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ファイト／ステイナイト 
I apologize for being late but I made a mistake thinking that I can do full summary in just under 5 hours. How wrong that turned out to be. Even after 5 hours, I haven't covered half of the episode so I decided to re-write everything and just summarize the important parts of the story. Even then it still ends up being rather long. At any rate, I don't think I have the patience to write long-winded sentences like I used to. But then again two hours show is also a bit too much to be given a blow-by-blow treatment. I remember spending at least a few hours just to write those episodic review of the live-action series. Anyway, this one is actually a little bit all over the place but it still has that feel-good feel of the other episodes. The ending is a bit abrupt but it can't be helped since the manga is not completed yet. I'm actually surprised that the writers decided to squeeze in so many parts from the manga into a two 2 hours episode.
Okay, that was brutal. I don't mean the actual show itself because that's actually pretty good. But what I had to go through just to watch/blog the episode was rough. First, it took 5 hours just to get the 2GB episode. After obtaining it, I realised that the first episode itself goes for 2 hours. That means spending an additional 6 hours just to watch, screencap, choose, and optimized the images. Thankfully the episode is worth the trouble. It's cheesy as usual but at least the series is very aware of how ridiculous the situation in the story can be. I'm also surprised at how the writers manage to squeeze in every single characters from the original series into this special. Even characters who are not supposed to be in the European arc of the story actually appear in this drama. Their roles are minimal though and it does not disrupt or change the story in any way.
It looks like the dates for the special episodes are finally set. The first episode will run on the 4th of January while the 2nd episode will run on the 5th of January. I'm actually excited. It's been awhile since I watch any anime or Japanese drama. And since Winter anime selection turns out to be duds again, at least for me, it looks like it'll just be watching Japanese drama this season. As for the Nodame special, it is now has an official title: Nodame Cantabile in Europe. Looking at the cast list, I'm amused that they cast Japanese actors to play Frank and Tanya. Admittedly, Eiji Wentz (yes, one half of WaT), who'll play Frank, is half American but the guy can barely speak English. I've never heard of Becky before so I can't comment on her abilities, both acting and Russian-speaking skill. Speaking of casting, did you know that Mukai Osamu who plays Kikuchi Tooru in Nodame live-action will play Mayama in Honey and Clover live-action? I'm pretty glad with this casting since the guy was pretty funny in Nodame. Hopefully he can bring out Mayama's twisted sense of humour into the live-action.
I am kind of sleepy but I figure I should write about this first. Nodame Cantabile drama will return for a 2 consecutive broadcast nights next January (2008). The story will focus on Noda "Nodame" Megumi (Ueno Juri) and Chiaki Shinichi (Tamaki Hiroshi)'s adventure in Paris. Shooting in Paris will start for 3 weeks this autumn. I am personally surprised and delighted to find out about this. Thank you to Nodaki for letting me know about this. I now wonder how the story will work considering that Nodame and Chiaki have to interact with non-Japanese characters. One possibility is that they will still speak Japanese and we will have to pretend that they're actually speaking French. However, the report also mentions how there will be new characters who are not in Ninomiya Tomoko's manga. So maybe they'll replace the foreign characters in the manga with these new characters. I hope that won't be the case though.
Source: Tokyo Graph (English) | Sankei Sports (Japanese) | Official Site (Japanese)
In general, this is a satisfying finale for the anime adaptation. There's no surprises or extremely powerful scenes like the live-action's final episodes but the episode was solid. This brings my point to the live-action adaptation. I think it was unfortunate that the live-adaptation came first before the anime. I didn't think it would have been a big deal at first but I was wrong. If the anime had been given equal or better budget than the live-action adaptation, it might have had the chance to compete on equal level. However, it's obvious that this production was strained in terms of money and time. I also think it was a mistake for the animator to try to replicate Honey and Clover's visual look for this series. It's just not the right look for the series to use. With the exception of the static illustrations, the water-color effect don't have as much impact as it did when it was used in Honey and Clover.
I was surprised to see a flashback to an episode that we never saw during the TV broadcast. I am referring to the story where Chiaki helped tutoring Nodame and Mine. I always think that this particular story is one of the funniest in the series. It was unfortunate that the producers decided to exclude it from the original TV broadcast. However, with the brief flashback included in this episode, I hope this means the story will be included on the DVD. Anyway, it's nice to see Matsuda in this version because although the guy was mentioned in the live-action, we didn't get to see him at all. I hope we'll get to see him conducting in this version because I like the idea that despite Chiaki leaving R☆S Orchestra, the rest of the members are in good hands because Matsuda will be taking over the conducting position.
Wow, two more episodes and that will be it for this series. I can't believe that two series that I cover will end almost simultaneously. I think Death Note will conclude next week while this series will end the week after that. I've been hoping that there'll be a second season but at this point, it doesn't seem likely. Maybe if the DVD sales is good and the manga is concluded soon, we'll see a sequel in the not-too-distant future, just like Honey and Clover. I do hope that we'll at least get a glimpse of the second season towards the end of this season because that's one thing that the live action didn't show. They don't even have to have a voice track. I just want to see the arc animated while music plays in the background.
Well, we're down to 3 more episodes left. I kind of wish we'll get to see a second season but after seeing the limited budget that the animators get for the series, I don't think that will happen. What I'm interested to know is how popular the anime has been in terms of Noitamina timeslot. I think apart from Honey and Clover, this is the only other Noitamina series that I've been really interested in. I know that Honey and Clover set the standard for high number late night viewing. However, I remember that it has been eclipsed at times by other series. This is why I'm interested to know about the ratings that this series received. I assume just like Honey and Clover, this series probably already has a built-in fans who followed the manga before the live-action series and the anime came out.
I never really pay that much attention to the second ending theme but lately I'm starting to like it. I think it reminds me a little bit of Honey and Clover ending themes, Waltz and Split. I must be feeling nostalgic. It's been a year since that series ended and I have yet to find another anime series that can be the successor to that series. I was hoping Nodame would be the one but while I love the live-action, this anime adaptation has been quite underwhelming. The lack of details in the background, the static performance sequence, and lead voice actress which doesn't really mesh with Nodame's character really hurt this adaptation a little bit. Oh well, with only 4 more episodes left, I hope the animators will start using the budget to make the remaining episodes look good.
I am surprised that the anime actually decides to include not just the two main performances of the R☆S Orchestra but also the opening performance. As a result of this, however, we don't get to see the main orchestral performance until next week's episode. With only 6 more episodes to go, I think this series will end around the same place as the live action version. The only difference is that we'll probably see Nodame and Chiaki bidding goodbye to their friends and hopefully we'll get to see them in Paris a little bit. I think the anime should continue right through the Paris arc because that's the part that has not been covered by the live action. Having said that, I understand that the author probably don't want the anime to go that far since the manga itself is not anywhere near completion.
Woot! Lately my personal life seems to be a lot more tense than my blogging. I apologise for that but things have been a bit rough in the past few weeks. Between the work, the computer virus, the hard to format HD, I barely have any desire to do anything else apart from sleeping. Anyway, this is a much better episode than last week's mostly because there are some amusing humour inserted in between the serious practice scene. In addition to this, the various members of R☆S Orchestra actually have interesting personality and their interaction with the existing characters are pretty good. From all of the new characters, I like Kuroki the most because he seems to be the easiest to relate.
I am sorry to take a little bit of space to talk about it but I think it's necessary to inform everyone about this. A couple of hours ago, my laptop was hit by a strange-looking message, saying that I need to re-activate my Windows using my credit card. If I say 'no', Windows would quit on me and I can't do anything. The thing is, there's something about the message that seems suspicious. It actually asks for your PIN number. Deciding that only a fool will give out his/her credit card to unknown pop ups, I decided to use my desktop computer to find out more about it. As it turns out, the message is a new trojan called Trojan Kardphisher. This is a new Trojan which got unleashed around the 7th of this month so it's relatively new. I managed to over-ride the stupid trojan by giving it fake name and credit card number then flushing out the entire data that it created. Anyway, consider yourself warned and be careful if it happens to you. Well, back to the show.
I think it was a good decision to separate the later half of Chiaki's family visit from the earlier half. This way I am not as angry as I was when I first read the manga. I mentioned last week that I feel this family undermines Nodame. I realise that they seem to warm up to her but in general, I feel they still look down on her to a degree. Regardless of what they think of her, I think it's a bit cruel to humiliate her by saying that she's not going to reach her dream. On top of this, she's actually a stranger and not one of the family. I don't think anyone would say something that harsh to someone they barely know. I realise it's supposed to be funny but I don't find it to be that way because I know how off-putting to have someone telling you that you can't do something that you want to do.
I often wonder if the author actually want the readers/viewers to laugh with Nodame or at Nodame. Sometimes I get the impression that the later is truer than the former. While there are some funny moments in this episode, I can't help but cringe a little bit after seeing some of the scenes. The problem is, I'm not sure if I should feel sorry for Nodame or Chiaki. Animation-wise, the quality seems to have gone down a little bit but it's not particularly noticeable since most of the stories do not require intensive animation. The impressive thing about this episode is the classic music that gets played in the last few minutes of the episode. For some reason it gives the episode a slight grandiose feel to it.
You know, I never understands why Chiaki is popular amongst girls. Sure, he's supposedly handsome but he's also a screamer. Anyone who spends enough time with him will know that he goes "HiiiEEE!!" everytime he's afraid of something. Isn't it a major turn-off when someone that you like turns out to be a major screamer everytime there's something that scares him/her? Anyway, this episode was actually entertaining. That cheesy song that Moe/Kaoru get to sing in the Karaoke was comedy central. I can't remember a song that requires me to spell the alphabet apart from that "A, B, C, D" song that I learned when I was in kindergarden. But in this episode, you get to see two grown women spelling alphabet in a song and once they're done, a bunch of men went "Moee!!". I don't get it.
So after 2 weeks break, the series is finally back. The animation seems to be slightly better. The majority of the piano scene in this episode were well-animated. It really makes a lot of difference and makes the scene far more enjoyable. Unfortunately the character design is still inconsistent and background images are as plain as ever. I did, however, appreciate the stylistic stills that the animators use to show Cosi Fan Tutte story. Voice-acting wise, I'm starting to get annoyed with Nodame's voice. I think it sounds fake and unnatural. I really miss Ueno Juri's voice, which is a lot more mature while still has that touch of Nodame's crazyness. Chiaki, on the other hand, is really good and I find it hard to distinguish Tamaki Hiroshi's and Seki Tomokazu's voice.
What's going on here? All of a sudden the concert scene looks really good and is actually animated. It's not completely animated but at least this time around I get the impression that I'm watching a concert instead of static stills after static stills. Oh well, I hope this continues right through the end, especially when R☆S Orchestra starts to perform. Anyway, I still remember how a few people complained about the Rachmaninoff that Chiaki in live-action version played. It was deemed too slow. Unfortunately this seems to be a choice that the author has made since the anime's version of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No.2 is also equally slow at the start. The difference between this one and the live-action is that the anime features the entire score instead of jumping from the first to the last act.
Well, this is a rather enjoyable episode much to my surprise. The comedy is actually spot on and there are several scenes which were not covered in the live action version of the series. I'm just hoping that the writers won't exclude more stories from the manga. I think at this point in time, they are on track to finish the rest of 5 volumes + 1 chapter in the constraint of 13 episodes. Animation-wise, there's nothing outstanding about the episode. However, character design is clean and consistent. The music, on the other hand, is quite interesting. Chiaki's Rachmaninoff is considerably faster in this version. In fact, it's actually very fast and almost similar to Nodame's version in the live action version. One thing that bothers me about this score is how depressing it seems despite the fast tempo that accompanies it.
Before watching this episode, I was wondering if the beach story would be cut out of the broadcast version. Well, my guess turns out to be correct. At this point, however, I've resigned to the fact that all of the fun chapters will probably be excluded from the broadcast version so I'm a lot more prepared now. From the way the story has progressed, it appears to me that the writers want to ensure that the first 5 volumes of the manga will end around episode 12, leaving around 11 episodes to deal with the last 4 volumes + 1 chapter from volume 10. Oh well, I'm just glad they animate the Nagano music festival since it's completely skipped over in the live action version. This is because one important character, Miki Kiyora, was already introduced in the live action version as Momogaoka music student.
This is a rather pleasant episode which basically explains Stresemann's motivation. He also seems a bit more generous than usual this time around, as evidenced by the present he gave to Nodame. Animation-wise, I feel that this episode is actually a lot more fluid in comparison to last week's episode. I know that people have been comparing the art style to Honey and Clover but it really doesn't come across that way to me until this episode. This particular shot reminds me of a similar shot where Morita chomps a bread out of Hagu's hand. At any rate, I'm just glad that it looks like the anime will be covering the Nagano part of the story. I was afraid that part will get a skip as well but thankfully that's not the case here.
February 22, 2007 | 
20 Comments
Unfortunately those who are waiting for the anime to feature full-on animated orchestra will be disappointed with this episode. Just like the rehearsal scenes, the animators choose to use static stills for the orchestra scenes. I think this completely waters down what could have been an impressive segment. At this point in time, I get the impression that the purpose of the anime is not so much to showcase the music/orchestra like in the live action version, but to showcase the comedic side of the story. I personally think both are achievable but it is obvious that the animators have budget constraint on their hand. As a result, there won't be any Haruhi-styled performance in this adaptation and I don't see this changing anytime soon. I think the best thing for those of us who are still interested in the series is to lower the expectation and realise that the orchestra scenes would not be the main feature of this adaptation.
February 16, 2007 | 10 Comments
Crystal Kay - Konna ni Chikaku de... (43.3MB, for PSP/Quicktime) | YouTube version
「こんなに近くで...」- Konna ni Chikaku de... is the ending theme for Nodame Cantabile anime series. The song is performed by Crystal Kay, the same singer who performed FullMetal Alchemist 4th ED theme, Motherland. To be honest, I didn't like the song at first until I heard the full version on the PV. I just think the short version feels abruptly cut. As for the PV itself, this along with Allegro Cantabile have to be some of the more creative PVs I've seen. At first you see a mannequin inside a store followed by a shot of Crystal Kay coming back home. However, she doesn't come home on her own because a group of orchestra comes into her room as well. The rest are basically a singing/orchestral performance inside the room. I think the idea is simple but there is a sense of narrative to it, which makes it a lot more entertaining than a run-of-the-mill PVs where the singer just move around the set and sing the song.
Konna ni Chikaku de... will be released on the 28th of February 2007.
February 16, 2007 | 22 Comments
Suemitsu and the Suemith - Allegro Cantabile (25.5MB, for PSP/Quicktime) | YouTube version
Allegro Cantabile is the OP theme for Nodame Cantabile anime. To be honest, this is the first time I heard Suemitsu and the Suemith. Since this is the only exposure I have to their song, I would have to say that based on this song alone, the group's strength lies in their piano skill instead of their singing, which is not bad but not exactly outstanding either. The PV, on the other hand, is pretty stylish and creative. At first it looks like a generic PV where the singer just plays piano while performing. However, as he plays the white piano, the piano and the singer get splashed with black paint. This continues throughout the entire PV until the piano looks a bit of a mess. Interestingly enough, the piano wouldn't look bad if it's coloured all black so I assume they'll just repaint it all black once they've done with the shooting.
Allegro Cantabile will be released on the 21th of February 2007.
February 15, 2007 | 17 Comments
I think I've given up hoping that some of my favourite scenes would make it into this adaptation. This episode is basically the reverse of last week's. While last week felt really slow in terms of pacing, this one is unbelievably past. In the process, it cuts down some of my favourite stories and comedy scenes. The most notable of this is the story where Chiaki gives free lesson to Nodame and Mine. Thankfully there is still likelihood that this entire story might be included in the DVD. However, there are some comedy scenes which got cut out from this episode and I don't think they'll be included in the DVD. This brings me to my next point, I don't understand why the writers are in such a hurry since I doubt they'll go into the Paris/Europe arc. At this rate, they'll reach the R☆S Orchestra arc soon.
February 8, 2007 | 20 Comments
Well, what I feared has become reality. The majority of the concert scene in this episode consist of mostly static stills of the orchestra members. I guess it was unrealistic to expect a full-on animated orchestra but I was hoping to see some hand movements at the very least. Unfortunately there was none of that in this episode. The problem with this is that it diminishes the effect of the orchestra performance. Beethoven's 7th Symphony is supposed to be grand and yet it comes across as a background music coming out of CD here. I do appreciate that I can sense some dissonance within the individual players when Chiaki was conducting the orchestra. However, the sound was very faint and unless you listen closely, it's hard to distinguish the performance which was conducted by Chiaki and the one conducted by Strezemann. On the positive side, the comedy remains enjoyable as usual and there are some creative use of animation technique.
February 1, 2007 | 22 Comments
Kotatsu scene: Part 1 (18.5MB, J-Drama version) | Part 2 (26.5MB, J-Drama version)
First thing first, those who expect to see the Kotatsu chapter will be in for a disappointment. J.C Staff completely cuts that story out of the anime for the time being. However, since this is J.C Staff, I suspect we will probably see them in the DVD as one of the extras. If you think about it, the Kotatsu story doesn't really advance the main plot so it makes sense for J.C Staff to excise that story so they can get on with the main plot. Apart from this cut, however, this episode is as good as the previous one. The comedy flows in better, the jokes are spot on, and the story is engaging. The only problem that I still have is getting used to the voice actors for the anime. The only exception to this is Chiaki. I'm a bit disappointed that the new Strezemann doesn't speak Japanese like a foreigner. His Japanese sounds a bit too perfect to me.
January 25, 2007 | 18 Comments
Well, this is more of what I had in mind with the first two episodes. I just think that this is generally funnier than the first and second episodes. I am still not used to the voices especially Nodame's but I'm slowly getting used to them. Masumi's voice sounds a lot like Madarao (of Kekkaishi) to me but I'm not sure if they share similar VA or not. Animation-wise, this is also a lot more vibrant and consistent much to my surprise. Especially considering that this is already the third episode in the series. In other series, this is where things usually start to fall apart. But then again I remember that apart from Kyoto Animation, J.C Staff is also quite good at spreading their budget evenly throughout the entire run of a series. Because of this, I can't recall a particular episode that looks really bad.
January 19, 2007 | 29 Comments
Well, this is slightly disappointing after last week's episode. I think the animation dips slightly down in this one. Mine's face, for example, is rarely consistent in this series. Prior to watching the live action, I always thought that Mine's hair in the manga is a lot better than Eita's hair in the live-action. Now, however, it's kind of strange to see Mine with short, cropped hair. I also kind of suspected that the animators won't animate much of the hand movement but the result is a bit disappointing. They often rely on visual tricks such as shadow or static still but I don't think it works as well. I hope this won't be a big problem when the series reaches the part where everyone gets to perform on stage. On the positive side, I like the drawing style, which I don't think is that similar to Honey and Clover. If anything, the character design reminds me a bit of The Adventures of TinTin, with its rounded shapes and small eyes.
January 11, 2007 | 66 Comments
Opening Theme: 「Allegro Cantabile」
Performed by Suemitsu and the Suemith - AVI format (24MB) | PSP format (13MB)
This turns out to be a good adaptation of the manga. In fact, I think the drawing is a lot better than the manga, especially in comparison to the first few volumes of the book. The story is surprisingly similar to the first episode of the live action version although I think it's a lot closer to the manga since Chiaki didn't present Nodame with his cooking in this episode. The OP theme is quite nice although the ED is not that good and the images are not that attractive but it's in the same style to the Honey and Clover ending which means that the preview is embedded in it. Voice-acting wise, I really have big problem getting used to Kawasumi Ayako and Seki Tomokazu's voice as Nodame and Chiaki. I think I'm so used to Ueno Juri's and Tamaki Hiroshi's voice that I think it'll take me a while before I get used to their voice.
Happy New Year, everyone!! I hope you had a great time last night or the night before, whichever applies to you. Moving on to the actual entry, there are a lot of crying in this final episode to the point that I'm not sure which ones are acting and which ones are real. This is especially true for Ueno Juri, Tamaki Hiroshi, Eita, and Saeko. At some point, I actually wondered if the actors actually cried for real since some of them look like they've been attending someone's funeral as opposed to listening to a concert. Although it's unlikely, it's also not far-fetch to believe that some of the actors might have had difficulty filming that last scene since they seem very close to each other. In fact, one of the side pleasures of watching this series was seeing them working together or involved in variety shows like Waratte Iitomo! or Bistro SMAP. I hope I'll get to see them working together again one day either in the sequel or in another drama.
December 26, 2006 | 29 Comments
One more episode and that will be the end for this series. It's unfortunate because I really like the cast members and will miss seeing them. Thankfully the anime will come after the live action is over so it's not like the series is really over. Having said that, it'll be weird to hear Nodame and Chiaki without Ueno Juri's and Tamaki Hiroshi's voice. I hope Kawasumi Ayako and Seki Tomokazu can do an equally good job as Nodame and Chiaki but I'm a bit concerned about their casting. Seki Tomokazu's voice seems more suited for someone like Mine. He has done a tsukkomi male voice before but they usually are the rough kind like Kyou (Fruits Basket) and Touji (Evangelion). Similarly, I've never heard Kawasumi Ayako in a Nodame-like role. My recent memory of her roles are the ice queen types like Saber (Fate/Stay Night) and Misaka Kaori (Kanon). Oh well, we should find out soon since the anime will be aired on the 11th January next year.
