Nodame Cantabile

[Joojoobees]

Originally Posted by BBOvenGuy

Now, it's true that there's no piano part in either of the Beethoven symphonies that we've seen the S orchestra rehearsing, but all they'd need to do was pick another piece of music and Nodame would be in.

You bring up an interesting point. Weren't they going to perform Symphony #7 originally? Why did they switch to the Eroica (#3), when they had so little time before the performance? I think Milky was trying to screw Chiaki over from the beginning.

[Cal-Reflector]

An Anime about Classical Music: the combination of my two greatest pleasures in life, Nodame Cantabile does not disappoint. Throughout this post I'll be comparing the show to Honey and Clover (which I'm sure others have done) in order to make my points.

First, the critiques:

The animation is very simple; while sophisticated animation does not a good anime make neccessarily, Nodame's came across as being too plain in a few instances, so that the presentation of the mood and characters' emotions suffered and came across as shallow. The overly simple animation thus subtracts from the carrying across of emotional depth to the viewers... that was my impression.

The film directing: Related to above; compared to H&C and other high quality animes, my impression was that the shot selections--the pans, stills, close ups, and other camera technique seemed a bit flat; dull, even. I wish I could articulate this better...

More funny than profound; this is not a critique in and of itself because a good show like Nodame doesn't need to be profound like H&C. Nevertheless the struggles and conflicts in the show come across as rather elementary (which is not a criticism!), and many are quickly and resolutely resolved.

The Praise: Great voice acting, character design, and comedy... though the last two is more the credit of the original work.

Tentative Ranking: B/B+. Particular high lights includes the openly-gay percussionist and Noda Megumi, who, despite all the comparisons I'm tempted to make to Morita Shinobu from H&C, is her own character, original and refreshing.

[DanielSong39]

Sakura's father sounded more like a good violinist playing bad on purpose than a truly horrible violinist.

The sound, as terrible as it was, was more powerful than expected, and the form and bowing was quite inconsistent with the sounds he produced.

The bow would be all over the place if a beginner was playing (and probably closer to the fingerboard). This would result in a weak scratchy sound instead of a scraping sound.

I admit, I'm nitpicking. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, however.

P.S. I'll put up a demonstration on Youtube if you like. But I warn you, cover your ears...

[Jewelray]

Originally Posted by Cal-Reflector

More funny than profound; this is not a critique in and of itself because a good show like Nodame doesn't need to be profound like H&C. Nevertheless the struggles and conflicts in the show come across as rather elementary (which is not a criticism!), and many are quickly and resolutely resolved.

I agree, Nodame Cantabile is more about fun than about life lessons, but I think it still has something to say. H&C is pretty clearly about growing up and discovering yourself and what you love, while Nodame reminds us to remember to enjoy what we do. But it doesn't, if I may quote South Park "get preachy and up its own ass with morals"

[Joojoobees]

Originally Posted by Jewelray

I agree, Nodame Cantabile is more about fun than about life lessons, but I think it still has something to say. H&C is pretty clearly about growing up and discovering yourself and what you love, while Nodame reminds us to remember to enjoy what we do. But it doesn't, if I may quote South Park "get preachy and up its own ass with morals"

I thought H&C was about ripping your heart to shreds and teaching you that, no matter how hard you love another person, your affections will never be returned. :P

So far Nodame Cantabile is pretty fun. The character Nodame, in particular, makes me laugh in every episode. She is really sweet. At episode 6 it feels a little early to be making comments about what the series really means. I'm looking for some sort of development in Chiaki (probably initiated and/or supported by Nodame). Perhaps overcoming his fear of flying?

[dxgarten]

Episode 07 screencaps and summary

Spoiler:

Well, that pretty much dashed my hope that the full orchestra will be animated. Thankfully the rest of the episode is still pretty good and there is a nice surprise for Nodame/Chiaki shippers

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by dxgarten

Spoiler:

there is a nice surprise for Nodame/Chiaki shippers

Spoiler:

This is what i've been waiting to see, Nodame's big chance!

[Cal-Reflector]

HOLY CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!

Spoiler for Preview for episode 8:

They're going to do Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto Number 2 Next?????? MY LIFE IS COMPLETE, COMPLETE I say!! One of my top three favorite classical pieces of all time!!!! Yes, YES, YES, YEEEESSSS!!!!!!"

The first movement is powerful and emotional, with a primarily somber refrain (pardon my non-music-major terminology). The second movement is calm, intimate, and one of the most romantic movements of classical music by any composer. The final movement is fast and bright, a shining conclusion to the Concerto.

I wonder which one will be presented in the show, as all three movements (particular the first two) have been featured fairly frequently in shows and movies to contribute to the atmosphere and mood of the characters, given their particular qualities.

[cipotlar]

Originally Posted by Cal-Reflector

HOLY CRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP!!!!!!

Spoiler for Preview for episode 8:

They're going to do Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto Number 2 Next?????? MY LIFE IS COMPLETE, COMPLETE I say!! One of my top three favorite classical pieces of all time!!!! Yes, YES, YES, YEEEESSSS!!!!!!"

The first movement is powerful and emotional, with a primarily somber refrain (pardon my non-music-major terminology). The second movement is calm, intimate, and one of the most romantic movements of classical music by any composer. The final movement is fast and bright, a shining conclusion to the Concerto.

I wonder which one will be presented in the show, as all three movements (particular the first two) have been featured fairly frequently in shows and movies to contribute to the atmosphere and mood of the characters, given their particular qualities.

Spoiler for to Cal-Reflector:

Yeah, finally I have a friend that got excited because someone in Nodame Cantabile will do Rach 2. My expression was exactly as yours when they showed the scene in the live-action drama.

But take my advice, don't get your expectations too high on it or else you'll be disappointed. *at least based on what they've shown in the live action.*

[DanielSong39]

Eh, I was actually rooting for Nodame/Mine...

But I suppose it was hopeless from the start.

[Deathkillz]

ep 7 ~

Spoiler:

and again aonther great ep from this series ~ not as much laughter as the first two eps but still im im enjoying the random outbursts of comedy

soo chiaki manages to learn somewat about the power of friendship...via a cartoon Stresemann has adopted the classic "evil role but really to teach" type of personality ~ but i bet that kiss did him over...now its war!! XD

highlights...

~ mine running out of the hall in tears saying "chiaki no baka!" right after Masumi had just managed to give confidence to another trainee

~ omg!! chiaki actually allowed mine's violin trick XD that was golden

[orion]

But...

Spoiler:

Nodame didn't go for the gold and settled for bronze. Maybe next time...

[pyu]

Originally Posted by DanielSong39

Eh, I was actually rooting for Nodame/Mine...

But I suppose it was hopeless from the start.

Well..

Spoiler:

No worries, Mine has his own belle to pursue later on. I'm actually quite interested in how they will introduce Kiyora in the anime.

Though I'm not very knowledgeable about classical music, apparently in the live drama, they didn't do Rachmaninov very well.

Spoiler:

A piece of warning for those interested in watching the live drama. What I find it rather upsetting that is that after it whetted my interest in Nodame Cantabile, the anime has very much lost its appeal for me after watching the live drama.

So if you want to continue enjoying the anime, don't search out for the live drama. I'm serious.

[Pellissier]

Yesterday I started watching this show, and I'm wondering why I did wait that much. Probably I didn't pay enough attention to the "J.C.STAFF" label screaming in front of me.

From the firts glimples of episode 1, it seems evident that the animation staff behind this must be for the largest part the same of Honey & Clover, since the style is precisely the same. At first Nodame remembered me of my beloved Ayumi (Yamada), but heh, Ayumi seemed to be a bit more concerned of herself. ^^
On the other hand though, Chiaki is not Mayama and so the hopes are not cut down this time, or at least so I wish. ^^

I've watched just two episodes and it may be a tad early, but I'm already for putting a "5 stars" mark to this wonderful show, whereas the pace is so brilliantly executed and the classical musics are so neat for the ears. The opening theme, "Allegro Cantabile", is also one of the best of the season.

I'll be back once I've finished to marathon the show until episode 6, where the fansubs are up with, and at that moment I'll begin to wait for my week by week based NC share

[Joojoobees]

Originally Posted by Pellissier

I've watched just two episodes and it may be a tad early, but I'm already for putting a "5 stars" mark to this wonderful show

I like this show a lot.

There is a lot of good humor, although I'm not amused by the repeated hitting of people (Nodame, in particular seems to get beaten multiple times per episode).

For the most part, the style of the art work is quite good, but it seems that they cop out a LOT by panning over still shots instead of truly animating sequences. I'm willing to cut the animation team some slack in those orchestra sequences, because they went to the trouble to draw all sorts of instruments, and asking the animation staff to depict convincing bowing, etc. is probably too much. That aside, it still seems like they cop out a lot, though.

I watched the first episode of the dorama version, and realized that the animation does a much better job capturing the ambiance of a conservatory. For example, the first episode with Chiaki walking onto campus criticizing the various students. The live-action dorama has all of these students playing/singing outside, whereas the animation shows them in practice rooms. Or the shape of the ceiling in the orchestra's performance space. Attention to details like these really makes me feel like I know the place the characters inhabit.

I've only seen up through episode 6 (well, I watched the raw of 7, but don't understand Japanese), so it's premature to comment on the plot, but the characters are really interesting, and the voice actors are wonderful.

[noblsheep]

Originally Posted by pyu

Well..

Spoiler:

A piece of warning for those interested in watching the live drama. What I find it rather upsetting that is that after it whetted my interest in Nodame Cantabile, the anime has very much lost its appeal for me after watching the live drama.

So if you want to continue enjoying the anime, don't search out for the live drama. I'm serious.

egg-zaktly. that's the exact thing that happened to me. i watched the first ep, searched the drama out, and now i'm nitpicking and missing ueno juri whenever i see the anime. and it's frustrating because i know that this is a great show.

[aliensporebomb]

Originally Posted by Deathkillz

well considering he wants to be a conductor i think he would just drool over his master's conducting stick i guess he has lost interest in everything else ~

Speaking as a musician, I think Chiaki would be stricken with terror with the
thought of holding an instrument that costs more than a house or car.

Being a guitarist, I've played vintage instruments in the eighteen to twenty
thousand dollar range once or twice and it's just too nerve wracking to play
something that expensive - better to just look at it and play something you're
not worrying about devaluing by thousands of dollars because you accidentally
put a ding in it.

I liked his uber angry reaction at the father he just met though - WHAM.

Following this, the synopsis of EP7 sounds intriguing as does what I hear of 8.

The best show of the season, IMHO.

I've actually sought out the live dorama and the first two are quite good but it is
almost as if it's a facet from the same stone/jewel. I'll keep watching both.

I should chime in on the slapstick segments - my wife saw a bit and she said
with shock in her voice "he HIT her" like it was an unforgiveable affront - it is
a bit much I think. Show the girl some respect .... but I suppose that is what
makes the show what it is - I hope that tones down a bit later.

[Theowne]

A piece of warning for those interested in watching the live drama. What I find it rather upsetting that is that after it whetted my interest in Nodame Cantabile, the anime has very much lost its appeal for me after watching the live drama.

Heh...same thing that happened to me....but I still watch the anime to see how they do things...

The only problem with the live action is that with the manga or anime, they are drawn/animated and you can "fill in the blanks", you can imagine a great performance if it tells you it was a great performance. In the live action though, Chiaki and other characters are said sometimes to have put out amazing performances but sometimes it doesn't quite match with what we just saw...so I guess the downside of the live action is we're a but more critical of the performances....

[Pellissier]

Now I have arrived up to episode 6 and my first impression wasn't wrong, this show is a first class one.

Still a bit too early to make deep judgements, also because the series has taken a slightly different path from the one I had in mind, or more probably that path in my mind needs this part in order to develop more smoothly.

Said this, I'm not having particular complaints for what I've seen so far. As written above, Nodame Cantabile isn't as deep in portraying characters as Honey & Clover, since until now I've seen more "action" than long thoughts or reflections. But NC remains enjoyable nonetheless. The characters are likeable, Chiaki is very interesting especially because he's clearly not ending the story like he began it , but it can't be helped that the figure completely stealing the lights of the show is Nodame.
A very different kind of character, which I find difficult to relate to anyone else of my knowledge. She's so special in every way, I believe I can't never be tired of her.
Oh, and Kawasumi Ayako is stellar in the role, think of this: one year ago she was Saber (F/sn), now she's Nodame. Quite a difference, isn't it ?

Very good performance also by Tomokazu Seki as Chiaki. Even Mamiko Noto is in the show, as Sakura, they rushed her story a bit, but fine, I prefere that they focus on the main plot.

My only little qualm at the moment is that Chiaki is well started in the directing career, but Nodame is kinda on the corner at the moment, since the piano doesn't figure in an orchestra.
The opening seems to suggest a sort of related career between the two main characters, at the moment the link is still missing. But again, it's very early in the series so I suppose that the bonds will just loosen up little by little.

Shortly, a very refreshing and innovative series (classical music in anime, now that's pretty peculiar), amusing enough and with hints of "what you need to do to help your life to be like you'd wish it to be". The H&C character design helps a lot to create the right mood. I'm more than sold.

[Shiroth]

Originally Posted by aliensporebomb

The best show of the season, IMHO.

It would be for me if it didn't cut so much out of the manga - its just feeling oh so rushed at the moment, and there's no reason behind it when you think about how long this series has been said to last.

Of course, i'm still finding it a wonderful watch. Its being done a lot more interesting then the live action - i just get the feeling that its missing something at the moment. Still, i'm watching for my ultimate Tsundere hero, Chiaki.