Nodame Cantabile ep.18

May 26, 2007 | 13 Comments

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.

Chiaki is frustrated with the fact that his orchestra can't seem to follow his instruction well. As a result, he starts to criticise every single member in the orchestra. Everyone seems to be surprised about this except Mine, who realises that demon Chiaki has returned. Eventually Chiaki's frustration reaches its fever pitch and he decides to show a violin player how he wants the player to play his part. Everyone is shocked with Chiaki's ability to play violin really well. After doing this, Chiaki tells them that this is not a solo performance and therefore they should be listening to everyone else's performance. He wants them to think what everyone else's phrases should sound like together. Upon hearing this, Mine realises that Chiaki is saying the opposite of what he used to say when he first tried to lead the S Orchestra. In the aftermath of the practice, almost everyone is wiped out because they played for five straight hours.

In addition to this, they are horrified with what they saw of Chiaki. Cue a flashback of Chiaki snapping his own baton in anger. A girl is traumatised because Chiaki actually asked her if she thinks she's a great player. Another is horrified to know that Chiaki can play violin so well. Kiyora, on the other hand, seems excited about this and tells the others that when she heard Chiaki played the violin, she understands what he wants from them. Because of this, she is excited about the orchestra. The others are not so happy about it because Chiaki yells at them like a demon. Kuroki counters this by saying that if Chiaki yells at them it means they are not good and not being good is bad. Even if their performance is average, that is not good enough because it means they are not following Chiaki's lead. Everyone is disturbed upon hearing Kuroki's words but they get interrupted when Sakuma and Keeko comes to tell the group that they've sold some tickets.

The orchestra are horrified upon seeing the ads, which calls the group "The Rising Star" orchestra. As it turns out, Mine and his father were the ones who gave the orchestra that name. Kiyora is not happy to know about this and punch Mine for it. Kimura, however, reminds the other members that Uraken did pay for the ads. Keeko assures them that although it looks like an exaggeration, many members really have won competitions. This is why the ads get good response. Everyone becomes panic upon hearing this and decides to practice right away. Meanwhile, Chiaki is in the dressing room when all of a sudden the door is opened and Vierra-sensei appears from behind it. Chiaki is surprised to see the guy but when he's about to stand up, he finds himself strapped onto a chair by a seatbelt. When he looks around, he finds a small bottle rolling on the ground. Chiaki then wakes from his sleep and realises that the entire thing was just a dream.

Nodame is the one who is surprised about this because Chiaki is now grabbing her hand tightly. When she asks him what kind of dream he just had, Chiaki explains that it's something related to airplanes. Chiaki believes that after the visited his uncle's home, he started to have this nightmare again. He believes that this is the hypnotist's fault because the guy did something strange to him. Having said that Chiaki secretly admits to himself that if his airplane phobia can be cured with hypnotism, he would have open the door to his heart. Upon observing the guy, Nodame produces the watch that Stresemann gave her. She then swings the watch left and right, as if trying to hypnotise Chiaki. Chiaki dismisses Nodame's attempt, telling her what she's trying to achieve is called the fixed gaze method and he tried that with penlight. Despite this, Nodame refuses to give up and continues to swing the watch whilst telling Chiaki that he feels sleepy.

Much to Nodame's surprise, the method works and Chiaki does fall asleep. The next day, Nodame goes to a bookstore and read up a book on hypnotism. Chiaki himself is busy spending his time training with his orchestra. Later on that night, Chiaki decides to give Nodame a special ticket to the concert. Nodame tells him that she already bought her own ticket but Chiaki assures her that his ticket has better view of the orchestra. Upon getting the ticket, Nodame returns to the room and convinces herself that amateurs should not try hypnotism on their own. On the day of the performance, Keeko finds out that many critics don't actually know about Chiaki's ability as a conductor. The concert then begins with Schumann's Manfred Overture. This one seems to be a simple song which does not involve every member of the Orchestra. The next song is the instrument piece, Mozart's Oboe Concerto which will feature Kuroki as the main player.

Upon seeing the amount of support that he receives from his orchestra, Kuroki is thankful that Chiaki didn't lose confidence in his abilitiy despite him failing the Oboe competition. Because of this, he vows to live up to the orchestra's expectation. As he plays the instrument, Kuroki decides to channel the feelings that he has for Nodame into the music, creating a very Pink Mozart in the performance hall. After the performance ends, everyone goes on a break. Sakuma and Keeko quickly notice that Kiyora's teacher, Kai Dowin actually is in attendance as well. Kai seems to believe that this orchestra is the reason why Kiyora got second place in the violin competition. Despite his peers' praise for the orchestra, the maestro refuses to give any kind words for it until he hears the final performance. The episode then ends with everyone waiting for the final performance. Chiaki who notices Nodame making strange expression with her mouth wishes that she'd stop doing it.

Impression:

I always wonder why Nodame managed to hypnotise Chiaki while others have failed in the past. My guess is that with Nodame, Chiaki is actually able to relax and just be himself. As a result, her attempt at hypnotism worked on him. Having said that, I always find this part of the plot to be slightly forced. I guess I just find it hard to believe that someone who never had a background in hypnotism manages to do it without anyone else's help. The return of demon Chiaki was entertaining although for some reason it's not as funny as it was when I read the manga version. I'm also slightly disappointed with the lack of movement during the concert scenes. I would have thought that by now the animators have saved enough budget to animate the concert scenes properly. I really didn't expect them to skimp on the animation during one of the most important concert of Rising Star Orchestra. Oh well, I hope the animations will be better in the last 6 episodes.

Preview:

On next week's episode: Big crabs for Nodame!!

© memento 2003