A few news items and updates – which you may or may not have already heard about – on this first day of December.

  • One of my friends has been watching the super-popular Nodame Cantabile drama and was so thrilled about it that he got me interested in the series. For those of you unfamiliar with Nodame Cantabile, it is a series about a guy who aspires to be a conductor and the free-spirited, piano-playing girl who attaches herself to him. I haven’t seen the drama yet, but I did pick up and read some six volumes of the manga, and I really enjoyed it. I’m planning to watch the drama once I get a chance sometime next month during winter break, but more exciting to me (for now) is the upcoming anime version. The reason is because of the strength of the cast and staff that were announced. They include Kawasumi Ayako voicing Nodame, Seki Tomokazu voicing Chiaki, and Noto Mamiko voicing Sakura. On top of that, it’s being animated by J.C.STAFF and directed by Kasai Kenichi (aka. the director of Honey and Clover). This being a music-oriented series, I’m most interested in hearing the quality of the classical pieces they include and how they use them in the show. And since I like the manga so much, this has quickly become my number one anticipated series for the winter 2007 season. The anime version of Nodame Cantabile will air Thursdays starting January 11th on Fuji TV’s Noitamina block.
  • Many of you who have seen the Death Note live-action movies have seen the actor who plays L, Matsuyama Ken’ichi. Well, Mainichi Shimbun reported yesterday that he will be voicing a role in the anime version of Death Note (as the Shinigami Jealous) and will be also getting a spin-off L movie set to be released in 2008. At the rate they’re going, Jealous should appear in the anime in a month or two.
  • I’ve got the song God Knows… from Suzumiya Haruhi stuck in my head again thanks to this video on YouTube of KURIKINTON FOX playing the song. It sounds really good to me, but I’ll also be the first to admit that I’m not that musically inclined.
  • 22 Comments

    1. I’ve has God Knows and Lost My Music in my playlist for a while, ever since I heard the song on SHNY. I’ve always liked the songs because of the beats and I enjoyed it in general, Aya Hirano is a good singer. After listening to what Kurikinton Fox did though, that’s just amazing. It sounds really good and I love the songs all over again.

      Naakay
    2. Someone recommended the Nodame Cantabile drama to me a few weeks pack. When I watched it, it was awesome, it was funny, acting seemed good, and it has awesome classical music in it. I have one of the OSTs for it, and I am listening to it now. I only wish the sub groups would move faster, since episode two has been the latest for a while now.

      Zelath
    3. I am currently watching the drama Nodama Cantabile too and I love it very much! It’s such a hilarious and light-hearted show, with an awesome cast and great music. I can’t wait to see the anime version too, in high anticipation for it next year.

      shojo
    4. Nodame Cantabile is awesome!
      YES!!! Ayako Kawasumi & Tomokasu Seki working together again (they’re my favorite male and female seryuu’s), it looks like they work pretty well together. Thnak’s for the tip Onmi, I’m going to watch this series for sure.

      Syaoran Li
    5. I had asked a little while ago if you were interested in the Nodame series (both as live action and upcoming anime) but I guess it got lost in the torrent of comments — I’m SO pleased to see you not only enjoy the manga but are looking forward to the anime as well! As you are the only animeblogger I actually read, this news makes me stupidly happy. 😀

    6. The heat of Nodame Cantabile is surely going to last a while… the live action drama is in one word: AWESOME. I’m really impressed with the actors in the drama as they bring out the humor and the essence of classical music. So impressed I was I was afraid I might expect alot coming for the anime and be disappointed if it’s not as good as the drama… but I would definitely be waiting to listen to their Chiaki-Nodame rendition of Mozart’s Piano Concerto for Two Piano!

      miharuyuki
    7. Omni… it’s all your fault that im still awake at 2 in the morning… ;p
      once i read your post, i went to download the 7 available episodes.. and watched them from the 1st to the 7th episode… all together… geez, im pretty tired now, it’s been a while since i had a marathon (i used to have frequent daily anime marathons, completing one series a day)
      but i thank you, at first i thought this would be a silly drama, but it’s among the best i’ve seen so far… looking forward to the anime next season.. definitely one not to miss!
      now.. it’s time to sleep…

      psychohare
    8. Well, I do hope they keep the joke about Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony and do better job on Chiaki’s Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto #2 in the anime. I also hope they keep the Mozart’s Sonata for two piano and Beethoven’s 5th Violin Sonata track from the drama, for it was done just right. I am worried about the Anime series having J-POP OP and ED, for it will very likely destroy the mood; There is very good reason why the drama decided to go with Beethoven’s 7th symphony and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blues for the OP and ED.

      wontaek

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