Three words are enough to introduce Nodame Cantabile: lovely, passionate, and inspiring.

This beautiful musical rom-com manga follows the life of the arrogant musical genius Chiaki Shinichi as he weaves through the music conservatory he is enrolled in. A bump in the road caused him to meet Noda Megumi or “Nodame” and this energetic weirdo just nonchalantly drags him into many life-changing moments he will never experience if ever they didn’t meet.

You may ask “why would I even dare to read a musical manga?” Of course this already has one excellent anime adaptation and two sequels to it, so it is wise to just go for the anime, no?

But do not let your expectations of dullness from this silent musical story take over. For a black and white manga, it is very full of color – full of emotions and candid moments. In funny times, in sad times, and especially in all musical performances, you can feel the emotions the characters have in every panel as if shot by a professional photographer. There is no exaggeration in labeling Nodame Cantabile more of a photo album than a manga.

The story of Nodame Cantabile is nothing but respectable. You have two college students struggling their way, meeting and parting with friends, and deepening their relationship as they hit many walls. It is a very relatable story revolving on timely struggles faced by people uncertain of their future. The story is handle with utmost care and respect, it never feels senseless; everything is just worth following. Even with such a mature story, Nodame Cantabile manages to be light-hearted and hilarious without ever making things just a bit awkward for the story.

Nodame and Chiaki is, hands down, the best couple out of all the animanga pair-ups I know. Chiaki’s perfectionist and Nodame’s devil-may-care attitude constantly in conflict sparks the growth of the two as individuals and as a couple. Slowly one learns and accepts things from the other while still being their true selves. They begin to rely more on each other but still remaining to be very strong and independent people. These changes also aid them in slowly coming into terms with the real dilemmas in life.

The supporting cast are a treat, too. From Tokyo to Paris, they meet a variety of interesting people challenging or just wanting to have fun with them. They get ample amount of panel and development that makes them really relatable.

This series is an emotional roller coaster for me. Hilarious most of the time, heartbreaking at the right moments, lovely every time, and inspiring all throughout. Nodame Cantabile transcends the traditional “achieve your dreams” story while remaining a sense of realism to be believable. The story is very dear to me, as someone who faces more or less the same problems as the characters had. I never let fictional stories influence my way of life, but I will gladly make an exemption for this one.

Even with all the great things about this series, it is very hard to recommend to others. The story is basically about people living their everyday lives and eventually facing the biggest turning point of their career – and that’s about it. It’s even more about Nodame and Chiaki’s growth as persons and how they need each other, and the romance between them is more or less an end result of this development. But the goal is never the true purpose of this manga, but the journey – the journey of accepting and enduring all odds whatever life throws at us and still having a positive outlook in life.

Take your time to read or watch Nodame Cantabile. The plot and characters are great, but what really matters is the passion it shows. It’s genuine and pure; a very honest series.