Sakamichi no Apollon 5 ~ those words that I couldn’t ask flew away

Live music takes the back seat this week.

Episode 5 of Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope) changes the established pattern. It had become a standard part of each episode to include a “session”, a live performance by some members of the Jazz Quartet, that coincided with a dramatic highpoint of the episode. In episode 5, the quartet doesn’t get to play together (despite Sentarou’s best efforts). Instead the not playing itself is much of the story. However music is still at the center of the story’s action. One song in particular is featured in the background music (BGM) three times, is mentioned by name by one of the characters, and is even used as the title for the episode: The Lullaby of Birdland.

Sakamichi no Apollon 4 ~ secret boss

“Brother” Jun. Cool is as cool does.

Wow. Episode 4 of Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope) was the best yet. Just as the quartet comes together musically, the romantic relationships between Kaoru and Ritsuko and Santarou and Yurika seem to be falling apart.

Sakamichi no Apollon 2 ~ monkey in the middle

Nothing beats a live Jazz performance. From left to right: Ri'ko's dad (bass), Sentarou (drums), "Brother" Jun (trumpet).

Episode 2 of Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope) is finally here, bringing us more of that crazy action, but, as Kaoru learns, you don’t always get the kind of action you were expecting. This episode opened up several avenues that will be interesting to see explored.

Sakamichi no Apollon 1 ~ Let yourself get a little wet!

"His drums just wouldn't stop thundering in my head."

The Spring 2012 season finally feels real now that we’ve got the premiere of the Noitamina shows. Of course the show to which I have most been looking forward is Sakamichi no Apollon (Kids on the Slope). With Shinichiro Watanabe directing, Yoko Kanno providing the soundtrack, and MAPPA doing the animation, we have the A Team on production. The setting is unusual, in that it is set in the recent past (1966). It shouldn’t be a surprise that the first episode already delivers.

Spring 2012 Picks and Predictions

Drum roll, please.

It is my custom to look ahead to the upcoming season, pick out a few interesting shows and predict one that will be really great. As usual, I warn you that this is not a comprehensive preview of the season. Most of those haven’t come out yet, but I have run across two:

• Star Crossed Anime Blog – this is a comprehensive and methodical assessment of the upcoming season.
• The Cart Driver – this is a highly subjective and very opinionated assessment of the upcoming season.

Between the two of these you can get a good sense of what anime has in store for us in the coming months. If you want to skip straight to the good stuff, read on!