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NODAME CANTABILE (VOL. 7) |
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Monday, 19 March 2007 |
 | | ▪ | PUBLISHED BY: | | DEL REY | | | ▪ | ART/AUTHOR: | | TOMOKO NINOMIYA | | | | ▪ | FORMAT/COLOR: | | JAPANESE FORMAT/ BW | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 185 | | | ▪ | RATED: | | T+ | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 1/31/2006 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 03/20/2007 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | CHRISTOPHER SEAMAN |
When I was given the chance to review NODAME CANTABILE from Del Rey, I was given a chance to go down Memory Lane. I grew up in a house where music played constantly and in addition to bashing away at the piano myself, both my father and brother also played instruments. Reading about musicians and orchestras was bound to rekindle remembrances of concerts past.
And what a trip it was. Even though I was unfamiliar with the plot- a quick online search fixed that- I found this manga easy to enjoy and understand. Winner of the Kondansha Manga of the Year Award in 2004, Tomoko Ninomiya certainly earned her prize with this work, and with a successful live action television series following in its wake, NODAME CANTABILE has shown it has legs outside of the manga world. The classical scores that accompany this tale of love and ambition in the music world have also achieved some success in their own right, many being available this side of the Pacific for purchase.
So…on the downbeat…what is it about? We focus our attention on the lives of two people, music student Shinichi Chiaki, son of a famous musician, who finds his dreams of studying abroad and becoming a conductor grounded by a fear of flying. Left in Japan while his classmates achieve success overseas, Shinichi wrestles with his future in the music world after graduation until he meets fellow student Megumi Noda, also known as Nodame. Here is a classic shojo type readers are bound to fall in love with. She becomes devoted to Shinichi, despite driving him mad with her inability to stay tidy, cook, or conduct herself in a less than oddball manner (she often speaks of herself in the third person). Despite her more peculiar traits, though, Nodame, who cannot read music plays the piano in an incomparable Cantabile style that mesmerizes all who hear her.
In Volume 7, Shinichi is now about to conduct the Rising Star Orchestra, made up of his fellow students, including some of the most brilliant performers at the music school. Many challenges need to be overcome. Where to play? What to play? Which soloists to feature? In an orchestra such as this, many egos have to be reined in before any real music can be heard. Is Shinichi, still wallowing in misery over his personal problems, ever to going to rise to the responsibilities that come with picking up the baton? Is Nodame going to be able to help him do so, considering he treats her quite badly most of the time? And what of Nodame herself? Etoh-sensei, a piano teacher on staff wants to teach Nodame, but has to convince her to take him seriously first. A truce is achieved between these two and we are treated to the beginning of a really curious relationship. In the meantime, orchestra members Kukori Yasunori, Miki Kiyora, and Kikuchi Toru are involved in a music competition that takes its toll on their nerves and puts some future plans outside of Japan in jeopardy. A lot is going on, and the action on stage is certainly not all in what notes are being played in the score.
In this volume, readers can get a good taste of some of the personalities that one might meet in the music world. The author has obviously had some experience around these people and has paid close attention to their…er…manners and mannerisms. The girly men stuff that filters through in some scenes is pure shojo fan service, and the cliché count rings like bells in a cathedral. Some may not find the story much to their tastes- sorry, no monsters, robots or sexpots in school uniforms running around using magic to save the world. The artwork is a little too simple looking in places to really stand out as something special, as one would see in some other titles. However, this manga has got something in it that can really grab you, especially if you have had experience in the world of classical music. The characterizations are diverse enough to make this a kind of ensemble effort, with a strong supporting cast filling out the background for the action between Nodame and Shinichi. Also enjoyable is how Nodame stands so well on her own, not just as an eccentric in her mannerisms, but as a powerful force in her performances. Everyone around her wants to find a way to simply dismiss her as being too odd, but cannot for reasons that are uniquely personal in themselves. Some may look at this manga initially in the same way, but will find on closer examination that as with Nodame, there is something that will compel them to stick with it right to the end.
As they should, because it is a great read.
IN SUMMARY:
NODAME CANTABILE is quirky and sweet, playing on readers like a waltz. Fresh and inventive, Tomoko Ninomiya’s story is deserving of the Kondansha Manga of the Year award it received in 2004. If you love good music and light romance, this is a shojo manga for you. |
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