Nodame Cantabile

This is the first anime I’ve watched that hasn’t had some sort of Sci-Fi / Fantasy overtones (no giant robots, no ninjas, no alchemy and oddly enough no psychic powers either!) and it came as a breath of fresh air.

It’s basically a romantic comedy (or “shoujo” = for girls) which would normally be a genre I’d avoid like the plague, as they’re usually formulaic nonsense, but this managed to catch my interest and maintain it thanks to the ever-developing characters and it’s really quirky sense of humour.

The story revolves around an archetypal odd couple (Chiaki – the straight-laced, frustrated genius, and Nodame – the carefree slob) and their undefined platonic relationship. They are both students at a music academy but have vastly different attitudes to their studies, practice and their future careers. These conflicting outlooks are what drives the series and as the characters grow they learn to appreciate both sides of the coin. The supporting characters, although not as superbly realised, act as a brilliant chorus (if you’ll excuse the pun) to the leads, echoing their sentiments and fleshing-out the themes of effort and reward, overcoming obstacles and, ultimately, self-fulfilment. The daunting approach of adult life as experienced by the students is handled superbly with each characters’ reflections and asides proving touching and universal.

The background of a life dedicated to music has quite a bearing on proceedings with each episode containing long passages of unbroken classical music depicting the protagonists rehearsing and performing. As a lover of classical music this was a real highlight of the show especially as you can hear the musicians gradually progress with varying renditions of the same pieces.

The humour of the show gains your affection almost immediately, from the odd-ball nature of Nodame to the, slightly surreal, slapstick interactions between her and Chiaki. Like all good anime the comedy doesn’t hog centre-stage and acts as an excellent foil to the more serious nature of the show.

Simply put, my favourite anime of 2007 and the type of series you could recommend to anyone (could easily pique their interest in Mozart, Brahms etc. too!)