jdrama: Nodame Cantabile

[meganbmoore]

I watched all of the jdrama Nodame Cantabile today and yesterday and it...I have no words.  Well, not enough for a proper writeup at least.  When people complain about doramas based on manga not being enough like a manga, it's because they haven't seen this.  I don't know if it's a direct translation of the manga itself (which I now plan to check out) but it watches almost like a direct translation of a manga.  That actually takes a little while to get used to, but it works well.

The drama (which is amazingly wonderful) is about Chiaki Shinichi, a near obsessive-compulsive musician who wants to study in Europe, but thanks to a plane crash when he was young, he can't fly.  He's well on his way to becoming a great "could have been" when he meets Noda Megumi(Nodame) a young pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher.  Soon, Chiaki's well ordered, tightly structured life is coming apart at the seams as Nodame wriggles her way further and further into it.  The series is billed as a romantic comedy, but for most of the series it feels like a straight comedy with a wonderful OTP, then suddenly it clicks that it IS a romance.

This is one I actually had absolutely no interest in, manga or drama, as it sounded boring, but so many people have praised it, and for once, none of the praise seemed to be about any cute guys(though there are cute guys...and not that there's really any problem with people talking about dramas because of the lead guy...) so it caught my attention.  So very, very glad it did.

As I mentioned, I don't have any sort of proper writeup, but I have ruthlessly and shamelessly pillaged the posts of others on my flist for pics (because my computer hasn't been joining files properly lately and my cheap computer doesn't read DVD format, for some reason...my victims were miss_dian fivil scottishlass and aoimidori) and here they are, with commentary.

This is Chiaki:
 













Chiaki normally plays the piano, but when called on, he can shame anyone he wants with the violin.



This is Chiaki's "OMG! THE CRAZIES HAVE FOUND ME!" face. (The crazies being almost the entirety of the rest of the cast)



This is Chiaki when he cannot escape the crazies:







Chiaki is a ruthless conductor:



This is Nodame.  If you do not love Nodame by the second or third episode, then you have no soul.  (Chiaki loves his Nodame, he's just in denial out of self preservation)











Hoping the state of her umbrella will get Chiaki to share his with her:



Falling asleep after practicing with Chiaki:







Nodame and Chiaki:



Even though she has to climb up him to get her chin on his shoulder, she manages to whack heads with him(actually, I'm not sure that's what happened in this pic, but it does happen):











Chiaki sometimes has...odd...daydreams about Nodame...









And he COOKS for her:



All the time...he goes grocery shopping and buys take out with the assumption that he'll be sharing with her.



Nodame sees this:



And all she does is this:



It's entirely possible that someone shouted "THAT'S IT??  YOU HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AND THAT'S ALL???"  at the screen.  Of course, he was secretly awake and letting her have her moment...

Chiaki's never-ending questi to teach Nodame the importance of cleanliness:



And personal hygeine:





Nodame uses puppets and anime to try to teach Chiaki about other people's feelings:



There is some success:



Nodame hypnotizes Chiaki to help him get over his fear of flying:



And This. Scene. Killed. Me.





This is Mine, played by Eita.  Mine is a rock and roll violinist and my favorite.  Eita and I have a strange "relationship."  I have adored him in everything I've seen him in, but this is the first time I've really cared one way or the other about his character:



At first, I feared Mine would get his heart trampled and be left behind because he had a teeny cxrush on Nodame:



But fortunately, Kiyora happened before he fell hard:



Yes, the hyper-energetic, wil-haired rock-and-roll violinist and a elegant, poised, wittyu, collected classical violinist hooked up.  I love this and them beyond words:







Mine and Nodame are BFF and like to spy on their far saner OTPs:



Initially, Mine and Chiaki does not get along at all, what with their differing ideas of music, causing things to go badly during this:



Then they...bond...in their first concert together:









And when Mine happens to be sitting beside Chiaki after Nodame's hypnotism works:



Two more before I stop:

This is Masumi, the rather...odd...Timpami(a kind of drum) player in love with Chiaki.  He kinda weirded me out and concerned me at first, yet I grew extremely attached to him:



And finally, this is Streissmann, their...uhm...odd and unorthodox(and skirt shasing) mentor:

Comments

[aoimidori.livejournal.com]

Oh oh oh!! Nodame made me adore Ueno Juri beyond words. ♥ Also, this dorama was fantastic because it gave us that comic manga feel, but was still very effective as a standalone dorama. (And I read, like, a single volume of the manga, and based on that, the series was VERY loyal to the original.)

I was very skeptical about this at first because it was about classical music, which I don't really care much for, but after eleven episodes it made me appreciate classical, even if only a little.

At first, I feared Mine would get his heart trampled and be left behind because he had a teeny cxrush on Nodame:
And I thought this too, and felt kind of sorry for Eita, because at the time I saw this, I've never ever seen Eita get the girl. :p But yay, Kiyora, haha.

[fivil.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee, I'm so glad you loved it. :D It's one of those dramas that seems universally loved as opposed to splitting its audience into those who hate it and those who absolutely love it. I don't what it is about it, it just wins you over.

but so many people have praised it, and for once, none of the praise seemed to be about any cute guys(though there are cute guys...
I was close to being all "Tamaki Hiroshi hottest Japanese man everrrr" but then I figured you might have to *see* it to believe it. And yeah, those "you should check out this drama because this dude is so mesmerizingly hot!!" isn't really huge praise for the drama's storyline, which may be more or less lacking but a fangirl bias helps fill in whatever is missing. :P

but for most of the series it feels like a straight comedy with a wonderful OTP, then suddenly it clicks that it IS a romance
This is true. It helped that I didn't build much expectations for the OTP as I saw right off the bat Nodame was a little too weird for Chiaki to fall in love instantly. The romance really supports the story here, slowly develops into the epicentre of it. I love how it's tied with music and how the secondary OTP's connection is also much about music and inspiration.

"THAT'S IT?? YOU HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY AND THAT'S ALL???"
The tragedy of jdramas, so few have proper kissing. Ahhh. There's always hope for the Special they're shooting in France atm.

And This. Scene. Killed. Me.
dgsdjgsdf YES.

Yes, the hyper-energetic, wil-haired rock-and-roll violinist and a elegant, poised, wittyu, collected classical violinist hooked up. I love this and them beyond words:
I knoooow. Friggin' awesome secondary pairing. I love how she's embarrassed and flattered by his occasional outbursts of exaggerated romantic gestures. :D

All the time...he goes grocery shopping and buys take out with the assumption that he'll be sharing with her.
djhdfg. I love how he loves her before he's anywhere near realizing it, and this habit of his really shows it and it's just.. I love the subtlety of the love here (though there were times when I was all, "Argh just kiss her!" - probably why I've ficced the drama on several occasions).

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Glad you like the dorama :) It is one of my all time favourite manga adaptations as it is very loyal toward its original source :)

And ... EITA IS HOT!!! ;-)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I dunno - from the first glance it looks somehow hyperactive and this is what keeping me from it..But isn't Tamaki Hiroshi so very lovely????????

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

And I thought this too, and felt kind of sorry for Eita, because at the time I saw this, I've never ever seen Eita get the girl. :p But yay, Kiyora, haha.

Yeah. He "got" the girl in Tokyo Friends, but then left her because he thought it was better for her. She heads off to drag him back at the end, but I haven't seen the movie yet to see how that turns out.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yeah, and it's usually obvious when the fangirl bias is filling in (not that I don't do the same, but it often makes it hard to get interested if that's most of what's being talked about.)

The OTP is one of those where you just can't see them when you start and yet. you can't possibly imagine either one without the other they they both just literally fall apart when they aren't together.

Mine/Kiyora was just great. I love how she often looked at him like "well, he has no brain, but he's a darling and he is rather cute..."

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Eita is the best kind of hot...the kind where you see his pictures and go "I don't see what the big deal is" and then when you watch you can't look away, because it's all about presence and charm.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

It is somewhat hyperactive, which is a bit odd at first but then it somehow just wins you over.

[surgingshark.livejournal.com]

I've loved Ueno since Swing Girls. She was also good eye candy in Summer Time Machine Blues.

[ladysaotome.livejournal.com]

OMG! I've been planning to watch this - like you, just because everyone insists it's so awesome. But after the picspam! Especially "when the crazies find him" - dies! I've got to watch it asap now!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's just so awesome...I binged straight through it.

[fivil.livejournal.com]

I shipped them right from the start when she found him outside their dorm rooms and he woke up in her chaotically messy apartment.. But I kept thinking, "I have no idea how they'll ever develop romance here." as for a while it seemed such a desperate crush on Nodame's side and on Chiaki's, just lack of care and extreme annoyance. But pretty quickly the layers started to peel off and reveal more and oh, they are precious.

You inspired me to rewatch this a bit before work, I watched episode 7 and bits of the last episode.. In episode 7 the Mine/Kiyora pairing only really kicks off, I love the scene where he's all "I love your playing, teach me!" and she gets flustered and ends up punching him. And their drunken "we said the same thing, marriage!" moment.

[dr-crgirl.livejournal.com]

I have no soul, I'm sorry, but I just couldn't love her, she was just...no. Okay, I know what is it, she was kind of annoying, like a child, but she has no reason to act like a child, I'm sorry, she doesn't. I would understand if she was not serious towards piano, but not bathing and taking care of herself, and just acting how she was...no. I'm sorry!!! I really did want to like her, because I did like the drama overall. I loved Chiaki, I mean he was so hot and just *melts*. I didn't mind the Chiaki/Nodame OTP, but I would have liked it better if I would have liked Nodame. I did love it when she hypnotized him and let him go, I thought that was one of the biggest adult things she could do, it was lovely (oh look, some maturity *gets bricked*). I also like the Mine/Kiyora OTP, I thought it was very cute!! I really really appreciated and enjoyed how manga-ish this drama was, I thought it pulled it off very well! (especially since usually I don't like overexaggerated bits *coughTWHanaKimicough*)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Nope, you have no soul. That's ok yjough. I have a tendency to dislike heroines others are crazy about myself.

Nodame made up for her immaturity by being pure heart, whic was good enough for me.

[dr-crgirl.livejournal.com]

she was quite pure of heart, she made me laugh at lot though, even thinking about the things she would do, hahaha. But I hope to see this girl in another drama, I don't know if I want to see the one where she's married to a 40 year old man...maybe its good?

[seven-trees.livejournal.com]

I'm so SO happy that you liked it. NC doesn't get the love it deserves.

--And everybody should know about the awesomeness that is Nodame Cantabile... And of Masumi-chan's hair-do, because that afro is freaking dope.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

...

where she...what?

[dr-crgirl.livejournal.com]

lol, the actress who plays Nodame, is in another drama (forgot name) in which she marries a 40 year old man, and her mother was that older man's lover at one time. Sorry for the confusion.

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee, what an entertaining commentary! :D I'm glad you liked Nodame Cantabile. I didn't think you would because it may be too manga-like for your taste ^^ But I'm glad you liked it. I could do a rewatch one of these days (once I finish Jumong that is :D).

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Actually, the nonstop manga-like humor is part of why I like jdramas best(tw drama humor is more OTT than manga-like to me)

Jumong could take you a while to finish...

[aoimidori.livejournal.com]

in the movie, she gets him back for a short while, but in the end it's like they're not really together because they have to think of their music first? something like that, heh. :p

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

oh bah. half the appeal of the movie was to have her brain him for that hangup and drag him back to tokyo...

[aoimidori.livejournal.com]

eita was kind of hot in tf though. *cough*

they do spend some time together in new york though? haha. and there's some angst, lol.

[camr-jemr.livejournal.com]

waaahhhhh
i love this series... so fun to watch. and i appreciated orhestra songs because of this....

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I think this series makes everyone appreciate orchestra vand clasicxal music. It's hard not to after watching.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

oh wow...i never got an email for this comment so only saw it after someone else commented...

The awesomeness of nodame cantabile should indeed be known to the world. Including Masumi's hairdo.