Nodame Cantabile

The Pros: Nodame Cantabile is a slice-of-life look into the lives of university students reflecting on their futures much like Honey and Clover delved into. But unlike Honey and Clover, Nodame Cantabile puts a larger focus on exploring these challenges from a comedic perspective while retaining elements of drama. The series explores Shinichi and Megumi’s struggles to press forward with their talents and goals in life, while adding in comedy in the form of secondary characters. The series features a number of students and staff members of the observatory who have their own crazy personality which help establish a balance between the show’s comedy and drama, which include the rock-obsessed violinist Ryutaro Mine and the paper fan-wielding piano instructor “Professor Harisen.” In terms of animation, Nodame Cantabile’s character designs bare a resemblance to the style used for the characters of Honey and Clover as the characters have a flushed-out design in contrast to the bright designs commonly found in most other anime. The highlight to the series is the detailed instrument playing scenes as fingers are animated to play each note perfectly for an orchestra or musical performance. Going along with the show’s themes are actual classical musical pieces played for orchestras, which include pieces from musicians like Beethoven, Chopin, and Bach.

The Cons: Nodame Cantabile’s detailed music playing scenes pushed the show’s animation budget to its limit and it shows during a number of scenes as many of the show’s orchestra and performance scenes mix actual music playing animation with still shots of characters as they play their music. Also some of the show’s comedic characters are a bit over-the-top. These include some of the fangirls in Shinichi’s first orchestra and Strausseman whose perverted character archetype is nothing new to see in anime.

Facts on the Series:

-Based on the josei manga created by Tomoko Ninomiya, which is licensed in America by Del Ray Manga and is still ongoing in Japan.

(All episodes watched):

The first impression I got of Nodame Cantabile was that this show knew how to be funny! Really funny--the difference was amazing between Nodame Cantabile and numerous other shows which pass as "comedies", yet garnered little more than a smile now and then. NC features crazy, genuinely funny humor, was unpredictable, and had quirky, likeable characters (even the stuck-up Chiaki). Character designs and a number of other aspects remind me of Honey & Clover. My favorite episode so far must be number four, in which German Maestro Franz Stresemann (aka "Milch Holstein") turns up. The handkerchief gag (parts 1 and 2) cracked me up. Episodes 2 through 4 have tended to introduce one more wacky character each. Gyabo!

However, for some reason I lost a lot of interest in this show since those early episodes. I continued watching it, if you can call an episode every two weeks or so "watching" a series. Somehow it had lost it's "freshness"; maybe because the romance between Chiaki and Nodame didn't seem to be going anywhere, or maybe because it just wasn't as wacky as it was early on, as it tries to tell a more serious story. But the wackiness was what I liked best, and I just was not all that motivated to watch NC anymore. It took it's place in a long list of similar shows, and before I watched another episode of NC I had to watch an episode of every other series as well. Nevertheless, it was still worth watching and I struggled onwards. I was certain there would be 24, if not 26 episodes, so episode 23 being the conclusion came as a pleasant surprise--pleasant because I was eager to wrap this series up, and also because finally we got a semblance of resolution to Chiaki and Nodame's romance. The final episode was pretty good, but I really wish Nodame Cantabile as a whole had managed to maintain the interest it had held for me early on, because I appreciate a series which dares to have a distinctively unusual premise (classical music). I'll assign this an average rating of "Rent".

Chiaki is a handsome up-and-coming musical prodigy who knows the mechanics of music inside and out, but is struggling to find the essential role of the heart. Nodame is a gifted natural pianist lacking in self-discipline (and personal hygiene!) who lives and plays piano by her emotions, and falls for Chiaki. Throw in a mix of oddball musical students, instructors, and assorted extras, and you have one of the most entertaining and funny stories out there.

What starts out as a great comedy gradually adds more sophisticated sub-plots, as the characters overcome many of their personal foibles through their love of music, culminating in a very satisfying ending. (Which still leaves openings for a second season.) The music, as one would expect, is excellent, and is more of an essential character in the story than just accompaniment. There are lots of classical pieces performed fairly well, though necessarily cut short to fit the show's format. The artwork is very much like the manga and is drawn well, but feels a bit stiff in the anime form, with lots of static images being panned. This especially shows during the orchestral performances, when we almost never actually see Chiaki's baton move. There are a few instruments being played that have been animated with something like a rotoscope, but mostly we're left with just the sound of their music to help us imagine the action.

It is quite amazing to me that a show that exhibits so much empathy for music and musicians originated from the silent media of manga, but the creator's feelings come through clearly in this series. It's an entertaining and inspirational show you shouldn't miss.

Favorite line: "You play [the violin] like you're jacking off!"

(p.s.: If you have the chance, you should also check out the live-action version of the show. It's rare that a manga story translates well to live action, but in this case it just might be better than the anime.)

Analysis : 20 Episodes Watched

• Drama : Med
• Comedy : Med / High
• Action : None
• SciFi : None
• Ecchi : None
• Note : There is a lot of language about sex, just no sex.

Hmm....JC Staff proves that they don't have to draw boobs with nipples. Along comes Nodame and it's set in the same style as Honey And Clover. Very simple with lots of blurring. I am enjoying this a lot. H&C just got on me after a while and I stopped watching it, this might hold me.

You know, this would probably be a good series for Devil Doll to check out. I don't catch it as it releases but as I follow it, I enjoy this series very much. Nodame is a bit over the top but she is real as well as Chiaki is. The perverted Sensei appears to be an idiot, but all his actions are really pointed to improving Chiaki.

5/6 : Now that the sensei is done, we get down to Chiaki and his growth. 6/15 : Whoops some sex...sorta. And no, it's not Chiaki and Nodame, it's 2 other people

With the 2nd episode out, I have to admit that I am enjoying this series. If you looking for a quirky little comedy, then you should check this series out.

This is a story about a miss-matched odd-couple, who somehow seem to complement each other.

Shinichi Chiaki is a disciplined (anal-compulsive) control freak, while Nodame is everything that he is not (and everything that drives him crazy). Nodame can not even read sheet music, but she does have a strange ability of being able to memorize music just by listening to it and an ability to play the piano that Chiaki can not deny.

I should mention that while the animation is by JC Staff, it does not seem to be their best work (or perhaps the original manga was drawn in a simple style that they choose to emulate.)