List of Nodame Cantabile characters

This is a list of fictional characters in the manga, live-action television, and anime series Nodame Cantabile.

The manga is written and illustrated by Tomoko Ninomiya, and has been serialized by Kodansha in the josei (aimed at younger adult women) manga magazine Kiss since 2001 and collected in 22 bound volumes as of August 2009. The series is a best-seller in Japan, having sold more than 18 million copies as of February 2007, with new volumes regularly entering the best-seller lists. It received the 2004 Kodansha Manga Award for best shōjo manga.

The series has been adapted as two separate television series. First, a live-action drama broadcast in 11 episodes on Fuji TV between 16 October and 25 December 2006, followed by a two-episode sequel series in January 2008. Two live-action movies, continuing the television drama with the same actors, have been announced with an anticipated release in 2010. Second, as an anime series adapted by J.C.Staff, also produced and broadcast by Fuji TV in two seasons. The first season was broadcast in 24 episodes from 11 January to 28 June 2007, and the second season began in 8 October 2008 with broadcasts on-going. A third season has been announced to be broadcast in the fall of 2009.

Nodame Cantabile centres around aspiring conductor Shinichi Chiaki and Megumi Noda, an extremely talented pianist. As students at the Momogaoka College of Music in Japan, they have many friends with their own musical ambitions, in particular Ryutaro Mine and Masumi Okuyama, and teachers like conductor Franz von Stresemann and piano instructor Kouzou Etoh to guide them. Early on, the series focuses on the S-Orchestra, a group of maverick students chosen specifically by Stresemann, who leaves them to be conducted by Chiaki. Several notable members go on to join the Rising Star Orchestra (R☆S Orchestra) partially founded and also conducted by Chiaki; the formation of the new orchestra introduces several new colleagues for Chiaki, including violinist Kiyora Miki and oboe player Yasunori Kuroki. When Chiaki and Nodame move to Paris to launch Chiaki's career as a professional conductor and for Nodame to continue her studies as a pianist, they find new friends and rivals, as well as remaining in contact with their friends from Japan. Along with the Conservatoire students, Tanya, Franck, and Yunlong, who share the same boarding house as Nodame and Chiaki, they meet famed musicians, like Son Rui, and conductor Jean Donnedieu.

Main characters

 * Megumi Noda (野田 恵)
 * Also known as Nodame (のだめ), which is a portmanteau of her family name and the first mora of her given name. Noda is, at the start of the series, a twenty-year-old free-spirited second-year music student. She is depicted as a complete slob: her cooking and cleaning skills are atrocious to the point of having mushrooms growing on her clothes and poisoning anyone who dares to eat her food (yet she's never been poisoned). However she is an incredibly talented pianist who primarily plays by ear, in a cantabile style. In love with Chiaki, she follows him around constantly, claiming to be his "wife," and leans on him to help her get through sticky situations. She sometimes compulsively needs to play the piano, neglecting everything in order to do it. As well as that, she seems to enjoy childish manga and movies. She is constantly hungry, and is fed dinners by Chiaki; she also steals many lunches from her fellow friend, Maki. Nodame has a tendency to speak cryptically (sometimes she doesn't even understand herself), often refers to herself in the third person and uses nonsense words like mukya and gyabo.
 * Nodame is initially very dependent on Chiaki in terms of ambition - she has little intention of becoming a professional pianist, despite her remarkable talent, and wants to become a kindergarten teacher, though many feel she is too reckless and lacks the appropriate sensibility to be responsible with teaching children. Her piano style is considered to be completely haphazard, diverting from original intent at both dynamics, rhythms and even themes. Realizing that her current attitude towards music will eventually drive her apart from Chiaki, Nodame gradually develops the necessary drive to pursue music for her own sake. Her attitude towards music is largely due to an incident in the past where she was hurt by a teacher who demanded her to play music "as it's written".
 * Nodame's character is based on a real-life counterpart with same name. Juri Ueno received Best Actress awards for her depiction of Megumi Noda at the 2007 Japanese Drama Academy Awards and the 2008 International Drama Festival in Tokyo.
 * Live action actor: Juri Ueno


 * Shinichi Chiaki (千秋 真一)
 * Chiaki is twenty-one years old and a 3rd-year piano student at Momogaoka Music Academy at the start of the series. He is an accomplished pianist and violinist, but is also known to be a perfectionist and highly critical of himself and others. He comes from a distinguished and well-off family, and is a fairly good cook. He seems to think that most "poor" people (such as Sakura Saku) are like the little match girl. While he dreams of studying abroad and becoming a famous conductor like his mentor, Sebastiano Viera, he must overcome his fear of flying and the sea to do so (he finally did with help of Nodame's hypnosis). He is dismayed to discover that this freakish but talented girl, Nodame, lives in the apartment next door to him,. However, he develops a sort of empathy with Nodame as he discovers her hidden potential to be a great pianist, and he begins to transcend his perfectionism and begins to enjoy his music and the music of others. Despite his constant irritation towards Nodame, he eventually develops romantic feelings toward her and he chooses to find work as a conductor in Paris, where she is going to study.  As Chiaki realizes his life's ambition to become a conductor, he also finds that he needs Nodame's support and he cannot move on without her. He also appears to have fear of being abandoned and surpassed, the former comes from being abandoned by his father as a young boy. Afraid of being abandoned, he often abandons other people instead, especially Nodame. In various instances, he's also shown to have reservation over being "too friendly" with others, (mentioned in a rehearsal with RS orchestra). He's constantly afraid of being surpassed by Nodame, trying to go even further from her, which leaves her miserable as she is trying to catch up to him. He also can be considered as insensitive.
 * Live action actor: Hiroshi Tamaki

Supporting characters

 * Maestro Franz von Stresemann (フランツ·フォン·シュトレーゼマン)
 * Stresemann is a highly-respected internationally famous conductor who comes to Momogaoka Music Academy as a guest instructor. In love with the Academy's Director, he comes as a favor and immediately is pegged as an oddball lecher. Perverted, demanding, and not at all dignified, Stresemann seems to be opposite of what his reputation makes him. Stresemann, however, immediately takes to Nodame, and even accepts Chiaki as his one and only apprentice after repeatedly rejecting his application to enroll in his conducting classes. His wild behavior constantly gets Chiaki in trouble, but he also teaches him how to feel and express music in a way that only he can. He often takes his orchestra out for mixers or group dates, and go to night clubs and host clubs (especially a place called One More Kiss) instead of attending the rehearsals he is supposed to conduct. He also gets drunk easily, forcing Chiaki to take over for him as vice-conductor.  Stresemann is eventually forcibly taken back to Europe to continue his professional life by his hardnosed assistant, Elise. He later develops a fatherly-like affection towards both Nodame and Chiaki.
 * Live action actor: Naoto Takenaka


 * Ryutaro Mine (峰 龍太郎)
 * 4th-year Violin student. His father owns a Chinese restaurant "Uraken" right next to the university.  He is something of a primadonna whose violin technique is seen by himself to be deeply personal but by others to be simply sloppy. He sees Chiaki as a rival for attention and tries hard to compete with his "Princely" image of him. He likes Nodame for her free-spirited ways.  He is the concertmaster of the S Orchestra conducted by Chiaki, and a violinist in the R☆S Orchestra. He is also the one who thought that performing like Jimi Hendrix, and adding a touch of 'rock' would give quality despite that it looks dumb in an original orchestra (as stated by Chiaki). He has been dating Kiyora Miki.
 * Live action actor: Eita


 * Yasunori Kuroki (黒木 泰則)
 * A talented oboe player who falls for Nodame at first sight (oblivious to her true nature) and performs the inaugural solo of the R☆S orchestra. Because he tends to be phlegmatic and quiet, many members of the R☆S orchestra think of him as "samurai-like". Though he is crushed and distracted after learning about Nodame's actual nature, Kuroki becomes a good friend to both Nodame and Chiaki and goes on to study abroad in France with them.  Once there, he has much difficulty adjusting to the language, people, and culture, making it hard for him to socialize and make friends.  His awkward and quiet demeanor earned him the scorn and nickname "Glauque" from Tanya (meaning dark and depressing, also means green/blue-ish). However they do seem to warm up to each other later.  Kuroki later becomes a member of the Roux-Marlet Orchestra conducted by Chiaki.
 * Live action actor: Seiji Fukushi


 * Kiyora Miki (三木 清良)
 * A prodigious violinist Chiaki met at the Nina Lutz's seminar, she joins him to form the R☆S Orchestra as his concertmaster. She also becomes Mine's girlfriend. In all media, she had studied abroad in Vienna and had received private tutoring from the Berlin Philharmonics concertmaster, Kai Dowin. She also returns abroad a year after they started the R☆S Orchestra, after she is replaced as concertmaster of R☆S by Takahashi Noriyuki. In the live-action version, she was a student of Momogaoka and concertmaster of A Orchestra, where she became friends with Masumi.
 * Live action actor: Asami Mizukawa

In Japan

 * Masumi Okuyama (奥山 真澄)
 * A claustrophobic 4th-year timpanist (percussion), who is an okama. He is homosexual. He developed a crush on Chiaki. Since Nodame starts to hang out with Chiaki, he considers her as a rival and often bullies her and anyone else who tries to get close to Chiaki. Despite his idiosyncrasies, he excels on his percussion skills, earning him the title of "Queen of Percussion" and a place in the S and R☆S orchestras conducted by Chiaki.
 * Live action actor: Keisuke Koide


 * Saiko Tagaya (多賀谷 彩子)
 * Chiaki's former girlfriend. A rich songstress student who suffers heartbreak throughout the story. Despite pretending that she no longer cares for Chiaki, Saiko's been in love with him all along. Later on, she realizes that Chiaki never truly cared for her - he loved her voice, and her voice alone.
 * Live action actor: Misa Uehara


 * Sakura Saku (佐久 桜)
 * A double bass player whose family was in trouble because despite her father's business was about to bankrupt; however, he did not want to part with his collection of rare violins, until he got some "persuasion" from Chiaki. A student of very short height, Sakura was mistaken as an elementary student when she first came into the orchestra, and as her instrument is much larger than she is, people usually do not see her when she is carrying it on her back, thinking it is moving by itself. She is later seen dating another cellist from the S-Orchestra. In the manga and anime, her role in the story ends with S-Orchestra; in the live-action drama, she remains a permanent character and becomes member of the R☆S Orchestra.
 * Live action actor: Saeko


 * Kouzo Etoh (江藤 耕造)
 * A piano teacher also known as the "harisen teacher", because he always carries one during his class which uses to punish his students for their mistakes. He was Chiaki's teacher at the start of the story; the end of that study was one of the setbacks besetting Chiaki in the first chapter. One day he heard Nodame practicing and decided to become her teacher, even if refused by her. He eventually gives up his harisen in order to convince Nodame to take lessons from him. Nodame, in order to attend a competition, stayed at Etoh and his wife's place for a in-living training. He is not above tricking Nodame, using her love of Purigorota cartoon characters and free lunches, to convince her to perform or listen his advice.  In contrast to Etoh's severity, his wife Kaori (かおり) is a light-hearted and loving woman who often takes care of the students who study with Etoh.
 * Live action actor: Kosuke Toyohara


 * Hajime Tanioka (谷岡 肇)
 * A piano teacher at Momogaoka, said to specialize in "drop-out" students. Chiaki is re-assigned to Tanioka after his loud argument with Kouzou Etoh in chapter 1. He discovers that Nodame is already a student of Tanioka's, and one of the first assignments Tanioka assigns him is to perform a Mozart piano duet with Nodame, which also entails teaching her, and himself, the focus and discipline to play well with others.
 * Live action actor: Masahiko Nishimura


 * Toru Kikuchi (菊池 亨)
 * A womanizing cello player and one of the founders of the R☆S Orchestra along Chiaki, Kiyora, and Kuroki. Easily recognizable by his crew cut and small glasses. He had been studying in Boston prior to the creation of the R☆S Orchestra, and at the end of that year, had returned to Boston.
 * Live action actor: Mukai Osamu

In Paris

 * Frank Latoine
 * A French piano student who lives in the same apartment complex as Chiaki and Nodame. He befriended Nodame when they were taking the entrance exam to study in Paris. He is a fan of Japanese anime, his special favorites are the anime Shakugan no Shana and Nodame's favorite series, the fictional Puri Gorota. He had a slight crush on Nodame, but fell out of it once he saw her obsession with anime and Chiaki. Franck previously studied at the same school as Yunlong, but after seeing Professor Auclair, chose to transfer to the Conservatory.
 * Live action actor: Wentz Eiji


 * Tatiana “Tanya” Vishneva
 * An attractive Russian senior piano student who lives in the same apartment complex as Chiaki, Nodame, Franck, and Yunlong. Her piano playing is somewhat mediocre and she lacks confidence in her ability, which seems to be the reason behind her fixation on finding an affluent boyfriend in France. She initially finds Kuroki rather gloomy, but eventually develops strong feelings for him.
 * Live action actor: Becky


 * Yunlong Li (李 雲龍)
 * A piano player who lives in the same apartment complex as Nodame and Chiaki do in Paris. He is Chinese and tends to become very sentimental, especially when homesickness is mentioned. He attends a different Conservatory than Nodame. In contrast to Chiaki and Nodame, he is driven to succeed by the expectations of his family. When Chiaki went on a world tour for 3 months, Yunlong and Nodame developed a good friendship which made Chiaki, on his return, uncomfortable and unwilling to meet Yunlong. After a mediore performance at a piano competition Tanya also participated in, he reluctantly considers returning to China to become a piano teacher. He enjoys eating good food, particularly if Chiaki cooks or pays for it.


 * Rui Son (孫 Rui)
 * A world-famous Chinese pianist who is making a gradual comeback, Rui takes a liking to Chiaki soon after meeting him, and treats him like a younger brother; she particularly likes teasing him about Nodame. Rui's appearance in Chiaki's life results in Nodame becoming jealous as well as insecure in her ability to perform on a level that will fit Chiaki's, particularly as Rui's fame unintentionally thwarts several attempts for Nodame to perform with Chiaki.  Rui eventually decides to study music in Paris, though is met with opposition from her well-meaning mother, who pressures Rui to perform in more public performances.  Though skilled, she lacks the style and substance of Nodame's performances and seeks to find the same element in order to improve her own musical ability.
 * Live action actor: Yu Yamada


 * Jean Donnadieu
 * Another of Vieira's students, who also works in Paris and considers himself a rival to Chiaki. He has a very affectionate and devoted, if a bit arrogant, girlfriend named Yuko, whom Jean regards as his "Goddess of Victory".
 * Live action actor: Giry Vincent


 * Charles Auclair
 * An esteemed and well-known professor of piano at the Conservatory where Nodame studies. During Nodame's piano competition in Japan, he is one of the judges and is captivated by her performance, but soon detects her immaturity in attitude towards music, referring her as "still a baby" (later on "Bebe-chan").  Auclair offers Nodame (through Etoh) an opportunity to study in Paris and selects her to become one of his students, much to Franck's envy.  He refers to Nodame as "Bebe-chan" and sees that she has tremendous potential, but limited time to hone her skill and recognizes Nodame's reluctance to become a professional pianist.

Other characters

 * Elise
 * Elise is Stresemann's hard-nosed agent and business manager. Aided by her bodyguard Oliver she kidnapped Chiaki in volume 11 and forced him to sign with her agency too.
 * Live action actor: Michiko Kichise


 * Sebastiano Vieira
 * World renowned conductor and Chiaki's mentor. Stresemann is rather adverse towards Vieira and initially extended his dislike of the conductor to Chiaki.  Vieira has considered Chiaki as his apprentice since the boy was twelve and is a surrogate father figure to Chiaki. Vieira is an acquiantance of both of Chiaki's parents.
 * Live action actor: Zdeněk Mácal


 * Seiko Miyoshi (三善 征子)
 * Chiaki's mother, who retained custody of Chiaki after her divorce with Chiaki's father. She and Chiaki lived in Europe for several years during Chiaki's childhood, during Chiaki became Vieira's student, before they returned to Japan.  She is frequently away from home on business and does work involving culture and music and takes a liking to Nodame.  She is respected by the students in Chiaki and Nodame's boarding house as their patron and is referred to as "Madame Seiko."


 * Chiaki's family
 * Chiaki's maternal family, who include his uncle Takehiko and his younger cousins Toshihiko and Yuiko. They desperately want Chiaki to be able to achieve his dream of becoming a conductor and tried various methods, from hypnotism to knocking Chiaki unconscious in order to get him to leave Japan.  While they find Nodame extremely strange, they grow to like her, especially young Yuiko, and believe she is talented enough to be a professional concert pianist but would not be a very good kindergarten teacher as Nodame wants to become.  They are overjoyed when Chiaki finally overcomes his fear of flying in planes.


 * Masayuki Chiaki (千秋 雅之)
 * Chiaki's absentee father, a famous pianist throughout Europe. He and Chiaki's mother divorced when Chiaki was very young and Chiaki resents how his father never tried to spend time with him.  He appears to be a selfish man who dislikes how his old acquaintances insist of trying to unite him with his son.  Neither Chiaki or Masayuki openly contact one another.


 * James DePriest
 * The musical director of the Roux-Marlet Orchestra in Paris. He hires Chiaki as the Orchestra's new resident conductor after hearing his performance at his Paris Debut and at the recommendation of Stresemann who used to be the Conductor of the orchestra. Like the character of Megumi Noda, he is based on a real person of the same name. the real James DePriest is currently the Permanent Conductor of The Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. DePriest also conducted the Nodame Orchestra, which provided the music for both the live-action drama and anime adaptations.