Live-Action 'Kids on the Slope' Is a Pleasing Adaptation of an Anime Masterpiece

Kids on the Slope – which is set in the late 1960’s and centers on three high school students brought together by the love of jazz – is an anime masterpiece.  On the other hand, the recent live-action film adaptation is unable to capture the magic of its source material.  Although the anime has one of those premises that can effectively translate to live-action, the whole thing apparently doesn’t work quite as beautifully in the latter medium.

Every anime-series-to-live-action-film-adaptation production faces the challenge of packing episodes’ worth of material into a feature-length running time while keeping the pacing smooth and much of the story’s substance intact.  Rarely, if ever, does such succeed completely.

This is likewise the case with the live-action Kids on the Slope movie.

At first, it seems like it’s doing a competent job in being a beat-for-beat condensation.  However, eventually, it has to cut corners, which consequently undermines the poignancy and depth of important events and key character moments.

Moreover, the jazz sessions – a huge part of what makes Kids on the Slope great – is cut down to an unsatisfactory amount.

That being said, I think Kids on the Slope is nevertheless a great live-action film adaptation of an anime.  One can see that there’s respect for its source material, and genuine cinematic effort and craftsmanship are put into it.  If I wasn’t aware of the superior anime, there’s a good chance I would have actually loved this movie.  The cast is perfect, the shots are gorgeous, and the direction is solid (but far from being as masterful as the legendary Shinichirō Watanabe’s work on the anime).

I notably like how it puts its own spin on the ending sequence.  The original anime version is definitely more nuanced and uplifting with its rendition of “Moanin’” and how the reunion of the characters plays out.  But the more spelled-out manner in which the live-action movie ends the story is equally stirring.  It can be even argued that the nature and execution of its closing scene, mixed with the choice of “My Favorite Things” instead “Moanin’” as final song, bring a more fitting closure.

Overall, though the live-action Kids on the Slope didn’t move me like the anime did, I was still considerably pleased by it.