Nodame Cantabile ep.05

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.

The episode begins with Nodame punching Strezemann unconscious in response to his request for a kiss. Chiaki is shocked to see this since he didn't expect Nodame to hit the guy but Nodame claims that Strezemann grabbed her all of a sudden. While checkin on the old man's condition, Nodame finds out that Strezemann is due at a rehearsal. Speaking of the rehearsal, some members of the S Orchestra are fed up with having to wait for Strezemann and are preparing to leave. However, before they can leave the room, Nodame appears to tell them that Strezemann is not well and therefore Chiaki will take over the conducting duty for today. Upon finding out about this, the orchestra members wonder if Chiaki can conduct. Chiaki asks Nodame which song the orchestra is supposed to perform and finds out that it's Beethoven's 7th Symphony. Chiaki suddenly remembers that he recently listened to the song on Viera-sensei's CD.

Some of the orchestra members including Mine are excited to know that Chiaki will conduct the orchestra. Mine even leads everyone, telling them that they need to tune up first. Chiaki is exasperated upon hearing Mine's violin because he's way out of tune. He also wonders why Mine acts like a Concert Master. Much to his surprise, Mine tells him it's because Strezemann had selected him to be the Concert Master. The other members immediately voice their disattisfaction with this news but Mine takes it all in stride. Despite his doubt, Chiaki eventually agrees to become the conductor. He immediately receives warm welcome from the female orchestra members, who willingly lend him their baton since he doesn't have one yet. The other members, however, are not so happy with Chiaki's popularity and think that he is incapable of conducting. Chiaki himself realises that although he's just filling in, he can't pass up the chance to be a conductor.

Meanwhile, Nodame tries to carry Strezemann on her back with the intention of taking him to the concert hall so he can see Chiaki conducting. Unfortunately for Nodame, she ends up getting groped by Strezemann instead. At the same time, Chiaki finds out that the orchestra that he's supposed to lead is quite bad. He understands that it's only the first rehearsal but he doesn't understand how these people can make Beethoven sounds so bad. Eventually he comes to the conclusion that Strezemann simply chose awful players from within the school. After the first attempt, Mine suggests to everyone that they should play the song in a grandiose manner. In response Chiaki whacks Mine with his baton, telling him not to suggest that kind of thing at his level. He points out that Mine made mistakes all over the place even though a Concert Master should not be messing up the orchestra. After dealing with Mine, Chiaki starts to criticise everyone in the orchestra.

One of the Clarinet players is unhappy to be criticised by Chiaki in front of a girl that he likes. This sentiment is echoed by the Oboe player, who thinks that Chiaki just pointed out mistakes that everyone can notice easily. Because of this, the two decide to work together to humiliate Chiaki. Chiaki, on the other hand, tries to convince himself that his feeling on everyone's technique is not important. Because of this, he tries to give instructions to every single player in the orchestra. Nodame seems impressed with Chiaki's ability to recognise every single instrument in the orchestra but Strezemann doesn't see to share the sentiment. At the same time the Oboe and Clarinet players have decided to switch their part in order to embarass Chiaki. They think that Chiaki won't be able to distinguish the sounds, which turns out to be completely wrong. Chiaki becomes even more angry and frustrated and eventually gives up trying to lead the orchestra.

All of a sudden Strezemann stands up and tells Chiaki that he's failed so he would now takeover as the real conductor. Chiaki is unhappy to hear this and wonders why Strezemann thinks that he's failed. In response Strezemann points to a girl, telling Chiaki that he made a girl cry and that made him a failure. With that said, Strezemann encourages everyone to play again from the start. He first tells Mine not to worry abou his bowing technique but to play it happily like he always do. In general, Strezemann also tends to be kinder to the rest of the orchestra members while still tell them what they need to hear. While Chiaki hears the orchestra playing again, he continues to think how something like Reed and one's own well-being is everyone's responsibility so he thinks it doesn't excuse anyone for being awful. Having said that, he admits that when Strezemann conducts the orchestra he respects music and the people so they respect him back.

The next day, Chiaki comes up with another transfer request letter which Strezemann promptly tear apart as usual. Chiaki, however, is prepared and tells him that he's going to keep giving them to Strezemann until he accepts Chiaki as his pupil. Much to Chiaki's surprise, Strezemann tells Chiaki that the guy doesn't need to transfer in order to become his pupil. He thinks Chiaki's talent is wasted by being Viera's pupil. However, he thinks Chiaki should continue in Piano course and when he's not doing the course, he should try to be by Strezemann's side. With that said, he invites Chiaki to come with him to Shibuya because he knows girls will come to him if he goes with Chiaki. Nodame suddenly barges in to protest this, asking Strezemann what kind of pupil he wanted Chiaki to be. She then declares that she's not going to let Strezemann gets Chiaki. Much to Nodame's surprise, Strezemann is happy because getting Chiaki means getting Nodame as well.

Impression:

If there is one thing that J.C Staff does well is animation technique. Although it's a minor thing, for some reason I was quite pleased when I saw this shot. I just thought it's quite funny and works well within the scene. I am also surprised to know that they managed to stretch what is essentially one short chapter into a half hour episode. This would have work so much better if, as I said before, the animators had the budget to animate the movement of the players. As for the story, this is the part where I thought Chiaki is a big jerk and a half. I've met people who behave like Chiaki in the first half of this series and they are not the most pleasant people to be with. Since he has the talent, he often forgets that other people have to work hard in order to get to the same position that he is right now. Chiaki is also the kind of person who command others based on fear instead of respect. At least in the first half of the series.

Although such methods often work, the people who work for/with him usually only agree to do so due to fear (of being reprimanded or kicked out of the orchestra). This is a very different method from Strezemann, who knows how to deal with people and try to understand their situation. As a result, people actually respect him and wants to do the best for him. As someone who's been working for both types of leader, I feel that a person in power (manager, supervisor, conductor, etc) has to lead by understanding those that he tries to lead as opposed to instilling fear on them. At the end of the day, people would be far more willing to put the hard work if they feel that you respect and care about them. I think this is one part of Chiaki's character development that is not complete yet even in the manga version. He's improved a bit since he first met Nodame but in general his character needs to learn to be more humble than he is now.

Preview

On next week's episode: Sakura (Noto Mamiko) makes her first appearance.

© memento 2003