Soldato
- Joined
- 26 Apr 2004
- Posts
- 9,792
- Location
- Milton Keynes
Finished Nodame Cantabile Finale last night, following a straight run through of all 3 seasons. The first was very good, although perhaps a little slow in places, with some dry humour and something really human to it.
Paris was unfortunately, undoubtedly the weak series, possibly due to the change in series director; dropping all/most of the characters from the first series almost soft reset the series, and it struggled to really tread new ground without being stale and a little predictable at times, especially in the 11 episodes compared to the original seasons 20+, and unfortunately the slowness the original series was somewhat drawn out, despite the series being shorter.
Finale was somewhat of a return to form, not as good as the first season, but undoubtedly better than the second, and perhaps returned to some of the key points that made the first series so enjoyable; the banter and closeness of the two main characters (although Chiaki never quite became ...not an ass...he DID get more likeable slowly though). Not having to build a fresh ensemble of characters in a short space of time allowed them to focus more on the relationship between the two main characters, and importantly the music, without getting sidetracked on as many tangents. Some of the Chiaki and Nodame moments were extremely human, and sometimes quite sweet in thier own ways. The specials, before and after the series (00 and 12) also fit in nicely with the timeline.
The only drawback was that the ending was a little rushed, and felt a little forced, I hear thats because of the manga, but then I also understand the mangaka was having real life issues when she closed Nodame Cantabile; so I think the anime studio perhaps could, or should have got away with some anime-only material here; and given the series more of a proper closure (with a name like Finale...come on, you need to round things off).
After everything that built up over the season, and all of Chiaki's deliberation before his decision was made, I was almost dissapointed, and I really think the series should have thrown another curveball Chiaki/Nodame moment right at the end; perhaps with him reluctantly (and in no way romantically) offering her a ring, or something to seal the deal like he FINALLY realised he both wanted and needed to, not just for her sake, but his own. I think Chiaki is probably the first 'male tsundere' I've seen, and I think it would have rather warmly closed off the series if pulled off in the way this series seemed to have a knack for. Perhaps a little cliched, but the series almost deserved the closure, and some of the moments where the feelings of the two main characters were really uncovered were some of the sweetest and funniest throughout the show.
I know the Japanese like semi-open endings though so perhaps thats why, but I think this series really COULD have afforded to give it some finality in that regards, rather than some heavy hinting of what might happen.
3 series and they never did get thier concerto together onscreen either
Paris was unfortunately, undoubtedly the weak series, possibly due to the change in series director; dropping all/most of the characters from the first series almost soft reset the series, and it struggled to really tread new ground without being stale and a little predictable at times, especially in the 11 episodes compared to the original seasons 20+, and unfortunately the slowness the original series was somewhat drawn out, despite the series being shorter.
Finale was somewhat of a return to form, not as good as the first season, but undoubtedly better than the second, and perhaps returned to some of the key points that made the first series so enjoyable; the banter and closeness of the two main characters (although Chiaki never quite became ...not an ass...he DID get more likeable slowly though). Not having to build a fresh ensemble of characters in a short space of time allowed them to focus more on the relationship between the two main characters, and importantly the music, without getting sidetracked on as many tangents. Some of the Chiaki and Nodame moments were extremely human, and sometimes quite sweet in thier own ways. The specials, before and after the series (00 and 12) also fit in nicely with the timeline.
The only drawback was that the ending was a little rushed, and felt a little forced, I hear thats because of the manga, but then I also understand the mangaka was having real life issues when she closed Nodame Cantabile; so I think the anime studio perhaps could, or should have got away with some anime-only material here; and given the series more of a proper closure (with a name like Finale...come on, you need to round things off).
After everything that built up over the season, and all of Chiaki's deliberation before his decision was made, I was almost dissapointed, and I really think the series should have thrown another curveball Chiaki/Nodame moment right at the end; perhaps with him reluctantly (and in no way romantically) offering her a ring, or something to seal the deal like he FINALLY realised he both wanted and needed to, not just for her sake, but his own. I think Chiaki is probably the first 'male tsundere' I've seen, and I think it would have rather warmly closed off the series if pulled off in the way this series seemed to have a knack for. Perhaps a little cliched, but the series almost deserved the closure, and some of the moments where the feelings of the two main characters were really uncovered were some of the sweetest and funniest throughout the show.
I know the Japanese like semi-open endings though so perhaps thats why, but I think this series really COULD have afforded to give it some finality in that regards, rather than some heavy hinting of what might happen.
3 series and they never did get thier concerto together onscreen either
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