When I first started watching anime, what brought me to the field itself was the possibilities; anime could do what live action just could not, and the Japanese took this art medium seriously enough to really convey great feelings and ideas on it. Those were my thoughts as I started watching shows like Utena, Evangelion, and other classics that I'm sure you've all watched. Then I started watching more. My anime count went from 10s to 100s, recently crossed 1000, and here I am. Somewhere along the line, to me, anime stopped being about pushing the possibilities of art, and more about engaging the stereotypes. Having watched dozens of shows like H2O, Shana, and Nyaruko, you just become inundated to the little girls, the Asian drama, the infinite power levels, the tsundere, and the yandere. In a world where Shaft can do no wrong and Cowboy Bebop just panders to Western audiences, Apollon didn't promise much.
When I first started watching Apollon then, I approached it with the same cynicism I normally do when I watch a show. Where's the male lead, who's his romantic interest, what's the setting, how much of her legs can I see in the sailor uniform, how young does the romantic interest look, and on and on. But as I watched, what I found surprised me. The familiar elements were there; high school students, male lead romantic interest, social awkwardness; but there was so much more. Each of the characters just seemed alive and seemed to pop out at me. The music was lively, catchy, and fit the mood onscreen. And as I watched more, I fell in love. Each of the characters was so much more than its animations and its voice actors, each of the settings was so much richer than just a location. Here on screen was a recording of three high school teenagers and their lives, played out for us in full, hormones, bad decisions, and all. Apollon is amazing, a show of caliber I haven't seen in years, and really reminded me why I started watching anime so many years ago.
Now onto the review of this anime by star-studded director of Cowboy Bebop fame, music composed by the legendary Youko Kanno, also known as Kids on the Slope, a tale of friendship, but most importantly a tale of music.
== Art and Animation ==
The scene is 1968, Japan, a country that was recently defeated and humiliated in a brutal World War. The presence of American soldiers remind the Japanese of their horrific defeat. Students around the world, from the Cultural Revolutionaries in China to the Marxist revolutionary cells in Europe, want an end to the old establishment, and Japanese university students are no exception. Japan, a country known for its pianists who are well heeled in the classical German fashion, watches in envy as the Beatles take the world by storm. It is in this Japan, a Japan on the crossroads of change, that we are dropped.
The scenes in the show are static, but gorgeous. From the namesake Slope leading to the school, the ceiling of the school, and the Japanese countryside, each is rendered in beauty. The school is painted dark and drab, as befits the time and the mood of the show, while the outdoor scenes are rendered in nice, happy pastels. Jam sessions are rendered in beautiful detail, as the facial expressions of each character plays out on the screen and tells as much of a tale as the dialogue itself. Perhaps my only gripe was the obvious distinction between the darker indoor scenes and the more lively outdoor scenes. They probably serve a purpose, but the distinction seemed a bit stark at times
== Sound ==
If this show is about anything at all, it's about how two kids, one troubled and aggressive, the other shy and bookish, meet and befriend each other over jazz music. They play music with each other, at each other, for each other, and against each other, and it shows. The music of the show is amazing, and is integral to the plot. Kaoru's piano playing and Sentarou's drums are magnificent. The OP and ED are great, catchy tunes, and we see renditions of several legendary jazz songs. Episode titles make references to jazz titles, and even the BGM in every scene is heavily indicative of the mood of the characters. I haven't heard music like that found in Apollon in anime in years.
== Story ==
As a slice of life show, Apollon grants us a window to see our three main characters and their friends grow up. As such, and like many other slice-of-life/Seinen shows, there's little plot. On top of this, the organization of events seems a bit haphazard at times, as some episodes progress glacially while others cram several major events into one. I realize that the show had to take a very large, dense manga, and fit it into 12 episodes, but I feel that if the show had been a proper 2cours (26 episode) length, then we would have gotten more time to see our wonderful characters on-screen.
== Character ==
Kaoru Nishimi is a good kid. Kaoru gets good grades, does what he's told, and comes from a well-heeled family. His father is a very busy man and moves often, and so he's never had a chance to make friends in any one place. He hasn't spoken to his mother in years. Kaoru plays the piano because it reminds him of his father, and bears resentment to his classmates, who he sees as woefully underachieving sybarites. It is here he meets a ruffian, a thug, Sentarou. As unlikely a match as ever, the two begin to bond over a shared love for music and women, and we watch as they grow and come to respect and love each other and those around them.
What is Apollon if not a tale of its characters. Apollon is a fantastic look into the childhood of these two and shows us how two unlikely friends meet, and how their different experiences and backgrounds shape who they are, the dreams they reach, and those they don't. Each character in Apollon is fascinatingly deep, and well-rounded.
== Value ==
It has been years since I've watched a show as good as this. With characters that pop out at you, and experiences you'll love to share, Apollon has reminded me why I started watching anime, and that anime can still be made well.
== Enjoyment ==
If you're anything like me, you'll really like Apollon. I'm looking forward to rewatching the show, given what I know about the plot, and seeing the nuggets of future events take place in how the characters first act. Apollon is a story of love, and of love lost, of friends, and of enemies, of dreams you grasp and those you never will, of backgrounds that shape you and those you will never escape. Apollon is fantastic, and is a show I've enjoyed, and is a show I hope you all will too!
