Nodame Cantabile (Episodes: 23, also a live action drama series) (Manga cover, couldn't find many decent anime pics=_=")
Genres: Comedy, Romance, Shoujo, Slice of Life My grades: Animation: 7.5/10 Story: 8.5/10 Characters: 8/10
Summary:
The show starts off with Chiaki a music college student majoring in the Piano. He's a genious, the best pianist in the entire school, but he's also has a serious ego problem and refuses to listen to teachers because he thinks he's better than them. Part of his problem is what he really wants to do is be a conductor, by his idol who he wanted to train under told him that he must master the piano first. He also wants to study abroad in Europe but when he was a child he got in a plain crash so he's phobic of air travel, and he nearly drowned as a child so he refuses to take a boat... therefore he's landlocked in JapanXD
One day he just gets so depressed about his situation he gets totally drunk and passes out infront of his appartment. The next morning he wakes up surrounded by trash and stench in a completely unfamiliar appartment with an odd woman and piano... The woman's name is Nodame (for short) and also a student at his school, and though she seems to be missing a few marbles =_=, occasionally forgets to bath, lives in a pig stye, can't cook and has no womanly charm ...Chiaki discovers one amazing thing about her, She is the most passionate piano player he's ever seen. ( Though while she plays from the heart and can play a song just by hearing it once, she's very lazy and misses alot of notes.) Chiaki becomes captivated by her ability, and at the same time Nodame falls in love with Chiaki (although he hates her because she's 1/2 nuts O.o, but has to deal with it because they're neighbors and deep down he caresXD)
As the story develops a famous conductor from Europe, Stresseman, is teaching at their school for a semester and after much MUCH persuasion he decides to take Chiaki under his wing and begin his career as a conductor.
The rest of the story focuses on Chiaki learning become a better leader and conductor who can actually comunicate with people instead of freaking out and making everyone feel like their no better than dirt beneith his feet. And the other 1/2 is about Nodame and what she will do with the rest of her life and for her to actuallly realize herself how much she loves the piano and that she has talent.
The story I thought was really good~ Lots of humor and cute moments, but at the same time a decent plot^.^ Each episode always ends at a spot that makes you want to watch another. There is alot of music played in this, and while sometimes its really nice, there are occasions where they play it a little too long and you just want them to get on with the storyXD
There's alot of character in this show So I ended up forgetting most of them, but the only 2 that are really concentrated on are Chiaki and Nodame.
The animation I thought was pretty good^.^ It had an older anime feel to it for some reason~ but it was ok^.^
Overall this anime really grew on me~ and by the time it was over I really wished there was more=( (the ending was great though~ unexpected by great) A cute story and I highly recomend it!!! Its not as cheezy, dull, and weird as I thought it was going to beXD
