Top Jazz Music Anime Recommendations

Sakamichi no Apollon

Also known as Kids on the Slope.

Studio: Tezuka Productions , MAPPA
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music , Romance , Slice of Life

The beginning of summer, 1966.

Because of his father's job situation, freshman high school student Kaoru Nishimi moves by himself from Yokosuka to Kyushu to live with relatives. Until then, Kaoru was an honor roll student who tended to keep to himself, but meeting notorious bad boy Sentaro Kawabuchi starts to change him. Through his devil-may-care classmate, Kaoru learns the attractions of jazz and finds the first person he can call a "friend". He also discovers how much fun it is to play music with a pal.

Other characters include Sentaro's kind childhood chum, Ritsuko, who is the daughter of a record shop owner; the mysterious upperclassman, Yurika; and Brother Jun, the much-admired leader among their peers. Set against the backdrop of a seaside town with a scent of American culture, this series is a drama about young people coming into their own, crossing each other's paths, and finding friendship, love, and music!



Tags: Coming of Age , Band , Love Triangle , Josei , Jazz Music , Male Protagonist , Heterosexual , Found Family , Primarily Male Cast , School , Rural , Religion , Historical , Primarily Teen Cast , Unrequited Love , Age Gap , Time Skip , Politics

BLUE GIANT

Also known as Blue Giant.

Studio: NUT
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Music

Dai Miyamoto's life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. A former high school basketball player, Dai picks up a saxophone and begins practicing day and night, determined to become one of the greatest of all time. He leaves his hometown Sendai for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, but soon finds the life of a professional musician is not for the faint of heart. His passion eventually wins over the cocky but talented pianist Yukinori, and after Dai convinces his friend Shunji to learn the drums, they launch a new jazz trio whose rough sound contains a raw energy that quickly wins attention from local audiences. But what does it take to truly be great?



Tags: Jazz Music , Urban , Band , Ensemble Cast , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Seinen , Primarily Male Cast , CGI , Tragedy , Bar

Tasokare Hotel

Also known as TASOKARE HOTEL.

Studio: PRA
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Supernatural

The "Tasokare Hotel" never sees afternoon, nor does it see night, but rather exists in a state of endless twilight.

This hotel exists in a limbo state, as a place that allows souls who have not yet decided if they are meant to pass on to the afterlife, or remain in the world of the living, to rest their wings. The protagonist, Neko Tsukahara, comes across this "Tasokare Hotel" with no memory of who she is or how she came to be there.

An employee leads the way and shows Neko to her room, explaining, "In these rooms, there should be items that are related to our guests' memories. These items can also serve as clues to help our guests remember who they were before they arrived here." As Neko searches for a way to return to this world and remember who she was, a certain incident confronts her...



Note: Each episode streamed 5 days early on some streaming services. The original TV broadcast started on January 8th, 2025.

Tags: Amnesia , Female Protagonist , Inn , Afterlife , Shapeshifting , Work , Crime , Tragedy , Episodic , Idol , Ghost , Desert , Butler , Guns , Suicide , Cannibalism , Detective , Trains , Jazz Music

Aru Machi Kado no Monogatari

Also known as Tales of the Street Corner.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Music , Romance

The scene is set with a poster on a street corner, a girl who cherishes her teddy bear, a street lamp and a playful moth that is drawn to the lamp. These creatures and inanimate objects, each with their own dramas, get involved in a war and the story ends in a tragic climax. This is a private animated piece that expresses feelings rather than telling a story. It can be said that Tezuka Osamu, frustrated with working for big companies, made an attempt here to depict what he really wanted in his animation. This work illustrates that even a poster on the wall can have a vivid drama behind it, and brings the magic of animation alive for us.

Tags: No Dialogue , War , Urban , Tragedy , Jazz Music , Historical , Politics , Animals