Head of Vengarl
Banned
Continuing my recent foray into non-action anime, I turned to Nodame Cantabile - a romantic comedy series about classical musicians (it was recommended to me after my LTTP thread on Your Lie in April). I just finished a binge of all 3 seasons of the anime + the manga chapters that follow-up on the story (more on those later). I couldn't stop watching it! It's a must-see if you're a fan of classical music, and even if you aren't it's still a really fun show.
The story revolves around co-main characters:
Chiaki Shinichi: a brilliant musician and aspiring conductor. He's serious, intensely ambitious, has a short temper, is a clean freak, a perfectionist, a great cook, good-looking... basically he excels everything he does and pretty much every girl at the university has a crush on him.
Noda Megumi (nicknamed "Nodame"): a bubbly piano student who lacks focus. Though her playing is unfocused she is nonetheless extremely gifted; Chiaki, with his impeccable ear for music, notices her untapped talent immediately upon hearing her play. She's a space cadet and a slob - basically the polar opposite of the ambitious and put-together Chiaki.
Nodame falls head over heels in love with Chiaki after they play a duet together at school, and Chiaki, while initially denying any romantic interest in her, nevertheless finds himself drawn to Nodame because her piano playing moves him. The plot follows their musical, personal, and romantic development as they progress through music college and beyond.
What I liked about Nodame Cantabile:
- The humor. This show is actually really fucking funny. Each episode has at least one, and usually several, laugh-out-loud moments.
- The drama wasn't bullshit. I'll admit I'm somewhat prejudiced against romantic comedy/drama shows... likely because my ex-gf used to make me watch some truly awful rom-com/drama movies and TV shows with her. So, so many of those shows contained some dumb fucking misunderstanding like this: the gf walks around the corner just in time to see her bf kissing some chick, so she immediately turns and runs away heartbroken, not seeing her bf shove the chick away because he didn't actually want to kiss her, she forced it on him! *Barf* Ahem... anyway, what I love about Nodame Cantabile is that none of that kind of dumbassery takes place. Sure, there's relationship drama, but it almost never feels contrived. I like how the plot actually fakes you out at times, presenting situations that look like they're gonna cause a huge conflict, but actually don't. It keeps you on your toes, especially because both Chiaki and Nodame have unpredictable personalities.
- The romance. The relationship between the two main characters is a wild ride. Chiaki and Nodame are so different and really don't get along much of the time - Nodame is gross (she sometimes goes days without bathing, and her apartment is literally covered in trash and dirty dishes and laundry), immature, and frustratingly lacking in ambition, while Chiaki often has a stick up his ass and can be a total douchebag. But there is just something irresistibly charming about them, especially as their characters develop. It's very satisfying watching them progress.
- The music. If you enjoy classical music then this show is a real treat. Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin, Liszt, Mozart, Debussy, Ravel, Strauss... it's got a wonderful array of great pieces.
What I didn't like:
The anime has an unsatisfying ending. Like, I sat there after the finale and said, "That's it?" I wanted more closure. Thankfully, I found out there are 10.5 chapters (+1 extra chapter released last year) of manga that follow the end of the anime and provide the closure I was looking for. They really should have made an OVA containing the follow-up story from those last manga chapters, because the anime really feels incomplete without it.
Final verdict:
Two thumbs up! I rarely re-watch shows (especially anime), but this will certainly be an exception - Nodame Cantabile is funny as hell and has great music, and is just fun to watch. I highly recommend giving it a shot.
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Order of series (since it isn't super clear):
Season 1 - "Nodame Cantabile"
Season 2 - "Paris Hen"
Season 3 - "Finale"
Manga follow-up chapters - "Opera Hen"
Bonus manga chapter
