History Manga / NodameCantabile

** In Paris-hen, the next door neighbor, Frank, is an otaku who collects merchandise of Shakogan no Shana, another JC Staff anime.

* DreamTeam: The Rising Star Orchestra is formed as this, in which the members from fellow schools were selected.

* ShowWithinAShow: Puri Gorota - Type 2 (Nodame is a huge fan of it) and 3 (the very existence of that show made a difference).

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: There's a few orchestras to deal with, so naturally, there are a lot of characters.

An anime, manga, and live-action TV series centered around the two protagonists, Shinichi Chiaki and Megumi Noda (more commonly referred to by the whole cast as Nodame). The show begins at Momogaoka College of Music where both protagonists attend. Chiaki is a talented violinist and pianist, considered one of the top students at the school, who dreams of becoming a conductor. He is extremely handsome and popular, an excellent cook, very neat and ''stuck-up''. Nodame is an extremely talented but wild piano player whose ambition is to become a kindergarten teacher. She is a complete slob, a terrible cook, and generally acts extremely strange. The two first meet when Chiaki is thrown out by his piano teacher after an argument, and winds up being taught under the same teacher as Nodame. They later discover that their apartments are next door to each other.

The show follows the musical careers of both characters as Chiaki eventually decides to follow his dream and pursue conducting. At the same time, the relationship between him and Nodame goes through numerous highs and lows, growing ever stronger in the process. Chiaki eventually assumes control of Orchestra S, assembled by Franz von Stresemann, a conductor-in-residence from abroad.

''Nodame Cantabile'' is a sweet {{slice of life}} drama, and both the anime and live action drama have strengths. It has some striking similarities with ''Manga/HoneyAndClover'', another show produced by J.C. Staff about quirky young people who pursue creative studies at college (art school, in that case). 2 sequel seasons were released, "Paris Chapters"/"Paris-hen" and "Finale", both of which detail the manga chapters that take place in Europe, mostly Paris. The anime in general follows the manga very closely, so much so that the season titled "Finale" isn't really a finale at all because the anime leaves the story open much like the manga did in those parallel chapters. The manga ended in September 2010 with a two-volume sequel collectively known as "Opera-hen", bringing the total volume count to 25.

Season 1 has also [[http://www.crackle.com/c/Nodame_Cantabile been dubbed in English]].

* WillTheyOrWontThey: Nodame and Chiaki. In the first season of the anime they seem to get together in the end. For the second season this apparently has been reset with Chiaki [[ShesNotMyGirlfriend constantly denying they are dating.]] In the Manga it is made explicitly clear that they are a couple, to the point that in the final issue, Chiaki [[spoiler: proposes to Nodame and she accepts]]. They are still together as a couple five years later in the epilogue.