Nodame Cantabile is a manga adapted into anime that follows a female prodigious but ditzy piano player Nodame who has a crush on a very sharp piano player Chiaki whose true ambition is to become a composer. The series has heavy focus on music so I think it works better as anime and recommend that over the manga.

Both of the leads are Japanese, but in the later seasons the story moves to Europe and there is very interesting international stuff. Basically it’s great.

Man this music makes me want to rewatch Nodame Cantabile. I watched the last season quite recently, but the first ones years ago.

If it’s the headmaster you are looking for, I just sent him to buy cigarettes for me.

Showing who’s the real boss.

Finished Nodame today, it was somehow very easy to watch, as I totaled almost 50 episodes in few days, but less thought provoking than I imagined. I guess it didn’t have as much rewatch value for me, or my mind has become too numb with all the work. Yup, so until next time.

YouTube gives me a Nodame Cantabile OP. That anime is probably the most realistic portrayal of the kind of professional world I seem to live in these days. You show talent, someone “ships” you to another place to work for another mentor. Then as you improve, more people take interest in you and grant you new opportunities. You take them all, and when the time comes that you are too busy to take new offers, that’s when you have become a professional. Also the attitudes of Chiaki and Nodame are quite good prototypes of what exists in the sphere I work in. Chikai sees the machinations and does the things he sees are in demand. Nodame is herself and reaches the depths of individual ability. And the general air is that everyone you know is elite and the non-elite people are not really worth knowing — and it’s not an attitude you apologize for.

I wonder if it would be too soon to rewatch this… Wow, the dailies tell it was so far back as 2016 that I last watched it.

Started watching it then. Ep 1, Chiaki even has this common programmer kind of situation that he is studying piano (mathematics) even though he actually wants to do composing (programming). The problem being that the latter cannot be learned well at a school so rather than study directly it, select a substitute topic. I also see a parallel in ho the talent of the students often exceeds that of the teachers.

Watching Nodame Cantabile. The first season is fun and good, but I noticed the animation is almost non-existent at places. The performance episode just now is just like a slide show with music on the background and someone says a few line once a minute or so. I think the romcom is the best part of the show, but the focus on music and careers keeps it all in focus. I always though that love must be most fulfilling when you were also professionally satisfied, otherwise the two are just going to adversely affect each other.

I didn’t remember, but this series can be nicely dark at times around Nodame. She really has pretty serious difficulties masked by that usual cheeriness. Also, separately I recalled again that you really need to show the happy stuff for the darkness to stand out and make a proper effect.

I had completely forgotten this great second ED. Tokyo et Paris, Paris et Tokyo, goes the chorus.

87 Clockers

Started reading the manga 87 Clockers, because it’s one of the other two long manga by the author of Nodame.

I had considered reading this multiple times before, but always decided against it because I thought it couldn’t possibly be good given the topic (overclocking PC CPUs). Now reading it, I indeed don’t care much for the technical bits, but the main character and his connections are surprisingly interesting. A rich “herbivore” guy who isn’t really interested in the sport but wants to “free” a girl from her abusive “partner”. There’s a second girl, Julia, whom the MC actually gets to hang with and I think she is much more interesting. I’m definitely hoping for a slow romance between them (starting to seem unplausible). Second girls are always the best.

Haha, hikikomori guy spends 5 years at home playing games — but has a girlfriend doing the same in the same room. His mom is going crazy, especially after she overhears him proposing to the girl. She is seen throwing their computers out from the second floor window.