Nodame Cantabile

Even though the lead character is a male, the presentation and themes of this show to me managed to pull off the elements of an old school shoujo. I’d say something on the lines of Ace wo Nerae, Rose of Versaille and Garasu no Kamen. Granted this anime is not in the league of those 3, but I felt the charms of those classics as I got more into this. The concept of a classical music anime may either interest you or not. But I feel regardless of the presented medium, I feel this is something you have to give a chance. Though it lacks action, fan service, and sex or anything like that, which is a great thing sometimes, it has comedy and class. Which is something you rarely see combined together nowadays in any country’s entertainment. All the characters are likeable in their own rights and I feel you can relate to them as the series progresses. In the end, it’s a story about truly finding what you want to do and how far you can take it. Granted Chiaki’s characteristics are more typical of Shounen Jump titles, he’s still portrayed in a realistic manner and if anyone is his worst critic, it’s himself. In a lot of ways, we are a lot like Chiaki, but in some ways, we have also felt we have known someone like Nodame. Some other characters may come across as stereotypical like Stresseman as this old skirt chasing perverted master who is mostly in martial arts anime, the genre of music freshens this kind of character and is well balanced when you can actually take him seriously. Well, the style is simple but yet tolerable. It’s nothing really too generic, but nothing really ground breaking, but still something you can distinct after viewing. I’ve read very little of the manga and all I can say is it is pretty faithful to it. There’s nothing over the top like hair of fashion or anything like that, so you’re getting a more realistic approach. The eyes aren’t too big and the faces aren’t too pointy. The characters really don’t look too foreign. Whenever an orchestra scene is set in, close ups of the instruments are in an interesting rendering of CG with realistic detail. The orchestra is in sync but I feel there are too many instances where they rely on still shots paintings when playing songs, which can be good and bad. Good reasons are so that you can concentrate on the music, bad reasons is because of the intention of Chiaki wanting to be a conductor and you really don’t see his style of conducting in a physical approach. It’s also nice to see an orchestra play which I will address in my review of the live action adaptation more in depth. Now time to talk about the heart and soul of this anime, the music. The in-show soundtrack naturally of course consists of the use of classical music by Beethoven and Mozart. I like how the anime gives you an in depth look at the back-story of how the music came about and how it should be expressed. When you finally get to listen to the song after learning the proper information, you can finally appreciate the music in that sense if you had no prior knowledge of that song or songwriter. I do have criticisms of the execution of the music, but I’m saving that for my review of the live action. The opening and ending themes are catchy and capture the spirit and other qualities of this anime 100%. I like the first ending theme Konna ni Chikaku de by Crystal Kay. I’ve always been a huge fan of her. The voice acting is also superb. I felt that Chiaki’s character was truly tailor made for his seiyuu, Seki Tomokazu, a man that I have noted in virtually a lot of my reviews and a name you should know if you watch them. The way I described him should tell you that he is fit to play this role. Of course Stresseman is portrayed as one of those characters who have a broken Japanese accent like Apachi from Kenichi, but it lacked a certain kind of charisma and enthusiasm. Nodame is played by Kawasumi Ayako, the voice of Natsuki from Initial D truly captured the characteristics of her as well. And the majority of the cast members were guys I couldn’t recognize, but I felt they did enough, but I just don’t felt they had the same presence as the cast in the live action. As I have noted throughout this review, there is a live action version to Nodame Cantabile. As a matter of fact, this anime came out a season after the live action did and I watched them simultaneously just to keep my mind fresh and see how they executed them. Personally, I liked the live action a whole lot better.

It was very different from what I expected, but I’m so glad I watched this masterpiece. It was wonderful, and I truly enjoyed the final episode. I really appreciate how beautifully the main characters developed throughout the story. I love this show so much!

It feels like the show is almost over. I really love the music and the concerts, but to be honest, I feel bad for Chiaki and Nodame because they don’t seem happy, and I still don’t fully understand what’s happening to them. I can’t wait to watch the final episode. I’m ready for it!

I love these episodes. They’re full of music, and this one especially because it focused on Nodame’s performance. I honestly didn’t want the episode to end. It was amazing — exactly the kind of episode I wanted to see and hear. I’m really excited for the next ones.

There is so much beautiful music in these episodes. I like how the story is growing alongside the characters’ development. I was really excited about Nodame’s auditions and Chiaki’s concert. I’m truly enjoying this part of the show.

This episode was really funny, even though it also had a lot of emotional depth. I love the way the story is developing, and the characters are growing so well. I don’t think anyone expected Nodame’s behavior. She’s so cute!

What beautiful music in this episode! It’s probably the most relatable one for me so far. I loved how everyone talked about music, and the performances were amazing. I watched this episode twice in a row. 10 out of 10. I hope the next episodes have just as much music because it’s really lovely.

Finally, I got what I wanted: chaos, funny moments, and a lot of development between the characters. This episode was amazing for me. It feels like we’re about to see some major decisions that could change everything. I’m really excited. 10 out of 10

Well, big changes are coming. We’re getting new character development, and I think it was necessary for the main story. This could be really fun, I’m sure of it. I’m excited to see the chaos that’s coming.

It was a slower episode compared to the emotional and action-packed ones we had before, but I feel like the show is building toward a big change soon. Even though this episode wasn’t that good to me, I still want to keep watching haha.

We can finally learn more about Chiaki. He has been a very mysterious character, so any time we get more of his story feels valuable. I think we have started a new phase in the show, with deeper and more meaningful episodes. This one, in particular, is one of my favorites. 9 out of 10

It was a funny episode. Even though the series usually mixes emotional moments with deeper themes, this one felt especially funny because Chiaki kept changing his mind depending on who was talking, even when the message was basically the same. I think it was an important episode for developing characters like Masumi

Well, we can finally see some development in Nodame and Chiaki's story. Time is running, and that means decisions. I love it when we have music throughout the whole episode. Some heartbreaking moments right here

We had an epic concert here, but I need to mention something too: some scenes felt a bit repetitive, and I didn’t really like that. Chiaki and Master Milk absolutely rocked that night! It was amazing. 7.5/10 episode

Ok, this was cruel hahaha. For the first time, an episode was still amazing even after it ended. I loved how it was made, and the S Orchestra is on fire! Honestly, this episode really got me. I need to watch the next one right now

The story has a new pace now. We got so much in just a few minutes haha: Chiaki’s development, Nodame doing amazing things, Ming’s growth... It was a great episode to push the story forward.

It was a nice, chill episode after all the action in episode 7 hahaha. At least we got to learn a bit more about our master Milk. New characters showed up, and it looks like we’re about to have some amazing adventures soon.

I think this is the real start of the show. The episode was amazing! There’s still a lot to see: plot twists, amazing character development, and more. I loved it. 10 out of 10. P.S. Milk is still such a mysterious character.

Well, in my opinion, that is the best episode so far. I love the way everyone at the school has their own goals, but in the end, they all share the group's vision. I still don't understand Milk's reasons yet. 10 out of 10.

It was a beautiful way to develop Chiaki's respect for Milk, even though it's a little hard to do because Milk's personality is crazy. I love that the music is becoming full songs.