Ask John: Are the Nodame Cantible Anime & Drama for the Same Viewers?

Question:
I notice that Nodame Cantabile appears as both an anime and as a live action series – and while not both at the same time, it is almost so. Are each directed to a different audience? It is fascinating to watch the story told in both media – as well as the manga.

Answer:
Live action versions of anime, or adaptations of manga into both anime and live action are not uncommon in Japan. It is somewhat less frequent for anime and live action adaptations to air in very close time proximity to each other, as is the case with the Nodame Cantible adaptations, but even that event isn’t unprecedented. Since anime and live action adaptations of manga are obviously different interpretations of the same story, they naturally target a similar audience. However, there is variance in that principle.

Typically live action adaptations of manga and anime are targeted at fairly mainstream Japanese audiences – viewers that might not necessarily be otaku, or watch a lot of anime. Live action television dramas like Gokusen, Hana Yori Dango, Aim for the Ace, You’re Under Arrest, Shinigami no Ballad, and GTO, for example, seem to be targeted primarily at typical Japanese television viewers rather than the hardcore fans that also watched the anime versions of these titles. Exceptions come in the form of live action programs like Mahou Sensei Negima and Princess Princess D that are targeted at a smaller, niche audience more likely to be fans of the original manga and anime.

The anime and drama adaptations of Tomoko Ninomiya’s Nodame Cantible manga (and Chika Umino’s Honey & Clover) represent a somewhat unusual situation. The live action versions of Nodame Cantible and Honey & Clover are targeted at mainstream Japanese television viewers more so than hardcore anime otaku. However, the anime versions of these two titles are also primarily intended for average, non-otaku viewers. The Nodame Cantible and Honey & Clover television anime series have both been part of the Fuji TV network’s “Noitamina” line of anime productions. “Noitamina” is “Animation” spelled backwards, signifying its effort to overturn typical expectations about anime. Unlike typical late night anime targeted at a relatively small audience, Noitamina programs are designed as animation for young Japanese women that normally wouldn’t watch typical anime. While most live action adaptations are intended for a similar but different audience than the viewers who enjoyed the anime adaptation, and some live action adaptations are targeted at the same audience that watched the anime version, Nodame Cantible is one of the very few instances in which both the anime and live action version are primarily intended for non-anime fans.