Nodame Cantabile Finale – 4

This episode is just making me think even more that Nodame x Chiaki might not happen . . .

A drunken Chiaki gets the whole “sorry I ditched you, Nodame :(” thing over with right away, and Nodame takes it about as well as could be expected. She’s excited that Chiaki was able to achieve something he had been working toward for a long ass time, but at the same time, she’s of course pissed that he ditched her (and went out drinking afterward, haha). Curiously, though, it is Nodame’s reaction to all this that has me thinking she and Chiaki may be drifting apart romantically.

While watching this episode, I couldn’t help but notice that Chiaki and Nodame’s roles switched in regards to how they conceive their relationship: Nodame is the one who can sense that their mutual work is continuing keep them apart, and she is somewhat pessimistic about their chances of reconciling this split; Chiaki, on the other hand, is consumed with thoughts of Nodame and clearly thinks they can stay close while keeping up such hectic schedules. I mean, he just casually throws out that he is going to Italy without giving much thought to it! He doesn’t really seem to view it as a problem; maybe it’s because these things have worked themselves out before in the past for them.

(Side note: I’ve heard that the Nodame Cantabile manga didn’t have a particularly great ending. I don’t want to speculate too much on this, but could it be because Nodame and Chiaki don’t end up together, thus pissing off legions of shippers? Or did the manga author, Tomoko Ninomiya, try to make that ending interesting, and instead botched it? Or do Nodame and Chiaki end up together, and it’s just silly and dumb? By the way, these are all rhetorical questions.)

I’m not exactly sure where I believe the story is going. My giant, sappy heart wants Nodame and Chiaki together, of course, but it seems as if to get that result either Chiaki and Nodame will have to make a huge sacrifice (unlikely considering how hard both have worked, and frankly, I would be pissed off if either just quit music to act as husband/wife for the other), or they will just have to bear with not seeing each other for long amounts of time, unless one of them becomes some crazy music freelancer or something.

My head, though, much as I hate to admit it, thinks it might be kind of interesting if Nodame and Chiaki don’t end up together. It would enrage a shitload of people, obviously (“45 episodes for that?!”), but if pulled off in the right way, it could be a strong ending that really separates Nodame from a good deal of shows. Of course, it would also be kind of depressing to see two characters who clearly care for each other a great deal also be unable to make a romantic relationship work, haha.

Did this Japanese girl even get a name? If she did, I must have missed it completely. Poor girl was marked for failure from the beginning. I suppose she is here to really show the otherworldly passion, dedication and talent these people need to succeed in the music world (which circles around to Nodame and Chiaki’s story, yay!). Some things are just not meant to be for certain people. As a point for Nodame x Chiaki, though, the increased possibility of Tanya x Yasu might hint at an ending where everyone falls in love and is happy. Who’s left for Frank and Li? Maybe they can fight over Rui. Or each other.