Customer Reviews

Nodame Cantabile 1

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I saw that an earlier reviewer said this was a good translation. I suppose that shows how standards have plummeted in recent years, as publishers have stopped paying reasonable rates and opted instead to draw on the huge pool of self-styled "fan translators" who are willing to work for peanuts. This may be good enough for works targeted at teens or pre-teens, but in a work like this, aimed essentially at adults, readers are (I hope) more discriminating. True, this is a challenging work to translate, particularly because of the heroine's unique (and hilarious) style of speech, but that makes it all the more important to do it right. Still, the brilliance of this work manages to shine through the flat translation. Five stars for the original, three for the translation.

Nodame Cantabile goes beyond the usual genres of mecha, fighting, and romance found in most English translated mangas on the market today. It is a story about a young, talented musician named Shinichi Chiaki, who is pursuing his dream of becoming a conductor.

The story moves quickly in this first volume. At the very beginning, we learn how Shinichi decided to pursue his dream, and why he's not happy with his current situation as a graduate student and piano major at a music school. We are also introduced to a sloppy but talented, female piano student Megumi Noda, aka Nodame. And through her, many comedic situations are thrown into the story. Finally, we are introduced to a short tempered, violin student Mine Ryutaro.

The story revolves around Shinichi, and his frustrations with himself and others at school. And he's giving serious thought of quitting music and school altogether. Through Shinichi's incidental meeting with Nodame and his assistance of her and Mine with their musical studies, he may be moving toward achieving his dream, after all.

This Del Rey manga reads from right-to-left, like a traditional Japanese manga. The manga contains six chapters, plus an author's note, the Del Rey standard honorifics explanation, a special thanks note, a translations notes, and a six-pages preview of volume 2.

The only quibble I have with this manga is the lack of explanations for the musical terms that appear within the manga. For example, I don't know what "forte" means, and you wouldn't either, unless you play the piano.

The manga is rated for Older Teens of age 16+. But this volume could be suitable for slightly younger teens (14 or 15) as well.

When I first saw this title on amazon, it rang a bell. I soon realized I had heard this was one of the manga titles that had won one of the most prestigious manga awards in Japan. After ordering it and reading it, I soon saw why.

While many people enjoy manga simply for the cute characters or the romance, I'm one of those who appreciate the art. The art in Nodame Cantabile is not incredibly detailed or extremely cute, like many shoujo manga. It is simple but interesting, and it has a defined style.

The story itself is also wonderful right from the start. A young man is in a music school where everyone works hard to achieve their goals. The characters are lively and interesting- the male protagonist is slowly changing his cynical ways, and his female counterpart is unique and interesting. All the people they meet along the way are also certainly well done.
Nodame Cantabile is a great work of manga, and it's our luck that it has been translated into English.

Nodame is an offbeat title from the word go, and that may be one of it's best points. The idea for the story as explained by the author sounds like what's happened to inspire many good story artists. Another famous manga artist who does her own stories, Rumika Takahashi, started one of my favorite manga's, Maison Ikkoku, because she observed some weird people in a neighboring run down apartment building apparently having fun, and began to think about what must go one there. Nodame started with the authors view of a picture, of a music students room, that was filled with trash surrounding a piano. Normally a more orderly picture comes to mind with most, of us about the discipline, plus many hours of practice required to play good music, and the messy room thing just doesn't fit. From that small observation of an actual Nodame character, and her trashed out dwelling, the author develops an interesting story.

The story is a bit different again, in that it does not focus on the main character. In truth, if we followed the logic, and day to day activities of Nodame, it would have made for a quirky, offbeat, but also somewhat disjointed story. I doubt that kind of story would not have attracted much of a readership. The author instead creates a brilliantly conceived lead character to focus on. One who is more like the concept of the supremely talented music student, but then gives him some nearly fatal flaws. Those flaws are helped in the story by the Nodame character, who ultimatly sees him as her boyfriend. He invaribly, or perhaps inexplicably to him, helps her but does not acknowledge them as a couple.

What is intersting even more, is that the main characters as they play music, talk music, and interact at a music school can make this series about music interesting, without hearing a single note of it. There is an anime, I discovered later in fansub that is not yet licensed, and even a live action version, that can be had on popular auction sites, these both have music. I found out that it was just as interesting to read it than to listen to it, but getting both is still not a bad idea.

I spoke of Nodame's character, so she should be discussed a bit more as an unusual character. She makes up words, tells white lies about herself to avoid confrontation, steals lunches, and is a constant mooch. She rarely takes baths, doesn't wash her hair, or groom it, and has a facination with a kiddie animated TV show. Her goal in life is to become a kindergarden teacher, yet she's on a maturity level of most kids of that age. Still as a person, she's incredibly talented without having any discipline, warm and caring, especially for the main character, and somewhat selfless. This is definately one of the oddest pairings in all of manga, but it's fun, and somewhat real.

Thank you so much for publishing this series in English. I just obtained Vol.12 from Japan, and am enjoying with my friends here; and in there finally Chiaki kissed Nodame-chan for the first time. (^^)v I'm wondering how American female readers find this comical love story. Chiaki is quite an arrogant man from American girls view, although his type is not unfamiliar to Japanese female.
Translation is quite good. Some interpretations are really good like "No-dummy," or rotten cream stew is depicted as toilet swirl, and more. A few confusing or different interpretations, but it is still good. But, one big part I have to point out: "Hari-sen." I know all the dictionaries refer it as "Hari-sen-bon"(A thousand needles=a blow fish). In fact, "Harisen" means the tool (?) that Professor Eto always carries at the lesson (to whack his students when they make mistakes). The shape is like a large fan. This is from Kansai(Osaka)-area, if I'm not wrong. That is why Chiaki yelled to him to go back his home. Most of Japanese don't use it! (I thought only Yoshimoto Comedian Enterprise used it on TV.) Fold the paper such as newspaper or a construction paper like a fan, but 1-1/2' to 2' wide. Open it and hold or wrap one end for holding, and whach! (Not the way you use the regular fan, but side-way.) It sounds loud, but it doesn't hurt much. It is good for discipline a dog(?). That is what it is. And when this series goes on, Professor Eto has to give up his favorite tool when he wants to take in Nodame-chan as his student. At that time, this "blow-fish" translation will contradict. And he doesn't look like a blow fish. (The translator should be puzzled when translating.) I'm looking forward next volumes. (^^)

I started reading this manga after I saw the live-action adaptation in Japan. Although it's a very fun story, I agree with previous reviewers when they say that the translation is sub-par. In addition to the "harisen" mistake, there is another one in the liner notes, where the translator states that "Koshien" is an amateur baseball team 'that she apparently likes'. Koshien is the name of the baseball stadium that hosts the pro league's Hanshin Tigers, and the semi-annual National High School Baseball Tournaments, arguably the most popular sporting events in Japan.

Nodame Cantabile is a worthy read, but I wish the translation were better. Kodansha in Japan has put out a bilingual edition, with a somewhat more literal translation (even trying to keep as much of Nodame's idiosyncratic speech outbursts as possible.) However, there are only three volumes of that version. I hope that the Del Rey version's translation improves as they continue.

Nodame Cantabile stands out in the manga crowd: it's about classical musicians and is more mature overall (characters are college-age and things like dating are treated as no big deal). It's a unique and fun title that even well-read adults will enjoy.

The problem is, that's all. I had hoped that a manga dealing with classical music might, like the music itself, reach for high art. But no, it's essentially soap opera with a string section.

The characters, although enjoyable enough to hang out with, are manga cliches and stereotypes. Chiaki is the Japanese alpha male common to much manga: he's the best student in school, most talented, and works hardest. Nodame is an eccentric who, like many manga females, acts inexplicably like a child. A gay character who appears in later volumes is treated as a punchline, not in a mean-spirited way but surprisingly cartoonish.

That said, almost anyone will enjoy Nodame Cantabile... just don't expect Beethoven's Ninth.

I came into the manga through the brilliant TV series made in 2006 with Juri Ueno playing Nodame. The manga was almost faithfully followed, taking the first few books and editing them together to fit time formats. The ideas and characters are unusual compared to the most popular comics from Japan, but it's probably the most entertaining series I've read in the past decade. Granted, it's a very earthy idea without blood, robots, swords, nudity, or magical waitress girls. Nodame is a human interest story about young adults at a musical college in Tokyo where they discover themselves as events unfurl.

A great love-comedy.

The art is a little lackluster, but it works flawlessly to tell the story and connect the reader to the characters. All the stories and character arcs are strong and memorable. Nodame is a world-class manga.

The story revolves around Nodame, an eccentric music student, who does things her own way, and Chiaki, a serious, ambitious student a year ahead of her. The two characters basically become friends after finding themselves living next door to each other.

This is a really light hearted, fun read. The characters are all very well developed, including the supporting characters in the story. Nodame is generally really hilarious. She's an atypical girl, who really does things at her own pace. However, she also has a lot of talent, which so far hasn't really been cultivated. Partly, this series is about talent and growth- both Nodame's and Chiaki's. Chiaki, is basically a very talented piano major, who wants to become a conductor but has found himself unable to leave Japan due to his fear of flying. Overall, although, light hearted, this series is also pretty moving at times. There is just something very uplifting about watching these characters try to find themselves as the series progresses.

Just to warn you- this series is not a typical romance story- there isn't really a lot of romance to be honest. The relationship between Nodame and Chiaki is more comical than anything and develops very slowly. That being said, it's somehow still a sweet read and definitely well worth sticking with if you don't mind that!

Overall, this series has a lot of depth and is just completely entertaining. If you're looking for something fun, uplifting and a little bit different, I definitely recommend it!

Classical music has never been as accessible as it is portrayed in "Nodame Cantabile". The main characters of the story are Noda Megumi, who goes by the nickname Nodame, and Chiaki Shinichi, and aspiring conductor. Both attend the same music school. Nodame is a very unique character. Her only dream is to be a kindergarten teacher, and she spends all her time writing children's songs. Since everyone at the school is aiming for a career in an orchestra, she seems like a fish out of water. Chiaki, the son of a famous pianist, dreams of nothing but becoming a world-class conductor. Living in the shadow of his estranged father, Chiaki has a lot of personal issues and isn't the most friendly person to be around. However, Nodame falls for him, and despite his adamant rejections, she never gives up.

The best thing about this series is that it is enjoyable by both men and women. Women will be attracted to the love story. Men won't be turned off by it because the author takes a very comical approach to it. Also, don't let the classical music theme turn you off if you're not interested in classical music. The author makes it very approachable, and you'll find yourself looking for a few CDs after reading this comic. Give it a chance and you just might find yourself pleasantly surprised.