Customer Reviews

Nodame Cantabile 10

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I started Nodame Cantabile when I caught the first episode of the anime series and was intrigued.

Right around vol 6, I suddenly lost interest. The jokes and behaviors of the characters were one note and not particularly pleasing.

Recently, I was speaking with a lady at a bookstore who was picking up Naruto for her children but I saw that she also had Nodame in her hands and I asked, "who are they for?" and she said, "Oh, this one is mine." We talked a bit about what we thought of it and she said, "You really should start up again. Vol 7 might try your patience, but vol 8 was so good."

On her recommendation, I started up again at Volume 8 where subtle changes start to take place with Chiaki and Nodame that force both of them to start growing a little more. To be sure, Chiaki is still overbearing and arrogant and Nodame remains a loopy genius, but he starts to seem more humane and she starts to seem more human.

One arc (the one I call the "Japan arc") concludes satisfyingly in Volume 9 (Nodame's family are a hoot) and the new arc starts off in Volume 10 on the perfect footing that truly highlights just how much has changed between the two main characters.

So it is good to be back. The humor that first drew me to Nodame Cantabile is still present, but the characters have become more likable and more developed and that makes my journey with them so much more enjoyable.