

I like the attention to historical detail this show has. I try to do the same thing in my own historical fiction.

One thing that caught my attention in the latest episode was the drunk guy in the bar complaining about "coon music." No American show would be that blatant about what things were like in the 60s, but that is indeed what happened in places and it gave us a chance to see how the various main characters reacted.

Kirarakim

2012-05-07, 12:20

Lilith

2012-05-07, 13:11

Just watched Ep 4 (I feel empty now that I have to wait for 5!)

Junnn. :love: Cool smart talented college guy, dreamy set up indeed! This show has proved that although it contains many cliches, it can still surprises me (the kiss? Sen's past?).

In the beginning, I thought it's a journey of self discovery in the Jazz world. Now, it's more. Really refereshing, and I can't wait to see how the story unfolds.

BBOvenGuy

2012-05-07, 14:37

You clearly have not see Mad Men.

Nope, 'fraid not. I don't get the channel it's on.

I guess I'll have to revise my initial statement - No American show on a channel most Americans can get would be that blatant about what things were like in the 60s. :eyespin:

sa547

2012-05-07, 14:45

One thing that caught my attention in the latest episode was the drunk guy in the bar complaining about "coon music." No American show would be that blatant about what things were like in the 60s, but that is indeed what happened in places and it gave us a chance to see how the various main characters reacted.

You got a point there; not all Americans back then were happy about systematic desegregation, and hence some prejudices remain (it indeed pays to read some history).

I was able to finish this episode with complete satisfaction, and as a Navy brat (my family had a brief time at Sasebo when I was a toddler), I was glad they got the sailors' uniforms done right, down to the noncom badges.

Come next episode, well, our characters will be in one heck of a cocktail mix. Can't wait to see how relationships could go further.

karice67

2012-05-07, 15:20

Not sure if it's been posted here yet, but I just read on twitter that Noitamina this week is cancelled due to a sports live broadcast...

ID555

2012-05-07, 17:17

Not sure if it's been posted here yet, but I just read on twitter that Noitamina this week is cancelled due to a sports live broadcast...

The one thing I was looking forward to the most this week! :frustrated:

Kirarakim

2012-05-07, 17:27

Not sure if it's been posted here yet, but I just read on twitter that Noitamina this week is cancelled due to a sports live broadcast...

Oh you are the bearer of bad news. Thursdays are my favorite anime day...well at least I should still have Shirokuma Cafe to look forward to.

gianna

2012-05-07, 17:30

Wait a moment
The message says

【12日（土）BSフジ休止のお知らせ】今週BSフジでの放送はスポーツ中継の為休止となります。楽しみにしてくださっていた皆様、申し訳ございません！次回は19日（土）放送となります。

The series airs Thursdays On FujiTV and TokaiTV
Isn't this notice for the showing on Saturday through BSFuji -- so well still get the episode on Thursday no??

GET THE KIDS TO DO IT

Oh man this is getting stupid lol

Isn't it!? I'm glad the thread is getting back to regular discussion

....

I mean come on! We all know the true end is Sen/Kaoru

And doctorg don't apologize for enjoying this series
I can't shut up about it myself

duckroll

2012-05-07, 18:26

There is no cancellation for noitaminA. It's just BS Fuji's broadcast. They show it days later anyway.

karice67

2012-05-07, 18:51

Ah...that makes sense. *sighs* I blame the early flight I had to catch...

Apologies for the scare and mistaken info... m(_ _)m

Kirarakim

2012-05-07, 20:31

Ah...that makes sense. *sighs* I blame the early flight I had to catch...

Apologies for the scare and mistaken info... m(_ _)m

No worries, & I am relieved to hear good news.

But hey you kept a good series thread on the front page. Nothing wrong with that. :)

Master_Yoma

2012-05-07, 22:06

What is going on every one in this like some one else and wow Jun really good

ID555

2012-05-07, 22:20

Ah...that makes sense. *sighs* I blame the early flight I had to catch...

Apologies for the scare and mistaken info... m(_ _)m

Haha, thank goodness.

sa547

2012-05-08, 19:14

Happy to hear that my favorite earworm of a song made it to #3 on Oricon. :D

http://gabrielarobin.com/5144/yuki-playballsakamichi-no-melody-debuts-in-oricon-weeklies-at-3

Soconfused

2012-05-10, 01:17

The more I listen to the OST the more I like it. I first I thought it was just standard Yokko Kanno, nothing special, but there's some pretty good stuff on here. Definetly a fall/winter album I would say though.

-Sho-

2012-05-10, 06:36

This show is so good. Unexpected events.
Damn Kaoru stole Ritsuko's first kiss ? erf.. yes he was jealous but come on ,you can't simply stole important girl's thing like that....
Can't wait to see Sen's reactions when he'll know for Yurika.

sikvod00

2012-05-10, 12:45

Ritsuko officially rejects Kaoru (and Sentarou accidentally overhears her say she likes someone, but not who), and the episode is largely focuses on how he reacts to his first heartbreak. I understand how Kaoru can rub people the wrong way, because he always regresses back to his cold, distant personality when stuff doesn't go his way. You have to be in a pretty dickish mood to give kind, sweet Ritsuko the cold shoulder. He certainly doesn't have the immediate charm and likability that his partner and crime possesses, but that's OK because in the end we know he'll redeem himself. My only wish is that Kaoru will finally be the one to selflessly help out Sentarou, and the not the other way around.

Kaoru's conversation with his mother was SO heartwarming and sad too. That train scene got to me as well. It's a bit ironic. There's been this big buildup of Kaoru wanting his father to return, but when he does, they switch over to the mom, whom we haven't heard much at all. A bit anti-climatic too, but perhaps he will have more significance later on.

In terms of romance, now that Kaoru is "out" and Sentarou appears curious of who Ritsuko actually likes, it's obvious that they will end up together. I know that's going to make a lot of Ritsuko X Kaoru shippers happy; but of course, this show is so much more than who "wins" in the romance department (although it is still important LOL). Also, no surprise, but Jun isn't the Golden Boy that he appears to be...

gianna

2012-05-10, 13:19

Just beautiful
I think I got a little teary there--

I can't remember the last time (if ever) I saw a scene with multiple characters linked in a questionable or possible romantic connection being handled so well and seamlessly transitioning back and forth between them

Ritsuko officially rejects Kaoru (and Sentarou almost overhears the person she really likes), and the episode is largely focuses on how he reacts to his first heartbreak. I understand how Kaoru can rub people the wrong way, because he always regresses back to his cold, distant personality when stuff doesn't go his way. You have to be in a pretty dickish mood to give kind, sweet Ritsuko the cold shoulder. He certainly doesn't have the immediate charm and likability that his partner and crime possesses, but that's OK because in the end we know he'll redeem himself. My only wish is that Kaoru will finally be the one to selflessly help out Sentarou, and the not the other way around.

Kaoru's conversation with his mother was SO heartwarming and sad too. That train scene got to me as well. It's a bit ironic. There's been this big buildup of Kaoru wanting his father to return, but when he does, they switch over to the mom, whom we haven't heard much at all. A bit anti-climatic too, but perhaps he will have more significance later on.

In terms of romance, now that Kaoru is "out" and Sentarou appears curious of who Ritsuko actually likes, it's obvious that they will end up together. I know that's going to make a lot of Ritsuko X Kaoru shippers happy; but of course, this show is so much more than who "wins" in the romance department (although it is still important LOL). Also, no surprise, but Jun isn't the Golden Boy that he appears to be...

You know at first I was happy to see Bon go for it but then Rikko spells out exactly the full impact of what he did I myself strangely felt wrong too for cheering him on
As for his cold behaviour though it's difficult to watch it's one of the best qualities of the series as it's so honest
In relationships everything can be so wonderful and great yet in a moment all that can change and one regresses and becomes closed off

Glad you noticed the scene with his father
The kid has cried with sadness waiting for him yet that's all over shadowed with his own troubles

And Jun!! Now we can finally get that story going!
Let us find out just what he has been doing while away at school in Tokyo...

Nice version of Lullaby in Birdland

ID555

2012-05-10, 13:33

That paper cup phone scene is such a great idea, Ri'ko is so adorable. But poor Kaoru. Although.. she did say she can't get mad at him... :naughty:

Sen's such a bro....

Oh, and:

http://i.imgur.com/E8q3G.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/OrKxV.png

kuromitsu

2012-05-10, 13:35

ID555

2012-05-10, 13:39

ookamigirl

2012-05-10, 13:50

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.

kuromitsu

2012-05-10, 14:01

What kind of place is it? If it were a modern setting I'd guess kabakura, but....
It pretty much is a '60s version of kabakura, the seedier sort from the looks of it.

ID555

2012-05-10, 14:10

It pretty much is a '60s version of kabakura, the seedier sort from the looks of it.

Yikes O_O;;

gianna

2012-05-10, 14:14

Wow, I thought they'd skip the Kaoru-meets-his-mom story for various reasons, but no. And now I wonder what was the point because as sikvod00 said the way it was handled was pretty anticlimatic. I mean, I know they don't have time to spend on stuff that is, in the end, pretty irrelevant, but this way it's pretty unbelievable that Kaoru is content not pursuing information about why she left him, why she works at such a place, or why she didn't contact him/his father herself...

I'm not saying I wanted to see the story as it plays out in the manga because it's very soap opera-ish and groan-inducing (definitely not the strongest part of the manga...), but if they're content to close it like this I wonder why they didn't just skip it in the first place. Kaoru could've done the whole "accepting heartbreak as part of growing up" thing in some other way.

Anyway, the seiyuu are doing such a great job, they deserve a reward or something. Too bad the seiyuu awards are a popularity contest... :/

When you say skip do you mean as in not showing her at all?
(last weeks preview showed that they at least meet)
I thought that if they were doing the story we'd see a little more
I was curious if that scene was enough for others but I didn't want to ask and seem like it was a manga related complaint

As for where she works do you think she also sings there

There was a fair for the series and they released some goods with volume purchase
I though these mock cover post cards were kind of neat

ttp://diskunion.net/book/ct/news/article/1/29805

http://s7.postimage.org/dxoiduk3r/1111.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/dxoiduk3r/) http://s13.postimage.org/nmj1v1hwz/111111.jpg (http://postimage.org/image/nmj1v1hwz/)

Chet Baker Sings / Portraits in Jazz Bill Evans Trio / Ray Brown The Man (??) / Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers Blue Note 4003

DragoonKain3

2012-05-10, 14:41

Oooh, what's this? Sentarou is insanely curious about Riko's love interest? There is hope after all! :heh:

kuromitsu

2012-05-10, 16:09

When you say skip do you mean as in not showing her at all?
Yeah, I think it would've been better. I mean, this way it's like... what was the point that couldn't have been done in another way? Kaoru hasn't seen his mother for how many years, all he knows she walked out on her family when he was little and his entire family seems to hold a grudge against her, this is why he needs to live with relatives while his father is away... and yet, when he finally meets her he doesn't ask any questions whatsoever. he doesn't even seem to be curious about her circumstances. The whole thing was basically weightless and pointless, and it was over in five(!) minutes. If this is all they had to say about this part they should've just left it out and used that time for something else...

As for where she works do you think she also sings there
I don't know... can't check the manga atm but I don't remember any more details.

ars89

2012-05-10, 16:30

Sen vary interested in finding out who Ritsuko likes. Lol Kaoru hiding Yurika's letter to Jun. Glad he was able to meet his mom. Sen really is the best.

Arya

2012-05-10, 17:26

Well, another great episode.

I don't think Kaoru meeting his mother was something not important, it really was for Kaoru and for us, because it showed that his parents were not bad parents and apparently they didn't hold a grudge against each other. And each of them in their ways cared for him. In that kind of situation it is everything but to take for granted. It was heartwarming.
Even for the unspoken question, it was better in this way. I think a laugh is better than a not satisfactory answer. I mean the chemistry and the caring his mother showed are better of a thousand of words.
And another hint was thrown to him about how friendship is for life. But he keeps not seeing how good Sen is to him.
In all of this Sen has been perfect as always. Even during the dinner, how he broke the ice for them and then left them alone. Not to mention that he spent more than he could to follow him to Tokyo.

I don't know if it is intended, I guess it is, but the way the story is describing Kaoru let me feel that even if he's not doing anything wrong, he is not even perfectly right. I'm speaking of how he seems to not be aware of how Sen is caring to him and on the other hand how he has been "pushing" toward Ritsuko. Ah, and even how he is keeping some important info to himself. :)

Poor Ritsuko, I really hope that Sentarou finally will start to open his eyes.

Flawfinder

2012-05-10, 17:56

And a million gay fanfics were born with this episode. And that's discounting the ones that already existed between Kaoru and Sentaro.

Anyways, while one of the less exciting episodes, it nevertheless was very important and I finally got to figure out who sings that Lullaby of Birdland song. It felt like we went through almost an entire volume of the manga with this episode though.

Edit: As for the mother thing, I thought it was fine. Just seeing that his mom was a good person and that she could help him was enough for me. Plus, he did regret that he couldn't hang out with her more.

ThereminVox

2012-05-10, 19:25

I'm two episodes in, and I think I've found my mid-season pickup for spring.

Kirarakim

2012-05-10, 20:49

I don't know what was left out of the manga but I have to honestly say I really liked this episode. I could really empathize with Kaoru's mother. Let's just say I am in a similar situation (definitely not the same at all but similar) so maybe that is why the episode resonated with me.

I also have to say the triangle or quadrangle (whatever) is really growing on me. I guess because I always have a thing for unrequited love stories. I am not sure if it's going to happen but I wouldn't even mind if none of the romances end up happening. There are so many series were it seems everyone gets paired up that one with no one being paired up would be quite refreshing (although if Sentaro & Ritsuko does happen I think they would be cute together).

Of course it's pretty clear the real important relationship is between Kaoru & Sentaro. It will be interesting to see how their friendship impacts them both in the end.

I also like that we got a glimpse of a possible darker side to Jun. That makes him a lot more interesting to me.

Personally I thought the best moment was when Yurika was between Sentaro & Jun. You could see all the characters feelings so well in that scene.

Oh and I know we had some comparisons to Honey & Clover already but that scene of Kaoru eating the onigiri Ritsuko made for him reminded me very much of

Takemoto eating the honey & clover sandwich that Hagu made for him

AvianWing

2012-05-10, 20:56

I really liked this episode. The unspoken words were pretty powerful in their own way. I'm really digging the show and it's approach on the slice of life theme. Won't name names, but there are a bunch of shows that are really good the first few episodes, then the same thing just repeats itself again and again. So far, it has been nicely paced and refreshing every episode.

karice67

2012-05-10, 21:46

Personally I thought the best moment was when Mariko was between Sentaro & Jun. You could see all the characters feelings so well in that scene. Er...I believe you mean Yurika? Mariko is Kaoru's cousin.

And well...I caved in and started reading the manga. Must say, what they changed for the second half of this episode is quite interesting, because it leaves a somewhat different impression of the characters, and of what's important - and what's not - in life.

Personally, I'm guessing that one of the things they hoped to convey is that you don't need to know everything to determine whether someone cares for you or not - whilst the scenes that were left in the anime may have seemed a bit 'thin' in terms of content, I felt that how Kaoru's mother reacted and acted conveyed quite well how much she cares for her son, though in a very understated manner.