Nodame Cantabile 23-24 and Series Review

Haremettes attack from the front and rear

First off, Ep 24 wasn't the final episode but should have been before Ep 9 instead. A funny piece, based on Ch 21, about Nodame, Chiaki, Mine and Masumi's trip to the sea prior to the Nagano festival - the main 'plot' point being that Nodame finds out about Chiaki's fear of the sea and boats.

Ep 23 didn't hold too many surprises. Chiaki and the Rising Star Orchestra had a great performance, answering Sakuma's original question about what Chiaki was trying to do in Japan. Chiaki goes on a quest to the ends of Japan to retrieve Nodame. Who has recovered her mojo after admitting that she enjoyed performing. And the Maradona judge Auclair, via Harisen, has given her an opportunity to study in Paris. Which Chiaki somehow ends up going to instead of Vienna.

Chiaki and Nodame's reunion was particularly sweet. I'm really looking forward to seeing how their relationship develops and how they develop as musicians in Europe. A bit of bummer that Animax Asia doesn't seem to be scheduling the Paris season (which I'm planning to catch anyway due to the evocation of the Shizu-sama Doctrine) but I suppose this is where BitTorrent will ride to my rescue.

Series Review

The classical music premise and context had initially caused me to dismiss this series completely out of hand. But, like Hikaru no Go, it was surprisingly interesting and even raised my interest in an area which was my interest was weak.

I was also surprised by how much I grew to like both the leads and the entire cast. I was initially weary about Chiaki's overbearing arrogance. But he's pretty much justified in his attitude given his talent, hard work and complicated family history. Nodame was a real weirdo but quickly endeared herself to me, not least due to the power of Kawasumi Ayako. But, despite learning about her backstory, she surprised me throughout by insisting on playing her way and, crucially, not bending to Chiaki's will at the crucial moment of Ep 22.

Putting the overall plot and characters together, I'm inclined to read two big themes into this series. First, the theme of self-overcoming. Probably because I have been damaged by too much Nietzsche from my undergrad days. The self was clearly the biggest obstacle for Chiaki. A little less clear WRT Nodame but hopefully we'll get to work through that in Paris and beyond. I've always been attracted to this type of anime where the main obstacle is not Out There but Within, and where real evil is absent (recalling one of the main charm points of Cardcaptor Sakura). And yet, Nodame Cantabile goes a step further by showing (rather than telling - as most shounen shows tend to) how one can self-overcome through encounters with others rather than The Other.

Second, I seem to see a lot of the struggle for recognition. Probably because I have Axel Honneth on my mind. Chiaki's whole thrust seems to be the best that he can be (without the horrible shounen bravado). Others have recognized his talent, like Chairwoman Mina, Maestro Stresseman, Critic Sakuma, Kai Dowin and so on. But it seems that Chiaki is set on something bigger and, yet, at the same time more personal. Intriguingly, we've yet to see or hear anything about his relationship with his absent father. Do I detect a hint of Gendou Ikari here? For our title chara, recognition obviously will need to come from Chiaki. And her dream of them being a golden pair looks so big and yet so personal at the same time. Hearing that, I can't help but cheer for her and yet I can't fathom how she'll be able to achieve it, given the enormous strides that Chiaki is making. Perhaps Auclair in Paris can do for her what Harisen managed to do for her which Chiaki could not.

On a separate note, I'm glad I did not watch the live action as both seem to have affected Garten's view of the anime for the worse. Personally I'm not that bothered about the lack of movement when the orchestras were playing but if you've had the live action to compare against, it's probably inevitable it won't look good. On the other hand, I've already taken a quick look at the manga and found the anime to be largely faithful with good coverage. Except, crucially, Ch 52 was rushed through the ED. But reading the chapter has filled in some of the blanks and answered some of my question marks over Nodame's back story especially her early incident and family background.

Since I've had feedback from my commenters that the Paris-hen will feel rushed, I gather that I can fill in the blanks by going full steam ahead with the manga and then just enjoy whatever the anime will throw up and use manga knowledge to fill in whatever wasn't animated. Being forewarned and not being a very strong manga-to-anime completionist, I'm hoping that this approach will be yield a better experience than sitting through the anime feeling puzzled.

Related posts:

1. Nodame Cantabile Paris Review
2. Nodame Cantabile 7-10
3. Nodame Cantabile Paris 01

About Zyl

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