The last volume of Apollon.
It’ll be nice to hear what you thought of the series!
Also, thanks to Fabulous Max for cleaning the scans!
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sukikatte 
Thank you for completing this awesome series ^^
I will be back to give you my thought after I read it ;D Now I have to go to bed ;DD
Thank you very much for your work on this series! Off to read it now.
OMG!!!! What a fantastic ending. I’m still angry at Sen for leaving like he did in the previous volume, but it was bound to happen. Nevertheless, I thought the ending was fitting and well done. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone that hasn’t read it yet so I won’t say more. This is definitely one of my favorite mangas of all time. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!
BTW will you be working on the spin-off story?
You’re welcome! I will try, but it’ll depend on whether scans are available and if there’s anyone willing to help clean them.
I can clean them whenever they become available:
Even if you manage to get scans from the magazines.
I know how to do it even if it’s scanned from the thin paper of manga magazines =)
thank you very much for doing such a quick and awesome job, and especially thank you for actually completing it.
An happy ending for everyone, that was pretty sweet. Well, maybe a bit less for Sentarou, with the vow of celibacy and all… Thanks a lot for the release!
Will you be doing the extra tenth volume too?
Yes, if there are scans and someone free to clean it :>
Not bad but I felt there were too many unanswered questions and some things were resolved way too easily. I wish there were more details.
Oh and Thanks for making my otherwise boring plane ride into an entertaining one!
Thank you so much for completing it!! You have no idea how many time i’ve been refreshing this place since the last volume. I wish Bon was mad at Sen some more and a bit more explanation about everything else. But otherwise it was a really cute series to read, and seriously still amazed you guys were able to complete this project so quickly.
I feel exactly the same way as I left the home page of sukikatte opened for my iPhone to refresh hehe
Thanks for bringing us this wonder series! It’s incredible how you manage to do a complete volume like it was nothing. It’s sad when a great series is done, but I enjoyed a lot reading it. I hope you can do the spin-off story. I’m not really that interested in those characters, but I’m still not ready to say goodbye to this series. I’m looking forward to your next project (^_^)v
Thank you very much for completing this series so quickly =)
Sakamichi started out really great. It built up a great atmosphere, it was intriguingly written and it introcuded loveable and interesting characters who harmonized together so well.
Unfortunately, it drifted off into mediocrity when the issues with Yurika and Jun’ichi came up imo. The problem for me was with Yurika, I guess. While the other main characters had depth to them, Yurika somehow failed to convince me of such a trait. She is unfortunately the very stereotypical rich girl with the rebelling-against-parents-syndrome. Somehow she was only there to be the “obstacle” and reason for messing with the others’ relationship. There was no appeal to her that could’ve made me like her or sympathize with her. Maybe the author will give her a rounder personality in the spin-off but honestly, I don’t see myself reading it because I just couldn’t develop any interest in her in the first place. And I don’t think it’s because she’s from a rich family. I mean, Kaoru also comes from a rich family but you don’t see me hating on him for that.
As for the ending, it made my heart flutter~ That was a heart-warming reunion but it felt a little rushed. It was never mentioned why Sen decided to become a priest. Knowing his background the decision’s not too far off but he must have had some sort of reason. That’s a life-long commitment he’s got ahead of him ಠ_ಠ
Thank you very much, the ending was beautiful
Thank you very much! I really love it :)
thx for all your hard work!! Can you consider this for your next project: http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=13334
TY SO VERY MUCH!!!! Loved it <3
thanks for all your hard work! I loved this series :)
I wonder if you would consider doing Natsuyuki Rendez-vous?
It’s also a Noitamina anime, starting this July. And it’s complete at 4 volumes. Only the first volume was scanlated so far.
It’s a cute love story, involving a triangle between a young part-timer, a widow, and her ghost husband. More info can be found here: http://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=44998.
Thank you for all your hard work in bringing Sakamichi no Apollon to all of us!
i also wanted to suggest that :D!! Or 3gatsu no Lion or Mashiro no Oto ;3.
Thank you so much sukikatte for bringing us these volumes!
That’s a very good suggestion! I was also thinking about Natsuyuki Rendez-vous. There’s a group working on that, I check their web very often (Stiletto-heels) but their releases are very slow.. I wish they could work as fast as Shokupan! I really crave to read that manga!
*daily check for update*
OH GOD IT’S HERE!
I really cannot say thank you enough
From the beginning this series was all about Sen and Kaoru and ended on the most perfect note for them
It’d be interesting if you do decide on translating the bonus tracks
I got the sense she rushed a bit and is now going back to write what she had to leave out (we get some more story during the time Sen left and Tsutomu back story!)
offer still stands on me buying the monthly issues if you decide on translating and can’t find the raws (yea I kind of love it)
Thank you~ ^^
It’s a bit unexpected to see Sen end up like that, it’s very occidental ^^ It’s a bit bitter-sweet in the end too, they did meet up again, after long long years, but they’ve missed each other for so long and there’s so much unsaid… Why didn’t Jun show up anymore, and then again, that’ just like him too <3
Voila!
Tonight, I’m the happiest person on earth thanks to you!
thank you so much guys! i hope you’ll be doing a lot more awesome josei mangas for your next project!
Amasing!! thank you very much!!!
I gonna read already!!
Its me again, ¿Is there a volumen 10?? :O
Volume 10 will be out this autumn ^^
merci
Thanks guys! I hope volume 10 will get scanned and you’ll release it as well. Remember I can always help with cleaning. :D ah also about that, I’d like to ask you to send me volume 8 cleans. please~
I really liked the end, though I’m not sure about one thing. Basically, Sentaro is staying at that little island he, well, ran away to, and Kaoru’s visiting him (and “helping out at the island’s clinic every week”), but is living/working in Kyushu? I wanted Sen to go back to his hometown, kinda… Well either way, being a priest suits him surprisingly well.
Thanks so much for your work on this. I really – really have been checking this site every few days since you released book four!
I had heard so many bad things about the ending I was expecting the worst….
BUT I really enjoyed this ending! Although it was a bit quick/convenient, I felt the substance was there and the characters made interesting decisions that suited them.
Personally, I thought it might have been nice to see how Sentaro came to become a priest and whether he had made that decision before running away. We would not need to see much (maybe just a flashback or something at the end). I also want to know how his family responded to his return.
My major gripe = Why didn’t Ritsuko write to Kaoru after the phone incident to explain what had happened. His reaction was understandable (and predictable). If she knew what had happened (as implied), why did she let it end that way and stop writing to him? It’s downright cruel and out-of-character. If those two are going to work they BOTH need stop jumping to conclusions and start considering the other persons feelings *grr-*
Thanks again. I hope you get around to vol 10 at some point. Maybe some Sakamichi questions will be answered? :D
Firstly, thank you so, so much for scanlating this manga. I’m just incredibly glad I got to follow this story in its entirety. I’m consantly reminded how manga (and comics/arts in general) can have such capacity to move and embrace human emotion.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SCANLATING THIS WHOLE AMAZING SERIES *BOWS*
it’s sad that it’s finally over but thank you so much!! we really appreciate your hardwork on Sakamichi no Apollon <3
Thank you so much!!! ;w; is it possible to get the raw scans as well?
Thank you so much for sharing this project with us! I really loved this manga <3
thank you so much!!!!! :D
also curious as to whether you’ll be translating vol. 10!
Yes, if there are scans/cleaners :>
thank you for this very lovely series!
The end was just like life, many things without a answer, hahaha…. Great job translating this manga ! Thkxx !
Thank you so much for finished this project and for sharing with us. I’m so excited with the next project that you choose to make
why does baka-updates indicate that there are 10 volumes in this series?
The main story is complete at volume 9, but volume 10 will be a compilation of related short stories.
huwaaa!!!! it eeennddds…. TT^TT
i like the story, but i’m rather sad cause we only see sen almost at the end.. i love sen so much so i wish they found each other a bit earlier. but i can see how the journey get to there.. up to the point where all characters are drifting apart, then found each other at the end… but i look forward to the compilated oneshots.. hopefully there’s more story of sen, kaoru n ritsuko. although i dont really like yukari, but i’m still curious of how she goes with junichi afterwards. hope u can get the raws for it. ^^
Hey there.
If you want to do Volume 10 (or all the bonus track episodes)
I can do the cleaning and typesetting. Even if you manage to get scans from the thin paper or the Flowers magazine ^_^
What an amazing series…I really liked the friendship between the characters so I was disheartened at the end of volume 8.
I liked the way she handled volume 9 even though I would have preferred about 2 or three more :)
Thank you guys for taking on this series.
And so quickly too!!!
WOW, You are ROCK!!
so fast!
Amazing Story, amazing releases… thank you for your hard work. And thank you again… thanks xD
After daily coming here to check, the 9th volume is done. So fast!!
I would like to reiterate the feelings of infinite gratitude for bringing us your wonderful translations/scanlations. Thank you so much!! *humbly bows* (And Fabulous Max for being too Fabulous Max for the survival strategy of cleaning the scans <3).
About the manga, it was really heart warming. I really enjoyed it, to the point of making my heart flutter and bring me to tears, it was that emotional for me. I consider the first 4 volumes were the best in terms of storytelling, and the 8th and 9th were pretty rushed since there are a few missing stories that should have being explained: Sentarou after he ran away, Ritsuko was kind of a background character most of the time (someone get that girl some back bone, please).. Mariko's point of view about Kaoru must have been quite interesting… the only ones that were lucky to be together thanks to their courage (Jun-nii and Yurika) you can guess that they did just fine. I was very happy with the ending, though. And I wish I had made a bet, since I accurately forecasted Sen's "career", hahaha.
But maybe, I'm demanding too much. Maybe, it's not necessary to add more stories at all. Everything revolves around Kaoru, after all. He was the main narrator and you inmerse yourself in him, his feelings and thoughts; while other characters got secondary treatment. That is just as real life is. This is the main reason why this manga is brilliant.
So, what is Sakamichi no Apollon about? It is a marvelous, yet simple, story of friendship between two boys. Friendship is its main theme, and it stablishes what is obvious: that it's the purest type of bond that last forever. You witness a huge evolution for the best and a great deal of character maturing after years went by, thanks to the influence of friendship. Everything that happened was forgotten and therefore redeemed because of it.
This type of pure friendship, as portrayed in Sakamichi no Apollon, is a theme often forgotten in anime/manga. You may think the feelings of being "nakama" is overused in most manga, such as in the shounen genre where a character even sacrifice his life for his friends, the same way they would do for a cause or for justice, just to give an example to illustrate my point. In real life, that happens only once in a billion cases. Kaoru and Sentarou were not just true friends that would sacrifice his life for each other, they also were soulmates, a guardian algel to each other (those 2 scenes with Sen covered in a blanket over the bench were very significant), two kindred hearts. Some may say that they were in love and had the hots for each other, but I strongly disagree. To be honest, I must confess that I'm a fujoshi (i.e. a huge fan of the yaoi genre) and for not even a second I thought about these two guys having sex. There's just no sexual tension flowing around them, even when they hugged or stayed close to each other, so I'm very sure they are, for sure, straight.
In my opinion, this manga gives the most real portrayal of true, pure friendship that I've ever read up to date. The closest equivalent could be Banana Fish, even though it has a trace of shounen-ai sometimes, without being shounen-ai whatsoever. By the way, If you haven't read Banana Fish, give it a try, it's a timeless jewel and a very emotional story, with plenty of action scenes; it was the first manga that made me cry (the second was Honey and Clover and the third is Sakamichi no Apollon). And I'm not a crybaby.
PD: I'm very sorry for the long post. I wish you could also work in the bonus volume, if you get some time, scans and a helper scancleaner. I wish I could be of help but I don't know how to clean scans.
Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for all your excellent work! I feel spoiled to be in this fandom and it’s largely thanks to how consistently you manage to put out amazing scans for everyone to enjoy! Thank you, thank you.
PS: If you’re still looking for manga recs, I’ll second Natsuyuki Rendezvous and/or Sangatsu no Lion. I somehow have a feeling that you’ll enjoy them, as they’re both thoughtful, interesting, and beautiful stories. :)
Wow, it’s great to know that theres is a volumen 10, cause I didn’t like this ending!!
Thank you very much
Thank you guys for scanlating the series! Was getting more and more depressed with what happened as I turn the pages but the wrap-up suddenly took an unexpected turn to how I wish things would end, and it did.
Thank you so much for scanlating this awesome series! I’m glad it ended the way it did — those three belong together. :)
Thanks! It was beautiful! *sniffle*
OH MY GOODNESS, I cried so hard throughout this volume
Well, the crying started last volume, but I don’t even know how to describe it! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!
I’ve been wondering though, although you said you were translating stuff you find interesting, did you also find it interesting that the anime is airing at the same time, throughout your scanlation I kept thinking that it was a race between the two lol
Of course I read the manga first! I haven’t even touched the anime yet.
THANK YOU!!! This was such a beautiful piece of work!!! The ending was sweet but sad too. I’m going to miss reading about this trio and I look forward to the 10th volume.
I hope it adds more to what happened in this volume or even gives more information on the trio. I felt like it ended sort of quickly. The pacing was fine at first but it sped up near the ending of Scene 44! :(
I can’t wait for the anime and manga to hit the states! I will buy it in a heartbeat!!
Thank you again! *sob*
Thank you so much for your work!
Beautiful ending, did not fail to meet my expectations!
Thanks for the great work! Made my life awesome for the past few months.
Thank you so much for putting in effort to scan and translate the whole volume. It’s definitely not easy.
Also my thoughts on the last volume. I felt like it was a little bit too rushed, I guess. Especially that part when he finally got the chance to meet with Sen and Ritsuko.
Finally, when are you going to translate the 5th part of Ao Oni? I miss their commentary.
I’ll be uploading Part 5 today! I took a break from translating to catch up with anime before the new season kicks in, haha.
Maybe a little too rushed and melodramatic as ending but it was sweet. Neither way, an awesome manga, thanks for the translation! I’m waiting for the extra volume, Jun-nii’s story should be interesting!
What a wonderful read!
I’m so glad I was able to finish this great series. Thank you so much for picking it up.
thank you for translating this series
Thank you team sukikatte for this whole series; especially appreciate your dedication in sharing this heart warming series and effort in timely releases*bow* Thankyou!
I cried many times while reading this series and in the process actually made me appreciate the people around me. I am satisfied with how the mangada ended the story in v9. Sen will be an excellent priest and he is wonderfull with children…he will be loved by many. The children [orphans] are fortunate to be with him and it would be interesting if we get a chance to read 10 years or 20 years from the reunion. Thank you for all your hardwork! ^__^
….mangada = mangaka
thank you for your hard work sukikatte! I really enjoyed the series :)
I think that overall, this was a really subtle, beautiful work. It was slice as life as it could get without compromising on the pace of the story, which can be a hard balance to maintain. I think the main charm of Apollon would be the way this mangaka portrays the subtle nuances of the human emotions- all of them were clear, simple, direct, very honest, and very relatable. I felt Bon’s empty pain when he missed Sen. I felt the joys of their friendship when they were all reunited together again. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.
I’m not sure what to think of Ritsuko, to be honest. I feel as if she’s a sweet character, but I would have much preferred if a platonic, but passionate dynamic was retained amongst all of them. I like the theme of friendship over love very much, and I personally wouldn’t have minded if Ritsuko had been dating the other guy. I think it was not right of her to not explain things to Bon afer the phone call, even if she WAS feeling bad. I am sure she knew Bon’s feelings for her and she should have at least cleared things up.
My favourite character is still Sentarou. He was consistently wonderful from the beginning to the end, and I was truly sad when he did not appear until the very end. It was a very empty feeling. My gripe is that I wish that Sentarou and Kaoru’s relationship/interaction was emphasized and developed a little bit more when they were reunited. This is because their relationship has always been the backbone of the story, and I felt that it would truly end full circle with the both of them in focus. Everything meshed into one big happy wedding at the end was fine, but SenBon’s dynamics shouldn’t have been glossed over.
All in all though, absolutely beautiful manga. Understated brilliance, I would call it. Makes me wanna run down slopes too, with friends beside me and music in my ears. :)
Thank you guys again for your hard work! <3
Oh my god…I really can´t believe that this serie is gonna end…I’m going to cry, I feel so sad, but at the same time very happy because I’ve the opportunity to read it thanks to you and your hard and wonderful job…♥
Besides, I have to tell you, since a long long time that I haven´t red a story so nice and lovely like this one, I have a feeling of melancholy that I can´t describe…Thank u, thank u for give me the chance to know something like this, you’ve made me happy since the first volume till the last…
Sakamichi gave me the kind of emotions and also feelings, that I only felt when I thought that my life was going on the right way…And that´s because, the story is so full of situations and moments that it could happen in any time of anyone lives..And that’s the real magic of this.
“Just live and act the way you really are, enjoy those little things that happen in jour stay in this world, because sometimes, sometimes, if you do this, you can realised that big things may happen to you. Listen the music of your heart and all the magic around you, and that will be the instant when you will understand how the world works”…
I only went looking for the manga last night (after a comment on CR for ep11 of the anime) and was surprised it had all been done. Read Vol8 and 9 last night. Ending good, but one too many years went by. Absolutely no mention of where or what Sentaro was doing all that time I was most disappointed with. And maybe obvious, but really not sure Karou and Ritsuko get married. A few other points would have like explained or more details for as well.
Thank-you very much for doing this series and an amazing job of it as well!
Mmmmm, somebody answer me this please!!!!
It’s true that’s gonna come out a new volume, I mean, a 10 volume??? I heard this a few days ago, but I’m not sure…According to my source it’s expected the next autumn(Japan)
So this is a temporal ending?…Okey, I’m not going to get my hopes up with this, I just wanted to know ^^
Vol.10 focuses on Junichi and Yurika <:
Not just on them… Just the 1st story.
The 2nd story is about Ritsuko and the young brother of Sentaro.
The 3rd story is about the young days of Ritsuko’s parents.
and the 4th is about Sen!
>The 3rd story is about the young days of Ritsuko’s parents.
omg omg for real?!
Tsutomu was my favourite actually, while I didn’t care about Junichi and Yurika that much (even though their story was good), so I wasn’t excited for vol 10… BUT NOW I’M EXCITED.
And there’s still one 5th bonus track ^___^
I hope it’ll be an epilogue with our characters reuniting a few years later *O*
thank you so much for bringing this lovely manga to us! I felt the ending was very satisfying. And whilst it was surprising where they ended up, it wasn’t at all unexpected. Such a satisfying read! I really hope you can source some scans on v10 – I wanna read more about Junichi and Yurika.
Just finished reading after days of pain helding back, just because I want to conclude it by watching the anime first. I totally agree with therrain on “this manga gives the most real portrayal of true, pure friendship that I’ve ever read up to date”, and why is that? Because I felt it so personal, like the things that actually happened in my own real life story.
The ending might feel quick and rushed, but to be honest… I couldn’t stop crying on the reunion scene. I was anxious with the ending with all the sad depressing ending theme played in the anime, but now I understand the final part of the song upon watching and reading the reunion scene several times. Sure, there’re plenty of questions unanswered, but that’s how life is. To me personally, this ending shows one thing for the 3 main cast: A NEW BEGINNING. No more heart broken, no more pain, start all over again with a smile. Sure, I wonder what happens next, but let’s safe it for theirselves because all we need to know is that they are back together again.
I’m probably one of the few who wished Ritsuko would not end up with any of the boys, just because of one thing: their friendship is much more worthy to fight for compared to love. Sen left because he felt he had no place in the world, but he actually waited for Kaoru to come for him. Kaoru might left to be a doctor while helding back his anger to Sen and love to Ritsuko, but he didn’t think twice when he heard that he finally knew his whereabout. Ritsuko, silently but sure, didn’t want these boys who are her “Favorite Things” to stop caring for each other. Even the supporting cast like Yurika and Matsuoka, showed their support for this friendship.
This is one of the best manga I’ve read in my whole life. Thanks to Sukikatte team for providing the scanlation, it was awesome and without I even realized it, I’ve been promoting your work to people in my network for quite sometime, and probably checked the site daily for updates haha. Thanks for the superb work, looking forward for more awesome work from you guys!
Oh yeah, looking forward for book 10 as well XD
Thank you very much for this wonderful manga. You did an awesome and fast work. I’m looking foward for the gaiden.
Thank you, now I’m happy.
Best wishes to your scanlation team.
Thanks so much for the scanlation. I really enjoyed reading this series!
Thank you!
Hi there
First I want to say ‘Thank you very very very very … much much much” to you who brings us so meaningful manga in English
I intend to traslate this Manga into VietNamese for more fans than can’t read English well…
and will remake from your Eng scan ver only vol 1 , 8 and 9
I ask for your permission… please.
Reply me as soon as you can
One more times , thank you !
Yeah it’s fine, go ahead!
Thank you for keeping up the excellent work until today. This manga is a pure jewel by itself, so the group who had the patience and efforts to the very end. I couldn’t be happier but for all you guys working free only to bring the pleasure of manga around the world. My absolute respect…
I was surprised Sen decided to become a priest just like that. His reasons weren’t really explained whereas it’s a rather unusual choice. If he just wanted to find somewhere where he belonged, help build a community and work with children, there were other choices he could have made. In my opinion, becoming a priest really is about religion first and foremost and not once has the mangaka tackled this subject (which is understandable). But, apart from the fact that I really don’t get why the mangaka had to make Sen become a priest, I found this series very enjoyable.
Oh, and I’m asking this out of curiosity, but do you plan on scanlating other series in the future?
I’m very glad for not missing the chance to meet this manga. One doesn’t know how deep buried in the mess of series it could be left, counting some years from now. I’m sure there are many excelent ones there, but to have the chance to read this is a joyful oportunity.
Thanks for this gift to all.
BTW: I know that the last chapter is a gift for the readers from the author, and some could think that is a waste. IMEO (In My Egotist Opinion) I think that the devoted readers that follow this up to the end have some rights over the characters, appreciate them and want some final happines for their life.
Thank You for your hard work! I loved this manga. Hopefully we will get the spin-off sometime. I’m gonna miss them!
Thank you so much for translating this series. I loved the characters and how the story was written so beautifully.
Thanks you so much for translating and scanning this series.
If I am not mistaken the author will release the volume 10 (spin-off) on this autumn? I hope so. I wish I could help you getting the scans or anything…
Thank you very much for scanlating his wonderful series. A friend highly recommended it and now I can see what the hype was all about! I read this series in like 2 days hahaha. It was worth my time. xD Sen and Bon’s friendship was pretty beautiful. I wasn’t so crazy about all the love triangle crap happening inbetween, or the character of Ritsuko, but I definitely enjoyed the character development. And the ending is very fitting. Though I was pissed that Sen never tried to reach out to his friends and let them know where he was!!! Geez, I mean guilt for hurting your sister is one thing but…
ANYWAY. This was touching, good stuff. Really appreciate your hard work for bringing this to us. ^^
hi! Scans for the last bangaihen Sakamichi no Apollon BONUS TRACK just popped up in the raw sharing sites ^^;;;
Thanks for the heads up! That saves me a lot of time :>
No probs! I really hope to see Junii and everyone again x3.
Hello, members of Sukikatte.
Me and a friend are creating a new website of translation. We decided to translate Sakamichi no Apollon. We would like to ask your permission to use your work for us translate this manga to portuguese. Can we?
Thank you for your attention and sorry for the inconvenience.
Honestly, Bon.
Contact: yumenofuusen@outlook.com