Nodame Cantabile ep.01

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.

When he was a kid, Chiaki intrudes into a room where a conductor was tring to lead an orchestra. The conductor offered him to swing the baton but when Chiaki became excited, the conductor kicked the boy out of the room. The second time Chiaki came and asked the conductor to make him a student. The conductor asked him which instrument he can play and Chiaki replied that he can play Violin and Piano. Once again, however, he got kicked out. While Chiaki was taking a flight back to Japan, his plane suffered from turbulence and in that event, a bottle fell from one of the chairs. After the opening, an adult Chiaki can be seen walking around the Momogaoka campus, silently criticising every other student's play style. A girl points out that Chiaki is the son of famous pianist Chiaki Masayuki.

Later on Chiaki tries to practice piano but becomes distracted when he remembers the news that a conducting student called Hayakawa has been selected to study in Germany. Chiaki is pissed off just thinking about it and wonders what he's doing in a place like this. Because he's not concentrating, his piano teacher smacks his head with a Harisen (paper fan). He points out that this music is Beethoven, which Chiaki likes a lot so he should try to concentrate a bit more. While picking up the practice book the teacher notices that there is a conducting score inside the book. He wonders if Chiaki wants to become a conductor and sniggers, telling his student that he can't even play piano that well. In retaliation Chiaki tells his teacher that he's a lousy teacher. As a result, all of his students play in the same manner. The teacher is upset to hear this and walks out of the class, telling Chiaki that he doesn't have to attend his class any longer.

After his teacher left, Chiaki admits that he wants to become a conductor. When he was a little kid, his father used to take him to worldwide concerts. He was especially impressed when he attended Europe's grand orchestra performance with Sebastiano Viera as the conductor. As he walks around the school, Chiaki hears someone playing Beethoven's piano sonata, Pathétique. At first Chiaki thinks the player is bad but after listening to it carefully, he changes his mind. Before Chiaki can find the player, however, a girl comes and asks him if he's been kicked out of Etou-sensei's class. As it turns out, the girl is Chiaki's ex-girlfriend, Saiko. Later on when they sit in the bar, Saiko encourages Chiaki to apologise to Etou because he's a famous teacher at their school. Chiaki, however, can't care less since he doesn't want to become a pianist anyway. Upon hearing this, Saiko tells him that in that case, he should have transferred into conducting course.

Chiaki refuses since he still wants to practice his piano skill plus the only conducting teacher he'd consider is Viera-sensei. Saiko is annoyed to hear this and tells Chiaki that he should go overseas in that case but then she remembers that he's afraid of flying. Chiaki claims that Saiko doesn't understand a thing so Saiko tells him that he should take a boat instead. Unfortunately Chiaki is also afraid of the ocean. Chiaki eventually wonders if he should quit music. Even if he becomes a professional, there'd be no meaning in it unless he can go overseas. He then asks Saiko if her parents would let him work in their company, Tagaya musical instrument. Saiko becomes upset to hear this and proceeds to leave the area. Chiaki tries to stop Saiko from leaving but Saiko tells him that they are not in that kind of relationship anymore and besides, she hates losers. That night, a girl returns to an apartment and finds Chiaki sleeping on the hallway.

Chiaki wakes up the next day and finds himself inside a garbage-filled room. He, however, is impressed when he sees a girl playing Beethoven's piano sonata wonderfully. His momentary trance is interrupted when his hand hits an empty can of coffee, causing a bunch of flies to fly out of it. The girl then turns around and tells Chiaki that she remembers that his name is Chiaki. She then asks the guy if he remembers what happened yesterday. Chiaki immediately runs out of the room in terror but he then realises that the place is actually his mansion. The room he was in before was next door to his own apartment. That day, Chiaki is back to the uni but becomes horrified when he sees the same girl coming to the school, carrying his belt. She claims that Chiaki left the belt at her apartment. Because he's embarassed, Chiaki pretends that the belt is not his. From a window, the two girls who were seen earlier, recognises the girl as 'Nodame'.

Chiaki quickly runs away from Nodame but she continues to follow him around, insisting that the belt belongs to him. Later on that day, Chiaki finds out that his teacher has been changed from Etou to someone called Tanioka Hajime. Much to his horror, however, he realises that the teacher's other student is none other than Nodame. While Tanioka asks Nodame to play the "Farting suite" one more time, Chiaki hears two students talk about how Tanioka is known as the teacher who usually takes care students who have not been performing well: drop outs. In frustration, Chiaki decides to return to his apartment but while smoking on the balcony, he smells a stinky scent coming from next door's balcony. Chiaki is even more horrified when he sees a liquid spilling into his balcony. He decides to confront Nodame but ends up getting hit by the door when he rings the bell. Nodame wonders if Chiaki has come to get his belt back but Chiaki denies this.

Upon seeing the messy nature of Nodame's room, Chiaki decides to do a complete clean up of her room. When Chiaki tries to get rid a box, however, Nodame protests, claiming that she has her school supplies in that box. Chiaki quickly finds that Nodame has a cream stew which looks like charcoal because it's been sitting too long at her pan, a rice which looks like it's sprouting something, mushroom which grows on clothes that she has yet to wash, and something which looks unidentifiable. Eventually Chiaki is fed up with Nodame and knocked her out for getting in his way. A few hours later, Chiaki feels stupid for cleaning up Nodame's apartment out of frustration. His thought, however, got interrupted when he hears Nodame playing piano. Upon hearing her, he's convinced that she's quite good at it. And since she has big hands, she doesn't have problem when she has to play difficult part of the music. However, Nodame quickly hits a wrong note.

Chiaki immediately orders her to play it the way she played it before but Nodame can't remember how she played it. Because of this, Chiaki ends up instructing her how to play the song. The next day, Chiaki is pissed off when Tanioka asks him to play duet with Nodame. Chiaki asks Tanioka why he has to play with garbage girl like her so Nodame tells him that her name is Noda Megumi but he can call her "Nodame". Tanioka tells Chiaki that he's the best player at their school so he feels that Nodame can benefit from Chiaki's instruction. Because of this, he asks Chiaki to be Nodame's guide. The piece that Tanioka wants them to use is Mozart's Piano Sonata for duet. Nodame is horrified to see this since she doesn't know the music but surprisingly Chiaki doesn't know it either. Since the tempo is fast, Chiaki and Nodame have to pay attention to each other's playing style. Upon hearing this, Chiaki tells Nodame that he'll give her 5 minutes to practice.

Tanioka, however, informs the guy that the piece will last for 8 minutes so Chiaki amends his instruction and tells Nodame that she has 8 minutes to practice. Once 8 minutes are up, the two try to play the song together but Nodame quickly makes a mistake the minute they start playing the song. Despite the repeated attempt to play the song again, Nodame continues to play the song in a messed up manner. Upon looking at her, Chiaki realises that Nodame is not even looking at her notes. Tanioka explains that Nodame has good ears so she learns through repeated hearing. That night, Chiaki visits Nodame's room but when he gets there, he finds out that the room has become messy again even though it's only been a week since he cleaned it up. Nodame apologises to Chiaki because she hasn't memorised her notes so she asks him to wait for another week. Chiaki, however, can't wait so he asks her to listen to his playing.

After teaching Nodame for a few hours, Chiaki realises that her hair smells bad. Nodame is confused about this since she just washed her hair 4 days ago. Chiaki is horrified to hear this and decides to give a personalised shampoo treatment to Nodame's hair. Later on while blow-drying her hair, Chiaki wonders why he's doing this. Nodame feels like she's a royalty while Chiaki feels like he's a dog groomer. One week later, Nodame and Chiaki are about to perform the song in front of Tanioka-sensei. Much to Nodame's surprise, Chiaki tells her that she can play the song in any way she likes. He finally understands that Nodame is special and the only one who can match her playing style is him. They then start playing together in unison but Chiaki knows that the problem will come soon because Nodame is supposed to be the lead. He notices that as soon as Nodame starts to twist her mouth, it means she starts to go off in her own world.

Having said that, Chiaki swears that he'll keep up with her style. As the two play together, Chiaki remembers how he got seperated from Viera due to his parents' divorce. Back then Chiaki told Viera that when he's older he'd become his student. In responsed Viera told him that he'd be waiting and besides, he already considered Chiaki his student. Back then Viera also told him that it's rare that someone could tremble from their own performance. Chiaki admits that he almost gave up on experiencing such moment up till now. After the performance ends, Tanioka congratulates Chiaki, telling him that his performance feels as if it flowed through the wall. Chiaki finally realises that this lesson was intended for him. As they walk home together, Nodame tells Chiaki that her heart is beating fast so she wonders if she's in love with him. Chiaki denies the idea and silently addresses Viera-sensei that he still has many things to do in Japan.

Impression:

Where do I start? I supposed I should begin by saying that the animation and drawing quality is top-notch as expected from J.C Staff. The drawing looks particularly similar to the style used in Honey and Clover and Asatte no Houkou. The music used in the episode sounds different from the ones used in the live action. Beethoven's Piano Sonata sounds a lot slower and less smooth in the live action version while in this one is faster and seems a lot better. Both version have that 'messy' style that Nodame always used though. Much to my surprise, the anime actually shows a good deal of the characters' hand while they play the piano. Having said that, most of the time they just show the characters moving their head, looking as if they are enjoying the music they're playing. I do wonder how this will work once the anime will reach the concert part of the story since they will have to animate the entire orchestra.

Voice-acting is probably the only part that I have problem with since I'm not used to Kawasumi Ayako's and Seki Tomokazu's voice. I'm a bit disappointed that Seki didn't do Chiaki's trademark "Hieee!!" when he saw the spilled liquid and ants on his balcony. I always feel that Chiaki is a bit of a wuss and that line shows this side of his personality. On a more positive note, I like the way Kawasumi Ayako sings "The Farting Suit". It sounds pretty similar to the live action version except it's faster. Storyline-wise, this is basically the first 3 chapters of the manga. I've heard that the anime will have 23 episodes. I doubt the rest of the episodes will be this fast though especially if they're going to end the story at the same point as the live action version. It's unfortunate that the manga is not finished yet since I really want to see the Paris arc. With that in mind, I think the anime will probably give a lot of screen time to the concert within the series.

I just realised that although the episode ends at a similar point to the live action version, the anime version does not include the epilogue from the live action. This is inevitable since the series has not introduced the two characters involved in that scene: Mine and Strezemann. At a time like this I wish I know a lot about music, especially piano to be able to tell if a performance is good or not. The general impression I get from the anime is that Nodame is a very good player who just plays differently while the live action gave me the impression that while Nodame has the talent, she needs to hone her skill. Anyway, for those of you who have seen the live action, which version of the first episode you like better? This is probably the first time where I think the live action is a lot funnier than the anime version. I remember laughing a lot when I saw the first live action episode but strangely I didn't do this while watching this one. Well, it's only the first episode so I hope the anime will improve later.

Ending Theme

「こんなに近くで」- Konna ni Chikaku de
Performed by Crystal Kay - AVI format (56MB) | PSP format (14MB)

Posted by Garten

Comments

January 11, 2007 | Scarlet wrote:

Arrgh!! Where do you get the raw from? I can't find it anywhere else.

January 11, 2007 | Garten wrote:

I got it from Japanese P2P program called Winny as usual.

January 11, 2007 | poko wrote:

wowwwwww!!

those really close to manga style!!

January 11, 2007 | Lunacy wrote:

Thanks for providing a nice selection of screenshot. I can't wait to watch this! I also agree that the ED is pretty but a little on the lacking side. Im looking forward to reading your impression of the first episode.

January 11, 2007 | Dedaurus wrote:

Thanks for the OP/ED. I haven't read the manga so I'm surprised to see Tanioka-sensei looking younger than the drama version. Harisen looks the same as always though: scary. :D

January 12, 2007 | Os wrote:

Oooh, I cant wait for the subs. I have the feeling that not hearing Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi as the voices will also throw me off... I hurriedly skipped past the summary and the screencaps, but from what I've read, I'm excited.

January 12, 2007 | Esper wrote:

I wish the raw is out already but thanks for the screencaps. They really are faithful to the manga. Even down to the horrified lines on their face.

January 12, 2007 | FortMan wrote:

Oooh, I cant wait for the subs.

Heck, I'll settle for the raw at this point

January 12, 2007 | Marina wrote:

I can't wait for the subs either! Does anyone know of a group who has officially agreed to work on this anime?

I watched both the openning and the ending. I love the opening. Its so energetic and bright! I love seing chibi nodame and chibi chiaki. I didn't like the ending song as much. I too was hoping for a classical song.

So is there no hope for the anime to go further in the story than the live action? I haven't read the manga, so I was hoping to find out more about the story from the anime.

Its sad to hear that Chiaki's "Hieee" is not in the anime. I guess it wouldn't have made the same effect as if it was done by an actual person. That was more impressive.

January 12, 2007 | FortMan wrote:

There's a torrent of episode 1 raw online now guys. Look around usual channels.

Man, the anime seems to be a lot faster than the drama.

January 12, 2007 | Garten wrote:

I can't wait for the subs either! Does anyone know of a group who has officially agreed to work on this anime?

I think C1 anime will sub the series.

So is there no hope for the anime to go further in the story than the live action? I haven't read the manga, so I was hoping to find out more about the story from the anime.

I've read somewhere that the author has strictly asked that the anime doesn't go to the Paris arc because the story is not finished yet. I think it's better this way instead of having the anime coming up with its own story.

January 12, 2007 | min wrote:

Despite actual art differences, the animation style seem very much like H&C. :) I like the OP very much; the ED is nice too. thanks for the uploads.

January 12, 2007 | sisui wrote:

It is up-loaded on the site of "stage6" though an English title is not attached.
The image is clear and recommended.

January 12, 2007 | Papylon wrote:

sisui, what's this "stage6" site you're talking about? I really want to watch it but don't feel like downloading the raw.

January 12, 2007 | Kyouya wrote:

Hmmm....where to start. I like to start off saying that J.C. Staff is hands down one of the best studios ever. In fact, personally, I think they are better than Bones and Kyoto Animation.

From my perspective, despite the voice, I think it was very appropriate for Seki Tomokazu and Kawasumi Ayako to be casted as Chiaki and Nodame.

I've noticed that Kawasumi-san has been using a new tone as Nodame. It's not like her usual stuff when she seiyuued as either Ohno in Genshiken, Saber in FSN or Aoi in Ai Yori Aoshi.

As for Seki-san, the only real difference is that is voice is actually softer from his other roles.

The reason why I think it's the perfect fit despite the voices is because of their tone & attitude for their characters. I know it may not make sense to some people, but it is something I noticed.

Lastly, I actually found it hilarious that these seiyuus were cast for the main roles because eventually romance will kick in for this series. Kawasumi-san and Seki-san are involved in lots of anime together as couples (i.e. Genshiken, FSN [even though they hated each other :P], Kanon).

I had my eye on this series as a music lover and the first episode was impressive, especially when they used Mozart's piano sonata. It reminded me of Ouran Host Club episode 6 again...lol....how nostalgic.

Garten, you use Winny? Man, I haven't used that since I knew how to use Share...lol.

I'm also wondering when I'll see you actually finish up some animes (XXXholic and NHK). However, I am a bit outrage that you would watch Mai-Otome OVA and leave Genshiken OVA in the dust. Tsk Tsk! For Shame!

January 12, 2007 | Garten wrote:

Garten, you use Winny? Man, I haven't used that since I knew how to use Share...lol.

Share hogs my bandwidth for some reason. I can lose a lot of bandwidth just by using that program. I can't afford that since I have limited download limits.

In the ideal world I would be able to cover all of them but unfortunately my work has become really busy lately. I like doing this but I also have to be realistic and prioritise my job first and foremost. Mai Otome OVA happened to be released when I wasn't as busy as I am now. I will try to cover Genshiken OVA sometimes these week though.

January 12, 2007 | muhi_kira wrote:

the animation quality is good
the anime is same with the manga

the total episode will be 23 and the end of the anime will be the same with live-action?!
i hope i can watch more further than live-action

January 12, 2007 | Apocrypha wrote:

I must be one of the few who haven't seen the live action version and not a big fan of Japanese drama so the anime looks really good to me especially in comparison to the manga. I'm glad J.C Staff is working on it because they did a good job in Honey and Clover.

January 12, 2007 | Yume wrote:

I really kinda wished that my expectations weren't so high after the drama but I did like this first episode. Comparing this episode to the first episode of the live action... it's hard! They're very similar but there are differences. I also got the impression that Nodame is a more polished player in the anime than in the live-action. In the anime, Chiaki first says it's bad, and then that the playing is good when he first hears Nodame playing the Beethoven. In the drama, Chiaki, I think, first says that it's good, but then realizes that it's messy or something. Chiaki was harsher on Nodame's playing in the live-action. Although one of the strong points in the live-action was that they made it have the same atmosphere as the manga with the expressions and such, I thought it just felt more natural when it was animated. A small difference that's not important was that I thought Nodame's room looked a whole lot dirtier in the anime than the live-action, haha. XD

I really like the Opening and Ending! I think they fit the mood of the series so well. I also was somewhat jarred by Tomokazu Seki and Kawasumi Ayako's voices at first but by the halfway point, I'd gotten used to it. Kawasumi does a pretty good job with Nodame and at times, actually reminds me of live-action Nodame. Tomokazu's voice is really different from Tamaki Hiroshi so it took a bit longer to get used to, but Tomokazu does do a good job of bringing out Chiaki's character.

I was especially impressed by the animation of the piano-playing, however. As a piano player myself, I could tell that the notes the hands were playing were exactly in time with the music and were entirely accurate. It even looks like maybe it was CGed from a real life pianist's hands. Very impressive. I like that J.C. Staff really took the time with this. I was a bit less impressed with most of the animation in the episode, though. It was good, of course, but somehow it didn't blow me away like the animation of H&C always did. But otherwise, I loved this episode and am definitely looking forward to more!

January 12, 2007 | rica wrote:

Yey! The anime's finally out! I just bought the manga a few days ago. The drawing is definitely better here. I can't wait to see the anime. It wouldh've been great if Ueno Juri voiced Nodame, her voice seemed to fit the character of Nodame so well.

January 12, 2007 | sisui wrote:

Papylon,I am not good at English.
I'm sorry when not understanding therefore.
"stage6" is a site that looks like youtube. If "stage6" doesn't install a special codec of the DivX Co., the difference cannot be seen.
An English title is a little because there are a lot of Japanese though "stage6" can see the anime etc. almost in real time because half the number of the user is Japanese.

January 12, 2007 | Weils wrote:

Wow...when I first saw the screenshots of Nodame Cantabile anime in this blog entry, the first thing I muttered in awe, "Looks and feels so much like Honey & Clover..." Even the ending credits work the same way as H&C. ^^

Those soft colours and light outlines gave me a nostalgic feeling, as expected from J.C. Staff. I haven't read the manga version or seen the live-action drama of NC, I'll be checking this out! :)

January 12, 2007 | Papylon wrote:

sisui, thank you for the explanation. I've taken a look at it and yes, they do look a lot like Youtube. And yay!! I can now watch it earlier without having to download the file.

January 12, 2007 | TokiDOki wrote:

This looks interesting but I think Ill give it a pass, I enjoyed BECK but if its about piano I think I might not like it hehe

January 12, 2007 | fancylala wrote:

Ahhh!!! oh my gosh it's finally there :D I want to watch it too ;_;

January 12, 2007 | ai-chan wrote:

x.x sekis voice is.... guh~
love his voice but not on chiaki~ (ToT)

January 12, 2007 | Chan-chan wrote:

The artwork looks really good, I think I'll look into this series.

But a side question: the picture you captioned as "Prague" .. it looks more like vienna, Austria..esp. that cathedral reminds me of the saint stephans cathdral. Do they say it's Prague?

January 12, 2007 | Gatobus wrote:

wow,I didn't know there was the anime,thanks for the pictures!

January 13, 2007 | Garten wrote:

But a side question: the picture you captioned as "Prague" .. it looks more like vienna, Austria..esp. that cathedral reminds me of the saint stephans cathdral. Do they say it's Prague?

In the live action version they have a similar shot and called it Praha (Prague). I'm not sure if this is true or not but by looking at Wikipedia, I think that green building is called The Church of St.Nicolas

January 13, 2007 | thtl wrote:

In the drama, Chiaki, I think, first says that it's good, but then realizes that it's messy or something.

In the drama Chiaki also started saying it was messy, then realized it was not wrong, but played in a different style than the score. 'Sugoi' was the description he used as he doubled back into the building to find out who was playing.

January 13, 2007 | ohphive wrote:

i can't wait to see this! but at the same time I'm afraid that it'd end up disappointing me since the live action drama was so memorable.

that hairwashing scene reminds me of this one scene from another japanese drama, Kimi wa Petto

January 13, 2007 | makoto wrote:

i saw the first episode and thought it was good, i think i like Kawasumi Ayako and Seki Tomokazu's voice better then Ueno Juri's and Tamaki Hiroshi's voice for Nodame and Chiaki...for some reason i just think it fits them XD but meh it doesnt really matter...i just cant wait for the second episode...=]

January 13, 2007 | wontaek wrote:

Just saw this episode. Organizing...

1. I didn't like OP nor ED. I wish they had used one of Sony Music ( one of sponsor of this anime ) classical music recordings for OP and ED. Would have saved animators some money and time.

2. I think Tomokaze's voice is slightly better than Hiroshi's for Chiaki. I slightly favor Ueno Juri over Kawasumi for Nodame.

3. Interesting they used the 'Emperor' Concerto for the Chiaki under Eto. Might be a pun on the situation or the personalities of the two guys in the room.

4. >>> Beethoven's Piano Sonata sounds a lot slower and less smooth in the live action version while in this one is faster and seems a lot better.

I believe the player in this anime version was trying to imitate the idiosyncrasy of Alfred Brendel, whom many recognize as the best Beethoven piano player.

5. Mozart's Sonata for two piano was played in more realistic fashion: There were some mistakes you would expect when two piano were playing at high tempo in average real performance. In live action, I could hear some deliberate errors, but not much casual error that would arise from players being human. I have been part of so many live performance that I know some mistakes are inevitable during course of most concert. What you learn is how to disguise or overcome those mishaps. It also made me concentrate more on the intent of the player instead of each notes: I am trying to hear what they want to tell me, not whether or not the storyteller mispronounce a word or coughs once in a while. Maybe because it felt more like a live performance, I like the anime version better.

January 13, 2007 | poko wrote:

I second wontaek :)
But for the OP and ED, I think they fit with the story telling.

January 13, 2007 | KyoshiroM wrote:

From these screenshots the ED looks really similar to the Honey & Clover ED!!! I'm looking for the episode myself so I'll see how it is. I think I'm used to the actors' voices from the live-action too :( *sigh* Hope it gets released to DVD soon!

January 13, 2007 | Nurikabe wrote:

Awwww the anime is now showing!! Urg! I missed it on tv!

January 13, 2007 | Chan-chan wrote:

LOL..I think they merged 2 cities (Prague and Vienna) because the other church looks really like that in my town st. stpehans Cathedral but we also have a similar chruch to the one shown in by you St.Charles Church

January 13, 2007 | Question about live action version wrote:

Is the live action version english sub? Also where can I find ep1. tokyotosho start from ep2 only.

January 13, 2007 | KynX wrote:

i'll b waitin. . . hooked up wif nodame as every1 else. jus awesome

January 13, 2007 | Nanya wrote:

I maybe an extremist but I feel the animators are not respecting the manga by using pop music for OP/ED. Imagine a Beethoven No.5 OP for NANA? I wonder what the reactions of NANA fans will be. Even in Princess Tutu (which is not even about classical music but ballad), Okazaki Ritsuko used a modified version of Tchaikovsky to bring the audience into the ballad world.

J.C. Staff maybe good with youth comedy like Hachikuro but they certainly are not fit for Nodame Cantabile. I'm glad they won't animate the Paris part because I don't want to see my favorite manga being trashed any further.

January 14, 2007 | huda wrote:

I LUV THE MANGA! i read up to the 7th. i want to read more. does any1 know where i could get scanlations?
anyway, i understand what u guys mean when u dont like the voices but give it a chance. we watched the drama well... i didnt watch the whole thing; up to 3 ep. i think the anime voices arent bad. seki san usual does more harsher roles but his chiaki's voice is decent. i luv the series and i wont let small things bother me. the only thing im worried about is getting the subbed version. now if someone will sub it, everything is all good. as for the OP/ED i like them. if u know honey and clover they remind me of it. u would think they would have a classical music op but they opted for something different and unexpected which i like. director kenichi kasai has a very unique style which is hip and far better than your regular anime direction. when watching honey and clover u can see why he was chosen to direct nodame. his approach is superb. even though the series will only cover til the 9th which again, i said i only read up to the 7th, i hope they continue the series like they way they did with honey and clover. like having a second season or something like that. i hope the manga isnt too long cuz im not even half way with the series. again, i hope someone knows where i could get scanlations. i would really appreciate it. thanx alot!^^ GO NODAME! MUKYAA!

January 14, 2007 | thtl wrote:

wontaek: I slightly favor Ueno Juri over Kawasumi for Nodame.

I second that. Since Ms. Ueno is a Kansai girl (Hyougo) just like Nodame (Fukuoka), her accent makes it more convincing.

January 14, 2007 | KyoshiroM wrote:

I just watched the first ep and I must say that I loved the ED song. Crystal Kay's voice is so dreamy. I didn't really get into the OP song that much. I'll listen to it in the next eps. Although, the songs don't match the story's style. The animation quality wasn't all that stunning, but it was nice enough. I would love to see less static images when performing on the piano, although I bet it's really difficult to animate. I didn't feel all that captured by the images, as I did with the sounds. My thought's that the live-action managed to combine these two better. Also, Ueno Juri's voice has made an impression on me and I feel awkward hearing Nodame by someone else. Chiaki's voice was alright. I'm sure I'll follow the anime closely. Next ep please! xD

January 14, 2007 | Emadon wrote:

Nodame is lovely.
Ueno is Ugly.

January 14, 2007 | yankervitch wrote:

From a musical standpoint, Nodame's inability to sightread is a bit shocking (and would explain why she's in the remedial class of a music school). Professional pianists should be able to sightread without too many errors. Nodame's 'talent' - that she has to listen and pay attention to a piece before she can play it - is known as 'playing by ear' and is generally looked down on in classical training. Her lack of self-awareness is, again, a typically bad trait in music training: although no two performances are the same, musicians should be aware of what went into a particular performance to try and achieve the same result again.

From what I heard, it seems like her performance of the Pathetique sonata overemphasized syncopation and did not stick to a regular tempo. Together, it certainly made for an interesting style, but the tempo was a bit too irregular - indicating that while Nodame has talent, she definitely has a ways to go towards developing it. The wrong note that Chiaki picks up on actually doesn't 'sound' wrong - it's just not supposed to be there, which is a common mistake frequently done by people who learn by ear.

After poking around a bit, it also looks like the reason behind Nodame's musical approach could be a result of Suzuki training, which emphasizes ear training, as well as rote playing? The rote playing would help with some technique (she's able to play difficult parts easily). Does that come up later on in the series?

January 14, 2007 | yankervitch wrote:

Oh, and it looks like the live action messed up - I'd go with Vienna as well.

http://ito.bwl.univie.ac.at/womf/

Both cities have a pretty rich musical heritage.

January 15, 2007 | shinjunashi wrote:

I don't think the live action crew was confused about where they've done their filming. From the live action:

http://img457.imageshack.us/img457/5558/prahaun0.jpg

January 15, 2007 | thtl wrote:

Emadon: Ueno is Ugly.

That's really uncalled for. You may not be a fan of Ms. Ueno's but there is no need to go for personal attacks. As a matter of fact Ms. Ueno has received raving reviews for her ability to portrait Nodame's character.

January 15, 2007 | yankervitch wrote:

Let me rephase. The picture that the anime is using is definitely a picture of Vienna, not of Prague.

January 15, 2007 | wontaek wrote:

>>> January 14, 2007 | yankervitch wrote:

What you have written is all true. However, having listened to too many music majors talk in vain about their art without demonstrating broad knowledge of various performance of the pieces they are working on, makes me wonder whether music major students may be ignoring too much about benefits of listening to recordings of various performance. The best musicians I know personally, all knew at least 3 different recordings of major works for their instruments or would snatch from my CD collections any performance they have not heard before. One was so lazy in returning the CD while being so eager to borrow any new CD I have obtained, that we nicknamed her 'CD Chomping Hippo'. The mediocre ones usually didn't give any attentions to the recordings, prefering to rely only on the scores and instructions from their mentor. I really believe that most music major students really underestimates the value of learning by ear and playing by the ear.

One of the irony I have witnessed was that the best sight-reading piano/organ player I know of, relied too much on her ability to sight read, didn't bother exploring the piece more, and ended up being a housewife/part-time wedding organist.

January 15, 2007 | L wrote:

The ED song by Crystal Kay was selected for the Sponsor (SONY MUSIC).

January 15, 2007 | yankervitch wrote:

wontaek -

That's a really sad story about the organ player!

Agreed on the importance of performance history. I don't think of that as "playing by ear", though; listening to a lot of different interpretations is simply being a good musician. Having to listen to a piece before being able to poke through it is what I think of "playing by ear".

January 15, 2007 | Franciele wrote:

I'm still undecided in whether I like the anime or not, sooo so far I like the live action better. :P This is the first time that I actually watched the live action before I watched the anime so that might have something to do with it. Although it has just started but I find the anime lacking somehow, maybe because my expectations were pretty high after watching the live action but... I think I like Chiaki better in the live action then in the anime. There is just something different about the character in the live action (like the scene where Chiaki washes Nodame's hair) that I like more. Or maybe it's just because the live action show the characters actually playing. I'm not sure... we'll see! :) Thank you Garten for your hard work!

January 15, 2007 | wontaek wrote:

>>> January 15, 2007 | yankervitch wrote:

wontaek -

That's a really sad story about the organ player!

Well, maybe sad in our view for the talent that wasn't developed, but her husband has a decent job, and they are living comfortably, so it isn't sad in her view.

January 16, 2007 | frouella wrote:

After watching the first episode, I can say with confidence that I'm hooked! I haven't seen the live-action version, nor do I read the manga, so I'm judging the anime strictly on its own merits. That being the case, I thought the voice actors did a good job and that the animation palette worked well, too. My only minor gripe would be that it looks practically identical to Honey & Clover style-wise, but even that's not a big deal.

I do have to disagree with the comments suggesting classical pieces for the OP and ED sequences, because to me the songs by Suemitsu and Crystal Kay work much better at conveying the tone of the series; the opening lets you in on the exuberance, the ending (lyrics, especially) echoes the story, and both do so in a suitably quirky fashion. Too much classical music would bog it down. In my opinion, anyway.

I'm really looking forward to watching the rest of this series!

January 16, 2007 | Aesir wrote:

awesome 1st episode. totally hooked xD
oh, and Crystal Kay = Win. the ending song frickin rox

January 16, 2007 | Jesza Louise Villa wrote:

I totaly love the pictures. hope you give more. I never knew it has an anime series. I'm looking forward to watch it in an anime form. Thanks for the info.!

January 16, 2007 | Beren wrote:

Just watched the raw and understood a great deal of it! I have´t seen the live action version so I´m new to Nodame Cantabile and I think I LOVE it! The part of the ants and that horrible liquid was dead funny!! The voices are good too (when Chiaki goes crazy, he reminds me a lot of Kyô, from Furuba ^_^. )

I hope this anime keeps as good as it is now (and if it improves, much better then!)

January 16, 2007 | frouella wrote:

In response to Beren:
when Chiaki goes crazy, he reminds me a lot of Kyô, from Furuba ^_^.

Actually, that's because he IS the guy that played Kyo. AND he also voiced Shuichi from Gravitation, Nobu from NANA, Chichiri from Fushigi Yugi -- talk about versatile! And I just found out that Nodame's VA is the same person who played Fuu in Samurai Champloo. I think I love the show even more now!

January 16, 2007 | kirsten wrote:

I think I have sky high expectations for this after the live action....so I cant say I'm impressed with the first episode. I still think I need more time to get used to the seiyus. I didnt laugh a lot, compared to the live action first episode. but again, most of the jokes were recycled.I think the pacing is furious.... too fast actually for my liking, then again this is only the first ep, so I hardly can make any conclusions out of it, I will have to wait and see.

January 17, 2007 | Syd wrote:

I really hope the anime doesnt disappoint us, the reader. I have read it up to vol 14, and it's really hilarious. The live action is alright ( just have watched up to 2nd ep, so no comment yet)

At meantime, thanks for the review.

January 17, 2007 | Osaka wrote:

While I only played piano for several years, I can tell by listening to the piano playing that it's the work of a skilled musician. The basic feeling of the playing is that it is skilled, but very emotional. Granted, emotion isn't a bad thing in music, but when one becomes too emotional-- you often sacrifice the technical element of the piece. In essence, your technique suffers. This would be looked on very poorly in a music school in which the technical element of music is stressed over the expressive-- which basically sums up most music conservatories.

January 18, 2007 | wend`aii wrote:

i have a very very poor judgement in music XD i love almost all the classical anime music i hear and thats why i love the ouran OST xD i wish i could play the piano having now experience it takes me about 1 hours to learn 10 bars T_T thats long time watching others play my god it makes me crazy xD i think i will watch this when i get back from holidays it sound really good =D

January 19, 2007 | Dcal wrote:

I love the live action to bits (probably the only thing that caught my attention while waiting for Hana Yori Dango 2). But from my POV as an animation/film student, the live action was not technically executed well as in the plane crash really... looks cheesy etc. I think the brilliant casting/acting of actors was what made Nodame Cantabile LA work. That and the OST.

The anime on the other hand, is beautiful and smooth. The voice-acting is definitely mild when compared to the LA version but it kind of suits the whole art style and mood of the anime. It's actually a refreshing change from the LA because the latter is jam-packed with energy and action (which is a good thing).

April 7, 2007 | Kiri wrote:

I've seen it yesterday for the first time. I've never read the manga so I cannot say anything about the adaptation...but the anime is absolutely stunning! I laughed so much I had to quit the video because I was afraid of waking up my family in the middle of the night XD
I can't wait to watch the rest *__*

July 17, 2007 | kitty wrote:

i love this series...must try and get animeclub to play it~ !