Kids on the Slope is definitely a manga that you'll like more if you're a fan of drama, but even for those that aren't, there's still a lot to enjoy and get out of it. I'm personally not a fan of dramas, but I still found myself enjoying it by the end.

The story revolves around the friendship between two unlikely people: the smart newcomer Kaoru and the delinquent looking Sentaro. Their friendship is based on playing jazz, something that Kaoru is introduced to when he sees Sentaro playing the drums. No matter what happens in the story, be it girl problems... mostly girl problems, the two stick it out and find a way to rekindle their friendship every time through playing together. They are joined by a cast of side characters that, for the most part are there to move the story along and cause drama for the two to work out. Overall, I'd say that the characters weren't the most stellar. They felt pretty tropey for the most part, but the interactions that they had in the situations they were placed in were the most interesting parts.

Now, like I said earlier, I am not a fan of dramas. I think that they are too filled with people overreacting and making dumb decisions, but I felt like they were really natural in this case. I'll be honest, I didn't really like this manga the moment I finished it. Everything felt really rash and rushed, and conflicts resolved so fast it was like nothing even happened. I thought that the characters overreacted a lot to very little, like suddenly falling head over heels for a girl you only just met to the point where it becomes crippling. It was only after thinking about it for a little and putting myself into the shoes of these kids did I come to appreciate it for what it had to say. To me, this manga really just personifies what it means to be a teenager: bond over the smallest things, get into fights easily, make up even faster, overthink about how other people feel, putting all your eggs into one basket, etc. For every arc of drama that came up in the series I felt like it could have been me just a few years ago. I felt like me and my friends were going through very similar things when we were younger and didn't know any better. I understand what it's like to push myself aside 'for the sake of my friends'. I know what it's like to be angry and upset with a friend but make up immediately after playing some games together. I know what it's like to just blindly follow what my parents want me to do, despite not wanting to do it myself. I see so much of myself in this manga, and that where I think it excels.

Overall, Kids on the Slope is at its core is a manga that understands what people are like when they're kids. We're all a bit rambunctious, prone to make rash decisions and value the precious friends that we have. Yes, there were unnecessary characters and drama that occurred throughout the manga, but it all served to highlight the beautiful friendship formed through jazz, unbroken by time, reminding us what it was like to be a teen again.