This is the first volume of a little two-volume add-on story to the end of the main Nodame storyline. The author apparently had always wanted to tell a story with an opera, but it never fit right, so here we are with an extra story. Which is welcome enough - Nodame was always a cute and fun series, and this volume definitely had a few moments in it that made me laugh. It's set a while after the main storyline, where Chiaki is called back to Japan to conduct an opera (the Magic Flute!) being performed by the RS Orchestra. And so, we get to see all our old favorite characters returning - really lots and lots of them, it has the feel of a reunion story that way - and trying to put together the opera in the gently wacky fashion that the series usually takes on. Mine is the stage director, for example, and has some interesting ideas. The other part of the story has to do with the status of Nodame and Chiaki's relationship, but it only comes to the fore near the end, and will probably be taken up further in the final volume. It's a lot of fun, and a welcome addition to the story, but you likely need the second half to really appreciate it. ( )