[-_-]

Just read the ending to the manga...it gives it a lot more closure (especially with side characters) and ends on a good note so I definitely suggest everyone read the last 6 chapters.

I wish they added 2 more episodes, one for Kaoru in college, transitioning life without Sen and one for the timeskip. I don't remember but did we ever see the farewell gift in the anime because it's really important in the manga.

[Clott]

I am reading the manga from the start as to not miss anything extra. It's really good, I just read the scene where Bon gets to meet his mother, and it really expands on the reason she is not in his life, this is really well done and was completely skipped over in the anime.

I have it on a manga reader on my ipad so it's really easy to read it.

I would recommend for people to read the manga, it's daammnnn good.

[ELAMOR]

the manga is awesome

[Imm0rt4l]

I liked the finale, I have to say the series as a whole was disappointing for me though.

[UncleBiz]

I watched through all the episodes within a day D: The ending was a little disappointing, but satisfying enough. The performance scene in episode 7 was amazing. I wish there was more music and less drama, but it was decent. Glad I watched it. I rarely watch anime; the only other series I've seen in full are Samurai Champloo and Eden of the East. Given that, are there any other series I should watch?

[Branduil]

Kids on the Slope 12

I don't remember this happening in high school...

I liked it. Could it have been better? Yes, but its flaws don't bother me enough to ruin my enjoyment. I have to admit I got emotional when Kaoru left on the train and when Kaoru and Sen started running together again.

It's pretty disturbing that 8 years later Ritsuko looks even more like a man than she did when she was younger. -_-

Not as disturbing as future fang-boy.

[CloakBass]

I watched through all the episodes within a day D: The ending was a little disappointing, but satisfying enough. The performance scene in episode 7 was amazing. I wish there was more music and less drama, but it was decent. Glad I watched it. I rarely watch anime; the only other series I've seen in full are Samurai Champloo and Eden of the East. Given that, are there any other series I should watch?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA_WC...yer_detailpage

You must complete the circle.

[Jo Shishido's Cheeks]

How did Ritsuko get to the church at he end? I realise she was holding what was presumably an invitation/location information but logistically it doesn't make sense that she would arrive at the time that she did.....

[Firemind]

loldrama

should have just ended at ep. 9.

[speedpop]

Loved it. Every minute of it.

Of course I am incredibly biased regarding the music used, and I don't bother nitpicking. Life is too short to complain over trivial things.

Time to read the manga.

[B33]

As a preface, I very much enjoyed Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo (the former more so than the latter), and went in to Kids on the Slope understanding it wasn't meant to be action-centric like Watanabe's last two directorial efforts.

Kids on the Slope certainly has its merits. The animation is superb, the music is wonderful, and the first half of the series flows surprisingly well.

With that said, the finale of the anime felt dissatisfying and inconclusive. It unfortunately sullied my views of the series as a whole. Per the recommendation of other members here, I recently sat down and read through the manga, and was pleasantly surprised.

Unfortunately, the anime suffers from a lack of time to effectively tell the story the manga does with such elegance and precision. Very important things are completely left out or remain with just hint of what they were meant to be in the manga. The character's motivations have more time to manifest with the audience.

Questions such as "Why did Kaoru's mother leave him behind?", "Why is Sen's mother look at with such disdain?", "Why does Kaoru feel threatened when Sen temporarily joins the rock band for the festival?", "Why does Kaoru feel so disconnected from his family?", "Why is Sen thrown off by the sight of the sailor and the woman embracing?", (and so on) are answered in the manga, but are either left vague or out entirely in the anime.

Many of the frustrations members expressed with the characters and awkward tonal shifts are completely absent in the manga. Some of the notorious "time skips" are indeed present in the manga, but their presence doesn't feel nearly as jarring. Furthermore the "drama" has a better sense of balance in the manga and feels far more organic.

If you felt dissatisfied with the overall pacing of Kids on the Slope and its finale, I'd recommend reading the manga. It surpasses the anime, as it just has far more space to tell its story in a clear and concise manner.

[petethepanda]

I take it the manga isn't out in the US?

On episode 7 of the show. It has some issues and the drama can go a bit overboard at times but I'm liking it a lot so far. Edit: Finished episode 7, and yeah, that was fucking great.

[Watanabe Kazuma]

If you felt dissatisfied with the overall pacing of Kids on the Slope and its finale, I'd recommend reading the manga. It surpasses the anime, as it just has far more space to tell its story in a clear and concise manner.

That's good to know. I've just finished watching the last couple of episodes and that was pretty much my main gripe with the series overall.

I had an inkling that a lot of the dramatic elements were being forced through, especially towards the end.

[duckroll]

http://www.sonymusicshop.jp/m/item/i...=ESCL000003879

On July 25 they'll be releasing the second soundtrack. They've renamed the album "Original Soundtrack Plus more & rare" and officially revealed the tracklist. It is a single CD release with 36 tracks, many of which are outtakes, alternate versions of performances, and BGM tracks which weren't in the main OST release. The price 2500yen.

[chronos4590]

http://www.sonymusicshop.jp/m/item/i...=ESCL000003879 On July 25 they'll be releasing the second soundtrack. They've renamed the album "Original Soundtrack Plus more & rare" and officially revealed the tracklist. It is a single CD release with 36 tracks, many of which are outtakes, alternate versions of performances, and BGM tracks which weren't in the main OST release. The price 2500yen.

My Body and Ears are ready. I've been waiting for an announcement like this since the first CD was released.

[Chairhome]

http://www.sonymusicshop.jp/m/item/i...=ESCL000003879 On July 25 they'll be releasing the second soundtrack. They've renamed the album "Original Soundtrack Plus more & rare" and officially revealed the tracklist. It is a single CD release with 36 tracks, many of which are outtakes, alternate versions of performances, and BGM tracks which weren't in the main OST release. The price 2500yen.

Will it be released digitally? I was happy when FF Piano Opera was released on iTunes, hoping for the same with this.

[Meier]

I plowed through the series this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Question about the ending (and the comic) though:

Does the comic cover anything during the 8 years after he goes away to college and/or anything after they meet up on the island? I was pretty sad that Ritsuko and Kaoru didn't truly end up together.. that one moment reminded me of Kare Kano. :( I'd love to find out more about the characters after the show ended.

This is the first anime I've watched in many years -- I do hope that Watanabe does another in less time than this wait has required!

[Chairhome]

I plowed through the series this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Question about the ending though: Does the comic cover anything during the 8 years after he goes away to college and/or anything after they meet up on the island? I was pretty sad that Riko and Kaoru didn't really end up together.. that one moment reminded me of Kare Kano. :()

I kind of felt like it was fine that Riko and Kaoru didn't end up together. I feel like their goodbye at the train station was good enough closure on that part. And how many high school romances pan out in the end?

As a side note, I finally found an ebay copy of Samurai Champloo on Blu-ray at a good price and can't wait to dive in. I haven't seen any of it yet. Loved Cowboy Bebop and this series was pretty good, so I'm excited.

[CloakBass]

Question about the ending (and the comic) though: Does the comic cover anything during the 8 years after he goes away to college and/or anything after they meet up on the island? I was pretty sad that Ritsuko and Kaoru didn't truly end up together.. that one moment reminded me of Kare Kano. :( I'd love to find out more about the characters after the show ended.

I think you'll be pleasantly surprised if you read the manga. So the short answer: Yep.

[B33]

I plowed through the series this weekend and thoroughly enjoyed it. Question about the ending (and the comic) though: Does the comic cover anything during the 8 years after he goes away to college and/or anything after they meet up on the island? I was pretty sad that Ritsuko and Kaoru didn't truly end up together.. that one moment reminded me of Kare Kano. :( I'd love to find out more about the characters after the show ended. This is the first anime I've watched in many years -- I do hope that Watanabe does another in less time than this wait has required!

Without spoiling anything, yes. Read it and ignore the rest of my post.

For those who don't want to read it, but still would like to know, I'm going to go into some heavy spoilers of the manga below, so everyone be warned.

The final volume follows Kaoru while he's in college. He searches for Sen and actually takes up a job playing piano at a local club. He runs into Brother Jun and the two share another jazz session together.

We're shown that Kaoru is supposed to inherit his grandfather's hospital. This ties into how Kaoru feels his future is prearranged. Kaoru and his mother also see each other on a regular basis and there's a nice moment where she sings the song on the record he gave her.

Kaoru and Ritsuko become pen pals (of the sort) and the two stay in touch. Kaoru later calls Ritsuko once she has a phone and he's told to leave her alone by a man.

Time passes and Kaoru is visited by Yurika during his medical residency. She shows him a photograph with Sen as a priest in training in it. Kaoru borrows it and it heads back to follow the lead.

Sen and Kaoru are reunited and we're then shown Sen's younger sister's wedding (which he presides over). After the wedding, Kaoru and Ritsuko speak. She tells him the man was just a moment of weakness (due to loneliness) and they weren't dating.

Sen walks up to the two and jokingly tells them that he'll be ready to preside over their marriage whenever they're ready. Ritsuko asks him if he is returning to Tokyo, and Kaoru says "No. I'll be staying here."

The last scene in the manga shows Kaoru moving back to become a doctor (against his family's wishes) and refusing to take over his grandfather's hospital. We depart as he climbs up the slope and thinks about how much he "hates" it.

Some of the finer details escape me, and I am most assuredly leaving out a couple of events, but that's the gist of it. There are a lot of differences between the manga and anime, and while I do think both are enjoyable, I view the manga as superior overall.

As I said before, the ending of the manga is definitely far more satisfying than the anime, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the series but felt dissatisfied with its ending.

[Crazymoogle]

Ack. Should have suspected there was an OT for this. I would join in the disgust over how much the story was progressed but it would only sound like an echo. I'll just repeat that the manga is really the only way to make sense of the end...

I take it the manga isn't out in the US?

That is correct. Despite getting a higher profile anime run and winning the Shogakukan award there is still no North American version - not even a license announcement. :(

[Clott]

I just finished the manga earlier today (thank goodness for the manga reader on the Ipad) and am really glad I chose to do so, It really gives deeper insight to all the characters, and it pairs along with the anime wonderfully. The manga has even a few extra Jazz scenes that really add a lot.


“In the gentle light of spring, and an elegant swing, riding on the back of my partner’s bike, on the way to visit the girl I like.”

I am stuck now in the sweet melancholy of just having finished it and not knowing what to read next, I haven't enjoyed much slice of life Anime in my time, but I find a deep calm in finding relocatable characters in any entertaining medium. I am thinking of ordering Solanin off amazon, since it has some of the same themes as Apollon.

[gooey kablooie]

Without spoiling anything, yes. Read it and ignore the rest of my post. For those who don't want to read it, but still would like to know, I'm going to go into some heavy spoilers of the manga below, so everyone be warned. The final volume follows Kaoru while he's in college. He searches for Sen and actually takes up a job playing piano at a local club. He runs into Brother Jun and the two share another jazz session together. We're shown that Kaoru is supposed to inherit his grandfather's hospital. This ties into how Kaoru feels his future is prearranged. Kaoru and his mother also see each other on a regular basis and there's a nice moment where she sings the song on the record he gave her. Kaoru and Ritsuko become pen pals (of the sort) and the two stay in touch. Kaoru later calls Ritsuko once she has a phone and he's told to leave her alone by a man. Time passes and Kaoru is visited by Yurika during his medical residency. She shows him a photograph with Sen as a priest in training in it. Kaoru borrows it and it heads back to follow the lead. Sen and Kaoru are reunited and we're then shown Sen's younger sister's wedding (which he presides over). After the wedding, Kaoru and Ritsuko speak. She tells him the man was just a moment of weakness (due to loneliness) and they weren't dating. Sen walks up to the two and jokingly tells them that he'll be ready to preside over their marriage whenever they're ready. Ritsuko asks him if he is returning to Tokyo, and Kaoru says "No. I'll be staying here." The last scene in the manga shows Kaoru moving back to become a doctor (against his family's wishes) and refusing to take over his grandfather's hospital. We depart as he climbs up the slope and thinks about how much he "hates" it. Some of the finer details escape me, and I am most assuredly leaving out a couple of events, but that's the gist of it. There are a lot of differences between the manga and anime, and while I do think both are enjoyable, I view the manga as superior overall. As I said before, the ending of the manga is definitely far more satisfying than the anime, and I'd recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the series but felt dissatisfied with its ending.

The anime left out so much. I just finished it and the 8 years later I hated, and Sen becoming a preist and Kaoru becoming a doctor, but I must have missed the part of his grandpa owning a hospital.

There needed to be less drama and more jazzu.

[Clott]

I just want someone to recommend something in the same vein as this manga.

[Meier]

Thanks for the answers guys! Kept meaning to come back to the thread but kept forgetting.

That is correct. Despite getting a higher profile anime run and winning the Shogakukan award there is still no North American version - not even a license announcement. :(

Has the series completed its run in Japan? I will definitely have to seek it out. It's hard for me to not read physical copies these days since I am so far removed from the habit of reading scanlations. My local library has a decent collection so I've been catching up on Yakitatte Japan.

[gooey kablooie]

The best part was Ritsuko singing My Favorite Things.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsDb4Czzafg

Never heard a jazz version of this song before, it's great.

[Discotheque]

I normally cringe at Engrish but it was cute when she sang that.

[Crazymoogle]

Has the series completed its run in Japan? I will definitely have to seek it out. It's hard for me to not read physical copies these days since I am so far removed from the habit of reading scanlations. My local library has a decent collection so I've been catching up on Yakitatte Japan.

Yes. 9 volumes + the extra volume.

[gooey kablooie]

I normally cringe at Engrish but it was cute when she sang that.

Her r's weren't too bad.

[Clott]

Yes. 9 volumes + the extra volume.

The extra volume?

In the end he speak about releasing a volume explaining what happened to some of the other characters like Jun, has that been released?

[Crazymoogle]

The extra volume? In the end he speak about releasing a volume explaining what happened to some of the other characters like Jun, has that been released?

The chapters started coming out late March in Flowers magazine. I could have sworn I read the volume was set for japanese release in late June or July, but having trouble finding google results now.

[The Boat]

I finished reading the manga a few days ago, it's amazing, but I gotta admit that I prefered the anime's ending, it leaves more to the imagination. Not that I disliked the manga ending. Good news about the 2nd soundtrack!

[Clott]

The chapters started coming out late March in Flowers magazine. I could have sworn I read the volume was set for japanese release in late June or July, but having trouble finding google results now.

If you could find anything that would amazing, I really want to put all the characters to rest, hard to do that if I know there is more out there.

Second OST you say?

[Net_Wrecker]

Only just finishing this, and I'll echo what some others have felt about 12 eps not being enough, and not feeling attached enough to the characters to make the ending truly work. The music was really good in the final 2 episodes (the hospital roof in 11 especially, and there were some great moments and imagery, but it felt hollow. Definetely not Bebop/Champloo tier, but not bad either.

Hopefully we aren't waiting 8 years for the next Watanabe series.

[Clott]

Only just finishing this, and I'll echo what some others have felt about 12 eps not being enough, and not feeling attached enough to the characters to make the ending truly work. The music was really good in the final 2 episodes (the hospital roof in 11 especially, and there were some great moments and imagery, but it felt hollow. Definetely not Bebop/Champloo tier, but not bad either. Hopefully we aren't waiting 8 years for the next Watanabe series.

Read the manga.

It corrects all the flaws.

[Amikami]

Hope you guys don't mind the bump. I was curious about the latest soundtrack. Has anyone gotten it? Is it worth a purchase?

[Kammie]

I finished watching this last night. Up till the school festival it was fantastic... after that it fell prey to just about every anime trope imaginable. The behavior of all the main characters was senseless and pathetic. Whatever genuine emotions the show had just stopped existing towards the end. It's a shame.

[codhand]

Anyone know anything about the Blu-ray?

http://www.yesasia.com/us/sakamichi-...0-en/info.html

ie, if it has English subs, and sense there are four volumes of Blu-ray at $90 a pop, is it only four episodes per disc?

[Erigu]

No subs (at all, I believe, not even Japanese ones), and three episodes per disc.

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

So I finally got around to watching this a few weeks ago and since then I haven't been able to get this series out of my head. There were times when it was too melodramatic and cringe-worthy for my tastes, but these pale in comparison to everything else the series did well.

At first I wasn't satisfied with the ending, but the more I thought about it in contrast to the up/down relationships that I had when I was in high school, the more I understood and connected. Its a brilliant, nice, truthful coming-of-age story.

And yeah, everyone already knows this - the soundtrack is absolutely fantastic, this rendition right here... gets me every time.

EDIT: I guess I need to check out the manga then. :D