The Takahiro Miki-directed live-action adaptation of Kids on the Slope has released its first trailer, revealing that the film will premiere in Japan on March 10, 2018. Hey! Say! JUMP!'s boyband member Yuri Chinen stars as Kaoru Nishimi, while Taishi Nakagawa plays the hot-headed Sentarō Kawabuchi and Nana Komatsu portrays the timid, Ritsuko Mukae.
Baijaku Nakamura co-stars as Ritsuko's father and owner of the record shop, Tsutomu Mukae. Dean Fujioka plays Brother June while Erina Mano rounds out the main cast as Yurika Fukahori.
Kids on the Slope takes place in the summer of 1966 in Sasebo, Nagasaki and follows Kaoru Nishimi as he transfers to a new high school. A classically trained pianist and extreme introvert, a series of events finds Nishimi in a jazz band with school bad-boy, Sentaro Kawabuchi and his older college friend, Brother June. The trio practice at the record shop owned by Ritsuko Mukae's father. As there lives unfold, love triangles become love quadrilaterals and relationships become fractured and strained. The one constant that remains is there love for jazz music.
Yuki Kodama began publishing his manga in 2007 and completed his story at 9 volumes in 2012. Shinichirō Watanabe directed a 12 episode anime adaptation at Studio MAPPA in 2012 and reunited with his Cowboy Bebop composer Yoko Kanno for the show's music.
Check out the trailer for the anime adaptation below for comparison.
Introverted classical pianist and top student Kaoru Nishimi has just arrived in Kyushu for his first year of high school. Having constantly moved from place to place since his childhood, he abandons all hope of fitting in, preparing himself for another lonely, meaningless year. That is, until he encounters the notorious delinquent Sentarou Kawabuchi.
Sentarou's immeasurable love for jazz music inspires Kaoru to learn more about the genre, and as a result, he slowly starts to break out of his shell, making his very first friend. Kaoru begins playing the piano at after-school jazz sessions, located in the basement of fellow student Ritsuko Mukae's family-owned record shop. As he discovers the immense joy of using his musical talents to bring enjoyment to himself and others, Kaoru's summer might just crescendo into one that he will remember forever.
Sakamichi no Apollon is a heartwarming story of friendship, music, and love that follows three unique individuals brought together by their mutual appreciation for jazz.