[ Manga Discovery + Anime Promotion] Inu x Boku S.S.

Inu x Boku Secret Service

Shirakiin Ririchiyo, a daughter of a high-class family, wants to try living independently, and be able to get along better with others. She moves into an apartment complex, called the Ayakashi Kan. Residents of that place are accompanied by a bodyguard from the Secret Service.

She didn't ask for one. She didn't see the need to.

But there was one SS agent who DESPERATELY wants to be her servant. He says that if she doesn't need him, he might as well die.

How will Riricho be able to deal with such a... DOG?

[ MANGA ]

(8 chapters read as of the date this blog entry was posted)

Mangaka: Fujiwara Cocoa Demographic: Shounen

Publisher: Square Enix Serialization: GANGAN Joker

[ ANIME ]

Director: Naokatsu Tsuda Series Composition: Saizo Nemoto Character Design & Chief Animation Director: Haruko Iizuka Scenario & Setting Supervision: Takuya Satō Animation Production: David Production Broadcaster: TBS Production: Aniplex

Rina Hidaka as Ririchiyo Shirakiin Yūichi Nakamura as Sōshi Miketsukami Kana Hanazawa as Karuta Roromiya Mamoru Miyano as Zange Natsume Takuya Eguchi as Banri Watanuki Tomokazu Sugita as Kagerō Shōkiin Yōko Hikasa as Nobara Yukinokōji Yoshimasa Hosoya as Renshō Sorinozuka

POTENTIAL: B- (PRETTY GOOD!) FAVORITISM: 4.5 Hearts (ADDICTION)
WARNING: It's quite mature, because there's a character who says horny things (it's more than the boobs jokes) and... one of the characters used to be provide... you-know-what services ^^; (well, no confirmation, but it seems like it)

I adored the manga so much that I want to promote its anime adaptation as well xD It shall air early next year, and I can't wait for it *_*
I tried to make my impressions as less spoilery as possible... if ever I spill something... well, my main reason for doing would be... to get make it more interesting/attractive, haha.

Summer 2011 Anime Second Impressions

Finally managed to see the first episodes of the shows that I think could be worth watching, haha! (I ignored those which I'm pretty sure will just give me headaches.)

(scan by chan-chanz; Rurouni Kenshin! Nostalgia~)

My current impressions haven't been that different from my previous ones. But I'm happy that a number of the shows I've been anticipating have been better than I though =)

Here's the list of shows I'll be watching (sorted by priority, highest first). Looking forward to see the watching list of others~

Upcoming Spring 2011 Anime Spotlight: C (The Money of Soul and Possibility Control)

I don't think I have enough time to do season previews, so instead, I'll just feature upcoming anime which I know (meaning, I'm already a fan of its original/previous adaptation) or highly believe (meaning, it's just my gut feeling) are awesome. Enjoy~


C (The Money of Soul and Possibility Control)
Debuting on April 14, 2011

The Japanese government was rescued from the brink of financial collapse by the Sovereign Wealth Fund. For its citizens, however, life has not improved, and unemployment, crime, suicide, and despair are rampant. Kimimaro, raised by his maternal grandmother after the disappearance of his father and the death of his mother, is a scholarship student whose only dream is to avoid all this and live a stable life. One day, however, he meets a man who offers him a large sum of money if he'll agree to pay it back. From then on his fate is radically altered as he's drawn into a mysterious realm known as "The Financial District."

(Official Website)

Upcoming Spring 2011 Anime Spotlight: The Blue Exorcist

I don't think I have enough time to do season previews, so instead, I'll just feature upcoming anime which I know (meaning, I'm already a fan of its original/previous adaptation) or highly believe (meaning, it's just my gut feeling) are awesome. Enjoy~

AO NO EXORCIST
青の祓魔師（エクソシスト）
Debuting on April 16, 2011

Humans live in the world of Assiah, demons in Gehenna. The two dimensions are not meant to interfere with each other, but demons still possess creatures in Assiah in spite of this. The humans who can fight these demons are known as exorcists. Rin Okumura is a boy who bears the curse of being Satan's illegitimate son. His foster father sacrificed himself to save him from demons. To avenge his foster father's death as well as to prove himself, Rin decides to follow the path of an exorcist.
(Official Website)

Upcoming Spring 2011 Anime Spotlight: Deadman Wonderland

I don't think I have enough time to do season previews, so instead, I'll just feature upcoming anime which I know (meaning, I'm already a fan of its original/previous adaptation) or highly believe (meaning, it's just my gut feeling) are awesome. Enjoy~


DEADMAN WONDERLAND
デッドマン・ワンダーランド
Debuting on April 16, 2011

Ganta Igarashi has been convicted of a crime that he hasn't committed, and sent to a new, privately owned and operated prison, where the inmates are the main attraction in a modern day twist to the gladiatorial coliseums of ancient times. Throw in a healthy dose of weird little girl, some new-found super powers, and a little conspiracy theory, and you have Deadman Wonderland.
(Official Website)

New Obsession: Afterschool Charisma

Houkago no Charisma
by Kumiko Suekane
(Published by Shogakukan in Ikki)

St. Kleio Academy is a very exclusive school: all of the students are clones of famous historical figures such as Beethoven, Queen Elizabeth I, Napoleon, Mozart, and Freud. All of them, that is, except for Shiro Kamiya. As Shiro struggles to adapt to this unusual campus, St. Kleio’s first graduate, a clone of John F. Kennedy, is killed. Are the clones doomed to repeat the fate of their genetic progenitors, or can they create their own destinies? And how does a normal boy like Shiro fit in?

If you are a sucker for manga with historical references, like me, THINK NO FURTHER!!! START READING THIS!!!!!

But of course, aside from that there are plenty of other reasons why I think this series is very good and enjoyable. I'll be mentioning the cool (even the not-so-great stuff) in this series but will try to make them as brief and non-spoilery as possible. I'll also be showing the cloned historical figures that had shown up so far (at least, until volme 2) so that you can see how they look like in this manga~

The premise of this manga isn't exactly original. I think those who watch Clone High will find the plot of this manga very familiar. Both series have clones of famous people experience high school life, but Clone High is more focused on comedy; while Afterschool Charisma, though it has a lot of humorous moments as well, appears to be more focused on mystery.

They're both entertaining and intriguing in their own way, but the mystery elements and psychological themes in Afterschool Charisma made it more interesting for me~

The cloning thing isn't that new either. The famous issue in stories that involve human clones usually have conflicts between the clones and the humans. Humans belittle the clones, and the clones even acknowledge their status. If I remember correctly, in this manga the clones are told to be created for research purposes and are expected to do as good as their originals. But later chapters are hinting that they're also merely raised to be of use to humans with power... clone issues here remind me of Ilegenes where clones are being treated as guinea pigs or merchandise.

Afterschool Charisma is similar to Ilegenes in that sense and is becoming much more similar especially with the hinted twist of the main character's possible true background~

This isn't the first series that created modern versions of famous people as well. There are a lot of series that have such characters, but only several dare to create controversial figures such as the Fuhrer. His portrayal in this manga is very much different from his stereotypical description... yet it still seems like him.

I've heard news that Clone High actually attempted to add such a character on its second season.... but it's a show from an Allied Forces nation.... I guess it had been safer for his character to be created by someone from the Axis Powers nation to lessen the controversies?

So... if this series is not really that original... then what makes it cool?

Indeed, it's not something new, however, if you put some twists and different mixes on an existing idea... it makes the newly formed idea different. That's exactly what Afterschool Charisma has been to me: It's not new, but it's different.

One of the things that made me so impressed with this series is the story. Honestly, it actually seemed ridiculous in the earlier chapters. Some scenes make no sense, some are just too random, some are contradicting, some even seem annoying, and so on. However, if you read further and meet more characters and learn more about the plot, there's actually more depth in its story than it seems. It's not just a simple "what if these historical figures are high school students" set-up... it tackles about things like fighting against destiny, assassination plots, occult practices, psychological problems, and so on. In other words, it's not just "history + highschool with a lil' sci-fi" because of the cloning thing... there's MORE.

Another good thing that I see in the story is that.... it doesn't have cliches... or at least not much nor end as such. Like for instance, our main character is The Transfer Student. Now, transfer students in gazillions of animanga are usually either the odd one out and is the center of attention, or the absolute loser/freak that is being disliked in an instant. This series' main character however... has been both. And no, he didn't gain too many fans nor just one friend (or none at all).... he gained a number... some of them the usual friendly peeps... and one of them the odd one like him. So the bottom line is, though some scenes may seem cliche or typical at first, you'll later find out that it's actually not like that at all. It got me so amazed~

It's a similar case with the characters actually, but before I go there, one of the main highlights of this manga is having historical references, right? You think it's just with the characters? Well, not really, because the name of the school itself also has a reference! St. Kleio Academy is derived from Kleio, the muse of HISTORY in Greek mythology. So it also has mythological references, huh? SWEET~

Now back to history, here are the characters/things that are clones of historical figures that have shown up in the series that I know of so far:

	Napoleon Boneparte
	Marie Curie
	Sigmund Freud
	Florence Nightingale
	Ikkyu
	Elizabeth I
	Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
	Joan of Arc
	Adolf Hitler
	Albert Einstein
	Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
	Himiko
	Empress Dowager Cixi
	John F Kennedy
	Dolly

Historical figures are not only presented as good-looking teens, but they're also related to animanga archetypes. Character design isn't exactly that unique either so no wonder these characters will remind one of existing characters in various AniManga. For me, Napoleon reminds me of Jack (Ilegenes) and Ikkyu makes me think of Hughes (Fullmetal Alchemist). Dr. Kamiya is almost a splitting image of Dr. Stein (Soul Eater), and the same goes for Elizabeth to Sonoko (Detective Conan). Mozart has been like a slightly more evil version of Karakane (Tenkyuugi Sephirahnatus) while Himiko is like an asian version of Natalia/Belarus (Hetalia) to me. I can totally imagine Hitler to become like Rolo (Code Geass) and Einstein to become like Shinra (Durarara!!) when they find their special someone (Hitler is close to recognizing his...). But well, they may have similarities to those particular characters, but they're still very different.

My top favorite characters in this series are Freud and Hitler... followed by Shiro, Einstein, and Ikkyu. Among the women I find Elizabeth fun and Florence sweet~

Freud appears to be the fan favorite, and I'm not surprised since snarky characters are just that awesome~ Haha! His sarcastic comments are fantastic (I loooove how he mocked Shiro's daddy complex~) and it's so cool that he's the one who figures out what's going on (such plus points for being based on a psychology major character xD). And this is how the mangaka sees him: "My basic idea of Freud is that he's moody and lecherous. On the surface, he may appear unreserved, but inside he's bursting with eros." LOLz, eros. You gotta love his line from one of the later chapters (though he's just pretending here): "At my age, I'm still an adolescent, and I get these uncontrollable sexual urges at this stage of growth. My changing libido is causing all sorts of internal conflict within me. There are times when I don't even know what I'm talking about..." BWAHAHAHAHHAHA!!!!

Hitler in this manga is freakin' adorable~ He's so nice and supportive, and it amuses me that he doesn't actually see his former self as someone violent... physically. LOLz. Shiro is moe.. and he's loved by almost everyone... and I don't care because he's really that freakin' lovable xD Eintstein amuses me with his... gestures.... and I find it so cute that Ikkyu sorta treats Shiro as the gang's baby~ Elizabeth makes me chuckle.... and though Florence is fanservice material, I'm so grateful that she's not the clumsy-girl-that-is-prone-to-pantyshots type. I was so relieved.

The one that makes me laugh the most though is Mr. Roxwell!!!! Oh he makes my stomach hurt from so much laughing. Hahahahhaa!

Now about the relationships.... Shiro's friendship to any of the guys seems enjoyable... cutest for me is with his best friend Hitler... and most fun for me is with his cynical friend Freud. It seems that he's being shipped with Marie and Joan... which are kinda awkward history-wise... but at least it's not a harem... at least not yet.... I don't see the girl friends Elizabeth and Florence having any romantic interest in him. I'm relieved (I like those two girls by the way~)

Back to the characters in general, I find the choices of people to be cloned really interesting. Not all of them are essentially good.... it appears that those that are cloned are people who are brilliant in their own way... and they have some sort of charisma.... which explains the title. So the institute is attempting to develop excellent people form history for the better.... very interesting~

There had been issues with this cloned characters though.... one of them is that they're not accurately similar to their originals on personality and on physical traits. I think the inconsistency is excused because the clones are brought up in a different environment... and they are fully aware of the life and the mannerisms of what their originals have done. Given the circumstances, they are priviledged with different insights and other choices. Moreover, they can't exactly demonstrate what their originals had done... like with Napoleon: he has no army to lead.

On the physical traits though... one of the main reasons I guess why they're bishified is.... it's fanservice~ Well, fans like pretty characters! Hahahaha!

Speaking of fanservice, there is such in this series... particularly ecchi. And no, it's not censored ecchi, so I don't recommend it to minors. But only the tops are not covered so... I guess it could be tolerable to some. It's not my type of fanservice, but at least the perverted stuff here aren't forced... nor "accidental"... nor overdone. I'm fine with that.

Oh yeah, though majority of the characters in this series are clones, there are also a number of non-clones in this series. There are a group of villains who want to annihilate the clones too, but their faces are still not revealed (and it's making me frustrated because I know many of them are goodlooking!!! Aaaaahhh!!!!). Interestingly, it appears that not everyone on the protagonist's side are good ones for there are hints that there are enemy spies and hidden purposes and upcoming betrayals. So intriguing~

As for the art, it's not exactly something unique or extraordinary, but it's visually appealing. The art style is already somewhat common, but it may be more familiar to some video game fans for the mangaka also does graphics in video games.

....... Whoa! It's longer than I had planned once again ^^; But anywayz, there you go~ I highly recommend it to those who appreciated Kumiko Suekane's other works, because I find it as one of the mangaka's best works. Naturally, I think history freaks/nerds/lovers should check it out as well. I also think that fans of Ilegenes and Axis Powers Hetalia will find this enjoyable, because this has been sort of a mix of the two. I see people likening it to Code Geass, D. Gray-man, and Fullmetal Alchemist.... and Afterschool Charisma seems to be pretty similar to those series... in a way... depends on how one sees it.

There are no fan scanlations of this series, but there are official translated scans available online for free! Just use the power of Google~

However, only upto chapter 9 is up so far... I have until chapter 12... anyone wants them? But no, I can't scan them for I fear scanning licensed manga... but I can provide spoiler summaries that are like you're reading the actual thing xD But the latest is until volume 3 though.... and I don't see a copy of it in my local bookstore.... and it's driving me CRAZY!!!! I WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!!! I WANT MORE!!! AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!!!

Special Parfait of the Week: Mademoiselle Butterfly

Mademoiselle Butterfly
Our heroine is a girl who lives as a geisha in Japan. She has a male childhood friend who’s always been kind to her and is her favorite. He’s a painter, only he paints on human body parts, and she loves it when he paints beautiful butterflies on her arms. She goes to visit him one day and finds a naked woman lying in his room. Immediately after, she gets a customer who’s rich and very interested in her. The thought of being away from her friend pains her, but is everything really too late? (Aerandria Scans)

I've been reading this manga before I started on Zettai Heiwa Daisakusen, which is the author's current ongoing series. Aside from the pretty art . . . what made me read this manga? Those who know me pretty well can probably guess it. Yes, it's mainly because of the word "butterfly" on the title! Hahahaha! And well, the plot had been interesting for me, and I like historical shoujo, so why not give it a try?

And I ended up loving it~ I had been anticipating like crazy on when the next chapter would be released. Haha!

The leading girl is called "Butterfly". . . and the leading guy drew a butterfly on her . . . uuumm . . . yeah, little things like that is already fanservice to me. Haha!

The leading guy is my freakin' favorite~ I'm a sucker for goodlooking artists . . . and he's also very kindhearted and loving~ I like his brother too~ His brother's relationship with a certain pair of twin girls is full of cute~ (It will be spoilery if I say what the twins exactly are to him). And oh I like the leading girl! She's cute, and in a way a martyr . . . but I really like it that she had still loved her family even if they did that to her. I can't hate these types of selfless people.

As for the love story, it's very cute and romantic~ They may be a little cheesy, but at least not disgustingly mushy . . . at least to me.

I find the story very very very nice. It's not perfect but I'm satisfied with the events and how things happened. I'm happy with the ending too.

This is one of those very few shoujo manga that I don't consider crap, so of course I highly recommend this very sweet manga series~

Special Parfait of the Week: Natsume Yuujinchou

Natsume Takashi has the ability to see spirits, which he has long kept secret. However, once he inherits a strange book that belonged to his deceased grandmother, Reiko, he discovers the reason why spirits surround him. Containing the names of these spirits, a binding contract was formed between the spirits and the owner of the book. Now, Natsume is determined to free the spirits and dissolve the contracts. With the help of a spirit cat, his days are filled trying to return the names to these spirits. (ANN)

You should have seen this coming after that House Special posted yesterday. Haha! Yeah, this series has a lot of youkai stuff~

I first knew about Natsume Yuujinchou as a manga, and I liked it a lot! I got so excited when I've heard that it's going to have an anime adaptation . . . and the anime turned out to be even better!!! I am so happy that the staff behind it did a wonderful job on it~ And what made me more joyful is that it even got a second season . . . which is even better than the previous season!!! Seriously, it's not usual for a second season to be better than the first one; usually sequels suck. Usually.

It may seem boring, but the stories are good and the characters are fun~ I'm not really fond of episodic series; but even if this series is episodic, it hadn't been annoying and repetitive. It does follow a certain formula (which is tackling a case of a youkai which will bring trouble that Natsume would have to returns its name in the end), but at least how they're done isn't exactly the same way/pattern (it's my big complain to series like Jigoku Shoujo . . . most are too freakin' similar. Stories may be different but execution's too the same. Guuuh) and not all episodes actually follow that (not all episodes have a name returning thing; and Natsume's not the only one who can see spirits; and so on). It's kinda slow-paced, so story and character development aren't that obvious, but there are, and they're done well.

My only complain I guess with this series is that the other characters didn't get much spotlight (they did, but not enough . . . for me. Wahaha!); but overall this series had been very good. It had been so amazing and enjoyable, I'm so impressed. I'll never get tired of Natsume's adorkableness and Nyaanko-sensei's amusingness. Wahahaha!

This is highly recommendable~ Well, it might not please others because it's simply not their type . . . but seriously, this shouldn't be underestimated~

Special Parfait of the Week: Detroit Metal City

Soichi Negishi moved to Tokyo to chase his dream of becoming a musician playing stylish, Swedish-style pop. Instead, he finds himself leading the death metal band Detroit Metal City, or DMC, as the costumed and grotesquely made-up “demon emperor” Johannes Krauser II. Although he hates the role and the things he has to do as a member of the band, he has a definite talent for it. Adapted from the hit Japanese comic book by Kiminori Wakasugi, the movie follows Negishi’s antics as he tries to reconcile the two very different sides of his life and find out what it really means to achieve his dream. (IMDB)

I like death/heavy metal! Watching a series involving it made me happy so much! I first knew about its anime. It's so freakin' entertaining and the show totally rocked! It's very insane and weird, yes, but that's what made it so awesome and hilarious! Many things don't make sense here, but it's meant to be that way anyway. Wahahaha!

The story's pretty good and interesting too! I like the twist that the popular metal band vocalist is actually a goody goody boy. Looks like he has some bipolar personality that he gets to switch in a different personality when in his costume or when he's angry. And despite the series' absurdness, it actually has a theme (like achieving dreams, etc.). The show may also be showing bad stuff (like worshipping the devil, bwahaha!) but they're presented in a comical way. And at times it actually teaches some good lessons (evil metal lord actually told his fan to study! though the reasons why he says that had been for evil reasons . . . but yeah, even the good stuff in this series are presented in a comical way).

Characters are so crazy yet very likable. Negishi's boss had been so badass . . . and Negishi himself is such an interesting character. The love story in this is so cute~ I like the dilemma wherein the girl that the main character likes hates the type of music he plays. Nice complications on the love story~

And since it's a musical series/movie, of course there had been a lot of songs and tracks from this show . . . and they're awesome! I don't exactly approve of the main point of the lyrics of course (oh come on, why would I agree with raping people and killing parents? *sweatdrop*) , but the songs are still pretty addicting! Instrumentals seriously rock!!!! I had a huge smile on my face while listening to its tracks. They're so funny too! And that guitar teeth thing and the "rape in 10 seconds" thing. . . . Bwahahahahahaha!!!!!

Oh I really love DMC~ I didn't read the manga though (it's like my rule to prefer watching a musical series on TV/film than reading about it since . . . I can't hear the actual music! I've been like that to all music series except for Nodame Cantabile), but I've watched the anime series (and ova/special) and also the live-action movie! Both are terrific! I love them both but I think the movie had been better, story-wise. But still, both are very worth watching~ Hope you guys get to enjoy it as much as I did! (warning on the violence and the err . . . profanity and mature talk though. Haha!)

Special Parfait of the Week: Double Arts

A boy and a girl are forced to join hands for all eternity!?
In a land ravaged by an epidemic known as "Troy", the only people with healing arts capable of stopping the seizures caused by the disease are the Sisters. Although they have a high resistance to the disease, they are searching for a person who is truly immune, so that they can find a cure. The main character is Sister Elraine, one of the Sisters who becomes infected with Troy. But, when she touches Kiri, a seemingly ordinary boy, her seizures stop. Could he be the one!? (Baka-Updates)

HOW COULD THEY FREAKIN' DARE DISCONTINUE/CANCEL THIS MANGA???!!!!
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah, it didn't go on . . . it was FORCED to end at chapter 23.
Reason why?
Just because it wasn't popular enough!!!!!
ROOOOOOOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!!!!

I don't get why it wasn't that popular either, because it's FREAKIN' GOOD!

It has a fantastic set of characters as well!!! Though I'm not fond of the leading lady, Elraine, as usual. But Kiri, Fallan, Sui, and the others are so awesome!!! And what the title's referring to is freakin' cool!!! Romance is official (as in they do like each other) but not canon . . . but romance development wasn't bad. No stupid perverted fanservice either.

Anyway . . .

THIS SERIES HAS MORE TO TELL YET THEY ENDED IT BECAUSE OF SOME STUPID . . . .
UUUUGGGHHH . . .

Okay, I'll stop complaining and encourage people to start reading it. Hehe. The premise might be a little "DUH?!" but it's really really good! I love this! Hehe!

Special Parfait of the Week: Tengen Toppa Gurren-Lagann

In a far away future, mankind lives underground in huge caves, unknowing of a world above with a sky and stars.
In the small village of Jiha, Simon, a shy boy who works as a digger discovers a strange glowing object during excavation. The enterprising Kamina, a young man with a pair of rakish sunglasses and the passion of a firey sun, befriends Simon and forms a small band of brothers, the Gurren Brigade, to escape the village and break through the ceiling of the cave to reach the surface, which few believe exist.
The village elder won't hear of such foolishness and punishes the Brigade. However, when disaster strikes from the world above and the entire village is in jeopardy, it's up to Simon, Kamina, a girl with a big gun named Yoko, and the small yet sturdy robot, Lagann, to save the day.
The new friends journey to the world above and find that the surface is a harsh battlefield, and it's up to them to fight back against the rampaging Beastmen to turn the tide in the humans' favor! Pierce the heavens, Gurren Lagann!

At first I thought it was a stupid ecchi shounen show (blame Yoko for being too sexy, haha!) so I didn't watch it. But it had been so popular so it got me curious enough to watch the first episode, and I got hooked at once! I highly regretted not watching it earlier!

It's a fantastic show with a wonderful story and great characters! It's entertainingly GAR and hilarious! So many times had this show made me amazed and amused! I don't question its popularity, because it's absolutely awesome!

The anime series is complete. Two movies had been out. There was an OVA and some specials. It also has a manga adaptation and alternative universe. ALL are equally awesome!

Plot Source: My Anime List

Special Parfait of the Week: Nodame Cantabile

Megumi Noda, or “Nodame” is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. An extremely talented pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, she prefers playing by ear rather than reading the music score. She is messy and disorganized, takes baths several days apart and loves to eat, sometimes stealing her friend’s lunchbox when it is filled with delicacies.

Shinichi Chiaki is Momogaoka’s top student. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. An arrogant multi-lingual perfectionist who once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy (namely Prague), he is trapped in Japan because of his childhood phobia.

They meet by accident. Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame’s unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Along the way, they meet some crazy people (like Masumi, Mine, and Stresemann) and make lasting friendships.

It's one of the best slice of life + romantic comedy + drama + classical music series I've ever seen and read. The story's really good. All characters have been fantastic as well! Even if the main couple gets the most attention, the supporting characters aren't exactly left out and had been great on their own. Its theme also tackles about life and relationships, dreams and goals, failures and triumphs, fears and hope, weaknesses and strengths, hardwork and talent, and many more! Overall it has been very wonderful and entertaining!

Manga is ongoing; Anime first two seasons ended, but third season coming soon; Live-action series and specials ended, but more specials coming soon. I can't tell which adaptation is better, because all have been excellent in their own way! All of them had been very enjoyable!

Source:
Plot: Wikipedia