Nodame Cantabile in Love

I first stumbled across Nodame Cantabile at my university anime club, but I came in in the middle, only saw an episode or two, and was highly distracted. It took me a few years and some desperation to make pick up this series

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But it wasn’t desperation that made me stay.

Nodame is endearing. While most of us are not Nodame we have days where we want to be slobs, leave our apartments a mess, and we all have that one thing we are excellent at, but never quite managed to make anything of. And she ends up your hero because when it comes to love, she knows exactly what she wants and is persistent enough to get it without changing herself.

Her relationship with Chiaki feels real. That’s what I love most about the series. They have a lot to figure out about each other, it takes a time for respect and trust to grow, and their dependence on each other is sometimes almost involuntary. They grow together and by the end of the series that is what makes their bond so strong.

They bring their personal issues to the table, Chiaki’s fears of abandonment and Nodame’s fear of conforming, but you get to laugh at them as well. Nodame antics claiming that Chiaki is her husband, Chiaki washing her hair like she’s a dog. Sweet, sad, funny, and everything else in between.

Nodame Cantabile is one of the most refreshing animes out there just for their relationship, the appreciation for good classical musical that comes with it is an added bonus.