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Somehow, it hadn’t crossed my radar that Nodame Cantabile had returned to the airwaves with a new season, probably because I’ve been paying less and less attention to ongoing anime.  Of course, I’ve picked it up again, though I’ve only had the time for one episode so far.  At first glance, it appears to carry on the beloved Nodame formula fairly well,  the enjoyable blend of romantic comedy with a musical backdrop.  However, I was one of those people that thought the second season was not quite as strong as the first.  This might be due to the length of the two, with Paris-hen only having a mere 11 episodes and not being as self-contained as the original season (actually, the storyline of Paris-hen more or less continues directly into this third season).  However, perusals of various forums indicate that many people felt that the “formula” had changed too much and resulted in a less entertaining or captivating version of Nodame Cantabile.

Part of it probably has to do with how much the musical aspect of the show ties into your enjoyment of Nodame.  I know many people who are big fans of the show but aren’t particularly enamored with classical music, and found the more extended musical sequences of the original anime and especially the live-action version to be “boring”.  Paris-hen was probably a welcome change for them in that regard.  But as for me personally, while the romantic comedy aspect of the series was enjoyable, of course, what really made Nodame stand out amongst others was its combination with the highlighting of the serious pursuit of music in a conservatory setting.  That was definitely what piqued my curiosity in the anime at first.  That’s not to say that the musical aspect was missing from Paris-hen, but the climactic nature of the performance scenes was certainly missing the same level of impact, and I felt like those were rather important.  When the orchestra from season 1 went through it’s first performance, or during the competition scenes, you could practically feel the satisfaction of the accomplishment, or the tension of the moment.

The other underwhelming part of Paris-hen was the side characters, which just didn’t feel as memorable as those of the original.  That’s not to say that the original cast members were all strong – I’ll admit they sometimes felt more like running jokes than characters.  But all the same, although they could have used some more development, their roles in the story felt a little more concrete, Streseman in particular.  I don’t really find much noteworthy about the Paris-hen characters.  The first one that comes to mind Tanya, the Russian pianist who dislikes practicing and wants to find a boyfriend.  I’m not sure at what point we were supposed to start to like her character, but it never happened for me.  And when she was paired up with Kuroki at the end, it felt a little forced – I’m not sure I saw much chemistry between them.

After watching the first episode of Finale, I suppose these side characters are here to stay, so I’ll have to make an effort to be interested in them.  Otherwise, its the familiar and likable Nodame humour and style, though I had no interest in the scenes involving Rui.  Watching the excellent live-action version probably forever ruined my ability to enjoy the animated orchestra scenes, which have the same robotic quality to them.  I’ve read many complaints that it was rushed, and this is probably a result of manga familiarity more than the actual episode, so I didn’t really notice it.  Anyways, I’ve put myself back into the Nodame world, so here’s hoping for a great finish to one of the best shows in the genre.