Kanade Ichinose is a violin major in his third year of college. When he first entered the university, everyone had high hopes for him, from his professors to fellow students. However, he distances himself from everyone and everything except music. He refuses to participate in competitions, as he see no point in it. When it comes time to think what he wants to do with his life, he just eases into his mother’s music tutoring business. He realizes that he is a boring and pessimistic guy but has no idea how to change… or what to change into. Then, one day he sees a girl standing barefoot in the snow outside an apartment and thinks, “If it’s for her, I can change.”

In the world of classical music, Chiaki Shinichi is a stellar talent in the making; yet with everything going for him, he is nevertheless tied down by his own phobias. Unable to leave Japan because of his fears of flying and sailing, he finds himself in the company of another naturally-talented person, the very weird girl Noda “Nodame” Megumi. Together, the two find themselves in a slowly more intimate relationship, as they struggle to develop their talents and overcome their shortcomings.