About this season
When a classically trained young conductor meets a free-spirited pianist at music school, their romance and their music have a hard time harmonizing.
Episodes (11)
1. Rhapsody of a Weirdo Pianist and a Snob Conductor
Aired 16 October 2006 • 60 min
Noda Megumi, AKA Nodame, is a sloppy third-year Piano student at Momogaoka School of Music who lives and plays with abandon. Meanwhile, Chiaki Shin'ichi, an aspiring conductor, is at the top of his game, and acts the part. He notices something special in the way she plays Beethoven's Pathetique.
2. Attack of the Creep Flunker Orchestra!
Aired 23 October 2006 • 60 min
Chiaki is desperate to transfer from Piano to Conducting, but infamous conductor Franz Stresemann refuses to let him. Meanwhile, Stresemann recruits a band of misfits and flunkers to create Orchestra S out of misfits and near-dropouts, including Chiaki and Nodame's new mutual friends, Mine Ryutaro and Okuyama Masumi.
3. Orchestra of the Lesser: Can Love Trump Poverty?
Aired 30 October 2006 • 60 min
Stresemann bails on Orchestra S, leaving Chiaki to conduct. The bassist, Saku Sakura, isn't coming to all the rehearsals -- but it might not be her fault.
4. Will They or Won't They? Battle of the Regular Concert!
Aired 6 November 2006 • 60 min
Chiaki turns out to be impossible to please. Nodame's terrestrial alien army invades Chiaki's apartment in an unidentified heating object, in a desperate attempt to reprogram him in time for the regular concert.
5. Goodbye, Maestro! School Festival Battle of Love
Aired 13 November 2006 • 60 min
Maestro Stresemann's rightful owners arrive in Japan to take him home, while Orchestra S and Orchestra A prepare for the school festival concerts.
6. Goodbye, Orchestra S! A Tearful Disbanding and a Piano Duet of Love
Aired 20 November 2006 • 60 min
Nodame is desperately practicing the Rach 2, for reasons unknown. Orchestra S, meanwhile, is about to disband, just as they learn that Chiaki and the orchestra have become famous.
7. New Orchestra! Tensions in the Relationship
Aired 27 November 2006 • 60 min
Chiaki and Orchestra A concertmaster Miki Kiyora recruit elite students from all over Japan to start a new orchestra. Nodame gets assigned to a new teacher, leading to her becoming a zombie.
8. Rising Star Orchestra's Concert! Fighting Old Traumas with Love
Aired 4 December 2006 • 60 min
Nodame contemplates attempting to treat Chiaki's fear of airplanes, which could lead to her losing him to Europe. Meanwhile, her teacher nominates her for the Maradona Piano Competition.
9. Competition vs. Studying Abroad! A Relationship-Ending Decision
Aired 11 December 2006 • 60 min
Brainwashed by Nodame, Chiaki goes on a plane trip to Hokkaido. Nodame prepares desperately for her competition, which could open the door for her to study in Europe.
10. Madness at the Competition! A Surprising Confession
Aired 18 December 2006 • 60 min
Nodame loses herself at the Maradona competition, putting her Europe plan into doubt. Rising Star Orchestra, meanwhile, undergoes painful evolution.
11. Goodbye, Nodame! A Tearful Christmas Concert
Aired 25 December 2006 • 60 min
Defeated, Nodame runs home to her parents' place in the countryside. Chiaki goes after her.