Anime and Music can work really well together when done correctly, I’m not talking about soundtracks or opening videos. I mean scenes of characters actually performing. I can remember watching Beck and loving the use of music and getting really into it, it was impressive at the time and made me wish I could play an instrument.
However, after Beck ended I soon forgot about how brilliant and refreshing it was to see a really good musical performance in an anime. That feeling didn’t come back until I was watching The Melancholy of Suzumiya Haruhi and saw Haruhi singing “God Knows”.Something about it really impressed me, but then gradually that feeling, again, became long forgotten until last year.I started seeing PVs for Kids on the Slope and it really caught my attention, it looked stunning and it was cram-packed full of everything I love, romance, friendship and music! (It was also directed by Shinichirō Watanabe , the director of Cowboy Bebop).
It tells the story of honor student Kaoru Nishimi, who is forced to move to Kyushu and stay with his relatives. As his new life begins, he meets the scariest guy in school Sentaro Kawabuchi, who has a bad reputation for getting into fights and causing problems. Unexpectedly Sentaro has a musical side and is passionate about jazz, through him Kaoru learns the appeal of jazz and what it means to have a friend. That is the start of summer 1966.
Kids on the Slope has so many brilliant musical moments, it’s hard to choose just one memorable one. You can tell while watching the series just how much love has gone into making this anime, the art is fantastic, the animation is smooth and music scenes work so well!
Kids on the Slope is available in the UK thanks to the good people at MVM.
I hope there will be another fantastic musical anime soon! If anybody has any other anime music scenes they like please share them with me!