Kanno And Watanabe Reunite to Create New Anime “Sakamichi no Apollon”
UPDATE (January 30, 2012): Translations, other items added.
My dream team! Read more about it in Anime News Network, and in Coma if you can read Japanese.
The description of the the anime at the official website is as follows (translated by me):
In “Sakamichi no Apollon”, classical pianist Kaori and Sentarou meet, and the story develops from a place that will be enveloped in jazz. One of the highlights of the show are the jazz songs in each scene, and the performances alongside them. Produced by Yoko Kanno, this anime’s sessions will have Takashi Matsunaga (Kaori) for the piano, and Jun Ishikawa (Sentarou) for the drums.
Alongside popular, old-time favorite pieces such as “Moanin’”, “My favorite things”, and “Someday my prince will come”, are the performances of jazz music improvisations which are comparable to “dialogues”… fun moments, lonely moments, hesitation, angry moments, when all emotions become one… Another highlight is how the emotion and musical performance of those moments are carried out. These are “sessions” of image and music by Director Watanabe. Please look forward to this fresh and heart-pounding show.
The words from Kanno in the website (translated by Yyrkoon):
This is jazz in all its youth. I have been waiting for a long time for this work. I transcribed the sounds I felt when reading the manga. Please listen to the sounds of these young genius who rehearse at the rhythm of their life.
January 27th, 2012 at 10:56 am
BRB, I’m going to die on happiness.
January 27th, 2012 at 8:57 pm
Yyyyyyyyyyyyyyeah (I will check that tonight and provide translations :p)
January 28th, 2012 at 8:58 am
On the website you can find some quotes from the staff. This is what Yoko Kanno says:
This is jazz in all its youth. I have been waiting for a long time for this work. I transcribed the sounds I felt when reading the manga. Please listen to the sounds of these young genius who rehearse at the rhythm of their life.
January 28th, 2012 at 3:47 pm
This project sounds VERY different and VERY exciting.
It’s always great when the anime is centered around music and Kanno is at the helm. I’m guessing the young genius’ are Takashi Matsunaga and Shun Ishikawa. It will be interesting to see how she produces jazz with them.
January 29th, 2012 at 1:58 am
Amazingly good news and all, but the Kanno quote kinda mindscrewed me. I’m pretty sure she has gone on record about not caring much for jazz at all
January 29th, 2012 at 6:59 am
I don’t remember a quote like that, only that she doesn’t see jazz as any different from other types of music?
January 29th, 2012 at 8:59 am
One thing is for sure: this story is about jazz, Watanabe Shinichiro is a big big fan of jazz, and Yoko started with jazz (Tetsu 100%) and sublimated it with Cowboy Bebop, so the music universe will be centered around jazz but we can expect as much diversity as there was in Cowboy Bebop.
I’m really excited about this project. There are currently 9 books of this manga, and maybe the story could sound plain at first sight, but it really moved me today when I started reading it: maybe because I’m a musician and because I can easily identify myself in the protagonist who is a pianist.
There is no science fiction, so everything is serious, and I know Yoko usually rocks when this is about real things. Let’s just hope the anime will be dynamic enough and not boring because of the potential lack of action.
Will she fulfill our expectations? Well, we’re all looking forward to see that
Can’t wait for more info about the number of episodes, the opening/ending, a new trailer with some music…
January 29th, 2012 at 12:20 pm
I was hoping for a return of Cowboy Bebop, despite the way the 26th session concluded, but this is the next best thing! We are going to see the same great music we saw from Bebop made fresh a decade later. Really ecstatic about this
January 30th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
I really like how this anime sounds (pun, pun!) so far. Given Watanabe’s track record, apart from the music, this will surely have tasteful drama with good dialogues, and Chekov’s Guns that always fire, hehe.
Remember Baby Blue? That scene where the migratory birds flew overhead? And soon it was revealed that the two characters will be separated from each other?
And everything with Isamu and Guld bickering…
…and everything Cowboy Bebop?
I asked for this to happen again!!! Love, love, love.
January 30th, 2012 at 10:23 pm
@Yy – thanks for the info
February 2nd, 2012 at 1:13 am
Well, while it’s quite likely she has changed her opinion about it a lot over time even japanese wikipedia article had quote of her ジャズはあまり好きではない I’ve seen before but was unable to trace it in that exact form again (the source given didn’t have it put that way exactly).
But there’s for example this piece describing her feelings when first starting Cowboy Bebop project: http://web.archive.org/web/20100406035706/http://www.bounce.com/article/article.php/1917
「はじめに、ジャズで、っていうのが決まっていたので、ジャズなんだけれど。ジャズなんて、嫌い。だーっと長いだけで」。そして「話、聞いたとき、そんなアニメ誰も見ないよ〜、とか思って。だから、余計、面白くしなきゃって、がんばる」
I’ve always found it funny Kanno writes superb jazz (easily best within context of anime composers) if needed but she personally doesn’t care for it all that much. (Or didn’t). Tetsu100% could be classified as a jazz too based on what I’ve heard (though japanese wiki called it prog lolwtf). Going by all indications Kanno was way more giddy getting to write idol pop for Frontier than getting to do jazz for Bebop, even if she masters it all
I’m suspecting Kano is taking a “backseat” as a composer for this project in certain respects and her most important role will be producing and guiding the sessions with the two young prodigious jazz musicians. The improvisations and solos and such will naturally flow from the duo while most crucial pieces performed will be jazz standards.
This leaves Kanno with BGM pieces and such to work on as far as original material goes. Maybe a insert song or two (hopefully), maybe OP and ED (well, this will be the case unless Watanabe opts for jazz standard).
In any case I wouldn’t really expect anything like Bebop in terms of musical diversity and range of Kanno original material. The diverse, genre hopping sound of those OSTs reflected the genre hopping, hodgepodge nature of series itself, mixing the cliches and traits of popular culture and music of last 50 years jubilantly. This series however IS about jazz. It is its very focus.
As far as non-jazz setting fitting material goes I’d like to hear Kanno write a 60s pop song though. A girl group sound would be nice and interesting (I don’t think she has done anything like that before). Alternatively Anata no Oto Mk. II and III, that song was such a superb exercise in vaguely late-60s Maccaesque pop songcraft.
I should check out the manga for now though I doubt we’ll get anything like Cowboy Bebop with dialogues. Keiko Nobumoto isn’t a scriptwriter here and it depends on the original manga anyway.
In any case I’m excited for this project
February 2nd, 2012 at 7:38 am
Thanks for those, I haven’t perused the Japanese wiki, maybe I should!
February 3rd, 2012 at 8:00 pm
Apart from this looking like the soundtrack of the year, the anime looks promising. I also did sounds of happiness when I read Yuki is doing the designs.
February 4th, 2012 at 6:38 am
Yes, me too with Nobuteru Yuki, but I don’t really know why! Nostalgia I think
February 5th, 2012 at 12:57 am
Thank you so much for this excellent news ! I discovered Yoko Kanno with Cowboy Bebop 10 years ago and I love so much her work, especially when it comes to jazz. I was really hopping she will return to this kind of work since Darker than Black. It’s so cool !!! I can’t wait !
February 6th, 2012 at 2:50 pm
Shinichiro?? Woohoo!!!! Total win for this one thanks. Let the drooling begin!
February 14th, 2012 at 8:07 pm