Must watch anime: Kids on the Slope

Image from Anime Focus

Kids on the Slope had been sitting in my queue at least six months. The premise of kids in the 1960s starting a jazz band sounded intriguing. Around 9PM last night, I finally decided to start watching it, and ended up finishing nine episodes by around 2AM. Within minutes of the first episode, I noticed the high-quality animation. Also, the main character, Nishimi, looked like when my dad when he was young. (My dad was also a teenager in the '60s.) The show drew me in immediately. As I get older, the "slice of life" category seems to be my preference. Nowadays, most anime with teenage characters feels overplayed and not enjoyable. Though, the teen drama in Kids on the Slope feels real and not petty or silly.

Back in college, I fell in love with the anime, Beck. Tanuki even came home from a night out, glanced at the TV and asked, "Is this Beck?" I couldn't help but notice how similar the two anime were. While the plots and the time frame are different, both shows are love letters to the music of their time. Both shows are about relationships that develop through great music, and both shows are fantastic. Immediately after my anime marathon, I went to look up more information on Kids on the Slope. Was there a manga? Would there be more episodes? Who is the director?

Image from Anime Vice

Yes, there is a manga. No, it doesn't look like there will be more episodes. The director is no other than Shinichiro Wantanabe and the original music is composed by Yoko Kanno. Holy shit, how did I not know about this before? No wonder this anime is so ridiculously good. It is clear the mangaka knows her jazz. Though, after the jazz-infused Cowboy Bebop, the jazzy hip-hop of a Nujabes soundtrack in Samurai Champloo, and the unadulterated jazz of Kids on the Slope, Shinichiro Wantanabe must really love jazz. Maybe I'm not the biggest jazz fan, but all of these shows taught me how to have the greatest appreciation for it.

Trying to look up information on Yuki Kodama, there's not much I can find. I was floored by the accuracy of the time, the correct portrayal of Christianity and a thorough knowledge of jazz. (Most manga and anime seem to have creators who don't do their homework on the West.) It made me wonder if the mangaka had actually lived through this time or had a relative who did.

Before I leave you to watch it all on Crunchyroll now, I'd like to say, for years, I felt anime was dead. Between Kids on the Slope and Polar Bear Cafe, I have been assured it is most certainly not. Also, you might need Kotaku's "A Listener's Guide to the Music of Kids on the Slope" for later.