The beginning of summer, 1966.

Because of his father’s job situation, freshman high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious bad boy Sentaro Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru learns the attractions of jazz and finds the first person he can call a “friend”. He also discovers how much fun it is to play music with a pal.

Other characters include Sentaro’s kind childhood chum, Ritsuko, who is the daughter of a record shop owner; the mysterious upperclassman, Yurika; and Brother Jun, the much-admired leader among their peers. Set against the backdrop of a seaside town with a scent of American culture, this series is a drama about young people coming into their own, crossing each other’s paths, and finding friendship, love, and music!





Number of Episodes: Unknown
Genres: Drama, Historical, Romance, School, Slice of Life, Josei
Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older
Animation Production: Mappa, Tezuka Productions
Premiere: Friday, April 13, 2012 @ 12:45 AM
Primary network: Fuji TV
Official Website: アニメ「坂道のアポロン」公式サイト | Kids on the Slope Official English Website

I might marathon this when it's finished airing :>

Looks interesting though and so glad CR got it today.

I am actually stoked for this one...it looks great so far.

I've been following this one for a while. I'm very glad that Crunchyroll picked this one up. Can't wait to watch it!

nah not for me

I need to read the news more often; I didn't even see CR picked this up. I can die in peace now!

This is interesting, wasn't part of my spring watch list but its definitely a great addition! It reminds me of Nodame Cantabile minus the comedy and Beck.

I haven't fallen this hard for a show since Madoka last year. It reminds me heavily of Beck and Nodame Cantabile, as well, and the fact that I am a musician helps this show be more relatable. It's so beautiful and well-put-together that I'm now counting down the days until the next episode comes out.

Thank you, Watanabe and Kanno, thank you.

This was great. I love the art style and the characters are really interesting.

They did an excellent job animating Sentarou's jazz drumming. That's something you don't see very often, so I'm glad they wanted to make the animation really match the music. And the music is great.

I'm looking forward to the next episode. Too bad there are only 12.

I'm curious why the title is translated to "Kids on the Slope". It's not a bad title. Maybe it is more appealing than "Hill Road's Apollo"? Still I think the English title misses out on the jazz & god pun, which seems appropriate for this show.

Watched the first episode and loved it which has been a while, only problem i have with it is that i would have liked the opening or the ending to have a jazz sound track i just didn't think they fit, kinda like Bebop did.

I felt the same way about the opening credits when I started watching it, but while jazz is clearly the main subject of the series, I felt like the intro music captured the flavor of the series, the relationships and what not.

I was also very impressed by the music animation. It appears Watanabe is bringing the same sensibilities he brought to his action scenes in Bebop and Samurai Champloo to the music scenes, rendering them with as much kinetic accuracy as a fight scene in his other works. The only thing that surprises me about it is that I was surprised. I always look for it, and am always disappointed. (I don't recall remarking on the accuracy in K-On, for example.) This time, I was not disappointed.

I think I'm seeing why this is classified as Jousei. Is it just me, or is there a bit of what the folks at TVTropes might call "Ho-yay" or perhaps even "Foe-yay" (that's stretching more than a bit) between Sentaro and Kaoru?

I just watched the first episode and I'm totally hooked! I love the animation but I like the characters the most...they are so refreshing and different from most animes. Definitely the best 2012 anime for me.

I just watched the first two eps, and I love it already. I wasnt going to watch it at first because it didnt really sound that interesting. But then I looked at the picture and clicked on the link to the show and saw the old-style art and started watching. The more I watched, the more I liked it.

Now Im sad that I have to wait a week to see more. :P

I really wish life was still as slow as it was back then... as much as I love technology Id rather have a peaceful slow life in a city like this one.

First two episodes have me hooked. Great characters and designs, the music goes without saying, and the story has a nice easy pace to it. It feels like it was written with adults in mind. There's no dumbing down, or titillating with cheap gimmicks, or lazy writing. Can't wait until the next episode.