Category: Sakamichi no Apollon

With this, it’s clear that this series is going to go for a love polygon now that also Jun entered the picture. Normally this would make me worry, but with a series that is THIS good, I am getting really curious where this series plans to go to. Things right now are set up that everything can spiral completely out of control with the right amount of development, and there are a ton of different directions that this series can head into at this point

The second half of this episode was really meant to show how admirable Jun is and why Sentarou looks up to him. I especially loved him talking himself out of that failed concert when Sentarou walked out because of that one drunk. A drunk who by the way spoke very commendable English. Of course the voice actor for this guy put a lot of emphasis on his syllables, but that’s what all voice acting is like. Normal voice acting in anime also is also like that. Plus, he was drunk.

The first half of this episode meanwhile was about how fragile Kaoru is as a teenager. What really hit me was when he was playing in front of his family, desperately trying to get out of there in his head. The kiss unfortunately felt a bit too soap-operaish. On the other hand though, I really liked how he got to understand how Sentarou grew up as a half-American.
Rating: ** (Excellent)

Holy crap. This episode would be about the romance. The girl that caught Sentarou’s fancy last episode turns out to be Yurika Fukahori, who is one year above him. For a moment, this episode really had me face-palm: Kaoru arranges a double date for the four lead characters, and through some well-timed lines Ritsuko ends up thinking that Kaoru likes Yuriko instead. Not another one of those love triangles that take ages to get anywhere! And at the end of this episode, I was blown away.

Um, Sakamichi no Apollon… you’ve got eight episodes left, haven’t you? In this episode you went through what most series take 10 episodes to establish. This episode was penultimate episode material, that’s how much stuff happened. For once it had a wonderful combination between characters unable to say anything, and them actually being proactive about their feelings. Both Sentarou and Kaoru managed to overcome their anxieties and confess to the girl they liked. Everyone changed in this episode.

Instead of everyone being completely clueless, people actually picked up on subtle cues on how everyone behaved. Kaoru realized that Ritsuko doesn’t like him, and Ritsuko also realized that Sentaou would go away from her. The scene that made the most impact on me this episode was the one at the roof, where Kaoru’s anger for making Ritsuko cry was really well portrayed (it also was backed by a wonderful soundtrack).
Rating: *** (Awesome)

This. This show is just amazing.

This season rocks: it has so many series that stand out in refreshing ways. With Sakamichi no Apollon however, I can actually say that it’s the best at something: this series has the best portrayal of performing musicians I have ever seen, bar none. It has been a long while since a show premiered of which I could say that. This series is currently pushing anime to new grounds.

And this isn’t something of just the first episode: the moment when the characters started playing together, the same incredible animation returned, which perfectly captures the actual soundtrack. In the past there were the series that got close to portraying music really well, most notably Beck and Nodame Cantabile. But this one just nails it completely.

And on top of that, the characterization is also just amazing: the acting is wonderfully subtle and the bond between the three lead character is already second to only Uchuu Kyoudai. This isn’t just Shinichiro Watanabe delivering something amazing; there are a ton of talent people working on bringing this story to life.

I do have a few complaints about this series, though, and that mostly involves its cliches. Most notably the random bullies that it uses to create tension, and how the characters walk in on those bullies at exactly the right moment. These kinds of things really make me wonder what would have happened if they hadn’t been saved at the last moment. But even with that I have to admit: this show makes use of them, and it does so incredibly well. In this episode things weren’t over when Sentarou arrived, but an actually entertaining fight followed. The second time was used to bring in some romance. Cliched again, but the acting made up for it. Sentarou already is incredibly different from the usual “delinquent with a heart of gold”.

Oh, and I also have to praise the use of Christianity in this series. I was quite surprised when Kaoru was surprised that Ritsuko was a Christian, because you really don’t often get to see that in anime. And when it does appear characters tend to dress up like nuns for some strange reason.
Rating: **+ (Excellent+)