The second episode of Kids on the Slope continues its usage of quite a few trope-y things in anime. Nerdy kid (Kaoru) gets strongarmed into going along with these roughians and is saved by Sentaro, who, of course, dropkicks their leader from a flight of stairs. A fight begins and we get some interestingly light piano music with a light drum accompaniment.
This is where Yoko Kanno’s soundtrack begins to shine. The college kid, Junichi from next door, who Sentaro and Ritsuko have known for a while, comes home from college and Ritsuko’s dad breaks out his standing bass while Junichi takes out the trumpet and the four (Ritsuko’s dad, Junichi, Sentaro, and Kaoru) jam together, which is the first showcase of Kanno’s soundtrack. And it is brilliant. It’s subdued, since the musicians in the show don’t really know each other’s playing styles or methods yet, but I can tell Kanno is just itching to get more jazz out.
I was a little turned off by the beginning of the episode, since it was the trope-y things I mentioned in the first paragraph. But, all faith in Shinichiro Watanabe, I will keep with it even if it kills me. And I know it will pay off. And it did. The last 15 minutes of the show really showcased where this show can go and what it can be. The answer: It can be amazing. The little added touch of Ritsuko and Sentaro being Christian seemed superfluous at the time, but I’m sure it will come into play later.
All in all, this is still only the second episode, so it’s hard to judge if the series as a whole is going to live up to expectations (spoilers, it probably will). But, so far, it has certainly lived up to its potential. Like a good jazz song, it needs to get its proverbial wheels turning to really get to the good stuff.
No comments:
Post a Comment