"Manga about music, that's not going to work well, isn't it?" is what you might be thinking. Well, wrong. Sakamichi no Apollon is about jazz and one of it's best qualities is certainly how well can it deliver the soundtrack (despite having none) and the atmosphere in the reader's head. Yes, you can almost hear the jazzy music from those pages.

And it is not only music-wise atmosphere that is done right. It is also the historical setting of 60's Japanese school that is done right. Now, I'm no historical expert, of course, but the architecture, the clothing and the behavior of characters convey accuratelly that this is a different time period.

The behavior of the characters itself is the second main strenght of Sakamichi no Apollon. The reason? They feel real. They are not just cardboard cutouts that move to progress the plot, they are human-like and with lives before and beyond the story the manga portrays. Usually, love triangles tend to get cringy and forced, but this time it's done well, realistic but not boring, giving an interesting story while still being believable.

If you're a fan of josei and romance manga, you're going to love it. And if not, you should still give it a try. It might not hype you that much, but it will most likely still turn out to be a worthile read.