Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope)
 

http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/9653/07200651.jpg
Original creator (manga) : Yuki Kodama
Plot summary : The coming-of-age story of "love, friendship, and music" follows a naive boy and a scruffy boy in a provincial town in Nagasaki Prefecture in the late 1960s. In the early summer of 1966, Kaoru transfers to the local high school from Yokosuka. Thanks to his family's nearly constant cycle of moving from town to town, Kaoru has only known school as a difficult place for readjusting everytime. However, on his first day at this new school, he meets a boy and begins a new direction in life.

Note : The manga launched in Monthly Flowers in 2007, and the eighth volume shipped last month. According to the February issue of Monthly Flowers, the story will end in the next issue.

That's neat. 10 (I think?) tankoubon in total = a possible complete adaptation if we were to get 2 cours? I guess it's likely to happen if this is the series to replace Chihayafuru in what would become the new josei timeslot. (If it happens, we need to coin the slot a name and start worshipping it. :D)

Hey that timeslot also has some nice seinens too :p I do not want those to be forgotten.

Anyway,sounds interesting and I will look forward to it

:p I don't mean to forget them, but I would find it very interesting if the series did end up there because it would really feel like the josei timeslot v2.0. Sort of a direct response to noitaminA for changing that much. But anyway, I should stop speculating so early, I know I'll end up being completely wrong again.

I've been reading the manga to get a better feel of the story, and it's proving to be an interesting read for plenty of reasons. One is Sentarou. Another is the language: all characters (but Kaoru) speak in an intriguing Nagasaki dialect, which differs quite a bit from the Japanese we're all used to hearing (some examples being the explanatory の no replaced by と to, しかし shikashi -> ばってん batten, どう dou -> どがん dogan, etc). I very much look forward to finding out which seiyuu they'll cast as all these characters, and how it will all work. It should sound surprising at first but I'm all for learning something new.

Edit: Ahaha, of course this ends up being a noitaminA title. What was I saying about being wrong. :heh:

Wow, I took a look at the first chapter, and it was interesting. Being it a Noitamina series hypes me even more.
I guess Noitamina will be back after otakuish winter season.

Finally after Un-go, They're back with a Noitamina series that looks&feels like the classic/usual Noitamina series before the otakuish trends swept over. I can't wait to see the list of the staff, studio, etc. I already read until v3/4(of the latest vol that being released in my country)and so far is quite good, so i'm looking forward to see how the anime'll be like.

Katapan
Wow, that's really unexpected O__O But on the other hand, if this staff list is real, the show is really going to be special.

Staff announced after today's Thermae Romae:

Director: Watanabe Shinichirou
Music: Kanno Youko
Character Design: Yuuki Nobuteru
Animation Direction: Yamashita Yoshimitsu
Animation Production: MAPPA, Tezuka Productions

Amazing. I thought the trailer looked fantastic too.

Edit: the official website has been revamped - the trailer is there.

Oh wow,this staff is just epic :eyespin:

Any word on if this is 1 or 2 cour?I remember NoitaminA's producer saying there'd be more 2 cour shows

Well if this is at least 2 cours, instant series of the year most likely for me. Holy smokes, haven't seen Watanabe direct anything in a LONG time, this should be a treat.

Nothing has been said about that yet. Considering they're going all out on a completed manga that would need 2 cours to be done properly... I'm cautiously optimistic.

Its a. . . TEZUKA PRODUCTION?!?!? Studio which animated Black Jack and Astroboy founded by the man himself Osamu Tezuka. The other production is MAPPA and the only anime they produced is a movie by Satoshi KON. Directed by the guy who made Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo, music done by the girl who did Macross Frontier and Phantom, and character designs by the guy who was also the character designer in Space Battleship Yamamoto 2199. . .

this is by far the HEAVIEST PRODUCTION I have ever seen. Even the pre-hype of stuff like Madoka and Guilty Crown won't beat this. It's like every staff has done classics. It seems almost impossible for this to go wrong. I'm almost sure its 2-cour since even the likes of Noitamina will have to bow down to a project of this caliber.

It's a josei series that guess what- is about to end. So we'll see a complete story. Even someone like me could recognize this might turn out to be the best adaptation of the year, if not then of what Anime has ever brought.

That trailer was . . . Movie-Like. Even stuff like Hanasaku Iroha and Angel Beats didn't look this good in trailers.

Oh shi- I'm hyped. I guess I went overboard with the praise but in all honesty this is EXCITING.

Oh god. It's impossible not to be hyped with this staff & trailer.

I don't think I've seen a high-profile series lead with the guys and not even hint at yuri in the promo for years. The damn fools - do they want to fail?

Hmm ... I read the first ch of this manga only. I wonder where they are going to take it in the adaptation?

It's trad, dad!
Well, with a sixties jazz setting, what else can you say?

Wow, that trailer was excellent, the drumming just had so much energy!
It also put me in mind of TANK! a little.

With the crew behind this, it looks like this could be a totally welcome return to form for Noitamina.
Trad Noitamina!

Really? I saw yaoi all over that promo. Might be related to the fact that people see what they want to see. Hah.

What does yaoi have to do with what I posted? Though FTR, I don't see yaoi there.

Haha. So you mentioned yuri. Totally misread the post (same point again, I guess).

Finally Yoko Kanno and Shinichiro Watanabe get to work on a prestige project again. Took long enough. Would have sworn the next studio project they both worked for together would be something for Sunrise/Bones, but honestly Tezuka Production has an even longer and more storied history than those companies. They made the very first anime I ever watched for crying out loud. This can only be good thing that this project is happening and with these people in charge. So many legendary names of the past signing on here. :twitch: