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Nodame Cantabile   
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Description

Type
Manga

Related Series

Associated Names
Ankooru Opera-hen
Nodame Cantabile: Opera Hen
Nodame Kantaabire
วุ่นรัก นักดนตรี
のだめカンタービレ
のだめカンタービレ アンコール オペラ編
交响情人梦
交響情人夢
노다메 칸타빌레

Groups Scanlating
NCIS
BYAAAH
Village Idiot
Which Scanlations
More...

Latest Release(s)
c.#0 Character Book by cotton candy scans over 3 years ago
v.10 c.53.3 by Mayu Scans over 3 years ago
c.Epilogue by Eien Scans & HappyScans! over 8 years ago
Search for all releases of this series

Status
in Country of Origin
25 Volumes (Complete)
13 Volumes (Shinsouban, Complete)

Completely Scanlated?
Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter
Starts at Vol 1, Chap 1
Ends at Vol 23, Chap 136 (S3) Abridged Vol 11, Skips Chap 9, 13, 23.5, 28.5, 52, 52.5, 60, 68, 95, 100, 102, 133

User Reviews
Nodame Cantabile by nightcrawler103

Forum
11 topics, 65 posts
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User Rating
Average: 8.7 / 10.0 (1442 votes)
Bayesian Average: 8.65 / 10.0
10
 
 44%
9+
 
 25%
8+
 
 17%
7+
 
 7%
6+
 
 1%
5+
 
 1%
4+
 
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 4%

Last Updated
August 11th 2023, 11:15am


Genre

Categories

Category Recommendations

Recommendations

Author(s)

Artist(s)

Year
2001

Original Publisher
Kodansha (2001, 2021)

Serialized In (magazine)
Kiss (Kodansha)

Licensed (in English)
Yes

English Publisher
Azuki (Stream)
Del Rey (Defunct / 16 Vols)
INKR Comics
Kodansha Comics (25 Vols - Complete; digital)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)
Weekly Pos #694 increased(+3)
Monthly Pos #1109 increased(+199)
3 Month Pos #2088 decreased(-38)
6 Month Pos #2204 increased(+415)
Year Pos #2949 increased(+451)

List Stats
On 1989 reading lists
On 1478 wish lists
On 2472 completed lists
On 160 unfinished lists
On 713 custom lists

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User Comments  [ Order by usefulness ]
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Didn't age well in one aspect  
by polaris006
February 2nd, 2024, 9:37am
Rating: N/A
I was cautiously optimistic about this series, as although it had great reviews, it was also written over two decades ago. And stories as old as this often have some unsavory tropes that wouldn't really fly today. In this case, it was having a
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
perverted recurring character (Streseman) whose sexual harassment is played off as a joke
.

Nonetheless, I did enjoy the dynamic between the two leads and the music theme was well done. So I'll refrain from rating as I probably would've enjoyed this 10-15 years ago. But nowadays you can probably find stories that are as good as this in terms of character dynamics, but with the added plus of character development and lack of the aforementioned iffiness.
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Excelent read  
by Shimma
July 22nd, 2022, 9:20pm
Rating: N/A
I read this A LONG time ago, like around ten years. I didnt finish it, cant remember why, but have always wanted to reread it.
SO GOOD. The art, simple but compliments the fun story. The funny moments, they never fail to make laugh, even if it long. The characters are great and deep. LOVE IT.
Wasnt so fond of the part where they flew to Paris, but until then it was pure gold.
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a sweet lesson on life, love, and music with some of the most loveable characters on the scene  
by chandylier
September 26th, 2020, 9:12am
Rating: 9.0  / 10.0
Short review: Nodame Cantabile is an adorable slice of life/drama series with a heartwarming romance. Having an ensemble of characters you want to root for, you learn about music and life, and it’s fun all the way. It’s doesn’t hurt that it’s one of the funniest manga as well.

Full review:

Warning: review contains spoilers

When I saw the anime way back when, I immediately fell in love with it. It has a really simple premise, and it moves along kind of slowly, but the characters’ development is quite captivating. The manga moves along the same way, through Nodame and Chiaki’s university years, then all the way to when they move to Paris. Our leads push each other in a really unique way and bring out the best in each other, and that’s what moves the plot along. It’s fun to watch Nodame, Chiaki, and even their friends develop because of each other - not only in music, but also with interpersonal relationships. With a relaxed, ambling-along-the-path plot, all the orchestras and competitions and concerts make you proud with each step that the characters, main and supporting alike, take.

Speaking of the characters, Nodame and Chiaki may be the focus of the manga, but you’ll find yourself loving their classmates and fellow orchestra members, as well as their eventual housemates. In the style of many a jousei manga, relationships happen so naturally - there’s no unnecessary angst or drama. They may be slow at getting there, but when they reach their potential, it’s worth it. We see different personalities when it comes to dealing with relationships and music and more importantly, growth.

As for the art, Tomoko Ninomiya boasts a really distinct art style - you’d recognize that they’re her drawings easily. However, there have been critics who have mentioned that some of the side characters are hard to tell apart, which could be an issue for shoujo/jousei authors since characters are more realistic in terms of hair styles/colors. That being said, though, the art is still done well enough to convey the music and the emotions of the characters. This isn’t exactly easy because music is an aural experience, but Tomoko Ninomiya manages to express that through her art.

Overall, it’s difficult for one to word exactly why Nodame Cantabile is a must-have experience. It’s not a heavy, exciting, action plot, but it’s still a wonderful story about love, friendship, and overcoming obstacles to achieve success. Given that the series is about music and the anime practically follows the entire manga, I’d suggest the anime over the manga.

Plot 8/10

Art 7.5/10

Characters 10/10

Overall 8.5/10
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Mukya~~~  
by Acradnxy
May 24th, 2020, 1:44am
Rating: 9.0  / 10.0
This manga is so funny, it cracked me a lot. I LOVE it, but despite of that, I can't help but to skip a lot of their dialogues because I really don't care about music and the explanations. Also, the story gets a bit boring when they finally go to Europe. Not only it becomes a bit boring and drags but the humors is gone. It still there, but not like the first several volumes. Oh man, I was cracked when Chiaki thought he was r*ped by Nodame when he was drunk. Or when Masumi gets jealous or when Mine is basically doing Mine stuff. I miss Mine papa the most.

The Europe journey tends to drag a lot. Chiaki becomes a conductor and of course, there's a need of drama right? So the mangaka, repears over and over again Chiaki's troubles: Want to become a conductor > can't get a long with the orchestra band > bad mood > suddenly becomes emo> Nodame comes> suddenly realizes he's good> conduct the best orchestra ever in his life> repeat. I know the mangaka wants to express the feeling of not easy to become a world greatest conductor, but Chiaki's problem is just that one thing + Nodame.

I like Nodame a lot. She's the silly girl, you will like to be friend with. But during the Europe journey, I lost... I even don't know what she wants (except for having Chiaki). She studies so hard to be able to be with Chiaki, but back in Japan, she said she wants to be a preschool teacher and already applied then again she always said she wants to play piano her own style. It confused me then to see her suddenly really into piano. Which one nodame? Please convince me to which one is your real passion.

Maybe it'd be better if I know something about music so I can relate to them? But at least, it's really funny and I love to see how Nodame "abuse" Chiaki. But I dislike Chikai hit (really hit, like using Judo) on Nodame, though I like when I see Chiaki angry (comically) at her.

Overall: GOOD. RECOMMENDED. 9/10
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A work of rare subtlety and respect for its characters. PS. cc 137+ are uselessly mediocre  
by Tsuppi
May 26th, 2019, 3:32pm
Rating: 9.0  / 10.0
The panelling is great. The art is great. The characters are great. The uniqueness is unparalleled. I wanna share that actually, my bum is here because I've watched the first season of the anime at least half a dozen times! Overall, the judgment for this manga would be: A+++! Great read. But If there's any work of fiction that'll convince you to get therapy it's this. Chiaki's emotionally attached to Nodame's weaknesses. It's sad. The way he overcomes his childhood - which I will be very vague about purposefully - and then stumbles in recovery hits me hard, and yet I am totally not on his side the longer his character's subtle complexities are shown ( this is such great writing tbh ) and am simply reminded that the title is named after the one schoolmate he's had a trauma bond with--and from beginning to end the narrative focused upon her is thrilling, chilling, personal, and almost pure. Definitely love the anime but the manga is profound and I can't wait to also re-experience it half a dozen times! (Too cryptic to be a spoiler but don't read this next part if you wish to read this!) Seiko was right about who the angel was, make no mistake. I urge people to look at it from this angle towards the end and try to remember that the use of Milch's silver pocket watch was the key to the second half happening at all!

WARNING THAT 137 ONWARDS IS A SHITSHOW

137-14X please ignore these chapters and do not interact with it at all I AM NOT SURE WHO WROTE THOSE CHAPTERS the antiblack "blackface is ok slavery was kinda a normal historical thing we don't have to care about because it is so far in the past" racism, body-negative "torment and humiliation is fine" fatphobia, and "gay men in the the arts and in opera is strange" attitudes all came straight from Mars-- throw it in the trash ... but the rest of the manga is way less bigoted to the point that the writing is OOOPPOSITE OF THIS. If you're okay with that b.s. and with mediocre writing, I guess you can keep it! (*゚ー゚)ゞ⌒☆. (Not!)

... Last updated on May 26th, 2019, 7:27pm
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An Unparalleled Work Of Art  
by Dalis
September 23rd, 2017, 1:02pm
Rating: N/A
This was one of the most attention grabbing, entertaining manga's I've read, and I have read a ton through the years. It grabbed your attention from the beginning and it kept you captive until the very ending. The plot was exquisite , the characters well thought out and the characters themselves were memorable even after the story ends. The music pieces were well picked and thoughtfully planned, blending perfectly with the story. The character growth is well paced and there is a romance that doesn't overshadow the story, and vice versa. I also rate based on the number of volumes, and to say that I am well satisfied with the number of chapters in this story would be an extreme understatement. Overall, this was an astonishingly wonderful read, and I recommend to everyone as we all can relate to this,musically inclined or not.
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Heart-warming comedy + introduction to classical music  
by thepinkguava
November 30th, 2015, 7:44am
Rating: 10.0  / 10.0
You can only appreciate the story if you see the anime or the live-action first. Once you're hooked to either of those, you will want to check out the manga. The art is simple, yet pleasing to the eyes (I especially love the posters of the characters). I regard a manga very highly if it makes me do further research and Nodame Cantabile has made me look up classical music (I'd only heard of Mozart and Beethoven before but now I know a lot of composers so essentially I feel more refined now lol). This manga would appeal to those who love 'tsundere' main character and light-hearted (slow) romance. The ending might be frustrating to some people but luckily it's redeemed in Nodame Cantabile: Opera Hen (don't expect a grand romantic gesture though but still the ending is satisfying). I hope they would animate the Opera chapter one day.

P/S: This is my first review on a public website and I have to say that I only discovered this 'gem' 5 years too late than the rest of the 'otaku' world. It's not too late for you to pick up this amazing manga.

... Last updated on November 30th, 2015, 7:56am
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Expanded my Horizons  
by Localjrw
August 21st, 2015, 7:15pm
Rating: 10.0  / 10.0
I read this after watching the anime. It is an amazing Slice of Life Comedy, with a slowly developing Romance. It made we laugh so many times as I watched the characters strive for their goals. The fact that it got me listening to classical music while reading it, looking up the pieces being played and listening to them, is one of the reasons I rate this series so highly. It expanded my horizons and any manga that can do that is unusual.
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Years later....  
by blueseeker
July 4th, 2015, 7:43am
Rating: 10.0  / 10.0
I can't believe this story is so good even a second time but this time fully translated. I'm really surprised that the emotions I felt years ago I was able to experience again. Just perfect!
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I'm somewhat dissapointed at the ending  
by skiesandwinds
December 4th, 2014, 12:33am
Rating: N/A
Okay, so I just picked up this manga and borrowed the whole tankobon from a friend and reat them through this 3 weeks and I've got to say I really like the concept, the comedy, the music that were being chosen as material, some characters,etc.
But after I finished reading the 23rd Tankobon (AKA final tankobon before encore) I'm beginning to feel really disappointed and have those WTF moment.

that ravel thing really bugs me, why didn't Chiaki refuse Rui request or why didn't he said sorry to Nodame after all those things that happened. Why it did it have to end like that? With all of Nodame's dream slowly being crushed and replaced by Chiaki and other musician around her without everyone ever give her a reason for her to do so (e.g. learning a lot of composition without telling her its a pre preparation for her concour, etc.)
Now, that I've seen it I could only see Chiaki as the unapologetic hypocrite jerk that he is.
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