Nodame Cantabile: Paris-hen

Shinichi Chiaki conquers his fear of flying, and Megumi "Nodame" Noda's exceptional performance at a piano competition earns her an invitation to study at the prestigious Conservatoire de Paris. The pair go to Paris together to take the next step in their careers: Chiaki as a new rising conductor under the wing of the great maestro Franz von Stresemann, and Nodame as a pupil of the esteemed piano professor Charles Auclair.

But, of course, the music world is much bigger than the two of them could have ever imagined. Chiaki and Nodame, alongside old friends and new rivals, must fight and persevere to reach the dazzling musical heights that await them while never losing sight of what matters most.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Noda, Megumi Main

Kawasumi, Ayako Japanese

Chiaki, Shinichi Main

Seki, Tomokazu Japanese

von Stresemann, Franz Supporting

Ogawa, Shinji Japanese

Kuroki, Yasunori Supporting

Matsukaze, Masaya Japanese

Auclair, Charles Supporting

Kiyokawa, Motomu Japanese

Vishneva, Tatiana Supporting

Itou, Shizuka Japanese

Son, Rui Supporting

Ohara, Sayaka Japanese

Miyoshi, Seiko Supporting

Mitsuishi, Kotono Japanese

Li, Yunlong Supporting

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Beaudry, Lucas Supporting

Satou, Rina Japanese

Yamamoto, Kouji Producer

Matsukura, Yuuji Producer

Oosawa, Nobuhiro Producer

Jouno, Masato Producer

Reviews

Jan 23, 2024

Shabo-kun

Recommended

It’s been a while since I rated some show 10 and I think this is perfect opportunity.

Paris sequel does perfect job in matching pace, depth of the story, character development and overall feeling of first part. It’s always hard when authors make good first series to keep that same quality or even surpass it. I perssonally got high expectations after watching "vanilla" series and my expectations were satisfied.

STORY: 9/10
This time plot revolves more around Chiaki and Nodame relationship as a "lovers". Irony simply because it’s really atypical love relationship and really fun one as well. It doesn’t mean there is no depth in it ... tho, because they support each other as much as they can and it’s so sweet. Story is kinda slice of life you could say? Except of romance, story show us development in Chiaki’s proffesional career as a conductor and Nodame as a pianist in order to keep up with him. Thing I loved was how narration describes each emotion in each classical song and little bit of backstory. It wasn’t as comprehensive as it was in first part, but it’s still there and you can appreciate it as me average classical music enjoyer. There was little bit of time skips like for example in case of Chiaki which were on tour with Steresmann where he met one of the new side characters pianist Rui. Shame that show didn’t portrayed how they met and Chiaki’s play as substitute conductor, because it felt little bit rushed. Riu is interesting character and deserved more intrudoction.
On the other hand I like pacing and flow of this part more then first one, because story was already established without any flashbacks and Paris arc focused only on the most important sections.

CHARACTERS: 10/10
Let’s put a 10 right here. One of the biggest carriers of this anime are characters of course. I loved especially development of Chiaki which really softens up and opens up to Nodame. Needles to say she is complex personality and difficult to handle as soon as you know her better, but contrast and chemistry between her and Chiaki is awesome. Her ability to work hard and devote herself practically for Chiaki shows how much she cares about him and not only admire him as his lust fangirls. Both of them have their goals pretty much already set so you won’t see as much character development in terms of their ambition growth.

There was little bit of side charaters diversification and some old ones jump into the scene as well. First of all let me say I’m really curious about development between Tatiana and Kuroki. In first she felt shallow, but as story progress I got more into her and just as in case of our main characters, they are complete opposites which is fun to watch. As I said Rui needed little bit of more introduction and screen time in my opinion, because she is diverse character and we don’t know much about her. Hopefully we get more explanation in last part. As far as characters goes there wasn’t single one which I would not enjoy even the toxic concert master was interesting in his own way and in the end even kinda redeemed himslef. Probably I’m in minority but I enjoyed Paris side characters more than in Japan arc.

ART: 8/10
Nothing flashy and special which I liked. Why not to keep it simple? It perfectly fits with that classical music narrative. I loved how animations portrays the beauty of Paris architecture and atmosphere while still keeping it simple especially that part when Megumi and Chiaki were walking together in night Paris. There was more CGI while orchestras were playing and let me say considering year of release, it really isn’t bad and stands its ground. I saw a lot of people pointing on how bad it is and sure you can easily recognize CGI from other animations in this show, because it looks little bit slower and stiff. Still there are newer anime with a lot worse CGI and I liked how lively it feels in compare to usage of subsequent images/drawings. Expressions of characters when they play or conduct perfetly captures their emotions and you can see lot of signature facial expressions of characters.

SOUND/MUSIC: 10/10
Well it’s anime about classical music what more do you need to score high? Also opening is worth to mention as it perfectly fits whole setting. Part with Mozart was expecially enjoying for me as well as last episode of Chiaki’s conducting. Voice acting on point and sound througout the anime is perfect addition to the atmosphere.

ENJOYMENT: 10/10
I mannaged to finish this piece in one Sunday evening only with one toilet pause. It pulled me into the story just as easily as first part if not more. There wasn’t moment of boredom or major dissatisfaction. Nodame Cantabile evokes almost every emotion in you which good anime should and always makes you await what is gonna be next. It made me eager about last part and it’s resolution.

OVERALL: 10/10
If something deserves praise it’s this show and it’s pitty that more people doesn’t know about this piece. Or maybe it’s exactly the opposite, because it feels more like a hidden gem. It’s definitely for more mature audience which can appreciate all these aspects and I doubt I would enjoyed it as much in my adolescence.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Jul 10, 2022

emsax

Recommended

If you enjoyed season one then this is honestly a treat. The story flows nicely without hiccups, the romance is satisfying, and the new characters are welcome additions. The biggest upgrade is the artwork, the use of 3d isn't jarring at all and is utilised supremely well during performances giving them a breath of freshair from the first season's lacking animation.

Once again, the overall story is lovely and wholesome. The character development of both Chiaki and Nodame is extremely welcome and heartwarming - seeing the progression of their careers in Paris makes for an interesting watch. With a welcome return of some of the previous ... season's characters, the new cast are very welcome - each with their own enjoyable character arcs, traits, and flaws.

The sound, beautiful as the first season. The artwork, a straight upgrade (even if their faces still look weird to today's standard). The pacing was rapid and each story point lands home, a straight improvement on the previous season.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jul 18, 2020

Fantao

Mixed Feelings

Being eager to continue the Nodame Cantabile series after thoroughly enjoying season 1, I instantly jumped into season 2 and finished it in a day's time.

Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed with what it had to offer. Season 2 seems a bit more like a watered down than the first season, and it didn't hold my attention as well as I expected it to.

Story: There not really a story here to be frank, it's just Chiaki performing in Paris. Season one had a similar case of a sort of loose story structure, but that was somewhat passable because Season 1 was very humor-heavy. These 11 episodes just ... simply aren't as funny, due to the (in my opinion) dull new side characters as well as the poor management of Chiaki and Nodame's relationship.

Art: The art is the same as the previous season. Nothing too great, fairly average.

Sound: I didn't like the OP and ED this time around as much. They weren't terrible, but I definitely found last season's much more catchy. Other than that, the OST's quality still holds firm with a variety of classical music.

Character: The new side characters just don't compare to last season's. It takes a long while to get used to them, and once I finally started building a connection to some of them the series was over. Personally I feel that the way J.C. staff handled Chiaki and Nodame's relationship development was a complete flop. Looking past such a disappointing reality, their dynamic together is still impeccable as it was in the first season, making this show still worthwhile, especially if you loved season 1.

Enjoyment: I won't say I didn't enjoy it. It simply gets a bit bland at times and when I think back to how much I loved the first season I cannot help but be a little critical of this season's mediocrities.

Overall: If you liked season 1, you'll enjoy the second season as well. It's underwhelming for sure, but with Nodame and Chiaki in the spotlight, as well as the great classical music, it definitely doesn't hurt to give it a watch.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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