二ノ宮知子

This was a very cute ending to the series, and a more definitive ending than the one that occurs before the bonus part; I can imagine that the author had in mind that she still wanted to do this when she finished writing the story proper. Here, we get further into the trials of putting together the opera on short notice, and see more of the characters from the series returning for one last hurrah, along with finding out the final fate of Chiaki and Nodame's relationship. The art is still show more really good, and the imagining of the opera on the page is quite well done - Ninomiya always did have a talent for suggesting what's going on in the music in the details of the art. The writing is still cute and wry. I'm glad to see the series go out on a high note; it was really quite enjoyable. Thanks for all your work, Ninomiya-sensei! show less

Chiaki Shinichi wanted to become a conductor since he was a little boy. He admired Maestro Vieira and had hoped to follow in his footsteps. However, Chiaki cannot leave Japan because he experienced a traumatic flight accident and also drowning. After being rejected by his piano professor and his girlfriend, he somehow finds himself with Noda Megumi, who goes by Nodame. She does not play the piano very well and her music is all over the play, Chiaki finds her music attractive. Will she become show more a burden or will she become his muses? The flow of the story is rather quick and the readers will be able to follow the characters around. As the first book, it does a great job of setting the parameters of the characters and the settings. The story is mostly in dialog format, making the readers feel like they are the characters. The chapters are labeled “Lesson” to also add to the affect that they are at Music School. The illustrations use thin lines to express motion and the over exaggerated style makes this book unique. Even though it is in black and white, the uses of tones and sound effects makes illustrations come to life.

A great way to get the readers interested in classical music. While reading the book, if the reader listens to the musical piece, it will help them engage in the story more. And the unexpected turn of events will keep the readers tied up. Fantastic story for all ages who like music, romance, and comedy. show less

This is the first volume of a little two-volume add-on story to the end of the main Nodame storyline. The author apparently had always wanted to tell a story with an opera, but it never fit right, so here we are with an extra story. Which is welcome enough - Nodame was always a cute and fun series, and this volume definitely had a few moments in it that made me laugh. It's set a while after the main storyline, where Chiaki is called back to Japan to conduct an opera (the Magic Flute!) being show more performed by the RS Orchestra. And so, we get to see all our old favorite characters returning - really lots and lots of them, it has the feel of a reunion story that way - and trying to put together the opera in the gently wacky fashion that the series usually takes on. Mine is the stage director, for example, and has some interesting ideas. The other part of the story has to do with the status of Nodame and Chiaki's relationship, but it only comes to the fore near the end, and will probably be taken up further in the final volume. It's a lot of fun, and a welcome addition to the story, but you likely need the second half to really appreciate it. show less

I read the first volume of Nodame Cantabile in breaks or handfuls of minutes of down time at work. I found it pleasant but not particularly interesting, but since I still needed something to read at work and had money to burn, I got the next volume (though didn't finish it till now). Now, though, I'm considerably poorer and am using actual free time to read this. Under those circumstances, I don't think I'll be continuing this.

I'm not big on series with excessively silly characters. I love show more good humor, but characters who produce wacky hijinks don't tend to be complex enough to be interesting reads in the long run. They also have a tendency to be incredibly annoying. The characters of Nodame Cantabile are so far not wacky to the point of irritation for me, and I do think I am more interested in them than any other characters that are this silly that I've seen in manga in recent memory. Still, while somewhat impressive, it's not saying all that much overall. They're still not much more than their silly surface personalities.

Chikai, the main character, is the only down to earth one of the whole bunch, and he's rather a jerk. I do like how the manga acknowledges that that is going to get in his way of being a conductor despite his talent. The pages in this volume when Chikai attempts to conduct the orchestra and has difficulty were maybe the one moment I was truly interested the entire read. However, he's not interesting enough to hold the series on his own, and one feels a little lost as to why all these nice, rather silly people are so attracted to him? Perhaps his looks, but I don't buy that. Part of this is that I don't remember the events of the first volume so well at this point, but really one should get a feeling why people are drawn to him just by seeing them interact, one would think. And I think there ARE possible reasons to like Chikai. But all the characters are so silly, the only feeling I really get is either that all these characters are gluttons for punishment, or they are just so incredibly dense they do not realize how horrible he treats them all.

...That kind of this is pretty common in manga, though, and this one does pull it off in a less annoying way than a lot do. Again, it's pleasant, and for that moment with Chikai conducting, feeling the tension in the air, I started thinking it might be fun to get the next volume after all. Then the scene ended, and I realized that I shouldn't be continuing this for one really worthwhile moment every volume or two. If something is going to be this relaxed in pace and so lacking in tension, for me it needs characters that are a little less dense so they can have some more interesting interactions. show less