I first heard about this series due to the Shinchiro Watanabe directed anime, which I’d watched a long time ago. At the time I didn’t think much of it, but I was also a much younger and more close-minded individual. Years later, here I am revisiting the series in its manga form. Yuki Kodama’s 2007-2012 manga about life, love, and Jazz music. Let’s rock.

PLOT: 1966, a young Kaoru Nishimi transfers to yet another school. Due to his father’s work he’s always moved about, never really connecting with anyone. However he runs into the school delinquent, Sentarou Kawabuchi. The two form an unexpected friendship, helping each other through the ups and downs of life and playing jazz together. While nothing new, the set-up is effective. We follow Kaoru and Sentarou through their 3 years of high school and the events that come with. We see both characters deal with the damages of their past as they move on to the future. While, as with any drama, the situations were by and in-large caused by the main characters, it never really hit an obnoxious degree and very rarely did the situations feel particularly contrived. They were very natural and very impactful, and the manga’s brief length kept it from ever feel like it was repeating itself or dragging for dragging’s sake. The series mostly focused on the main trio, though it did spare some time for the stories of Yurika and Junichi which I found to be some personal highlights. If there’s any complaint I have it’d be that the original ending lacked much punch, however the bonus track volume adds more and wraps the story up in a rather nice manner.

8/10, a good drama story yet lacking in the horseshit that they sometimes come with.

CHARACTERS: A drama’s story is only as good as its characters. Our protagonist Kaoru starts off the series as someone damaged by his loneliness. We of course see him grow out of that over the course of the series. While many times he does let his emotions get the better of him and put himself in trouble, his genuine love for the people around him shows through. We see him not only grow up, but loosen up, such as his transition from rigid classical music to the reactive and improvising jazz. His character arc is quite satisfying. Next up is Sentarou, the force to shake up Kaoru’s world. Despite his delinquent reputation, Sentarou’s quite the nice guy, if a bit aggressive. He’s got a bright energy to him and the force to change those around him, even if that strength is built on a troubled past. He’s the one who gets our lead into Jazz and is generally the motivating force of a lot of the series. I found him to be quite likeable in his genuineness and learning of the scars he bears I found to be quite the emotional trip. Rounding out the trio is Ritsuko Mukae, Sentarou’s childhood friend, Kaoru’s crush, and the daughter of the owner of the record store at which the cast practice their music. She’s a very kind and gentle figure and adds a softness to the main cast balancing them out. Despite her affable nature and likeability, I found she lacked presence in comparison to the other two leads. While it’s natural I do wish we got to spend a bit more time with her as her rather than sticking to her in relation to the other leads.If there were to be a fourth main character it’d be Yurika Fukahori. She starts of simply and a crush at first sight for Sentarou, but moves into a leading role for a good portion of the manga. Unlike Ritsuko we do get to see a bit more of her personal life and struggles and her arc in the manga is one of my favorite portions. Lastly I want to give brief mention to the character of Junichi, while I won’t go into details on why I want to mention him for spoiler reasons, I also really liked his character arc. As for minor characters go, there were a few comedy characters and some other minor characters to flesh out the cast but the real focus was on prior mentioned characters.

8/10, some strong and likeable characters brought up by each other.

VISUALS: Yuki Kodama’s arts has its strengths and weaknesses. To start with the negatives, the art is really flat. Not in an emotional sense but everything felt really two-dimensional. (While duh it is two-dimensional, nothing felt like it popped.) On occasion I’d feel like characters felt off but not to any real demeritable amount. On the positive side however, is the expression and emotion tied into the art. There are a lot of scenes that come off as quite beautiful and really convey the feeling of the scene in a rather powerful way. This ability is also used masterfully in scenes with music, managing to convey the feelings of music in a soundless medium. A lot of the settings were visually interesting including the visual use of the titular slope. The characters all had unique and memorable designs and the quality was pretty consistent. As far as flow goes the series does just fine.

7/10, while not perfect the art does definitely have some very strong points.

FINAL SCORE: 8/10

While it’s not a hallmark or a master-classic, Sakamichi is a very strong manga about life and music. It pretty well utilizes a strong cast and finishes right when it needs to. While many people may be put off by the lack of a soundtrack, I find playing some of the music discussed by characters in the background helped me get in the mood but was by no means necessary. If you do read this just make sure to read the Bonus Track volume as well, it’s great. All in all I would recommend this series.