Karakter & Staf

Shinichi Chiaki

Utama

Male · Umur 21- · Gol. darah O

Height: 181 cm 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 Viella, 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 the 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 her music and the music of others. Despite his constant irritation towards Nodame, he eventually develops romantic feelings towards her and he chooses to find a work as a conductor in Paris, where he 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 that 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. Also 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.

Tomokazu Seki

Megumi Noda

Utama

Female · Gol. darah B

Height: 162 cm Also known as Nodame, 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.

Ayako Kawasumi

Yasunori Kuroki

Pendukung

Male

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.

Masaya Matsukaze

Franz von Stresemann

Pendukung

Male

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 goes 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.

Shinji Ogawa

Frank Latoine

Pendukung

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.

Shintarou Asanuma

Tatiana Vishneva

Pendukung

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.

Shizuka Itou

Rui Son

Pendukung

A well-known pianist in the world who is gradually making a comeback, Rui takes a liking to Chiaki soon after meeting him. 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. (Source: Wikipedia)

Sayaka Oohara

Elise

Pendukung

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. (Source: Wikipedia)

Tomoko Kawakami

Sebastiano Viella

Pendukung

Male

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. (Source: Wikipedia)

Masashi Ebara

Jean Donnadieu

Pendukung

Male

Another of Vieira's students, who also works in Paris and considers himself a rival to Chiaki. He has a very affectionate and devoted girlfriend named Yuko, whom Jean regards as his "Goddess of Victory". (Source: Wikipedia)

Toshiyuki Morikawa

Charles Auclair

Pendukung

Male

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. Trivia: he gets a lot fatter from his debut to current chapter (if not younger as well).

Motomu Kiyokawa

Yunlong Li

Pendukung

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. After a mediocre 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.

Satoshi Hino

Masayuki Chiaki

Pendukung

Chiaki's father and a famous pianist. He left Chiaki's mother when Chiaki was still a young boy. Chiaki claims to hate him but Nodame feels that it is Chiaki's dream to perform with his father.

Kenyuu Horiuchi

Lucas Beaudry

Pendukung

Very young student (10 years old in the beginning) in Nodame's school in Paris. His goal is to be a conductor.

Rina Satou

Pierre de Benoit

Pendukung

The head of the Benoit family and a Mozart fanatic. At professor Auclair's request, he invites Nodame to his castle in Saint-Malo, to give her first recital at a nearby church.

Yutaka Aoyama

Katsuhiro Osada

Pendukung

A painter who lives in the attic of the same apartment complex as Nodame and Chiaki.

Nobuaki Kanemitsu

Paul Dubois

Pendukung

A bassoon player who attends the same conservatoire as Nodame and Kuroki and forms a trio with them.

Makoto Yasumura

Roland Chevalier

Pendukung

Viola player in the Wiltord Orchestra and a big fan of Chiaki.

Makoto Ishii

Theo

Pendukung

The manager of the Roux Marlet Orchestra.

Kazuyuki Okitsu

Hajime Katahira

Pendukung

Katahira Hajime is a Japanese conductor who meets Chiaki during the Platini international conductors competition.

Takuma Suzuki

Oliver

Pendukung

Elise's beefy assistant.

Hiroki Yasumoto

Takehiko Miyoshi

Pendukung

Shin'ichi's maternal uncle and 2nd generation president of the Miyoshi corporation. He's been taking care of Chiaki's tuition and living expenses while at Momogaoka. But, in truth, he'd prefer it if Chiaki succeeds him in his business.

Houchuu Ootsuka

Toshihiko Miyoshi

Pendukung

Toshihiko is Shin'ichi's cousin and used to idolise him when he was younger. He used to play the violin as well.

Hiroyuki Yoshino

Makiko Tanaka

Pendukung

Nodame's friend, and fellow piano major, at Momogaoka.

Kumiko Higa

Nina Lutz

Pendukung

A renowned French pianist and instructor, Nina is also a friend of the Chiaki family. She conducts an annual seminar and festival where experts from around the world hold master classes for budding musicians in Japan.

Shouko Tsuda