Nodame Cantabile

Gyabo!

I'm not sure why, but for some reason I've found myself reviewing certain franchises in reverse order. Then again, given the nature of Nodame Cantabile and its heroine Noda Megumi, maybe doing things in a not so normal manner is the way to go.

For those of you who don't know the series, Nodame Cantabile is based on the bestselling manga of the same name by Ninomiya Tomoko, and while I do like that particular work, the anime is a little bit special in that it's one of the rare occasions where the adaptation is as good as, or in this case better than, the original.

We'll ... talk about that in a moment though.

Now, many people have been raving about the current Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood series because of how faithful it is to the manga, but what many people seem to have forgotten is that there were already a few shows around that were almost completely true to their manga counterparts (and that didn't include much in the way of filler episodes) - Genshiken, Air Gear, History's Strongest Disciple and Nodame Cantabile to name but a few. In addition to this, many of the long running shounen franchises like Bleach, Naruto, One Piece, etc, generally stay true to the manga for much of the main story, but have a tendency to provide "anime original" tales and filler episodes too.

Regardless of what one may think of a given show though, the surprising thing is that many faithful reproductions of the original manga are pretty decent, especially if the source material is good. When the tale is something like Nodame Cantabile though, then something special happens, something that doesn't happen very often in anime.

As with the manga, the story follows the "adventures" of the eccentric musical genius Noda Megumi, and her love interest, the handsome Chiaki Shinichi. The two meet by complete accident and Nodame quickly falls in love.

What follows is, well, a roller coaster of laughs, many of which you won't see coming.

Unlike many other romantic comedy anime, the action in Nodame Cantabile doesn't take place in a high school but instead centres around Momogaoka College of Music, and the difference in not only the mentality and personality of the characters, but the overall approach to the story and plot, is actually quite telling. When one watches the series, it becomes obvious that the characters are no longer children, and while they may not yet be out of full time education, their attitudes to life, the world, and to other people, are actually very different from what one encounters in the hordes of high school romantic comedies around.

Now one of the main issues when it comes to adapting a manga is that of pacing, in particular how the plot flows from one episode to the next, and from one story arc to the next. With manga, as with anything written, the pacing is dictated by the reader, whereas with anime the pacing is already there, and it's up to the director to find the balance so that viewers and fans of the original work will warm to the adaptation. Thankfully, Kasai Kenichi (Honey & Clover, KimiKiss Pure Rouge, Major), managed to get the formula very close to what many viewers find acceptable.

Okay, some of you may be confused by all this talk about pacing issues, but there's actually a good reason for bringing it up. Many shows can get by when the pacing is a little bit off from what you would prefer (Bleach, for example, with it's annoying recaps at the beginning of each episode), however Nodame Cantabile is a special case as problems with pacing and timing would have had disastrous effects on one's enjoyment of the show, and the reason for this is because the series lives, and dies, by its music.

Earlier I mentioned that this anime is one of the rare occasions where the adaptation is better than the mange, and the reason for this is because of the music. Where the manga made do with track names and examples of written scores, actually hearing the music played in the anime brings the whole series to a new level. While there are a number of thematic tracks on offer, the heart and soul of Nodame Cantabile are the various pieces of classical music that are played throughout the series, whether it be solo or with an orchestra. In addition to this, unlike other classical music based anime like La Corda D'Oro ~Primo Passo~ and Piano no Mori, as well as the more pop/rock style shows like K-On, Beck, etc, one of the things that sets this series, indeed the whole franchise, apart is the aspect of musical appreciation.

Confused? Well it's fairly easy to explain. One of the aspects of Nodame Cantabile that can heavily influence whether one enjoys the series or not is whether you, the viewer, actually listen to, and appreciate, the music itself. People may find that in order to better understand the character's passion for music, they will in turn listen to the track in a way that they may not have done with other shows, and while this may not seem obvious to most at first, a good question to ask come the end of the series is whether your opinion of classical music has improved over the course of the series. Nodame's antics may help things along with a good dose of comic relief, but the music is the glue that holds everything together.

Given the heavy musical emphasis, one would be forgiven for thinking that something was sacrificed in order for the whole thing to work. It's surprising then that Nodame Cantabile is actually pretty close to the manga in terms of plot and story, and although some alterations to the tale do occur, these are barely noticeable as they don't really contribute to any major changes in the plot or characters.

Now, while the music is a hugely important factor when deciding if one will enjoy Nodame Cantabile, one other aspect will determine whether you love the series or not - the characters.

Unlike many other romantic comedies the show has opted for a slightly more whimsical approach to love, life and relationships, and the characters are generally the epitome of this ethos. Noda Megumi (the titular Nodame), is not simply an eccentric musical genius, she is also thoroughly otaku, has a tendency to stalk her love interest, and hates cleaning. Chiaki, on the other hand, is a talented but arrogant musician who is widely regarded as the "prince" of the college.

What sets this series apart from other romantic comedies is the manner in which the characters are used. While the two leads may be the focus of the show, there is considerable development on the part of several other supporting characters as they strive to become better musicians, and in keeping with the sentiments of the franchise, this never really occurs in the way one expects.

Actually, at heart Nodame Cantabile is simply a different take on the "Beauty and the Beast" format, with classical music and a bit of role reversal thrown in for good measure.

That said, there's nothing beastly about the looks, although there is a slight "cartoon" element to the facial features of the characters, something which is used to good effect during the funny moments. The overall design of the characters however, errs on the side of realism in respect of their movements, and while there's an over-the-top element to the actual animation of their movements during certain scenes, the majority of the time the characters move how one would expect a normal person to move.

The backdrops and settings are pretty well realised for the most part, although there is a watercolour feel to some of the scenery, and the colour palette seems more understated than in most other anime. The combination is strangely elegant in its own way, and makes the visual comedy and parodies of typical shoujo manga scenes funnier for some reason (but that may just be me).

The one issue I do have with the animation is this - why on earth choose such bad CG for the orchestrral scenes. Granted the animation is technically astute when it comes to finger movements and hand positions, but the overall execution is poor, and does not mesh well with the general feel of the show.

One of the reasons why I was attracted to this series is because I like classical music, however even I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Nodame Cantabile. The series plays fast and loose with the typical perception that such music is staid and proper, and the comedy is often surprising in both its accuracy and its execution. Much of the humour is easily accessible to those with no knowledge of music, especially Nodame's notorious "Fart Song" and "Moja Moja Suite". This strange but well executed combination of classical music and comedy is a far cry from other shows, and the approach is far more tongue in cheek than one might initially expect.

In addition to this, the depiction of student life is easily on a par with the like of Moyashimon and Genshiken, with everything that entails too. It's nice to see students doing things that students would actually do (like going out as a group and getting hammered).

Given the current glut of high school romantic comedies, Nodame Cantabile is a breath of fresh air because of its more mature yet whimsical take on love and life.

"Let's go have some fun by playing some music."

Nodame Cantabile follows the lives of Chiaki, Nodame and an assortment of other musically talented characters attending Japan's top music university. Throughout their studies they encounter any number of trials and tribulations as their undying passion for the art grows evermore, and through each other they learn to appreciate music and performance in a whole different light, while also discovering true romance and what it is they want out of life.

The story is handled in such a mature, hard-hitting, ever so relatable way. A romantic, musically-focused plot about ardour in and outside of a relationship, Nodame Cantabile ... is not just for instrumentalists, romantics and music fans, but for doubters, dramatics and anyone who has ever had a passion. It's a relatable series with realistic characters, thoughtful dialogue and worldly themes of uncertainty, struggle and infatuation; as enjoyable and funny as it is heartbreaking and frank. It's well structured, wonderfully written and superbly developed. The plot has a real sense of purpose, there's genuine progress in the characters and just as many light-hearted, warm, fuzzy, humorous and loveable moments to be had as there is dramatic twists, heart-wrenching drama and eye-popping musical set pieces.

As with the plot, this exceptional quality and superb writing - which I should attribute a great deal to Tomoko Ninomiya as the author of the source material, along with the anime staff - is ever-present in the characters. The main characters - Chiaki and Nodame - are an always-interesting duo, and certain members of the supporting cast are extremely well matured; there's large amounts of progression not only in terms of their personality, but also in their actions and motivations. The characters feel very 'real' - even Nodame's sometimes outlandish behaviour never wears thin - they're down-to-earth, relatable, likeable and memorable creations, flawlessly complementing the story.

As a series focused on classical music, the sound department utulise many of the famous maestros, from Rachmaninoff to Bach. When the characters aren't performing or practicing, Matsutani Suguru provides the score, which blends seamlessly with the vintage classical tone of the famous compositions, while also adding a variety of more up-tempo, lighthearted tracks for comedic scenes. It's of particular note that, as the series progresses and introduces orchestras and large scale performances, the staff don't shy away from committing lengthy compositions to the screen. An episode of Nodame Cantabile has a run-time of twenty-two minutes, but during episodes which feature an orchestral performance, often nearly half or a third of that time the backing track will consist solely of a single arrangement. The staffs dedication and reluctance to cut corners with the music is admirable. Allowing the compositions to play for so long offers audiences a beauty and experience a sample would fail to execute. The music is Nodame Cantabile is handled with care and executed to perfection.

One of the series' only let-downs is in the animation. Despite committing to such lengthy compositions that beautifully eat away at a large portion of an episodes run-time, the animation becomes very stagnant and disappointing during the performance sequences. An orchestra is usually extremely lively, the conductor is filled with energy and there are constant bursts of movement, but this is often not depicted in Nodame Cantabile. Instead, audiences are presented with many panning shots of still frames, with only a small number of animated sequences in-between; this sadly sucks much of the life and excitement out of the performances. The rest of the animation is generally very fluid, however, and the sequences that do depict the motions of an instrument are beautifully done. The art style evokes well Niniomiya's manga; it has a very soft tone, pleasing to the eye.

Nodame Cantabile is a sensational, all-around compelling watch, not only for its masterful depictions of love, life and the beauty of music, but also for its comedic aspects. It's at times a lighthearted series, full of laughs and humour with precise comedic timing and intelligent punchlines. The hilarity never overstays its welcome, however, as the drama often takes the reins with full force, creating an abundance of memorable, affecting and emotive television. Nodame Cantabile is an ultimately moving series, with a completely fascinating story and spellbinding characters, depicting romance - in more ways than one - as beautiful as the classics themselves. It's an extremely admirable creation; certainly one of the genres best and an absolutely outstanding anime production.

I've seen my fair share of music anime, but this is the first time the musical genre has been my first love: classical music.

STORY - "Work hard and you'll achieve your dream!" It's a very cliche and often-used storyline, right? Well, yes. Yes, it is, but that hardly means that the subsequent series has to be old and tiresome. I've said before that the best stories take something that's been done a thousand times already and somehow manage to tell it in a way that's better and more interesting. In a genre dominated by high school drama, Nodame Cantabile steps it up and uses college ... students, something I'd love to see happen more often. The storytelling happens in a mostly slice-of-life format, but it doesn't shy away from progressing significantly in time -- weeks pass, months pass, whole seasons and school years pass, and it's great to be able to follow the characters for these longer periods of time, especially since it emphasizes the fact that change and progress take both hard work and time.

Nodame Cantabile is very focused for a slice-of-life series in that almost all of the characters are very serious and motivated by their goals; there are notably few subplots that veer away from the main points. I think this can make it a bit more attractive to people that are generally bored by a wandering plotline, but it's pretty easy to get engaged in this series regardless. Reading summaries for Nodame Cantabile can only bring skepticism and doubt considering the frequency of the main plot, but watching it? I was charmed by episode one.

CHARACTER - Without a doubt, most of Nodame Cantabile's appeal is in its characters. Though it feels a little odd to use the adjective on him, Shinichi Chiaki is definitely gar: all the girls want him, and all the guys want to be him (actually, wait, some of the guys want him too). This most likely includes the members of the audience! He's a genius at what he does and furiously motivated; everywhere he goes, people throw themselves at his feet and do everything in their power to push him forward. You're compelled to cheer for him every step of the way. It's funny sometimes how that much charisma can make it through the screen, but it's there, and it's because despite Chiaki's exceeding excellence at everything, he remains a very accessible character. His weaknesses are just as glaring and significant as his strengths, and they're what balance him out. It's easy to imagine yourself in Chiaki's shoes.

Nodame, strangely enough, is very much the same. She's crazy, quirky, wild, and questionable, but once again, she's very human. Her antics are never so over-the-top that they're utterly unbelievable, and her hopes and dreams are notably muddled alongside her classmates' -- something a lot of people can also relate to. The differences between Nodame and Chiaki made them perfect foils, and it was really fun watching all the drama and interaction between the two. Despite the frequency of Nodame's claims on Chiaki, I really felt like this was one of the least forced-feeling romances I've ever seen. At no point did their relationship feel cheap, contrived, or overly convenient. Because so much time passes during the series, the relationship felt like it progressed at a much more natural place; it was great (and adorable).

All of the support characters are nice in their own way, and I don't think there was a single one I disliked. One of the reasons I loved that this series features college-aged students is the fact that they can all drink, smoke, and have sex and it isn't shocking or scandalous! It also added a nice bit of insight into the lives of Japanese college students and their hilarious nightlifes (clubs, arcades, and karaoke!) when they aren't busy studying.

ARTSTYLE & ANIMATION - Nodame Cantabile has a pretty damn simple and generic art style, but in that simplicity, it's hard to find anything to pick at. The only thing that stands out for me in the character design is that many characters look like they're perpetually blushing, which is a little confusing at times -- once I got used to it though, it really wasn't that big of a deal.

The most obvious critique of the animation in this series comes from the numerous still-frames used in the dozens of playing and concert montages. As an anime about music, there's obviously a lot of music-playing involved. Especially in scenes involving entire orchestras, the animation is minimal to none -- nine out of ten times you see a flute, a clarinet, an oboe, a french horn, or a cello, the players' arms and fingers aren't moving. The ratio is slightly improved for violin, and the piano gets the most attention with moving fingers maybe 40% of the time. It's understandable though; after all, animating individual fingers playing instruments with many keys is incredibly difficult, especially for the piano, when they make a huge effort to animate the actual notes that are being played.

Aside from piano, where we're sometimes lucky enough to get ten to twenty measures of music at a time, most instruments are only shown being played for seconds at a time, and it's often CG. This makes the rendering of the instrument perfectly accurate and shiny (especially the clarinets and oboes), and I loved catching those sniplets of action in between the panning shots. There are a lot of still shots, but I do think what they do show us is worth it. There is one concert near the beginning of the series that's about half an episode's worth of still montages, but that's the worst of it -- as the series progresses, there's gradually more and more actual playing. :3

MUSIC - Ah, classical music! And of such a nice variety too! I was happy to see that the selection of music in Nodame Cantabile represented more than just the select few scores and piano pieces known by the general public. Most of the composers are still familiar, but there are also lesser-known names such as Debussy, Ravel and Sarasate. Unfortunately, as much as I do love classical music, I don't have a trained enough ear to be able to tell whether or not the music played in the series was tailored specifically for it -- for example, when characters supposedly play a piece poorly, I really can't tell. When characters supposedly improvise and don't play exactly what the piece dictates, I can't tell.

I would think that a vast majority of the pieces would be professionally recorded pieces borrowed for the series though, and that they're all free of glaring errors. (I just can't imagine that they'd budget the money required to hire an entire orchestra to mess up.) Still, at least some of the piano solos (the Moja Moja Suite? The improvised piano version of some made-up show?) had to have been recorded for the show. Overall, all of the music is very pleasing to listen to and well-performed. Maybe you don't be moved to tears like the characters are, but if you're even a mild fan of classical music, you'll be fine. :)

VOICE ACTING - Seki Tomokazu and Ayako Kawasumi both do a great job with their leads. As both characters go through a full range of emotions, their voices had to match up appropriately, and they did! Especially for a character like Nodame, who habitually puts up one front while fostering other thoughts and feelings inside, it was really important that she have a good voice. The rest of the characters all had pretty nice voices as well, though no others really stood out to me as being particularly notable.

OVERALL - As a longtime fan of classical music, an amateur pianist, and a former clarinetist, Nodame Cantabile was both inspiring and nostalgic. It made me want to play more piano, and it made me really miss playing the school band or orchestra. It was educational, giving insight into the world and careers of classical musicians, and it was touching, allowing for a window in the lives of some very believable characters. It was hilarious and very silly at times, but I don't think it ever crossed the line into over-the-top territory. Even for those who aren't huge, huge fans of classical music, I think this series has enough merit to warrant a taste, and for those who are fans, you definitely don't want to miss this series. I already can't wait to move onto the sequel. :3

Personally, I think Nodame Cantabile is in a league by itself when it comes to chemistry between characters.

You can compare it to tons of anime that has that general theme of "practice hard and keep trying and reach for your goals"... but that wouldn't give you the whole picture. Each person of the central core of characters is so unique and distinct and finely tuned that it brings the idea of knowing a character to a whole new level. By the end of the series, you know their goals, their motivations, their attitude, their style, their history... and at the center of all ... these rich, amazing characters are Nodame and Chiaki: the child-like, natural savant without an iota of discipline and the despairing, rigid genius of music royalty who has lost the forest for the trees. Once you buy into the premise that they're both incredibly talented, you find out that they've both been pushed to opposing extremes -- somewhat by choice, somewhat by circumstance -- and over the course of 23 episodes, you can see how they slowly influence each other's lives and music in a way that's realistic and beautiful and charming and heartwarming... how they bring out the best in each other.

It's also really refreshing to have main characters in a romance who aren't your typical strong-assertive-type meets meek-pushover-type. Nodame and Chiaki each have their individual strengths and weaknesses. He's incredibly arrogant and impatient and rigid and controlling. And she's so hapless and quirky and irresponsible and oblivious and... dirty. They both are very attached to their own way of doing things and they both kind of just... bulldoze over each other. When you put them in a room together, sparks just fly. ...And it's really, really fun to watch.

I'm kind of a sucker for guys like Chiaki anyway, but I don't think I'd be the only one to find his relationships with everyone funny and endearing... for some reason, the way he takes care of Nodame is just really funny.

The other thing I really liked about the show was the music. Just amazing music; amazing understanding of music and amazing use of music. I really enjoyed getting to see the development of certain pieces of music from the first run-through to the final performance. I'm not a musician myself and I know next to nothing about classical music or orchestras, so I thought it was a fascinating look at the work and the dedication and everything that goes into the performances. And to my layman's eyes, the imagery that they use to illustrate the feel and the flavor of the individual pieces was incredibly lovely and insightful (see: the ripples at the beginning of the Rachmaninoff piece and the pink flower petals during the oboe concerto). It made me feel like I had been missing out on something amazing all my life -- that's how good of a job they do in expressing the passion and devotion to music in these characters.

I have to say, visually, I got a little tired of the pans across the stunned audience member shots... but most of those scenes was about listening to the piece more than anything anyway. They also tend to do a lot of panning over stills in general, but the pros far, far, far outweigh any cons, so it's pretty easy to not care about that sort of thing.

I could probably nitpick a little about the plot and such if those things bothered me at all while watching the show... but they really didn't, mainly because... well, did the show even have a plot? The "action" of the story is so... inconsequential, that complaining about how something happens is like... missing the whole point of the show. So it's probably enough to say that if you're looking for something that's about what happened or what to do next, Nodame Cantabile might not interest you so much. Frankly, almost nothing actually "happens" except for the mundane or the completely to-be-expected. If you're looking for a show that really seems to enjoy getting to know this group of people and the passion they have in common... this is something you absolutely cannot miss.

I really can't say enough good things about this show; just watch it!! =) =) =)

The themes of the individual episodes are very repetitive. Pacing is like watching water boil while the paint dries. Humour is ok, but hits you repeatedly over the head with a very obvious, familiar hammer. Animation consists of a lot of panning over stills and simple, abstract backgrounds. However, the male lead is intriguing, ambitious and flawed. The setting is also quite romantic and exotic to the average viewer. The show could at least have been enjoyable if not for its most fatal fault -- a female lead who is stereotypically brainless, romance-obsessed, unambitious, strident, and one-dimensional.

It all just got very boring, very fast.

What can I say about Nodame Cantobile? It was one of those anime that you can\'t help but enjoy. It managed to tell a fun story in which each of the characters try to accomplish what they want out of life with a careful mix of humor and drama.

One of the main draws, I felt, is the believability of the characters. You will not find a perfect guy surrounded by other perfect people with wild personalities. You will, instead, find people who you could probably relate to. Each has his or her own strengths and weaknesses. The character drawings are also top notch. Again, they ... just have a sense of realism to them that often goes unnoticed. Even the animations and setting gel well together (though I think they overused the "vertical blue lines" expression).

The story was a nice break from other anime I have seen. All of the characters are trying to make their way in the world of music. They all struggle for success, which is a good lesson to viewers. Even the romance between the two main characters, Chiaki and Noda, integrates itself well. Nothing is overdone to the point of boredom, and each character has his or her role to play. The ending makes you wish for more, but it does it well enough so that you would not complain.

The comedy in it is great. The character interactions will make you chuckle more than a few times, especially between Noda and Chiaki. Their relationship is almost a mockery.

The sounds are great, as is to be expected in an anime about classical music. The full orchestra pieces sound fantastic, and it is not uncommon for me to have Nodame Cantobile running in the background of my computer just for the music, especially in the last few episodes. The character voices are also well picked and never get annoying.

Ultimately, I thought this anime came pretty darn close to perfect. I rather wish they would have used more than just the "blue lines" as the embodiment of sickness and had more movement during the musical pieces, but these are minor trifles. This anime was great and I recommend it to almost everyone (except maybe those who revel in blood and violence. You will see none of that in Nodame Cantobile.)

Introduction
Nodame Cantabile is love at first sight. From the very first episode, you notice it is something special. Not only does it entertain, but it also inspires passion, appreciation for beauty, and transports you to your own personal paradise. If I could, I would give this anime an 11 because I cannot and will not compare it to any other anime.

Story
The story is deep yet not complicated enough to detract you from the main plot. An arrogant and talented college student with both ambition and passion chases his dream of being a conductor with the help of other young musicians ... who are inspired by his talent and charm. The pace is just right; the story continues to push forward but gives you enough time to reflect and rejoice in the moment. It does not try to overpower the anime, but lets the other elements like the music shine right through.

Art and Sound
Nodame Cantabile surpasses every other anime I have ever seen in this category. The whole anime is a work of art. They know how to bring music to life in the anime and build suspense with the intensity of emotion displayed in the audience and musician's faces. You become part of the show when you watch this anime and they do a great job of expressing music with artistic imagery and interpretation. The opening and ending were my favorites. The opening does a great job of energizing you with its uplifting tempo and catchy melody and makes you feel like you are hearing the beach boys yet the lyrics match the anime perfectly. The 2nd ending was one of my favorite endings of all time as it seemed like the perfect way to descend from the paradise the anime elevated me to.

Characters
As for the characters, the hero, Chiaki, seems to carry the weight of the world on his back yet he never misses a step and continues to persevere. He's not perfect, he has character flaws such as his temper and arrogance as well as some major weaknesses like his fear of flying and sailing. However, his weaknesses make his character more believable and admirable. He's the passionate hero we all long to watch.

Nodame, the female lead, is the fun, quirky character who plays opposite to Chiaki. Their contrasting styles and personalities make the anime very interesting and entertaining to watch. Although, I wouldn't say that there is much romantic development between the two as they do not even kiss during the entire series. However, the viewers don't seem to mind because this anime is a lot more than its story, characters, art, and animation.

Enjoyment
To really appreciate this anime, you have to be able to perceive the beautiful flow and mixing of the elements. The characters could not flourish without their passion for music and unique backgrounds. The animation could not be a masterpiece without the wondrous marriage of art and music. Together, they all create a beautiful symphony that could not be enjoyed piecemeal.

Try to let yourself go when you watch this, close your eyes from time to time and feel the music rushing through your veins and you will be sure to feel goosebumps as you imagine the feelings and emotions that the characters were motivated by.

Conclusion
Those who are easily swept off their feet by the sound of classical music, seek characters who entertain and surprise you, and have an open mind and soul will truly benefit from watching this anime. If you approach this anime in the right mindset, its beauty will penetrate you like an arrow that strikes you at the heart. And when you wake up, you will come as close to heaven as you can possibly get. No matter what your tastes, you will probably find something to like about this anime.

Nodame Cantabile is strange in some regards. It has a good story, full of excellent music, but the transition into the anime medium is a rocky and half-hearted one.

You'd think such a boundless medium as anime would be perfect to accompany some of the timeless symphonies of Schubert or Beethoven, but alas, Nodame gets the short end of the stick in their animation budget. Countless still-frame pans and awkward CG hands for the musical pieces detract from the quality of the scene. It's really better to just close your eyes and take it in, rather than look at the screen while Chiaki and Nodame are ... performing. Outside performance scenes, the animation is respectable enough, but it's subdued and bland so much that nothing leaves a visual impression.

However, Nodame Cantabile's strongest aspect is by far the music, and it right well should be. This is a show that revolves around music and it would be an embarrassment to have anything of lesser quality. The music for Nodame highlights the setting of the series with an array of familiar classic pieces. Though the OP, ED and BGM variations of both are original, they accentuate scenes and the series very well. There's little if anything to complain about here.

Of course, a show entirely about music might get tiresome. Why not just put on a Brahms CD instead? Well, Nodame Cantabile is not entirely about music, but the story it tells is far from as perfect as the music. The problem here is that the series, and therefore probably the manga it was based on, does not have a given direction for the first several episodes. It constantly switches tangents in a wildly unstable way up until the halfway mark when it settles on a direction and runs wonderfully with it. If only this first season could have started as well as it ended.

The story, fortunately, is told through two painstakingly unique characters. Both Nodame and Chiaki have multiple facets to their lives and personalities, so much that there are times that hating them is natural and others where you can't help but love them. In short, they are as human as anime characters come. No one else is quite like them, and I certainly wouldn't be surprised if there were real life bases for the two of them. Supporting characters are a different story. Often they are one-characteristic personalities, though there are exceptions like Strasemann. Unfortunately, most supporting characters disappear as quickly as they appear, or simply fade into the background. Once one shines, they are promptly disposed of. It's a little disheartening given how wonderful the leads are.

Though Nodame has many faults and is far from the perfection it's MAL rating leads one to believe, it is a solid but conventional story as told by two very memorable characters with a timeless soundtrack. Portions of this series are outstanding, while other sections just seem to drag. Your experience, if the other reviews have anything to say about it, may differ. From where I stand though, Nodame is just a good story done well. Nothing more and nothing less.

Overall, I give Nodame Cantabile an 8 out of 10.

~!~ WARNING: Some spoilers may be present ~!~

Ah... such a wonderful pick out of a random selection...

If you were like me, you were going through lists upon lists of anime to watch and, mostly likely if you are reading this, stumbled on this series. Now, I must admit, I was reluctant to watch this at first. I knew nothing of the manga nor the anime. I passed the chance to watch this quite a few times. However, as soon as I sat down and witnessed the first episode, I was eager to see the next episode growing more excited to see one after another.

Nodame Cantabile ... is an anime that isn't exactly like your ordinary anime. You'd struggle to find any kind of cliche within it unless you nit-picked the characters. It's an anime that you are unsure to watch at first as you aren't use to the style or how it presents itself. Once you do, though, it's almost gloriously perfect.

~ Story 9/10 ~
The story is excellent. As soon as you begin, you are dropped into a college school of musical arts where students learn the finesse of classical music and piano. Shinichi Chiaki is one of those students who happens to have issues obtaining his true goals from phobias along with his own personality and his main goal: becoming a conductor.
Our other protagonist, Megumi Nodame, is also a piano student at the same school. Her goals are not as high as Chiaki's, but are very humble and almost comical while being heartwarming as she first strives to be a kindergarten teacher. Both these characters meet by their talents for music and become glued at first meeting.
I wont tell much, but the story has so much influence from music. Classical and other forms of music literally litter each episode beautifully. The story would be nothing if not for for this crucial part. Although it seems weird to talk about music for a story, it's more of something you have to see for yourself to understand why it's important.
The story buries down to the two striving to accomplish their goals while dealing with personal issues, family, and their own thoughts of what they want. If you enjoy a touching story dealing with a growing romance that's always consisting of humor and sometimes drama, this anime is worth the watch.

~ Art 9/10 ~
The art style to the anime isn't ordinary but almost feels important for the entirety. Each character you come across seems to be designed to show off their personality. In fact, subtle to blunt symbolism can be found quite often as the story progresses. The art is heavily touched, however, when it comes to the music scenes themselves. The instruments are detailed and displayed well within their style. The animation is normal without anything special, yet never seems to go too askew or clumsy which is important.

~ Sound 10/10 ~
OH BOY!
You expected this, didn't you? How could an anime about music have poor sound?
You'd be surprised that there is anime that, yes, does supply poor sound sometimes. However, the soundtrack is marvelous in this. The opening and ending theme is quite enjoyable. The character's voice actors do well to portray personality through tone and dialogue. The music, however...
There are scenes within Nodame Cantabile where the main characters and many others will play songs from instruments of a wide variety. You will hear piano classics, orchestras, singing, and many other relatives to the classical genre. They will last for minutes on end, yes, but the scenes are astonishing and great to listen to ESPECIALLY if you are a fan of classical music.

~ Character 8/10 ~
Each person will have a main trait so the humor can be made. Even with that, the characters also display deeply in themselves around these edges and become quite detailed during the serious moments.
Shinichi is a serious person and even more serious when it comes to music. He is arrogant, blunt, and insensitive while not realizing it (or not caring to be sensitive). Shinichi's pros reside with his growth in the story as he matures in his skill and personality. His greatness all falls down to music and his skill of being a perfectionist at everything. He's marvelous at piano and violin, and picks up conducting so fast with such skill that even professional music critiques are surprised that such a young man has such talent. His greatest skill displays from his accuracy as he can listen to the smallest of details in an orchestra. Shinichi is naive numerous times but has his moments where he seems so caring and kind. His character is one where you will find yourself cringing at your computer, getting aggravated by his aggressive personality, and smiling while maybe even surprised by his touching nature.
Nodame is your typical, goofy character. The first time you will meet her, it already shows from her silly piano playing and face she makes as she plays. Many people in the story wonder why she even bothers playing piano, mock her skill, and even insult her from her personality. She is quite the odd person as her social skills can prove to be bubbly yet awkward. She doesn't understand importance as her goals can be simple while her lifestyle is odd. She rarely cleans and plays the piano as she pleases without caring to be accurate. She can sometimes lack common sense or intelligence in scenes because of this which only makes her more charming. As much as she is a goof, pervert, lazy person, Nodame is a lovely character and seems to be the character that really pulls the anime altogether. She has an amazing skill when it comes to the piano being able to accurately play music that she only has to hear and can even add her own style and notes to it. Throughout the anime, you'll find that she's almost like Mozart for many reasons.
The background characters are also pleasing when they show up, being unique and nicely placed. Some are average and some are odd. Either way, as you watch, you'll find yourself paying attention to these characters quite easily and even grow to like them. If not, you will surely love the two main characters and their antics throughout the story.
I would have given this section a 9/10 if it wasn't for the characters lacking a bit. All too often I felt as if the characters weren't expressive or shocking enough. They seemed too flat at times and possibly even predictable. This is rare, however, and overwhelmed by the fact of the characters changing over time as if aging.

~ Enjoyment 9/10 ~
Nodame Cantabile does not fail when it comes to blending it's finely tuned points. It's comedy is childishly humorous and sometimes intelligently funny. It never seems too misplaced and adds a great rendition to the episodes. The drama isn't extremely heavy at times but very serious at other moments. The comedy, drama, and romance tie together perfectly without intertwining and making a terrible mess of everything.
That said, the anime is so enjoyable. It's not your typical anime. You wont find random fight scenes with characters beating each other with violins. You wont find odd harems out of nowhere. It's normal and great to watch. Each episode has its own importance. It never really gets boring and even has this feeling of progression. I've had anime where I could easily skip an episode or two and not miss anything. Here, you can't do that and might even feel ashamed just to do so.
If you had ANY intention of watching this anime at all,
give the first few episodes a try atleast just to see.

Overall:
Nodame Cantabile pulls off this kinda thing where you watch it and it stands out from other animes you've seen. Perhaps it's the characters with their personalities, skills, and personal issues. Maybe it's the wonderful soundtrack that leaves every episode having a great tune. Maybe it's the art and animation that's simple yet pleasing. Could be the story that has something great and impressively divine.
Who knows. It's a wonderful romance tale of two people who you learn much about and grow to love while witnessing them become almost gods of the classical music genre. The series is great every single episode without being too much or too little and leaves you satisfied with at the end of this season. Not an anime you'd push aside without notice or kinda enjoy, but an anime you'd ponder in thought over even after being finished with it. You wont be able to settle with one episode if you enjoy it and even becomes addicting with it's light story.

Nodame Cantabile is worth the watch for its many aspects. If you thought about it, give it a watch. You wont be disappointed and will even find yourself hunting down the sequel seasons just to progress further into the story and characters.

If Nodame wasn't in the show I would have loved it however her character was annoying and I either wanted to shoot her or shoot myself. If I ever meet someone with such a character in real life, that's exactly what would happen. I can't stand Nodame. The rest of the show was good, even close to excellent. The music was wonderful, the art was good, and the rest of the characters were funny and held certain interests. Nodame killed all hope of me ever enjoying this show.

Nodame. She just captured my heart entirely and left me glowing inside and out.

Nodame Cantabile is a story of musicians, Chiaki Shinichii and Noda Megumi, striving to overcome memories that haunt them.

The story is simple since this is a slice of life genre, it deals more of what life of a musician is all about, especially musicians with bad memories. I scored 9 on the story because even though the plot is simple, the realism in it is admiring.

At first glance, my impression of the art is "Honey and Clover?" When I checked, both animations have the same animators, J.C ... Staff. I thought, "hmmmm..." The use of light colors was amazing. They even made it to the point where everything is proportional. The drawback is, I cannot distinguish the faces of the characters. Some of the minor characters have the same facial features, making it difficult who is who. What I love on the animation is how the hands, fit into the notes of the music. It is not just a bunch of random drawings of people sitting on pianos, playing violins and performing in orchestras, but the hands play exactly what the music portrays. Their animation cannot fool the eyes of a musician. Although timing the animation and the music is hard, I believe, but I wish they could do more of those (a personal opinion because I love watching the hands of musicians playing their instruments rather than watching them perform from afar).

The music is also perfect. I just wished though that I knew the pieces played so that I could judge that they did add notes unto the piece when the story says so. But as a classical music lover, it is definitely outstanding.

I love the characters in the anime. Megumi, the fun loving, childish pianist while Shinichii the strict, perfectionist jack-of-all-music-trades, clash as opposite characters. But despite the irony, they fit together snuggly. The growth of the characters was clearly shown when both tried to overcome their past to strive for a better future.

I absolutely enjoyed watching this series. Definitely a top list in my "rewatch series." It gives comedy and romance a different perspective at one time. I wasn't able to help myself at giggling at the silly antics of Megumi and the iron attitude of Shinichii while also falling in love on their relationship and struggles.

If you like nothing-of-the-absurd types of anime like Honey and Clover, Nodame Cantabile should definitely be on your list and a top at that.

I'm going now, out to get my own DVD copy of this series.


Poof!

A quite funny argument you might find occasionally in defense of a work is the saying “you watched it wrong”, implying that any criticism the person might have to the series in question comes from having watched it with the wrong mindset. While I find particularly silly that one would primarily assume such case about someone else’s opinion when facing criticism to a beloved work, since it’s a very pretentious attitude, it doesn’t seem unlikely that a circumstance like that can happen. That was the issue I faced when I began watching Nodame Cantabile, an anime I started with the expectation of being a clean-cut ... romance, a genre that I’m especially attracted to, as some of my favorites might have hinted. While romance is an important aspect of the anime, I soon came to realize it wasn’t the focus of the story. Nodame Cantabile is instead a story about the passion for music and perseverance for the art, with romance being relevant, but secondary.

Story and Characters

If you are by any chance sick to death of the high school setting (I’m not) you can relax with this one, because Nodame Cantabile takes place at a music College, where the characters are adult enough to be thinking about meaningful aspects of life, like the pursuit of a career or marriage, and not be obnoxiously shy around the idea of sex, but still enrolled in a setting that requires them to go through a similar routine to that of a high school anime. Except the playing at orchestras part, obviously. There’s frankly not much I can comment about the progression without addressing it as it relates to the characters, so let’s get to them.

Chiaki is the main and best character of the series. He’s focused, hardworking and dedicated to his dream of becoming a conductor, which reflects on his skills as a musician, that make him widely respected among his college mates. Only these attributes, however, could make him an unbearable Mary Sue, so he also features quite pertinent flaws that are obvious even to those who admire him. He’s impatient, has a slight superiority complex and, at the beginning, is quite persistent about interpreting music strictly the way it’s written. His character arc is focused first of all in understanding the human aspect of playing a song, taking into consideration when to be bossy and when to let loose and understand the impetus of the musician, as well as the heart of the song. Perhaps the only misstep of his development would be when, halfway through the story, the series brings more of his life outside of music, expanding his relationship with his family, an aspect which, unfortunately, is cut short and not given the depth it deserves, when the rest of his arc is so competently conducted.

Noda Megumi, or Nodame, as she is commonly called, is the main female lead and a complete air-head. She is a talented pianist, but unlike Chiaki, displays a carefree play style and attitude. Being blunt, Nodame is the weaker end of the character line-up of the series. She seems to have barely any agency or meaning to Chiaki’s character in the first arc, with a clearly one sided dynamic in regards to the romance for most of the duration of the anime. After witnessing Chiaki play on a College event is that she realizes the difference in skill between them and the plot hints at a possible development to her character, just to quickly revert her back to normal, an event that seems to be fairly recurrent until the conclusion, when she finally takes measures into improving as a musician. She is actually a character that would benefit from being placed in high school, as in this instance her immaturity and behavior would be coherent with the setting. Nearing the conclusion, more of her past is laid out to the viewer, although lacking the depth and sense of weight that would give it stronger impact.

Next in line is Stresemann, an experienced and reputed conductor with a womanizing habit, very loose work ethics and irresponsible behavior. Right after his introduction, Stresemann gives barely any reason to support why he would be a competent conductor, let alone a renowned one, up until the second quarter, when he takes a stronger role as an agent of the story, by taking Chiaki under his guidance, bringing more attention to his talent, as well as helping him take the stick off his ass and open up as a musician. Through his influence is that Chiaki first notices the importance of not simply being an authoritarian leader and taking into consideration the state of the musicians working under his baton.

Following up on the characters that mean something, there’s Mine, a violinist and Chiaki’s friend. He is a very proactive character, responsible for the idea of forming an orchestra under Chiaki’s leadership after several students graduate and is incredibly passionate about keeping that orchestra alive, taking decisions for that matter that highlight the quality of his character. His influence over the plot and Chiaki’s character is not overbearing, but easily noticeable, being for the most part stronger than that of Nodame herself.

The remaining figures have varying degrees of depth to them, but generally light effect in the plot besides being placeholders for meaningful contextual positions within the narrative. This may sound like a criticism, but it isn’t, their job is to help move the story in small pieces according to their purpose within the orchestra and their personalities have meaning defined by what they extract from the main characters or in how they perceive the dynamic among them, and, frankly, being restricted to those positions is just fine, as attempting to delve deeper into their lives could potentially derail the story from its main focus. Speaking of which: the anime keeps itself steadily centered around Chiaki’s growth as a musician as he sediments his name as a talented conductor in the eyes of the more experienced and famous figures of the industry. His path is portrayed in believable manner, as his connections to people who can bring him attention help spread his name, but it’s his talent that wins them over. Near the end, once he has enough ground to make riskier decisions for his future, the anime shifts its gaze to Nodame. It’s at this point that the romance actually develops to a conclusive end, although it lacks more of the nuance that would make the transition to a full romantic relationship warranted.

Presentation

When it comes to the visuals, Nodame Cantabile is generally weak. Taking aside the purposefully bland color pallet, character designs tend to be very samey in the overall structure (long faces, small eyes, wide and expressive mouths, etc) and the level of detail applied to them is decent, effective in giving them personality and making them distinguishable, but overall far from impressive. For the portions where they play any instrument, the series makes use of CGI, which is surprisingly well-implemented. It’s used to give the characters fluid movement, syncing really well with the music, and it’s colored in fairly seamless fashion, in order to avoid making such scenes disconnected from the rest of the show.

The highlights of the presentation, as expected, reside on the sequences where the music is center-frame. Originally, the performance bits center more of the physical aspect of playing or in the character’s small growth at that instant, so the relation between the music and the visuals is treated in very bland fashion. After a bunch of people start to fall in love the presentation develops to show a bit more care into enriching the musical performances, inserting more personality between the song and visuals. The flare added by this integration helps to better hide the technical shortcomings of the series in these scenes specifically, although the usage of still frames continues to be a blatant and frequent annoyance.

Giving the main theme of Nodame Cantabile, it’s to be expected that the series would feature some striking classical pieces from composers like Brahms, Mozart and Schubert. The pieces are, off course, celebrated works, so the only possibility that might derail your enjoyment is if you happen to dislike classical music. This does, however, create a disconnect in the case the audience is not versed in music of this variety: many scenes have characters asserting about the quality of the performance or making criticism to the musicians, frequently using terminology related to music so if you don’t have knowledge of the art to that degree, discerning how exactly one performance is better than the other is unlikely to happen. These sequences are clearly meant to be enjoyed by people to are knowledgeable of classical music, as the average viewer will have the minutia fly over their heads. Like me.

Personal Ramblings

Now let’s go back a bit to the subject I talked about in the intro and ask: how to define what is to “watch something the wrong way”? I believe that is a simple issue of approach. It’s hard to define, previously to watching or reading any given work, what is the appropriate mindset to be in, which can lead to disappointing first impressions. The bigger issue, though, is if the viewer refuses to accept that the work is something different and stays in that mindset throughout the work, leading to an unfair judgement of its qualities and flaws.. In the case of Nodame Cantabile, though, it wasn’t hard to realise early on that I was approaching the series through the wrong angle and then change it, so I believe my judgement for the remainder of the series was in line with what it was trying to convey.

While the ending result was a really good show I can’t shake off the feeling that the prototype for something even better was there, but the series misses opportunities to achieve that level and rise to a truly great or excellent work. In many occasions it felt like there were much better characters in need of some spotlight, but those characters were overshadowed by Nodame’s quirks, which could be fairly entertaining in their own right, but that time could be better spent in legitimate character growth, either for Nodame or the sidecast. Don’t get me wrong, I surely believe the show is a good recommendation, but one can benefit from being mindful of what they are going to find. Being eclectic doesn’t hurt anyway!

Overall: This show was a huge letdown compared to its score. It is forgettable in every sense. Skip it.

I have seen this show recommended as one of the better music animes, and it had a really impressive score here so I thought I would give it a chance. I've never been so disappointed. From start to finish it is entirely predictable, with one-dimensional characters that show almost no development whatsoever until the last few episodes. Its only redeeming quality is that it happens to be set in the world of classical music so the it has a great score. However, even that has its problems.

Story ... (2/10) - Possibly the most predictable, unoriginal story I have ever experienced. Every single aspect of it is laid out in the first 10 minutes, and it never once deviates from that path. This isn't necessarily a problem, however there is also absolutely zero conflict, or ambiguity. There is never a moment where you are in doubt as to the outcome of a scene, plot line, or end result. It makes it all the more painful that what obstacles are presented to the main characters are overcome in the most trivial and meaningless.

Along with their struggles in the music world, the romantic relationship between the main characters is also a central aspect of the show. It is similarly predictable, bland, and uneventful. Again, at no point is there any tension, conflict, mystery, or originality. You keep hoping something might occur or develop, when in fact knew everything there was to know by the end of the first episode.

Art (3/10) - Lackluster at best. The majority of the show has basic animations and a basic art style. However, the musical sequences, where you would expect the best art an animation, are a painful assortment of still frames and weird CGI hand motions. There are some beautiful visualizations of the music, but it becomes difficult to enjoy them when they are followed by a sequence of scrolling or even just stationary frames.

Sound (5/10) - A show centered around classical music will always have a beautiful soundtrack. However, the mixing is incredibly poor for a show all about music, and I often found myself fiddling with the volume to try and balance the music with the dialogue.

Character (1/10) - Complete one dimensional, no originality, no development.

Overall (4/10) - I kept watching expecting something to happen or it to improve. It never did. The classical music is fine, but if that's all you want just find a spotify playlist don't waste your time here.

"Where words leave off, music begins."
- Heinrich Heine

The anime that's been remade into movies in several different countries countless number of times: Nodame Cantabile. What makes Nodame Cantabile so good? It's beauty. The growth of two rather immature adults is artfully done not only in their relationship, but their personalities as well. The romance in this anime was well handled, and I don't know (besides Kaichou) an anime that I wanted the main characters to get together so badly. Furthermore, the addition of absolutely beautiful classical music was ravishing: included ... masterpieces composed by Mozart, Beethoven, Bach, Rachmaninoff, Debussy, and Schubert. The music not only added feelings, and enjoyment to the series but also showed just how music impacts (people) the characters and relationships in the series. I felt as though I were there at a live performance concert of famous magicians; the feeling was magical.

The plot is basically about Chiaki Shinichi, who is one of the most talented musicians in the world. However, his ambition to become a conductor and study under the renowned Sebastiano Viera puts him at odds with his piano teacher, Etou. Chiaki’s fear of flying prevents him from leaving Japan to become Viera’s student. After being dropped from Etou’s class, which leads to Chiaki also being dumped by his girlfriend, Tagaya Saiko, Chiaki meets a bizarre, messy girl, Noda Megumi (who insists on being called “Nodame”), a piano student under Chiaki’s new teacher. Chiaki doesn’t like Nodame, but is strangely drawn to her; on the other hand, Nodame almost instantly falls in love with Chiaki.

The pacing of the anime was wondrous and each minor detail about what happens behind the scenes, what characters feel, how they develop were all skillfully executed.
The character development was well done as well, I could definitely relate to Nodame, with her crush on Chiaki, and then the development to come. The music in the anime is the best music in anime, why? Because, they incorporated world wide famous classical pieces in, and the anime's music itself was beautiful as well; Hence the anime being about the beauty of Music and how it incorporates in our everyday life. I'd definitely recommend this anime to EVERYONE.

Pros
-----
+Outstanding music
+Powerful, fully realized main characters
+Wonderful, charming, developed and three dimensional side characters
+Female lead's unassuming, eccentric charisma draws you inexplicably
+Male lead is a refreshing dissent from usual wimpy and indecisive leads
+Romance is never melodramatic, overstated or contrived
+Neither leads are excessively dependent on each other or have their lives construed around their better halves
+Refreshing and impeccably timed humour superbly woven into the narrative
... +Assertive drama - never too maudlin or overblown - but carries weight nevertheless
+Sends the message of hard work and dedication - those who are good are only good because they put in more effort than anyone else.
+No characters are perfect - All of them have flaws.
+No injected drama or outside conflicts - the root of all problems are personalities and individual differences
+Genius and eccentricities that come with it is highlighted but not exaggerated -talent is hardly shown to guarantee success
+University setting. Not high-school, yay!

Cons
------
-Plain art and awful CG
-Some side characters are developed and then abandoned. Sad.
-Esoteric, techno-babble about music scores
-Sometimes classical music suffuses the better part of an episode. Learn to enjoy classical or you'd be dragging yourself through the series


Recommended for:
-----------------------

Those who like drama and slapstick humour. Classical music buffs will also love this. Probably. I don't know much about that, all the instruments sounded good to me - even when they were apparently making mistakes.

This series has been a real chore, and I really didn't anticipate it to be so.

I am a college music major with a focus in music composition. I perform music of this sort and ultimately compose it as well. I'm immersed with the culture of a music school and can relate to many of the aspects of musicianship represented in this anime. However, this series has been agitating me for reasons primarily unrelated to the theme itself. The leading characters are painfully annoying, the snobbery and elitism within their respective institution gives musicianship a bad name, and the story is about as slow as ... January molasses. Let's look at this story in depth shall we?

Chiaki is a pretentious piano student at Japans most prestigious music school. Though he has studied piano for quite some time, his real dream is to be an orchestral conductor. Whilst aiming for this objective, he ultimately makes some unexpected new friends, namely Nodame, a fellow piano major. Nodame and Chiaki serve to be quite different from each other in not only their social demeanor, but also their musical interpretations. Chiaki is a man of the book and abides by the rules of a pieces respective composer. For Chiaki, music isn't so much meant to be felt individually, but instead should be calculated, rigid and in perfect correlation with the music on the page. Nodame feels the music and plays from her heart. Often times, she has her eyes closed while playing piano to further express herself. Such actions to her do not serve to be a disservice to the composers of old. For her, the composers wrote their music not to merely be performed, but to be felt, personalized and expressed. This story summation, upon looking at it sounds like it could make for a fantastic anime. Two social and artistic opposites find themselves involved in each others lives. It's a common story model that can make for very good, or sometimes very bad stories. Let me explain why I feel like it tends to at times fall into the latter.

This anime isn't horrible. However, I'd argue that it's characters for the most part are awful. This story, with all of its potential often times falls flat because of the nature of the characters. Chiaki embodies everything that I hate about musical elitism. He's calloused, arrogant, narcissistic and suppresses individual creativity. He as a character is supposed to be this way, yet it doesn't make him any less painful to watch with every episode. I have a feeling he may come around and realize he's an asshole to everyone around him, yet his demeanor peeves me to no end and probably will for as long as I watch this series. Nodame is no better. She might actually be worse. Annoying, clingy, brainless... yet extremely talented. I will give it to Nodame, that she is the more interesting of the two main characters, yet she drives me crazy. Musically speaking, I can relate to her. We both feel the music and play from our hearts, not always the music on the page. What frustrates me about Nodame though is that I have yet to see a deep side of her. She's always chasing Chiaki, eating his food, and making a scene. I don't have any problem with Nodame really doing these things. But I want to know WHY she is the way she is. I want to know her story. I want her to understand that one shouldn't force themselves upon respective love interests, and I want to see her call out Chiaki when he's being a douche bag!! It is probably this last sentiment that irks me most of all. Nodame sees no wrong with Chiaki, he's always the perfect sage, the good guy as opposed to someone who needs to be balanced out and humbled. Nodame's lack of intervention in this area serves to only further give the connotation that she has no depth and acts much like a school girl who falls in love with a guy because he's hot or good at a respective hobby.

The minor characters vary in their interest. Stresseman is a conductor at the school, and he's super creepy. I like a lot of his sentiments musically speaking, and I wish the show would put less stock into his fetishes and held grudges. Mine is a violinist and my favorite character in the series. He's exactly like me in that he loathes the elitism of classical musics hierarchy and recreation-ally enjoys listening to rock, metal and other adrenaline pumping genres. I forget the name of the timpani player girl... but she has a mustache, and an afro... and I really would like to know her story. I don't necessarily frown upon these external qualities she exhibits, but I'd love to know WHY they are a part of her as a character.

Long story short, I've really been struggling to get into this anime. The characters are angering and the story itself seemingly takes a backseat to the unfunny relational dichotomy of Nodame and Chiaki. I can understand the audience that likes this series, but I'm just not sold on it at all. I'm going to give it some more time in the hopes that I can share in the sentiments of this seemingly vast fan base. However, this series hasn't lived up to the hype at all thus far.

Overall-6

I have to admit, I was very worried about this. I ended up putting off watching it for two weeks, even. It's all because I know absolutely nothing about music, especially the classics. If it sounds good, I'll listen to it. Doesn't matter to me what the instruments are or how long it took to perfect.

When I found Nodame Cantabile, I was intrigued, but hesitant. I figured this was an anime that required knowledge of classical music, the instruments and how an orchestra operates.

I watched the first episode and I was hooked, spending a day and a half watching all of the episodes, ... delighted to find that all the knowledge I thought I would need wasn't required. What this anime does best is showing and telling all about the music world, but it doesn't leave you out. If you don't know the flute you were made to practice with in second grade from a piccolo, it doesn't actually matter. See, I probably fucked up that analogy right there, because I don't know shit about instruments. My point is, this anime doesn't try to be high-collar, where only the musicians of the world would ever get the smallest intricacy.

The characters carried this story, especially Noda and Chiaki. Their dynamic is ... interesting to say the least. Chiaki is a perfectionist and Noda, well, she's a slob, and by all means these two should be at each others' throats - the dynamic just shouldn't work - but it does. They are exactly what the other needs in order to grow. They play off each other really well and become more ... human (especially in Chiaki's case).

Chiaki learns from Noda that he shouldn't chase after perfection because it's the imperfections that make something great; Noda learns passion, willpower and courage from Chiaki.

Without Noda, Chiaki would never have been able to conduct the orchestra as well as he does because he'd never connect with the musicians. In fact, if he had continued to be insensitive I have no doubt the orchestra would've walked out on him.

Noda's problems get a bit more of the focus; she's very talented, playing a song perfectly because she "played it by ear" meaning all she had to do was listen to it to get it, though she has difficulty playing it without putting her own unique style into it, earning her many a slap from her teachers. But past issues dulled her ambition to go pro, until she meets Chiaki, who continuously inspires her to do better and be better, though she does still have her inhibitions.

I thoroughly enjoyed this anime, and I'm sad that this portion of the story is over; it was so much fun!

Nodame Cantabile is an anime I truly love, but my honest opinion is it does not deserve a 10/10 despite how enjoyable it was.

Story: 7/10

Main story is about the egotistical Chiaki who is a master at both the Violin and Piono, but he is going to music school with the dream of one day becoming a famous conductor. His only problem is he feels the only way to achieve that dream is to study in Europe, but unfortunately he is phobic of both air travel and sea travel keeping him land locked in Japan. One day he depressingly gets wasted and passes out outside of ... his neighbor Nodame's apparent... he wakes up in a filthy unorganized house, but being charmed by the beautiful music she is playing~ The emotion she puts in her music changes him forever. Despite Chiaki's cruel character and Nodame's Eccentricities they become good friends and work to improve their music together.

As far as the story goes it was primarily centered on the character's development and practicing their music. Most of the series there was no real "Goal" accept they wanted to get better and the Protagonist Chiaki one day wanted to study abroad. The lack of much plot development gives this story only a 7/10, but there was alot of comedy and the music is a very nice touch.

Art: 7/10

The art was a little off. It reminded me of that "water color" look from other anime like honey and clover, but it kind of detracted from the overall look of the anime since during the music scenes all you can really do is look and listen. It wasn't devastatingly bad, but it was distracting at parts.

Sound: 10/10

The sound is what made this anime truly amazing. Every episode they play classical music that really makes you appreciate it in a way you may not have before.

Character: 8/10

The main characters were developed very nicely and had many original character attributes; especially Nodame. The side characters lacked enough development, but it didn't matter that much in the end since the two main characters were sufficient. The only real problem with the characters is the confusing unjustified development at the very end... There just wasn't enough in the story to support the character emotions.

Overall: 8/10

There were some flaws, but it was truly enjoyable to watch, lots of Lulz and great music. Great characters as well. While it hasn't revolutionized the Shoujo genre it was very nice to watch and not too fluffy.

Nodame Cantibile is a lighthearted and comedic anime about one of my favorite hobbies, music. At first I was hesitant to explore the series due to my lack of appreciation for the classical genre, but what I found in Nodame Cantibile was more than just music. This was a coming of age story of sorts, with a feel good plot line and characters full of passion, all battling their own internal struggles to be better musicians. It’s definitely a nice change of pace and a must see for any slice of life fan, or enthusiast of music in general.

I don’t have any ... major complaints about the story in this series, but at the same token, I wasn’t necessarily blown away. For the entire 23 episodes, viewers follow Nodame and Chiaki, both students at the same Japanese music school as they grow both as individuals and through their musical talents. The added atypical romance subplot was interesting, as an awkward attraction exists between them (well, mostly just Nodame). Boy meets neighbor girl. Girl turns out to be weird as hell. Girl thinks boy is a handsome prince. Girl is the metaphoric rain man of piano. Boy finds girl oddly intriguing. Romance ensues. It’s a unique and cute story that blossoms into a tear filled happy ending. What can I say, I like the mushy stuff too.

Perhaps my favorite aspect of Nodame Cantibile was the music. As a longtime drummer myself, I could definitely relate to the amount of stress and competition the various characters encounter to get through music school. They’re constantly practicing and trying to get the competitive edge on their adversaries, waiting for that one lucky break to launch them into the music elite category. All the musical appreciation by no means indicates that you have to be an aficionado to enjoy the show, as I had a few friends start the show with me, all of us remarking on how pleasant it was.

Lastly, I really enjoyed the comedy in this series. It rarely, if ever, felt forced. And on top of that, I always enjoyed the blunt reactions Chiaki had toward Nodame’s advances on him. There were also some really cheeky moments between characters in the orchestra as well as a witty harem aspect to Chiaki himself. He was always making snide comments about the various girls he was repelling on a daily basis. It was nice to see a harem that was caught up in the mix himself. The writers also did a great job with the dialogue, being well placed and purposeful at almost every instance.

I really enjoyed both main characters in this anime. Chiaki is a perfectionist, never use to failing, but at the same time having to deal with the struggles of wanting to be a conductor but being stuck in a piano major. Chiaki works through the series trying to find himself, striving to be the conductor of his very own orchestra, while battling deep dwelling inner demons and coping with high school life. Nodame is a perplexing girl who is generally messy and sometimes acts childish, but has an almost sixth sense when it comes to playing the piano. I did like how whimsical and free she acted during the show, and how she would often enter trances when she was focused on something so intensely. She even had the pleasure of Chiaki being her neighbor, so of course she made him cook her meals and often referred to herself as “the wife”. Nodame’s internal struggles were also unique and helped adequately explain why she was the way she was… it was quite an interesting past to uncover. I wish there were more female leads like her, with a nonconforming personality and goofy one liners; she really was a pillar in making this story as strong as it was.

The supporting cast was filled in nicely as well. Mise was a wacky rock star who was tamed and disciplined by the unprecedented talent of Chiaki. Stresseman posed as an odd but effective mentor for Chiaki, even though he had some problems controlling himself with the ladies… The rest of the S and Rising Star Orchestra members played their roles well and added to the overall completeness of the cast. The character development was pretty decent overall for a relatively short 23 episode anime.

The art style is typical for a mid 2000’s anime, but I think I would’ve enjoyed some more vibrant colors in the scenery and backdrops due to the jovial nature of the show. Also, while the piano hand shots were accurate and smooth, when the orchestra would play the scene would often show stills of the musicians vice their actual hand movements on each instrument. Nonetheless, this was only a minor complaint. The characters were well designed, and I really think that Nodame’s bright gleaming eyes fit with her expressive personality. Chiaki’s messed up hair and slender face added to his harem believability.

As expected, the sound in Nodame Cantibile is top notch. I’m not entirely sure what directions or influences the creator had for this show, but they were musically accurate and spectacular. Each rendition of Schubert, Mozart and Beethoven was magical in its own sense, and made the anime very pleasant to just close your eyes and listen to. I also really thought the intro added a burst of energy and excitement to the show, enticing the viewer with what was to come. I personally watched the series in Japanese and thought the voice acting (particularly Nodame’s) was superb.

Nodame Cantibile is a show that I would recommend to just about anyone. I was looking for a nice change of pace after watching some more serious shows and I got just what I was asking for. Lots of great comedy, a cheerful and believable romance and a soundtrack for pure enjoyment make this anime one I will not soon forget.

Is it really possible for music and slice of life to mix with romcom and still produce something worth watching? The answer to that question is simply Nodame Cantabile.

Although some may ask, "Kirby, what the heck are you doing watching romcoms? You're losing your manhood in the josei genre!" I have to politely disagree. Being a huge music lover, this series drew me in with promises of classical genius and musicality, and it delivers. Oh, it does! Now here are my categorical reviews

Story: 9- Definitely a refreshing story fit for any gender. Story follows a genius music student with an arrogant outlook ... towards others due to his superiority and musical control. He meets a ditzy piano student in the school and the unthinkable happens! A bit slow in pacing but you get to love the music from each character's viewpoint. Additionally, humor is one of the bright spots in this romcom as well with not too over the top humor but rather comical moments that let you chuckle and laugh out loud at other times.

Art: 7- Art is nice at times but the grave 3-D hands and animations are turn offs. You'll know what I'm referring to when you look at their hand animations. Fortunately, the animators actually took the painstaking effort to animate the piano, violin, and other instruments playing which saved the score. Something rarely seen in other animes. Otherwise, the animations of the characters and buildings etc. were decent but not mind-numbing.

Sound: 10- If you appreciate the music of an anime as much as I do, then you will not be let down. Incredible song selections with diverse instrumentation are some of this animes shining spots. Each song is also done with minute detail to incorporate the animation and conducting along with tempo and beat. Truly masterfully done!

Character: 9- Although put off at first at some character's distant appeal and cold stance, closer into the series, you understand their motives and reasons for acting the way they do. You simply fall in love with some of the characters throughout this series not because of their immediate appeal, but because of their dedication to an art and craft that envelops you with passion.

Enjoyment: 10- Definitely enjoyed Nodame Cantabile. Any music appreciator, romcom lover, or even someone looking for a wholesome talented cast is welcome to try out this anime. In the words of Nodame, "GYABOOO" and onto the next season we go!