is a Japanese

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

series written and illustrated by

Tomoko Ninomiya is a Japanese manga artist, based in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. Career In 1989, she made her debut with ''London Doubt Boys''. She is best known for her series ''Nodame Cantabile'', which received the 2004 Kodansha Manga Award for '' shōjo'' ...

. It was serialized in Japan by

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

in the ''josei'' manga magazine ''

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

'' from July 2001 to October 2009 and collected in 23 ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' volumes. A two-volume sequel, called ''Nodame Cantabile: Encore Opera Chapter'', which began serialization in the December 2009 issue of ''Kiss'', was released in 2010. In 2016 a one-shot epilogue chapter was published in the April edition of ''Kiss''. It was licensed in North America by

Del Rey Manga Del Rey Manga was the manga-publishing imprint of Del Rey Books, a branch of Ballantine Books, which in turn is part of Random House, the publishing division of Bertelsmann. History Del Rey Manga was formed as part of a cross-publishing rela ...

. The series depicts the relationship between two aspiring

classical musicians Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical m ...

, Megumi "Nodame" Noda and Shinichi Chiaki, as university students and after graduation. The series has been adapted as four different television series: as an award-winning Japanese live-action drama that aired in 2006 followed by a sequel television special that aired in January 2008, as an

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

series spanning three seasons with the first broadcast in 2007, the second in 2008 and the third in 2010. Two live-action movie sequels to the Japanese television drama, with the same actors, were produced with release dates of 18 December 2009 and April 2010. In addition, several soundtrack albums of classical music have been released, as well as three video games. A

South Korean drama Korean dramas (; RR: ''Han-guk deurama''), more popularly known as K-dramas, are television series in the Korean language, made in South Korea. They are popular worldwide, especially in Asia, partially due to the spread of Korean popular cultu ...

live action adaptation aired on the KBS network in 2014. The series has currently 37 million copies in circulation, making it the best selling ''josei'' manga in history. It received the 2004

Kodansha Manga Award is an annual award for serialized manga published in the previous year, the event is sponsored by the publisher Kodansha. It is currently awarded in three categories: '' shōnen'', '' shōjo'', and general. The awards began in 1977, initially w ...

for best ''shōjo'' manga.

Plot

Shinichi Chiaki, an arrogant, multilingual perfectionist, is the top student at Momogaoka College of Music and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy (namely Prague), but is trapped in Japan because of his childhood phobia of airplanes and the ocean. In contrast, Megumi Noda, or "Nodame", is a piano student at Momogaoka, notorious for messiness and eccentric behavior. Despite being very talented, Nodame prefers to play by ear rather than according to the musical score; thus, she is regarded as sloppy and playful. When they meet by accident, Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame's unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Along the way, they meet some crazy people (like Masumi, Mine, and Stresemann) and make lasting friendships. Because of Nodame, Chiaki gets the opportunity to lead a student orchestra and begins to have a broader appreciation of people's musical abilities. Because of Chiaki, Nodame faces her fears and enters a piano competition. Opportunities open up as both begin taking risks, stretching themselves far more than they ever thought possible. After graduation, Nodame succeeds in curing Chiaki from his phobias and they both move to Paris, where Nodame continues her piano studies at the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

while Chiaki starts a professional career as a conductor. In Europe, they encounter new friends and rivals, as well as keep in touch with their friends from Japan.

Development

Tomoko Ninomiya based the character of Megumi Noda on a real-life counterpart with the same name. Ninomiya first learned about the real Noda when the latter, a music college student at the time, posted a photograph of her messy room on a website Ninomiya managed. This inspired her to start a comedy series about a sloppy music student. Ninomiya consults with Noda about musical details, claiming to receive inspiration from her, and thanks Noda in the acknowledgments of every ''

'' volume of ''Nodame Cantabile''. Noda, currently a piano teacher in

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

(the home-town of her fictional counterpart), composed the music and co-wrote (with Ninomiya) the lyrics for the "Fart Song" Nodame plays in the first episode of the anime series, and visited Ninomiya upon the birth of her son. Ninomiya also based the character of James DePreist, the musical director of the fictional Roux-Marlet Orchestra in Paris, on a real-life counterpart with the same name.

James DePreist James Anderson DePreist (November 21, 1936 – February 8, 2013) was an American conductor. DePreist was one of the first African-American conductors on the world stage. He was the director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at T ...

was Permanent Conductor of the

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra The , also known as Tokyō (都響), is one of the representative symphony orchestras of Japan. The Orchestra was founded in 1965 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to commemorate the Tokyo Olympics (1964 Summer Olympics). Currently Kazushi O ...

, and conducted th
Nodame Orchestra
which provided the music for both the live-action drama and the anime adaptations.

Media

Manga

The ''Nodame Cantabile'' manga was written and illustrated by

. It was serialized by

in the biweekly

josei , also known as and its abbreviation , is an editorial category of Japanese comics that emerged in the 1980s. In a strict sense, ''josei'' refers to manga marketed to an audience of adult women, contrasting ''shōjo'' manga, which is marke ...

(aimed at younger adult women) manga magazine ''

'' from 10 July 2001, to 10 October 2009. The untitled chapters have been collected in 23 ''

'' volumes. It was licensed in North America by

, which released 16 of the 23 volumes. In 2016

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and mang ...

announced that they received the rights to the series for digital release. It is licensed in France by

Pika Édition Pika Édition is a French publisher headquartered in Vanves, specializing in manga. Founded as a daughter company of Media System Editions, it was taken over by Hachette Livre in 2007. Distribution ''Pika Édition'' publications are distributed in ...

, in South Korea by

Daiwon C.I. Daewon C.I. (대원씨아이, 大元 C.I., ''Daewon Ssi Ai'', formerly Daiwon C.I.), short for Daewon Culture Industry, is a subsidiary of Daewon Media founded in 1991. This South Korean publisher releases domestic and imported comics, Newtype K ...

, in Thailand by NED Comics, in Indonesia by

Elex Media Komputindo Elex Media Komputindo is a publishing company in Indonesia which publishes books, comics, magazines, novels and other print media. Established on January 15, 1985, Elex Media Komputindo is a subsidiary of Kompas Gramedia Group. Elex is headquarte ...

, and in Taiwan by

Tong Li Comics Tongli Publishing Co. (Chinese: 東立出版社, Hanyu Pinyin: ''Dōng Lì Chūbǎnshè''), most known as Tong Li Comics, is a publishing company which distributes a variety of domestic and imported comics in Taiwan. History Tong Li was founded ...

. All volume covers feature Nodame with a musical instrument. Starting in May 2008, Japanese serialization changed from biweekly to monthly because of Ninomiya's pregnancy. Serialization went on hiatus starting October 2008 following the birth of her son and Ninomiya's subsequent diagnosis of having

carpal tunnel syndrome Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the collection of symptoms and signs associated with median neuropathy at the carpal tunnel. Most CTS is related to idiopathic compression of the median nerve as it travels through the wrist at the carpal tunn ...

, but resumed again with the 10 March 2009 issue of ''Kiss'' on an irregular schedule depending on her continued recovery. In June 2009, the series went on hiatus again when Ninomiya was hospitalized with acute appendicitis, and resumed serialization in the 25 July issue. In July 2009, ''

Asahi Shimbun is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition and ...

'' reported that the manga was scheduled to end in the spring of 2010, coinciding with the release of the final live-action movie. However, the series ended with chapter 136 in the 10 October 2009 issue of the magazine. Starting in late 2009, a sequel titled ''Nodame Cantabile - Encore Opera Chapter'' started running in the same magazine. It ended in September 2010. The numbering of the volumes follow right after the original series so they start at volume 24. On 25 February 2016 in the April 2016 edition of ''Kiss'', Ninomiya published, a one shot set five years after the last installment, it has been described as a final coda to Nodame and Chiaki's story.

Live-action drama

''Nodame Cantabile'' has been adapted as a live-action

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

broadcast in 11 hour-long episodes from 16 October – 25 December 2006, on

Fuji TV JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba, Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Owned and operated by the it is the key station of the Fuji News Network (FNN) and the Fuji Network Sys ...

, covering events up to volume 9 of the manga. This was followed by a four-hour sequel television special, ''Nodame Cantabile New Year's Special in Europe'', adapting further events in the manga after Chiaki and Nodame move to Paris, broadcast on Fuji TV on 4 and 5 January 2008. These were directed by Hideki Takeuchi from scripts by Rin Etou, and starred

Hiroshi Tamaki is a Japanese actor, singer, and model from Nagoya, Japan. When he was still in high school, he was discovered by a talent agent while out shopping with friends. He made his debut in the drama ''Am I Weird?'' (私ってへん？ ''Watashitte Hen ...

as Shinichi Chiaki and

Juri Ueno is a Japanese actress. She first gained recognition in the 2005 film ''Swing Girls'' where she was a recipient of Newcomer of the Year prize at the Japanese Academy Awards. Ueno achieved mainstream success for playing the titular role in the live ...

as Megumi "Nodame" Noda. Music direction was by Daisuke Mogi with original music by

Takayuki Hattori is a Japanese film, television, video game and non-soundtrack music composer, arranger and conductor. He is the son of the composer Katsuhisa Hattori and grandson of composer Ryoichi Hattori. He has won three Japan Academy Prize awards in the ...

, with several works of classical music featured in each episode. The orchestral music was performed by Nodame Orchestra, which consisted of members specially selected for the live-action drama with professional support from the

. The Orchestra was conducted by

James DePriest James Anderson DePreist (November 21, 1936 – February 8, 2013) was an American conductor. DePreist was one of the first African-American conductors on the world stage. He was the director emeritus of conducting and orchestral studies at T ...

, Permanent Conductor of the Tokyo Metropolitan Orchestra, who would later have his name and likeness used in the Nodame storyline as the musical director of the fictional Roux-Marlet Orchestra. The opening theme for both the drama series and special was the first movement ("Andante Cantabile") from

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

's '' Symphony No. 7'', and the ending theme was Gershwin's ''

Rhapsody in Blue ''Rhapsody in Blue'' is a 1924 musical composition written by George Gershwin for solo piano and jazz band, which combines elements of classical music with jazz-influenced effects. Commissioned by bandleader Paul Whiteman, the work premiered i ...

'', both performed by the Nodame Orchestra conducted by Toshiaki Umeda. An episode of , the fictional anime series that Nodame watches, was created by

J.C.Staff , is a Japanese animation studio founded in January 1986 by Tomoyuki Miyata, who previously worked at Tatsunoko Production. The studio's first release was ''Yōtōden'' in 1987. They have produced several well-known anime series, such as '' Food ...

for the drama. The anime was written and directed by

Ken'ichi Kasai is a Japanese storyboard artist and director. He is amongst J.C.Staff's most noted directors, having directed the highly rated ''Honey and Clover'' series. Beginning his career as a production manager, using his name in kanji, , he moved on to ...

, the director of the first season of the ''Nodame Cantabile''

. Segments of the ''PuriGorota'' anime were shown during episode 4 of the ''Nodame Cantabile'' drama, with the complete anime released as a DVD extra with the ''Nodame Cantabile'' anime series. On 4 May 2009, the drama began airing in the Philippines on the

GMA Network GMA Network (Global Media Arts or simply GMA) is a Philippine free-to-air television and radio network. It is the flagship property of publicly traded GMA Network, Inc. Its first broadcast on television was on October 29, 1961. GMA Network (f ...

. In South Korea the drama aired on MBC's cable channel where it achieved peak ratings of 2%, which is a record high for a foreign cable drama. A South Korean adaptation titled ''

Naeil's Cantabile ''Naeil's Cantabile'' () is a South Korean Korean drama, television series adapted from the Japanese manga ''Nodame Cantabile'' by Tomoko Ninomiya. Starring Joo Won and Shim Eun-kyung with Park Bo-gum, Go Kyung-pyo and Baek Yoon-sik, it aired on KB ...

'' starring

Joo Won Joo Won (; born Moon Jun-won on September 30, 1987) is a South Korean actor best known for his roles in ''King of Baking, Kim Takgu'' (2010), ''Ojakgyo Family'' (2011), ''Bridal Mask'' (2012), '' Good Doctor'' (2013), '' Fatal Intuition'' (2015) ...

Shim Eun-kyung Shim Eun-kyung (born May 31, 1994) is a South Korean actress. She has starred in the box office hits '' Sunny'' (2011), ''Miss Granny'' (2014) and ''Fabricated City'' (2017), as well as television series ''Naeil's Cantabile'' (2014). In 2020, s ...

and

Park Bo-gum Park Bo-gum (; born June 16, 1993) is a South Korean actor. He gained recognition for his diverse range of roles in film and television, notably, a psychopathic lawyer in ''Hello Monster'' (2015), a genius Go player in ''Reply 1988'' (2015–2 ...

aired on

KBS2 The Korean Broadcasting System (KBS) () is the national broadcaster of South Korea. Founded in February 1927, it is one of the leading South Korean television and radio broadcasters. KBS operates seven radio networks, ten television channels, a ...

in 2014.

Live-action films

Two live-action movie sequels to the television drama with the same actors were produced, with the first film being released in December 2009, while the second film was released in April 2010. Filming began in May 2009 and lasted for five months, and included location filming in Vienna. In Japan, ''Nodame Cantabile: The Movie I'' grossed and ''Nodame Cantabile: The Movie II'' grossed for a combined , with both among the top ten highest-grossing domestic films of 2010. ''Nodame Cantabile: The Movie II'' went on to gross $86,192,740 worldwide, .

Anime

''Nodame Cantabile'' was also adapted as an

television series, produced by

and animated by

. The series was broadcast on Fuji and associated stations in the

Noitamina is a Japanese Block programming, programming block on Fuji TV devoted to anime, originally broadcast every Thursday late night/Friday morning from 00:45 to 1:15. It was launched with the intention of expanding the target audience beyond the typic ...

time slot. The first season, titled ''Nodame Cantabile'', was broadcast in 23 episodes from 11 January – 28 June 2007, and the second season, called ''Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter'', was broadcast in 11 episodes from 8 October – 18 December 2008. Both seasons were also later aired in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on the

satellite television Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna comm ...

network

Animax , stylized as ANIMAX, is a Japanese animation satellite television network, dedicated to broadcasting anime programming. The channel also dubbed other cartoons in Japanese language. A subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment Japan, it is headq ...

. The first season was directed by

(the director of the ''

Honey and Clover is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Chica Umino. It was serialized in Takarajimasha's ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Cutie Comic'' from 2000 to 2001, before being transferred to Shueisha's ''josei'' (aimed at younger ad ...

'' anime) and the second season by

Chiaki Kon is a Japanese anime director. She started her career in 1998 after joining Pierrot. Biography Chiaki Kon was born in September 29, at Chiba Prefecture, Japan. As a child, she used to watch and fan of Toei Animation's anime adaptation works, su ...

, and starred

Ayako Kawasumi is a Japanese voice actress and singer. She is affectionately referred to by her fellow voice actors and fans as "", "","" and "". She is a skilled pianist as she has played the piano since childhood. She performed "...To You", the opening theme ...

as Megumi "Nodame" Noda and

Tomokazu Seki is a Japanese voice actor and singer. He has previously worked with Haikyō. He is honorary president of and affiliated with Atomic Monkey and the chairman of theater company HeroHero Q. He is a special lecturer at Japan Newart College. Caree ...

as Shin'ichi Chiaki. An

original video animation , abbreviated as OVA and sometimes as OAV (original animation video), are Japanese animated films and series made specially for release in home video formats without prior showings on television or in theaters, though the first part of an OVA s ...

(OVA) episode was included with the limited edition volume 22 of the manga when it was published in Japan on 10 August 2009, and a third and final anime season, called ''Nodame Cantabile: Finale'' began airing in January 2010. On 6 February 2009, the series received its

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

television premiere on

Animax Asia Animax is the pay television channel in Asia owned by KC Global Media Asia which broadcasts Japanese language anime and Simulcast anime, anime programming through English-language feeds in Southeast Asia (formerly including Brunei), South Asia (ex ...

across its networks in

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

and

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

, airing the series with its original Japanese audio and English subtitles. and later its air in English Dubbed on 12 June 2009. The music director for both seasons was Suguru Matsutani. As with the live-action drama, several works of classical music were featured in each episode, performed by the Nodame Orchestra. The opening theme of season one was "Allegro Cantabile" by

Suemitsu & The Suemith Suemitsu & the Suemith (スエミツアンドザスエミス) is a Japanese solo project headed by Suemitsu Atsushi (末光篤). He performs piano and vocals for the project. Suemitsu is probably best known for performing the opening theme and ...

, and the ending themes were " Konna ni Chikaku de..." by

Crystal Kay is a Japanese singer, songwriter, actress and radio host. After releasing her first single, "Eternal Memories" (1999), Crystal Kay gained fame for her third studio album, '' Almost Seventeen'' (2002), which debuted at number 2 on the Japanese ...

(episodes 1–12), "Sagittarius" by Suemitsu & the Nodame Orchestra (episodes 13–22), and "Allegro Cantabile" by Suemitsu & The Suemith (episode 23). The opening theme for the second season was "Sky High" by

The Gospellers The Gospellers (ゴスペラーズ) are a Japanese a cappella vocal group made up of Tetsuya Murakami, Kaoru Kurosawa, Yuji Sakai, Yoichi Kitayama and Yutaka Yasuoka. History Originally formed by Murakami and Kurosawa (along with 4 other membe ...

(with melody taken from the Third movement ("Allegro Scherzando") of

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

's Piano Concerto No. 2), and the ending theme was by

Emiri Miyamoto is a Japanese violinist. She is the second daughter of retired oboe player Fumiaki Miyamoto (born November 3, 1949) is a Japanese classical oboist and conductor. Career Miyamoto started his oboe lesson at Toho Gakuen High School with Seizo Suz ...

x solita (with variations on the theme from

Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

's ''

Boléro ''Boléro'' is a 1928 work for large orchestra by French composer Maurice Ravel. At least one observer has called it Ravel's most famous composition. It was also one of his last completed works before illness forced him into retirement. Co ...

''). The opening theme for the final season is "Manazashi Daydream" by Yuu Sakai (with variations on the theme from

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

's ''

Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" (or simply "Joy"; German: ''Jesus bleibet meine Freude'') is the most common English title of a piece of music derived from a chorale setting from the cantata ''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147 ("Heart and ...

'') and the ending theme is "Kaze to Oka no Ballad (風と丘のバラード)" by Real Paradis with Nodame Orchestra. The first season was released on 8 DVDs between April and November 2007. A box set was released in February 2008 with an additional 15-minute

(OVA), taking place between episodes 8 and 9. The series has been licensed in Russia and South Korea. The first DVD of the second season was released on 24 December 2008.

Music

Several albums of classical music have been released in association with ''Nodame Cantabile''. Some were promotional tie-ins with the manga, while others are soundtrack albums for the live-action and anime series. * ''Nodame Cantabile'' - Released in September 2003 (ISBN B0000C4GLG), with sections of music by

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

, Gershwin,

, and Chopin that are performed by the characters in the manga series. The performers included the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, and

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

. * ''Nodame Cantabile Selection CD Book'' - Published on 10 August 2005, by Kodansha () as a book with accompanying CD. The CD includes works by Beethoven, Rachmaninov, Gershwin, Liszt,

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influential composers of the ...

, and

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

that are performed by characters in the manga series. The book includes commentaries by music critic Sakuma. * ''Brahms Symphony Number 1: Nodame Cantabile'' - Released in September 2005 by King Records (ISBN B000ALJ16S), with recordings of Brahms's ''Symphony No. 1'' and

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's ''Symphony No. 8 "Unfinished"'', which are performed in the series by the R☆S Orchestra. 50,000 copies had been sold by the end of October 2005, the month after release. * ''Nodame Cantabile Selection CD Book vol.2'' - Published in August 2006 by Kodansha (), covering music that appeared in the manga series since the release of the first ''Selection CD Book'', including pieces by Berlioz, Ravel,

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century clas ...

, Franck, Dukas, and Mozart. Included in the book are commentaries by oboist and conductor Daisuke Mogi and music professor Osawa Tetsu. * ''Nodame Orchestra LIVE!'' - Released on 15 November 2006 (ISBN B000I5YAD0) as a 2-CD soundtrack for the live-action drama as performed by the Nodame Orchestra. It included works by Beethoven, Gershwin, Mozart, Brahms,

Pablo de Sarasate Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués (; 10 March 1844 – 20 September 1908), commonly known as Pablo de Sarasate, was a Spanish (Navarrese) violin virtuoso, composer and conductor of the Romantic period. His best known works include ...

, Chopin, Debussy, Stravinsky, and

. This reached number seven on the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

album chart. * ''Nodame Orchestra STORY!'' - Released on 21 February 2007 (ISBN B000M7XSPU) as a 2-CD soundtrack from the first season of the anime series, again performed by the Nodame Orchestra. It included works as supposedly performed by the fictional student ensembles S Orchestra, A Orchestra, and R☆S Orchestra. It included works by Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, Bartók, Dvořák, Gershwin, Rachmaninov,

André Jolivet André Jolivet (; 8 August 1905 – 20 December 1974) was a French composer. Known for his devotion to French culture and musical thought, Jolivet drew on his interest in acoustics and atonality, as well as both ancient and modern musical influe ...

, Listz, Saint-Saëns, Elgar, Bach, Brahms, Schubert, Debussy, Schumann, Stravinsky, and de Sarasate. * ''Nodame Cantabile Selection CD Book vol.3'' - Released in August 2008 (), covering music that appeared in volumes 16–20 of manga series, since the release of the second ''Selection CD Book''. It included works by

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

, Chopin,

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

, Bach, and Debussy. * ''Nodame Cantabile: Paris Chapter'' - Released on 15 October 2008 (ISBN B001DNF70Q) as a 2-CD soundtrack from the second season of anime series, again performed by the Nodame Orchestra. In addition, ''Nodame Cantabile Special BEST!'' Released in December 2007, a "best-of" compilation of the most popular works from these albums to date.

Games

Three ''Nodame Cantabile'' games have been released in Japan: * ''Nodame Cantabile'' for

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

, released on 19 April 2007, by

Namco Bandai Games is a Japanese multinational video game publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in Irvine, California and ...

. * ''Nodame Cantabile'' for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

, released on 19 July 2007, by

Banpresto (formerly Coreland Technology Inc.) was a Japanese video game developer and publisher headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It had a branch in Hong Kong named Banpresto H.K., which was headquartered in the New Territories. Banpresto was a partly-own ...

. * for

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

console, released on 27 December 2007, by Namco Bandai Games.

Reception

The manga of ''Nodame Cantabile'' received the 2004

for shōjo manga, and was a jury recommendation at both the 2005 and 2008

Japan Media Arts Festival The Japan Media Arts Festival is an annual festival held since 1997 by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs. The festival begins with an open competition and culminates with the awarding of several prizes and an exhibition. Based on judging by ...

s. It was a finalist for the

Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize Named after Osamu Tezuka, the is a yearly manga prize awarded to manga artists or their works that follow the Osamu Tezuka manga approach founded and sponsored by Asahi Shimbun. The prize has been awarded since 1997, in Tokyo, Japan. Current ...

in 2005 and 2006, but did not win. In 2006, the English translation was named by the New York Public Library as one of the Books for the Teen Age. The series sold 2.8 million copies in 2008, making it the 8th best-selling manga series in Japan that year. Volume 17 was the third best-selling manga on the

charts for 2007, and volumes 20 and 21 were the 6th and 7th best-selling manga on the Oricon charts for 2008, respectively, selling 1.2 million copies each. According to an Oricon survey men and women aged 10–40, ''Nodame Cantabile'' was the second "most interesting" manga series published during 2008. The series and its associated music albums are credited with increasing sales of classical music in Japan. As a whole, the series is a best-seller in Japan, having sold over 37 million copies as of March 2015. The English translation of ''Nodame Cantabile'' has been praised for its quirky, interesting characters, sense of humor, and clean art. Dirk Deppey in ''

The Comics Journal ''The Comics Journal'', often abbreviated ''TCJ'', is an American magazine of news and criticism pertaining to comic books, comic strips and graphic novels. Known for its lengthy interviews with comic creators, pointed editorials and scathing re ...

'' praised Ninomiya's storytelling, saying she "has a solid sense of when to accentuate the highs and lows with just the right note, and understands that one can only do this by not hitting such notes very often", resulting in "an understated soap opera" that is "a seamless and enjoyable storytelling experience." Reviewers have called Ninomiya's character development subtle, while noting it is the character interactions that drive the story, and that "each character has a real and lasting effect on others." Reviewers also cite Ninomiya's ability to depict "scenes of people playing music that no one can hear" and her sense of humor as factors in the series' appeal. Ninomiya has been criticized for not handling transitions between storylines well, for sometimes letting the characters derail the story, and for art and backgrounds that are sometimes too plain.

Matt Thorn Rachel Thorn (formerly Matt Thorn; born May 12, 1965) is a cultural anthropologist and an associate professor in the Department of Manga Production at Kyoto Seika University's Faculty of Manga in Japan. She is best known in North America for he ...

criticized the English translation for inaccuracies of tone. The live-action drama received the 2007 Japanese Drama Academy Awards for Best Drama, Best Lead Actress (

), Best Direction (Hideki Takeuchi), Best Music (

), and Best Title Song; the show was also recognized overseas as Best Miniseries at the 2nd Seoul Drama Festival. Juri Ueno also was named Best Newcomer at the Élan d'or Awards for her performance, and the next year was named Best Actress at the International Drama Festival in Tokyo Awards for reprising her role as Nodame in the television special. The ''New Year's Special in Europe'' received an average household rating of 20.3% and 21.0% for the two nights it was broadcast in Japan, making it them the highest-rated drama episodes of the week. The first soundtrack album for the drama, ''Nodame Orchestra LIVE!'', reached number seven on the

album chart, breaking the record for highest ranked classical music album. The opening episode of the anime series broke the record for audience share for its time-slot. The first DVD volume debuted at number 3 on the Oricon chart for anime the week it went on sale. Although the anime has not been licensed in English, it has still received notice from English reviewers, who praised the character development and chemistry, the balance between drama and comedy, voice acting, and especially the music—both the performances and how it was presented. Reviewers did complain that the visual design of some secondary characters were too similar. In 2006, a cafe based on ''Nodame Cantabile'' opened in

Harajuku is a district in Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Harajuku is the common name given to a geographic area spreading from Harajuku Station to Omotesando, corresponding on official maps of Shibuya ward as Jingūmae 1 chōme to 4 chōme. In popular refer ...

, Tokyo, including live music from the live-action drama and sets from the show.

References

External links

Kodansha manga website

Official anime website
* * * {{J.C.Staff 2001 manga 2006 Japanese television series debuts 2006 Japanese television series endings 2007 anime television series debuts 2007 Japanese television series endings 2008 anime television series debuts 2008 Japanese television series endings 2009 manga 2010 anime television series debuts 2010 Japanese television series endings Anime series based on manga Del Rey Manga Fuji TV dramas J.C.Staff Japanese television dramas based on manga Josei manga Kodansha manga Live-action films based on manga Manga adapted into films Music in anime and manga Noitamina Romantic comedy anime and manga Television shows set in Paris Winner of Kodansha Manga Award (Shōjo) Works about pianos and pianists Television shows set in Tokyo Japanese romantic comedy films