Nodame Cantabile: Lesson 6 and 7

A few things before I start with this entry: I want to catch myself up to the point where I am currently in the seris in terms of watching, so I decided to combine entries for Nodame Cantabile. I may keep this format for the remainder of blogging the series, because it’s easier for me to do two sets of episodes at a time…also makes for less clutter in terms of entries.

I’ll still have screenshots for Nodame Cantabile up to the latest episode, so you’ll have to look under the cut accordingly. I won’t separate entries with large pictures/scans like I did for Infinite Ryvius, so be forewarned, while I’m designating reflections between each episode, it’d probably be better if you saw both episodes before reading this entry, unless you don’t mind being spoiled of course.

I said it once, I’ll say it again: I *heart* Chiaki-sempai. He takes the reins in Episode 6 as the assistant conductor for the group…taking stead while Stresemann decides to partake in *cough* other matters. Yet when a complication arises regarding that matter…Chiaki may find himself with more work to do than a little bit.

Episode 7 has the S and A orchestras practicing in preparation for a concert contest between the two, yet Chiaki finds that playing “by the book” isn’t as beneficial as incorporating originality. It takes a rather odd set of events to make him realize such though…serious yet still terribly funny episode in points, especially the latter considering Chiaki’s spars with Mine-kun. New character introduced in this episode as well, but…question is whether or not we’ll ever see that conducting student “conduct”…

Review of both episodes under the cut and picture of Chiaki conducting the S orchestra.

Code Geass Episode 5: The Princess and the Sorceress/Witch

The rather public display and appearance of Zero has set the Brittainian forces into turmoil, as rebel groups waiting for their chance to strike emerge from the surface. To top it off: Suzaku’s free as a bird and we see more screentime from him in this episode.

I wonder if Pizza Hut actually sponsored this series, as an aside note. I noticed the pizza box from which C.C. ate and the upside down logo. With the reapperance of the green-haired girl, aka C.C. and the scene in which we see her eating in Lulu’s room , I have a feeling we’ll see more of those pizza boxes in the near future. XD On a serious note: this was a very good episode, and we even have a few new characters emerging within the Britannian government: two who seek revenge against the one called Zero for the murder of Prince Clovis.

Read under the cut for reflections, and enjoy the picture of Euphie, one of the new characters featured in this episode. Yes, in some shots she does look like Lacus Clyne, but I won’t be making comparisons between the two girls in this entry.

Nodame Cantabile Lesson 5

The last episode left with a rather abrupt “cliffhanger”: Nodame’s faced with a dilemma that teems on Chiaki’s successful transfer or not…but as this episode shows: it really doesn’t become too serious at any point, and Stresmann is actually more than just a pervert: he’s a likable guy as this episode pans out.

Chiaki also has his first chance to act as a conductor: yet he finds that he has a long way to go before he learns the art of orchestrating in full, especially since it’s more than simply pointing out bad notes and awkward plays.

Reflections beneath the cut, and the rather nice picture of Stresemann (yeah I know, he shared the limelight of the highlight picture in the last entry, but this really is his episode-as well as Chiaki’s).

[Maintenance] Image Links

 I noticed while combing through some of my past entries that some of the links are either missing to images or either not working at all, so I decided to do this: clean up the broken links and convert the PNG files to JPG to conserve space. You may see a bunch of images missing in between, but don’t worry, they’ll be replaced as soon as possible. It’s just a matter of me finding which entries have larger files than usual.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and I’ll update this post as soon as I’m finished combing through all the needed conversions and dead links.

Edit: removed all of the seemingly dead links and converted most files over.  Now I can say that I have plenty of room to add more screenshots to each entry, I’ll just have to make note to use JPG versus PNG.  If there are any further broken links that I missed, let me know.

Romeo and Juliet Episode 1: Destino- A Fateful Meeting of Two People

 The first episode of Romeo x Juliet proves visually stunning, action packed, and probably one of the better episode starters this season.  It deviates quite a bit from Shakespeare’s original play, but I found the deviation to be quite refreshing in modes.  It’s a bit like what Gankutsuou did for The Count of Monte Christo: establishes the base set of characters and plotline, but decides to place it with a twist.   For Gankutsuou, a tragic tale shifting between space and technologically developed, well-to-do city.  Romeo x Juliet doesn’t make that dramatic a change, save for the inclusion of unicorns, a red cape hero of justice, and the hunt for any suriviving members of the Capulets-which of course, we can assume well that it’s Juliet.

I definitely enjoyed this first episode, and plan on following this series closely.  It will probably span out for 24-26 episodes, but somehow, even for the first episode, I know this series will likely come out in tragedy-the question is how they choose to develop it.

Animation is downright gorgeous: from the backdrops to the interior of the hall where the Rose Ball takes place: just beautiful.  The OP/ED themes are well established as well, though I think I prefer the OP a bit more because of one of my favorite Korean R&B singers: Lena Park.  It’s a nice cover of “You Raise Me Up”-most would know the song from Josh Groban.  The ED catches on you after a few listens, and I find that I have the same perspective of this ending as I did for the ending to Gankutsuou: it’s a nice song to fit the tone of the series lyrically, but melodically it may seem a bit out of place for some viewers.

Reflections of events will follow under the cut and after the rather humorous picture of, from left to right: Antonio, Odin, and William (“Willy”) Shakespeare.