Kids on the Slope 1.12

All Blues

The final year of high school is winding down and Sentaro has not returned. Kaoru has thrown himself back into his studies and risen to the top of the class. He no longer goes by the record shop to play in the basement. Maybe there's no point since Sentaro is gone but Ritsuko misses him. She tries to encourage him to come by the shop but he says he has to study. She suggests he could study at her place. Her father is out for the day.

They try studying but then they start talking about Sentaro. Kaoru misunderstands. He tries kissing her. He says he's glad that Sentaro is gone so that now he has her to himself. She pushes him away. He apologizes and leaves but the damage is done. He doesn't come over to study with Ritsuko again.

Kaoru stops by the record shop one more time. He is there to see Ritsouko. He wants to tell her that he got into university in Tokyo. He shouts up to her from the street. He can't see her. Presumably she is in her room. He thanks her and apologizes and tells her that seeing her made him happy. He leaves without getting a response.

His parents see him off on the train to Toyko. Ritsuko's father shows up with a lunch for him but she is not with him. Just as the train starts to pull away from the platform Ritsuko comes running up. She runs with the train until the end of the platform. Kaoru runs to the back of the train. She waves goodbye and seems happy to have seen him off even though they didn't get to exchange any words.

The story flashes forward 8 years. Kaoru has let his hair grow longer. He is a doctor working at a hospital in Tokyo. He runs into Yurika at the hospital. She is married to Junichi and a few months pregnant. Her hair is still short. She gives him a picture from a wedding she went to recently. She points out one of the people in the picture and asks him if he looks familiar.

Kaoru takes some time off and heads for the island where the wedding took place. He is headed for a church and looking for a young priest. He finds the church. There is a set of drums under a drop cloth. He sits down at the organ and starts to play Moanin'. Sentaro is out walking with some kids he comes back and they start playing together.

The old priest who runs the church comes back and chases them out. As the credits roll they run down the hill in a scene very reminiscent of the opening credits scene. On the way down they run into Ritusuko who got a letter from someone (presumably Yurika) telling her about Sentaro.

I found the end of the episode to be very moving. I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. I thought that this last episode might be all Kaoru and Ritsuko and that they might get married and wonder what happened to the others. I'm very happy with the way it ended. Toward the end I was worried that Ritsuko wasn't going to show up again. I'm glad that didn't prove to be the case.

On the whole I was very impressed with this series. It probably isn't everyone's cup of tea. It is mostly about growing up, playing music, and relationships. I may watch it again in a few years. I believe it will hold up. What I will be interested to see is how it strikes me knowing how things turn out in the end and the sort of story it is.

Kids on the Slope 1.11

Left Alone

A real rollercoaster ride. Things go from bad to better to great to awful to better to not so great. The episode opens with Sentaro lookings like he is going to run away. Kaoru doesn't let him sneak away. The two fight but it is a one-sided fight and it wakes everyone. Sentaro is unable to sneak off.

Sentaro's father returns. He has gifts for everyone. Things are starting to look up. It seems as though his father may have learned to accept him. Senataro and Kaoru start practicing for the music festival. Ritsouko joins the act. She is going to sing. I love this part. Watching her practice singing "My Favorite Things" while Sentaro and Kaoru accompanied her was very moving for me for some reason. Everything seems to be looking up.

The night before the festival Kaoru leaves the practive space beneath the record store. Minutes after he leaves Sentaro notices Kaoru left behind some sheet music. He jumps on his motor bike and goes after his friend. While speeding down the road after Kaoru he gets hit by a truck. Kaoru and Ritsouko don't find out about the accident until the next day, minutes before the music festival is about to begin.

Kaoru rushes to the hospital. He gets the bad news and then gets worse news as he learns that Sentaro wasn't as hurt badly as his sister, Sachiko, who was also on the bike and suffered a head injury. Things went from bad to awful for a few minutes there but then Sachiko wakes up. Things are only good for a minute or two before it is revealed that Sentaro has disappeared.

Maybe a few too many twists and turns in this episode. Where the hell did the motor bike materialize from? I don't recall Sentaro owning such a vehicle. His family is fairly poor so it doesn't really jive that he would just happen to have one. What was his sister doing riding with him on the bike. He ran after Kaoru. It was a very last minute thing to do. It seems a little odd for her to be on the bike with him, except to increase the drama factor on the show by having a big reveal where it turns out that she's the one who got seriously injured. Then she pulls through and seems fine. WTF?

Okay, despite all my questions after the fact these thoughts were not going through my head as I watched the episode. I was moved by it, I did enjoy it, but I do wonder if it would hold up during a second viewing considering all these thoughts.

Kids on the Slope 1.10

In a Sentimental Mood

For the most part this episode focuses on Kaoru and Ritsouko. He wonders about why she knitted gloves for him. He thinks she still prefers Sentaro. At first he is nervous about her seeing him wear the gloves but then he gets over that. He still lacks the confidence to tell how he feels and asks her why she made the gloves for him. Ritsouko is hurt by his question. She tells him about how his words in earlier episodes helped her to believe in herself. The lack of confidence he is displaying now is shaking her own confidence in herself. Kaoru senses what a big mistake he has made and finally comes out and tells her he loves her.

Sentaro has a little drama of his own to deal with. Word spreads about Yurika eloping with Junichi. There was a painting of her's on display in the school. It was the painting that he posed for. Kaoru tries to prevent it from being removed but Sentaro lets it go. Later in the episode, just as Sentaro and Kaoru are planning to compete in the musical competition, he gets word that his father is returning to live with he and his siblings. His father had a drinking problem the last time he lived with them and was physically abusive towards Sentaro. It is unclear if this is Sentaro's birth father or the father of his half-siblings that is returning. Santaro's father, as revealed in 1.04 (But Not for Me) was an American serviceman. My guess is that is not his birth father.

There wasn't much in the way of music but the emotional drama kept my attention throughout. It would be nice to see Junichi and Yurika return at some point in the final two episodes, if only to see him play with Kaoru and Sentaro one more time. At this point there is no indication that will happen.

Kids on the Slope 1.09

Love Me or Leave Me

Kaoru is invited to a Christmas party that some other kids are throwing. At first he says no but when he finds out that Ritsouko isn't going he agrees to go. Ritsouko and Sentaro are going to a church function that day. Kaoru doesn't have much fun at the party. On the way home he runs into Ritsouko. She drops her bag and her knitting supplies come falling out. She is embarrassed. She doesn't want Kaoru to know she is knitting him something. He guesses that she is knitting a gift for Sentaro, but he doesn't exactly come out and say that.

Ritsouko throws the yarn and the knitting needles in a trash can on the way home. Once she gets back to the record store she finds Sentaro waiting for her. He gets on his knees and begs for her forgiveness. He is about to say something when she starts laughing. She has figured out what is up. She sees him as a brother and tells him that. He seems very relieved.

Ritsouko runs out to find the knitting supplies she threw away. Yurika sees her digging through a trash can and offers to help. Together they find the yarn. They talk for a bit. Yurika wants to know who Ritsouko was knitting for. Ritsouko won't say but she decides then and there that she is being too passive. This probably isn't the way she put it but she resolves to be more open about how she feels going forward.

About halfway through this episode I thought it was just okay. It felt like it was drifting but there wasn't a lot happening. That changed in the second half.

Junichi receives a letter from a friend and decides to return to Tokyo. His friend is starting a publishing business and wants Junichi to join him. He starts to say his goodbyes. Kaoru tells Sentaro about Junichi's plans after seeing Junichi on the street. Sentaro acts very nonplussed. He is only interested in playing some music with Kaoru. Kaoru slaps him when he doesn't show an interest in the news about Junichi's plans. Sentaro's only response is to walk away.

Later, possibly the same day, possibly the next day, they are back in the music room beneath the record store. It looks for a second like Junichi and Sentaro are going to get into a fist fight but they are more interested in playing music together, at one another. This was the only the second musical moment in the episode, the other being at the party.

Yurika defies her parents and goes to see Junichi off to Tokyo. She has questions. She doesn't understand why he doesn't want her to come with him or why he never tried to get very far with her. He answers her questions and gets on the train alone. When he sees her crying on the platform and spies her parents looking for her he pulls her onto the train just before it pulls away.

The episode ends with Kaoru finding a pair of gloves waiting for him on the piano keys. They are made of the same color yarn that Ritsouko was using earlier in the episode.

So much happens in this episode. I didn't think it was all that much until I started writing it down. I wish there had been more music in this one. I wonder if that is the last that will be shown of Junichi and Yurika?

Kids on the Slope 1.08

These Foolish Things

Ritsouko begins to develop feelings for Kaoru. This happens after she sees all the attention he is getting from other female classmates following his performance with Sentaro at the festival. She gets talked into knitting a scarf for him by one of her classmates who is knitting a scarf for a boy she has a crush on.

Kaoru doesn't seem to make anything of all the attention he is getting from his female classmates. He notices Ritsouko knitting a scarf but thinks it is for Sentaro. He confuses things further by telling her that he's sure the guy whom she's knitting the scarf for will like it with out being clear who that guy is.

Yurika catches up with Junichi. She spots him one day. His past is finally revealed. He has been disowned by his father after being involved in political protest movements in Tokyo. He tries to scare her away but she doesn't scare easily. She decides, against the wishes of her parents, that she is going to help him out. She also cuts her hair short.

Sentaro is confused by Yurika's hair cut. He thinks that Junichi broke her heart. He goes to see Junichi only to find that Yurika is there with him. He wasn't ready to see that and runs off. After a jam session, Kaoru advises him that he should forget about Yurika and stop ignoring the one who cares for him. I might be remembering it wrong but it was something like that. Sentaro doesn't know who Kaoru is talking about until later in the episode when he remembers some things that Ritsouko confided in him when they were much younger.

This was a more interesting episode. I don't know what impact waiting so long between episodes had but I'm very happy that I came back to watch another episode. It had been over 5 weeks since I last watched. There is very little music in this one but I'm okay with that. There was more than enough interpersonal drama to make up for the lack of good music. The only music-oriented scene that I recall is the jam session and that didn't last very long.

Kids on the Slope 1.07

Now's the Time

Kaoru and Sentaro haven't spoken two words to one another since the end of the previous episode when Kaoru blew up during the clam digging competition.

Sentaro runs into Yurika at the record shop. It isn't clear why she is there but she is thumbing through some records, staring at the cover to a Chet Baker album. He immediately thinks of the Christmas night when they played at a club for American servicemen. For a moment it looks like Yurika and Sentaro and going to kiss but then Junichi comes stumbling around the corner. Did Yurika know or suspect that he was staying at the record store? Is that why she was there? Was Junichi drunk? Sentaro punches Junichi. Yurika runs off. Clearly, Sentaro knows now that something happened between Junichi and Yurika.

Kaoru and Ritsouko are nominated to be in charge of collecting applications for the music festival. Kaoru ends up talking to Sentaro briefly when he comes to sign the band up he is playing with at the moment. Their conversation is mostly business. Kaoru makes a half-hearted attempt at bridging the emotional gap between them but it doesn't seem to change anything.

The day of the festival rolls around. When Sentaro, Seiji, and the rest of the band are playing the electricity suddenly gets cut off mysteriously. While looking for the cause of the problem Kaoru overhears Sentaro talking to another member of the band. He is telling him about how this is a one time thing and that once the festival is over he is going back to jazz and playing with Kaoru.

Kaoru doesn't find the problem but he goes out and starts to play My Favorite Things on the piano. Sentaro joins in on drums. Fairly quickly they have the crowd mesmerized and kids coming from all over the school to listen to them.

They get a huge round applause when they are done playing. This was by far the highlight of the episode. It was good to see them playing together again. It was an inspired performance. After they finish playing Sentaro drags Kaoru out of the building and they go running off down the hill.

I don't know where this is all going. Will there be some sort of romantic reconciliation between Kaoru and Ritsouko and/or Sentaro and Yurika? What about Junichi? What's going to happen to him? I'm still watching this mostly for the music. The interpersonal drama is what it is but the music is great.

Kids on the Slope 1.06

You Don't Know What Love Is

A new school year begins. Sentaro is assigned to a different class from Kaoru and Ritsouko. Kaoru tries to tell Sentaro what he knows and suspects about Yurika and Junichi but can't bring himself to follow through.

Sentaro goes on a date with Yurika, despite Kaoru's advice not to. They end up talking about Junichi quite a bit but Sentaro doesn't pick up on why she is so eager to talk about Junichi. He does make friends with Seiji, a new classmate who is also friends with Yurika. Seiji idolizes the Beatles, wants to start a rock band, and wants Sentaro to be their drummer. Sentaro agrees to but his heart doesn't really seem to be in it. He seems to be hanging out with Seiji because of what he can tell him about Yurika.

Kaoru and Ritsouko continue to be friends but things aren't as warm as they once were. Kaoru worries that Ritsouko is romantically interested in Sentaro. I don't think that's the case. I think it is a combination of shyness on her part and possibly something to do with her religious convictions.

The trio goes to the beach with Sentaro's younger siblings in tow. They dig for clams and run into Seiji. Kaoru gets very hurt and runs off when Sentaro tells him that he is going to join Seiji's band. He remembers other friendships from earlier in his life that ended abruptly and fears that this one will suffer the same fate.

I might have missed it but for the first time the song title that is also the title of the episode was not played. The only song that is played is My Favorite Things.The Beatles are referenced but none of their songs are played.

Kids on the Slope 1.05

Lullabys of Birdland

Things are still awkward between Kaoru and Ritsouko. Some of the awkwardness is alleviated after they talk briefly through a string telephone. Kaoru tries apologizing, Ritsouko tells him that it was her first kiss.

Yurika definitely has a crush on Junichi. Things are awkward for her when Ritsouko invitees her in to watch a practice session and both Junichi and Sentaro are present.

Kaoru goes to Tokyo so visit his monther. He hasn't seen her in years. Sentaro invites himself along. They try to visit Junichi but his neighbors tell him that they haven't seen him in a while. There are rumors circulating about what happened to him.

Kaoru visit with his mother goes well. He promises to see her again and gives her a copy of Lullabys of Birdland, sung by Chris Connor.

Not an outstanding episode but a good one. It is hard to tell what the show might be building to next. By the end of the episode things seem to be close to back to normal between Kaoru and Ritsuko. There is the mystery of Juichi. Where is he? What's up with him and Yurika?

Kids on the Slope 1.04

But Not for Me

Life goes on and it seems as if a few months have passed since the last episode. It is December. Nothing much seems to have changed between Kaoru and Ritsouko. Sentaro has been posing for Yurika. I'm guessing that she is a visual artist of some sort but I don't recall that being mentioned before or any mention of the medium in which she prefers to work.

The quartet (Kaoru, Sentaro, Junichi, Ritsouko's father) gets an offer to play on Christmas at a club for American servicemen. Kaoru and Ritsouko each buy Sentao a drum stick for his birthday, which is Christmas Day. Kaoru tries kissing Ritsouko which seems to bother her out and she goes running off.

Kaoru learns about Sentaro's past after they get into a fight. They are both jealous of one another. Kaoru feels very lonely at home, even when surrounded by family. Sentaro, by comparison, always seems to have his younger siblings to keep him company. Kaoru learns in this episode what Sentaro went through growing up. He didn't realize how bad he had it. He didn't know about the abuse Sentaro got from his grandmother who never forgave her her daughter for getting into a relationship with an American, who is Sentaro's father and is (presumably) no longer around.

The gig at the club doesn't exactly go as planned. A drunk white American disrupts the whole show when he starts yelling about the fact that the quartet is playing "coon" music. Sentaro wants to fight but Junichi talks him out of it.

The episode ends with what looks like trouble brewing. It looks like Yurika, who along with Ritsouko came to the club to see quartet play, may be falling for Junichi. I don't like the direction that is headed in but that's not because it won't make the story more interesting or seems unrealistic.

The part of this episode that got me the most rattled was the fight between Kaoru and Sentaro. It was funny sad how they could both only see the good side of one another's home situation.

Kids on the Slope 1.03

Someday My Prince Will Come

Kaoru talks Sentarou into asking Yurika out. Sentaro is very reluctant to do so but he stumbles his way through it. At the last minute, when it becomes clear that he is getting help from Kaoru, Yurika asks who is it that really interested in her. Sentaro panics and says that it is Kaoru,

Sentarou and Kaoru double date with Yurika and Ritsouko. Yurika still thinks that Kaoru is the one interested in her. Ritsouko feels outclassed and undesired when Sentarou starts showing an interest in Yurika. The next day Kaoru and Senartou get into a fight over nothing. Ritsouko believes that they are fighting over Yurika.

Kaoru sets the record straight after playing Someday My Prince Will Come for Ritsouko. She is the one he is interested in, not Yurika.

For the first time in this series I was more into the emotional drama and character moments than I was by the music. The music was great too, but the interpersonal drama was just handled or presented that much better in this episode than it was in the last two. For the first time it felt real and unforced.

Kids on the Slope 1.02

Summertime

Kaoru practices playing the opening of Moanin' and fantasizes about how impressed Ritsouko and Sentarou will be when he plays it for them. He gets attacked by some bullies after school, possibly the same ones that Sentarou fought in the last episode. He is rescued by Sentarou and Ritsouko. After he regains his bearings and realizes how pathetic he must look he takes off his glasses and attempts to help Sentarou deal with the bullies.

The trio finds someone waiting for them back at Mukae Records, another musician. His name is Junichi and he is a university student in Tokyo. He used to live just down the street. Kauru and Sentarou jam with Junichi and Ritsouko's father. This, along with the scenes of Kaoru practiving at home are my favorite parts of the episode.

After the jam session, Kaoru suggests to Ritsouko that they should study together. She says yes but when he shows up to meet her he finds that she has brought Sentarou along with her. They don't study together. They go to the beach, rent a boat, and go swimming. Kaoru doesn't get the alone time he desired with Ritsouko but sparks fly between Sentarou and Yurika, a girl he saves from some bullies.

I'm still enjoying the show but this episode seemed tilted a little less toward the music than the last one. If anything the focus of this one seemed to be more about Kaoru crushing on Ritsuoko. If she had seemed more three dimensional, like Kaoru does, then I probably would have enjoyed this episode more than I did.

Kids on the Slope 1.01

Moanin'

Kaoru Nishimi is new to Kyushu. On his first day at a new school he meets a number of students but ends up hanging out with two of them more than the rest. Kaoru is fairly reserved. Ritsuoko Mukae, a classmate of his, is assigned to show him around the school. While she is giving him the tour he gets beaned by a ball thrown by another student and starts to feel like he is going to throw up.

This isn't the first time this has happened to Kaoru. He has a history of getting disorienting nausea at inopportune times. His cure for these debilitating attacks is to go to the roof of the school. It there or on his way there that he first encounters Sentarou Kawabuchi.

Sentarou is much bigger than the other kids in the class. When he is first shown he is drumming away with a couple of sticks, not drumsticks, just sticks. He gets into a fight on a whim with three older students. He's a bit reckless and at one point it looks like he is going to start picking on Kaoru.

After school the three meet up again at the record store that Ritsuko's father owns. It is there that Kaoru learns that Sentarou like to play drums and jazz. He has no interest in classical music, which is what drew Kaoru to the record store.

Director, Shinichiro Watanabe, and music composer, Yoko Kanno, also worked together on Cowboy Bebop, probably my favorite anime series.

So far Ritsuko is playing third fiddle to the guys. I'm fairly confident it won't stay that way based on past experiences with anime about a trio of friends, two male, one female, like Cowboy Bebop.

I realize that I am just one episode in but I really like this show so far. I thought the first minute or two were a bit stiff, probably because the focus was on Kaoru, who is by far the most uptight of the trio. As with Cowboy Bebop, I really like the way music is used. Of course, in this case music plays a role in the plot of the story, unlike Cowboy Bebop. The show only runs 12 episodes.

The title of the episode is a reference to Art Blakey's tune of the same name. The song is also mentioned in the episode.