Nodame Cantabile

「のだめカンタービレ」
Mangaka: Tomoko Ninomiya
Genre: shoujo

Synopsis: Chiaki Shinichi is a virtuoso pianist. Being the son of a famous musician, he's been playing since he was young. However, what he really wants to do is be an orchestral conductor like his old mentor, Sebastiano Viera. Unfortunately, Viera-sensei is in Vienna and since Chiaki is afraid of flying, he's left dejected and grumbling about being stuck in Japan. Until one day, he meets a loony high-spirited girl named Noda Megumi (Nodame for short) who, inspite of being a slob, is an extremely talented pianist herself and somehow reminds him of the Viera-sensei he longs for.

Comments: Witty dialogue, unique storyline, lovable characters... I'm hooked. Plus you don't need a musical background to understand the story. Props to the scanlator for explaining the Italian musical terms used throughout the story.

Scanlator: Snoopy Cool

Edit: Nodame Cantabile has been licensed by Del Rey.