Nodame Cantabile

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Alternative Titles

Synonyms: Nodame Cantabile: Encore Opera-hen, Nodame Cantabile Backstage

Japanese: のだめカンタービレ

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Information

Type: Manga

Volumes: 25

Chapters: 150

Status: Finished

Published: Jul 10, 2001 to Aug 25, 2010

Genres: Award Winning, Comedy, Romance, Slice of Life

Themes: Adult Cast, Music

Demographic: Josei

Serialization: Kiss

Authors: Ninomiya, Tomoko (Story & Art)

Statistics

Score: 8.41¹ (scored by 9,226 users)

¹ indicates a weighted score.

Ranked: #202²

² based on the top manga page. Please note that 'R18+' titles are excluded.

Popularity: #643

Members: 26,834

Favorites: 878

Resources

Wikipedia

8.41

Ranked #202Popularity #643Members 26,834

MangaKissNinomiya, Tomoko (Story & Art)

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Volumes: /25

Chapters: /150

Available on Manga Store
Nodame Cantabile
Volume 1
$10.99

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Synopsis

Shinichi Chiaki, the perfectionist son of a famous pianist, is in his fourth year at Momogaoka College of Music, hoping to achieve his secret dream of being a conductor. His admiration for his father led him to pursue a career in music. As much as he wants to return to Europe, his phobia of flying traps him in Japan where he now lives.

One night, he passes out, and ends up being taken in by Megumi "Nodame" Noda. Upon first glance, Nodame is a talented pianist, but she is also slobbish and eccentric. What's even worse is that she is his neighbor and he ends up forced to work with her. Though it sounds like a recipe for disaster, Chiaki is drawn to this girl who makes him remember the love for music he once held. Just what does the future hold for this musical duo?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Nodame Cantabile has been adapted as three different television series: an award-winning live-action drama that aired in 2006, followed by a sequel television special that aired in January 2008, and as an anime series spanning three seasons with the first one broadcast in 2007.

In 2014, it received a South Korean drama adaptation titled Cantabile Tomorrow.

The series was published in English by Del Rey Manga; in France by Pika; and in Spain by Norma Editorial. Kodansha has taken up the English license, and published the series digitally from July 26, 2016 to June 27, 2017.

The last two volumes, titled Nodame Cantabile: Encore Opera-hen, contain a sequel to the main series.

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Related Manga

Adaptation:

Nodame Cantabile, Nodame Cantabile: Paris-hen, Nodame Cantabile Finale

More characters
Characters

Noda, Megumi

Main

Chiaki, Shinichi

Main

von Stresemann, Franz

Supporting

Kuroki, Yasunori

Supporting

Mine, Ryuutarou

Supporting

Okuyama, Masumi

Supporting

Miki, Kiyora

Supporting

Auclair, Charles

Supporting

Vishneva, Tatiana

Supporting

Saku, Sakura

Supporting

Reviews

Nov 20, 2015

WarlockAppa

Recommended

Three words are enough to introduce Nodame Cantabile: lovely, passionate, and inspiring.

This beautiful musical rom-com manga follows the life of the arrogant musical genius Chiaki Shinichi as he weaves through the music conservatory he is enrolled in. A bump in the road caused him to meet Noda Megumi or “Nodame” and this energetic weirdo just nonchalantly drags him into many life-changing moments he will never experience if ever they didn’t meet.

You may ask “why would I even dare to read a musical manga?” Of course this already has one excellent anime adaptation and two sequels to it, so it is wise to just go for ... the anime, no?

But do not let your expectations of dullness from this silent musical story take over. For a black and white manga, it is very full of color – full of emotions and candid moments. In funny times, in sad times, and especially in all musical performances, you can feel the emotions the characters have in every panel as if shot by a professional photographer. There is no exaggeration in labeling Nodame Cantabile more of a photo album than a manga.

The story of Nodame Cantabile is nothing but respectable. You have two college students struggling their way, meeting and parting with friends, and deepening their relationship as they hit many walls. It is a very relatable story revolving on timely struggles faced by people uncertain of their future. The story is handle with utmost care and respect, it never feels senseless; everything is just worth following. Even with such a mature story, Nodame Cantabile manages to be light-hearted and hilarious without ever making things just a bit awkward for the story.

Nodame and Chiaki is, hands down, the best couple out of all the animanga pair-ups I know. Chiaki’s perfectionist and Nodame’s devil-may-care attitude constantly in conflict sparks the growth of the two as individuals and as a couple. Slowly one learns and accepts things from the other while still being their true selves. They begin to rely more on each other but still remaining to be very strong and independent people. These changes also aid them in slowly coming into terms with the real dilemmas in life.

The supporting cast are a treat, too. From Tokyo to Paris, they meet a variety of interesting people challenging or just wanting to have fun with them. They get ample amount of panel and development that makes them really relatable.

This series is an emotional roller coaster for me. Hilarious most of the time, heartbreaking at the right moments, lovely every time, and inspiring all throughout. Nodame Cantabile transcends the traditional “achieve your dreams” story while remaining a sense of realism to be believable. The story is very dear to me, as someone who faces more or less the same problems as the characters had. I never let fictional stories influence my way of life, but I will gladly make an exemption for this one.

Even with all the great things about this series, it is very hard to recommend to others. The story is basically about people living their everyday lives and eventually facing the biggest turning point of their career – and that’s about it. It’s even more about Nodame and Chiaki’s growth as persons and how they need each other, and the romance between them is more or less an end result of this development. But the goal is never the true purpose of this manga, but the journey – the journey of accepting and enduring all odds whatever life throws at us and still having a positive outlook in life.

Take your time to read or watch Nodame Cantabile. The plot and characters are great, but what really matters is the passion it shows. It’s genuine and pure; a very honest series.

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Apr 18, 2017

ginnerzapata

Recommended

I have years reading mangas and watching anime and this is the first time in my life I got the needing of doing a Review.

I'm a musician, being the piano my principal instrument. This is the first time I see something like this: The use of the pieces, the descriptions, the use of terminology that would make even non-musician enjoy classical music. Really loveable. The characters' personality is incredible! It is one of the funniest manga I've read in my life.
The art is incredible! I'm a graphic designer and I cannot think of another thing but a masterpiece! I mean! is incredible how such ...

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Aug 15, 2022

ColdSweat

Mixed Feelings

Art: bad. Especially in the first volumes, the characters are more crudely sketched than drawn, there's very little detail.
Story: so and so. Too long and with way too many panels dedicated to people playing music and fascinated audiences.
Characters: mixed. The two main characters are well described, and a few secondary characters are good. I hated the group of opportunist students (especially the despicable, stingy Chinese pianist) sponging off the protagonist. Apart from these, there are so many secondary characters, that most aren't described in any depth.
Enjoyment: not bad at the start, but as the manga dragged way too long, felt relieved when it ended

This is ...

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Japan's Weekly Manga Ranking for Dec 13 - 19

Here is the weekly manga sales ranking for December 13th - 19th. *1, 568,634 568,634 Nodame Cantabile vol.25 *2, 173,550 176,381 Chihayafuru vol.11 *3, 162,199 162,1...read more

Dec 22, 2010 4:49 PM by dtshyk | Discuss (14 comments)

Japan's Weekly Manga Ranking for May 10 - 16

Here is the weekly manga sales ranking for May 10th - 16th. *1, 69,819 *,794,414 Nodame Cantabile vol.24 *2, 62,825 *,918,583 Naruto vol.51 *3, 49,184 *,*49,184 Q an...read more

May 19, 2010 5:11 PM by dtshyk | Discuss (14 comments)

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Poll: Nodame Cantabile Chapter 21 Discussion loghneckbeard - Apr 20, 2015	1 replies	by removed-user »» Aug 10, 2:53 AM
Poll: Nodame Cantabile Chapter 11 Discussion Zinvy - Jun 16, 2011	2 replies	by removed-user »» Jun 23, 1:32 PM
Poll: Nodame Cantabile Chapter 10 Discussion Zinvy - Jun 16, 2011	2 replies	by removed-user »» Jun 23, 10:17 AM
Poll: Nodame Cantabile Chapter 7 Discussion Zinvy - Jun 12, 2011	2 replies	by removed-user »» Jun 23, 8:44 AM
Poll: Nodame Cantabile Chapter 2 Discussion Zinvy - Jun 10, 2011	3 replies	by removed-user »» Jun 7, 1:49 AM

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