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ローゼンメイデン 
October 19, 2006 | 
30 Comments
Well, I've been wanting to see this ever since I saw the announcement for the series. Although I haven't read the manga, I know that it's one of the more popular shoujo series. I have to say that the first episode is quite unusual, so to speak. There are some weird visual clues like the monkey creatures swinging from right to left screen to reveal the next scene. In addition to this, the actions of the characters are highly exaggerated at times. Having said that, I enjoyed the first episode thanks to its characters and comedy. Although speaking of comedy, I regret my decision in googling the meaning of 'Scatologist'. I don't think I could ever see Mozart in the same way again now. Anyway, I think it's worth giving the series a look although I realise that most people won't be willing to waste 1.34GB on this episode alone.
The episode begins with a guy called Shinichi Chiaki (Tamaki Hiroshi, Waterboys) lamenting the fact that he has to stay in Japan instead of going to Praha where a conductor called Viera is performing inside Dvorak Hall. Because Chiaki is the son of a famous pianist, as a kid he got to attend many performances all around the world and was most impressed with Sebastiano Viera. However, after his mother divorced his father, Chiaki had no choice but to go back to Japan with her. Back then Chiaki told the Maestro that he'll come back once he grows up and asked the guy to accept him as his pupil. Right now Chiaki is enrolled in a Music college and his talent is adored by other students. The only person who is not impressed by Chiaki is a guy called Ryuutarou Mine (Eita, Tokyo Friends). Chiaki, on the other hand, does not have high opinion of his peers. In fact, he's jealous when a guy called Hayakawa Yukio receives a scholarship to study abroad.
In his anger, Chiaki starts to play the piano faster than the tempo, angering his teacher in the process. Chiaki immediately gets smacked with a paper fan before getting scolded by said teacher. The teacher reminds him that he selected Chiaki to participate in Maradona Piano Contest in December. He's also not impressed when he finds out that Chiaki has a Conductor's score sheet even though he's a Piano student and can't even play it well. In retaliation, Chiaki tells his teacher that he's fed up hearing "Forte" over and over again from the teacher and sick of hearing all of the students playing in the same manner. The teacher becomes upset to hear this and tells Chiaki not to come to his lesson anymore. He'll also get another student to appear in the contest. After the teacher left, Chiaki admits that he's always wanted to become a conductor. While thinking about this, he walks around and hears someone playing Beethoven's Piano Sonata, pathétique.
Chiaki is impressed by the player because the person doesn't make a mistake even though the tempo is irregular. He eventually able to find the person inside a room but before he can open the door, a girl called Saiko, stops him because she wants to know if Chiaki has been kicked out of Eto-sensei's class. Saiko suggests that Chiaki apologises to Eto-sensei since he's a famous teacher in the college and she thinks he's lucky to be selected in the student competition. Chiaki, however, does not care because he's not interested in becoming a pianist. When Saiko suggests that Chiaki transfers to a Conducting course, he tells her that the only teacher that he wants is Sebastiano Viera. Saiko is annoyed to hear this and tells Chiaki that in that case he should have study abroad. There's just one problem: Chiaki is afraid of flying. Chiaki becomes disturbed upon hearing this and starts seeing images of an airplane crash landing into the ground.
Chiaki wonders if he should just quit music since he won't be satisfied unless he can perform in Europe. Because of this he wonders if the company that Saiko's parents own will accept him. Saiko is disgusted to see Chiaki looking and sound like a loser. When she tries to leave, however, Chiaki tries to stop her. In retaliation, Saiko tells Chiaki that he lost the right to stop her when they broke up and besides, she hates losers. A drunk Chiaki eventually makes his way back to his apartment but he ends up sleeping in the hallway. A girl called Megumi "Nodame" Noda (Ueno Juri, Swing Girls), sees and falls head over heels for him. She blows a wind to Chiaki's ear and suddenly Chiaki feels as if he's in an open field enjoying the cool breeze while Beethoven's Sonata is playing in the background. Chiaki then opens his eyes and finds himself sleeping amongst junks in someone else's room. Not far from him, a girl is playing an improvised Cantabile.
Chiaki's beautiful illusion, however, comes to an abrupt end when he accidentally hits an empty can of coffee and unleashes a bunch of flies that have been hiding inside of it. Meanwhile, Nodame finally remembers that the guy that she has taken into her room is her upper classman, Chiaki. Nodame then gives Chiaki a creepy grin and asks the guy if he remembers what happened last night. Chiaki freaks out to hear this and runs out of the room. He realises that he's still in his apartment but was in a room next door to his own. He, however, becomes grossed out when he notices the dust and spider webs on his shirt and proceeds to run to the bathroom. Chiaki becomes even more disturbed when he notices that he lost his belt and remembers that Nodame asked him if he remembers what happened last night. Because of this, he immediately takes a shower to get rid of the bad memories. While doing so, he screams that he doesn't remember.
The next day, Chiaki is horrified when Nodame shows up with his belt. Because of this, he pretends that the belt does not belong to him. When Nodame continues to follow him, Chiaki has no choice but to throw the belt away so that Nodame will go after it. Later on, Nodame's friend refuses to believe that she picked Chiaki up last night. She, however, claims that Chiaki was the one who asked her to help him. At the same time, Chiaki finds out that his teacher has been changed from Eto Kozo to Tanioka Hajime. He, however, is shocked when he finds out that Nodame is also one of the teacher's students. Inside an auditorium, Eto-sensei brings a reporter to an orchestra rehearsal and lets her know that Momogaoka Music Academy has elite orchestra consisting the most talented students. As the reporter is about to listen to the rehearsal, however, the Chairwoman complains about how everything sounds the same.
Meanwhile, Chiaki is asked by Tanioka-sensei to play two-piano Sonata with Nodame. Chiaki tries to refuse by saying that he can't play with someone as messy as Nodame. Tanioka tells Chiaki that even if he can't, he should just try advising his underclassman. Chiaki eventually becomes interested when he sees the song they are about to play, Mozart Sonata Duet and ask 'Garbage woman' to get this song right. After only 2 sections, however, Nodame already make a mistake, causing Chiaki to throw the piano sheets at her. In addition to this, Nodame seems to play the song in a chaotic manner. Chiaki eventually realises that the reason is because she is not looking at the music sheets (her eyes are closed!). Nodame tells Chiaki that she's just trying to enjoy playing the song. Tanioka-sensei explains that Nodame has a good ear so she often learns just by listening at a song and not used to play a piano using the music sheets.
Tanioka thinks they should just take it easy but Chiaki disagrees and think they can conclude this lesson in 3 days. After the practice, Chiaki sees Saiko again and is surprised when she waves at him. He, however, becomes disappointed when it turns out she's been waving at the scholarship student, Hayakawa Yukio. To calm himself down, Chiaki goes to his balcony to see the view from the area but when he gets there, he can smell an unpleasant scent coming from Nodame's apartment. When he takes a look at her balcony, Chiaki is horrified to see a bunch of rubbish bags piled on top of one another. In addition to this, a disgusting purple liquid suddenly makes its way to his balcony....along with swarms of ants. Chiaki rings Nodame's doorbell, wanting to scold her but Nodame opens the door violently, hitting him squarely on the forehead. Nodame thinks that Chiaki has come for his belt but he actually wants to clean up her room.
Chiaki tries to help Nodame by getting rid of the things that she doesn't need but Nodame keeps protesting that she needs the snacks from her homeown and her trove of 'treasures'. Much to Chiaki's disgust, he finds a pot containing pitch-black sludge inside of it. Nodame claims that the thing is actually cream stew....that was made one year ago. The next few hours involve Chiaki finding more gross objects (there is a mushroom growing on her laundry) until they eventually clean her place. Having said that, Chiaki wonders why he is doing this in the first place. In order to thank Chiaki for his help, Nodame decides to cook him a charcoal-looking thing she claims to be 'Salted horse mackerel with mayo'. Because he doesn't want to get poisoned, Chiaki decides to whip up a hard-to-pronounce pasta dish for both of them. Nodame praises Chiaki's cooking skill, pleasing the guy in the process. He promises her that next time he'll cook tastier foods for her.
The next day inside his family's chinese restaurant, Ryuutarou complains that his father didn't wake him up. As it turns out, however, he still has enough time before he has to go to the academy. Because of this, Ryuutarou decides to converse with a man who praised his father's cooking. Ryuutarou and his father soon realises that the man is not Japanese. Ryuutarou also ends up giving the old man a tour of his academy but in the midst of doing this, he loses track of the guy. As it turns out, the old man has been taking pictures of several seemingly untalented students in the academy. Eventually the students start talking about this old man. They start to wonder if he's stalking Chiaki but a boy thinks that stalking Chiaki is something that someone called Masumi usually do. As soon as he said this, a guy with afro hair appears and strangles him, claiming that he's not a stalker. He's just been looking at 'Chiaki-sama' for the past 4 years.
Speaking of Chiaki, he arrives on practice room and notices a history book on Mozard's two piano Sonata. The composition was aspparently created by Mozart to be performed with a friend's gifted daughter. Upon reading this, Chiaki realises that Tanioka-sensei is being harsh for forcing him and Nodame to learn something so difficult. He admits that it'll be tough to accomplish in 3 days even though that's what he said will happen. Later on, Chiaki finds out that the scholarship student will actually study at Gerharm Academy, where Viera-sensei will come to teach special courses. That night, Nodame gets to meet the strange old man and after finding out that the man came from Germany and don't know anyone, Nodame decides to take him to Chiaki's house. Chiaki is livid to see Nodame bringing a stranger she's just met on the street and his name is Milch Holstein. This only serves to anger Chiaki even further because the name sounds fake.
When the old man sees Chiaki's picture with Viera, he asks Chiaki if he knows Viera. Chiaki is angry to see the old man touching a picture of himself and Viera. The old man realises that Chiaki does not like him around so he tries to get Nodame out of Chiaki's apartment, telling her that there is a good Sushi restaurant near the hotel where he's staying. Chiaki thinks that the old man is a pervert and tries to get Nodame away from him by asking her to practice in his room tonight. The old man, however, tells Nodame that he has something more fun to teach her inside his beautiful sunrise-set, fluffy bed included room. Not wanting to be outdone, Chiaki tells Nodame that his room also has fluffy bed. Nodame immediately latches onto Chiaki's arm much to the old man's disappointment. Chiaki then uses the opportunity to kick the guy out of his place. When Chiaki returns to his room, he finds Nodame already in her pyjamas, asking him to have her.
Chiaki is annoyed to see this and tells Nodame to go back but Nodame promises that she will practice properly if he doesn't kick her out. Chiaki, however, loses his enthusiasm and doesn't care either way. He tells Nodame that this whole exercise has been useless because of this, he will tell Tanioka-sensei that he can no longer teacher her. An upset Nodame decides to leave Chiaki's room. The next day, Chiaki hears a messed up piano tunes from Chiaki's room and decides to visit her. He is shocked when he sees Nodame's room returning to the messy state that it was. Nodame apologises for the noise but she still can't play the song well. Upon hearing this, Chiaki tells her that he will play the song well and asks her to listen carefully. If she can't learn from score, then he wants her to learn by using her ear. Ever since then, Chiaki teaches Nodame how to play the song properly. He, however, keeps getting frustrated at her little mistakes.
He, however, remembers how Eto-sensei treated him and promises himself that he won't treat Nodame that way. Eventually Nodame manages to perfect the song but Chiaki is still not happy....because her hair has not been washed in the last 3 days. Becauase of this, Chiaki personally washes Nodame's hair and blow-drying it. He, however, wonders again why he did it. Nodame, on the other hand, looks quite happy feeling as if she's on a vacation. Chiaki, however, feels as if he's a dog groomer. Strangely, Nodame is not offended and actually asks him what kind of a dog is it. Chiaki thinks that Nodame is weird and in a way reminds him of Viera-sensei. On the day where the two must perform in front of Tanioka-sensei, Chiaki notices that Nodame tries hard to memorise the score. Because of this he tells her that today she can play the song anyway she likes. Nodame is surprised to hear this because this is the first time Chiaki uses her name.
Chiaki tells himself that he knows that there is something special about Nodame. Because of this, the one who can adjust to her style is himself. They then start playing together in unison but Chiaki knows that the problem will come soon because the first pianist (Nodame) is supposed to be the lead. He notices that as soon as Nodame starts to twist her mouth, it means she starts to go off in her own world since he did told her to do it freely. Having said that, Chiaki is already used to her playing so he can keep up with her. The truth is, Chiaki is bothered by Nodame's style but he remembers what Viera-sensei once said. Back then the Maestro tells him that there is little chance that Chiaki can be happy every single day. However, as a Maestro, it is more important to create a performance that will take people by their heart. Chiaki admits that he almost gave up until last night and now his body feels small shivers due to his and Nodame's performance.
After the performance ends, Tanioka-sensei praises Chiaki for being able to break 'the wall'. Chiaki finally realises that Tanioka paired him with Nodame not so much to teach her but to learn as well. He points out that Mozard composed the song for the sake of playing it with a gifted pupil. He believes that Mozart wanted to recall how to enjoy music while playing along with his pupil. As Chiaki walks back with Nodame, the girl tells him that seeing his back makes her heart beats faster. She starts to wonder if she's in love with him. Chiaki is shocked and tries to stop Nodame from kissing him. He also reminds her that although her style is okay for today, normally it would not be allowed in a contest. Nodame, however, tells him that she has no interest in entering a contest. All she wants is to become a kindergarten teacher. Chiaki is surprised to hear this and tells himself that it seems there is an amazing person in Japan as well.
Chiaki realises that he can do more things here and because of this, he decides to change his field of study. At the same time, news travels rapidly that a world famous conducter, Franz Strezemann, is coming to campus. Ryuutarou fails to see why everyone is excited to know that Strezemann will teach the conducting division. Chiaki, on the other hand, is happy since he just changed his field of study to conducting. He and Ryuutarou follow the rest of the students to the teachers room and are surprised to see the perverted old man to be the famous Maestro. At the same time, Strezemann informs the teacher that he wants to form a new student orchestra using students that he chose. After accidentally giving some naughty photos to the teachers, Strezemann shows them photos of the students that he wants: Masumi, a new girl, Ryuutarou, and Nodame. Chiaki, however, is dismayed to see this and decides not to change his field of study.
Impression:
Wow, there are some good comedies included in this episode. In fact, the entire episode is so silly and over the top that I wonder how the actors managed to keep a straight face throughout the entire film shoot. I really want to see the behind-the-scenes doco now to see if the actors flubbed any lines. Actually, there was this one scene where it looks like Tamaki Hiroshi was about to lose his composure and burst into giggles. It's amusing to see how comedic some of the scenes can be and how similar they are to super-deformed scenes normally found in manga or anime. For example, Nodame shows fake tears and pink heart in some of the scenes. And when Chiaki got hit by paper fans, he almost falls over due to the impact of the hit. This is obviously not possible in real life and I had some reservation about it at first. However, the more I see it, the more I get used to this surreal brand of comedy.
Character-wise, Nodame is really beautiful but I have to say that I've never seen her kind of airhead in my life. If Chiaki was a nice guy, I would have felt sorry for him. At the moment, however, I think he deserves everything that happened to him. Kudos to both Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi for playing these over-the-top characters. It makes me wonder if the manga characters are also like this. I normally like Eita's acting but I think he is miscast as Ryuutarou. Eita is the kind of actor who normally plays a normal guy like Takemoto from Honey and Clover. I don't think he suits the role of an eccentric. Admittedly, that stupid haircut he has to wear doesn't help matters. The guy who plays Stresmann, Takenaka Naoto, is very entertaining to watch because even though he's a Japanese, he tried to modulate his speech pattern so that he sounds like a foreigner trying to speak Japanese language. I was laughing hard when he showed the teachers the wrong photos.
Of course, there is no point in talking about a musical series like Nodame Cantabile without talking about the music itself. The most notable piece of music used in this one is of course Beethoven's pathétique, which has been altered slightly so that it includes Nodame's irregular style. Another one that I recognised was Dies Irae. These musics are not incorporated that well though except for two scenes: the first time Chiaki hears Nodame's piano and when he first wake up in Nodame's room. I also wonder if there will be room for non-classical instrumental music in this series. It'll be nice to see Nodame and the other characters play an original music but I somehow doubt this will happen since the series focuses on classical music. Overall, I like the first episode enough and I think will follow it on a consistent basis. Not sure if I will blog it though since summarising 1 hour show takes longer than a half hour one. If I do, I'll have to keep it simple and shorter.
Ending Theme and Preview
The ending theme looks good. It features the cast in cardboard cutout form, flying around different musical instruments. The song itself is 「ラプソディ・イン・ブルー」- Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin. Judging from the preview, the series will continue to use manga/anime stylistic convention. I think I saw a big bucket falls out of nowhere into Ryuutarou's head.
I was curious about this series, thanks for summarizing the first ep! :)
>>> It makes me wonder if the manga characters are also like this.
In a way, the characters were even more exaggerated in the manga
>>> The most notable piece of music used in this one is of course Beethoven's pathétique, which has been altered slightly so that it includes Nodame's irregular style. Another one that I recognised was Dies Irae.
In my view, the most important music in this episode is the Mozart's Sonata for 2 Pianos in D Major, K. 448.
>>> Chiaki is impressed by the player because the person doesn't make a mistake even though the tempo is irregular.
This is bit hard to explain without giving some examples. What he really meant was that Nodame's interpretation is not wrong. In classical music, despite what some people may tells you, there is the orthodox interpretation, liberal interpretation, and just wrong interpretation, which means going outside what is indicated by the music score.
Although Nodame's rendition of 2nd movement of Beethoven's 8th piano sonata is unusal, it is within the extremes that are possible with the piece; it is extremely liberal, but NOT WRONG. I am impressed that they have done a credible job of showing quirkiness of Nodame's interpretation that still makes some sense. The liberty Nodame takes with the music reminds me of some Easter European pianists, who are known for passionate interpretations.
They played many well performed music in this episode, and they were not afraid to showcase some lesser known pieces, including some 20th century Russian stuffs. If there is interest and time, I can list all the music that was played in this episode. I believe we will get a Beethoven's Violin Sonata at the next episode. I was hoping for them to really make up and play the Nodame 'Poong Poong(?) Suite ', but I guess that may be too greedy.
>>> Eto-sensei takes the Chairwoman of the Academy to an orchestra rehearsal and lets her know that Momogaoka Music Academy has elite orchestra consisting the most talented students.
The conductor here is a famous conductor of respectable Japanese orchestra. They were playing the opening movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony, unless I got mixed up with different part of this episode. They must have spent at least half of the budget on music related expenditures. Vieri's actor may also be a real conductor for his techniques are genuine, and he really was directing the orchestra that was playing the music we were hearing. I wonder how they will show Stresemann conduct, for he should be using German style with Furtwanger's split beats.
>>> After only 2 sections, however, Nodame already make a mistake
Correct terminology here is 2 measures.
>>> old man has been taking pictures of several seemingly untalented students in the academy.
Those students may be were idiosyncratic, or just needing more practice time, but not untalented.
>>> This only serves to anger Chiaki even further because the name sounds fake
The name Milch Holstein meant Milk from Holstein Cow, clearly a fake name.
>>> The old man realises that Chiaki does not like him
The old man hates Vieri.
>>> Not wanting to be outdone, Chiaki tells Nodame that his room also has fluffy bed.
He also told Nodame that his arm will serve as her pillow.
>>> Because of this, the one who can adjust to her style is himself.
He thinks that his majesty is the only one who can cope with Nodame's rubatos and tempo acceleration.
>>> These musics are not incorporated that well though except for two scenes
I disagree. I doubt I could have selected differently. Their choice of Shostakovich's 5th symphony, one of my favorite symphonies, in various places was excellent. Beethoven's 7th symphony was also used, and I believe Vieri was playing one of Dvorak's symphony, probably his #7, in the Dvorak Hall. I got some chills when I heard the orchestra playing.
>>> Rhapsody in Blue by Gershwin.
Perfect choice for the early part of the series. I have heard all sorts of rubatos and variations of the tempo, thus the perfect piece for someone as wild as Nodame
Wow, I wanted to see if the Live Action was really worth it and it seems to be a great! That's so much for the summary!
Wontaek, next time please mark spoilers accordingly. I didn't know that info about Stresmann. I don't really mind but others probably do.....also:
He thinks that his majesty is the only one who can cope with Nodame's rubatos and tempo acceleration.
俺にはわかる。こいつにはぜったい特別なものがある。そしてこいつに合わせられるのは俺様ぐらいだ
"Ore ni wa wakaru. Koitsu ni wa zettai tokubetsu na mono ga aru. Soshite....koitsu ni awaserareru no wa.....ore-sama gurai da"
I personally never translate 'ore-sama' as 'his majesty' since it'll just confuse those who don't understand the tongue-in-cheek (for the lack of a better word) nature of 'Ore-sama'. Chiaki was boasting in this scene so he was actually referring to himself since he's the one who's playing the Piano and matches Nodame's style.
As for the music, I'll take your words for it since I'm not knowledgeable in that subject. :)
Wow, were they even trying NOT to make the characters look fake and cheap?
Anyway, it looks like I recognize some actors from a few Kamen Rider or Sentai series.
i already read the manga until volume....."i forgot ^_^;"
but this title is good actually between chiaki and nodame hehehehehe
i have never seen girl like nodame so funny and dirty woman "i think"because she didn't shower her hair 3 days!!!
btw there have a anime right???
Anime is coming up in January.
I was so afraid to see the live action version, since there's been so many mangas "destroyed" in the adaptation.
But this is done quite well. So far, it follows the manga surprisingly closely. Yeah, there's some alterations in the plot and characters, but not nearly much as I had feared.
I'm looking forward to watching this now!
lol, so they failed to get foreign actors? I don't mind how Nodame looks(I think the actress really fits the character), but in the manga, Chiaki looks less manly. I think his expression when Nodame do something dumb looks pretty funny though ^^. You don't feel bad for Chiaki? I do... I can't imagine such girl coming into my life and interfering with everything I do. I guess Nodame is cute enough to forgive that but not in Chiaki's eyes for sure. lol. I think he was pretty nice to Nodame. It is just the way he expresses his love...or at least thats what I think.
Having read the manga and lacking sleep, I have misjudged something ambigous to be something obvious, so sorry about posting things about Stressemann.
I really wonder how much conducting training the actors for Chiaki, Stressemann, and other conducting majors will get.
Another thing I forgot to mention is that I really liked the fact that they showed the correct measures in the score as the music was playing. For me, who doesn't own the score of Mozart's Sonata for 2 pianos, seeing the score made me understand Chiaki, much more easier.
I am very worried about the anime version. Conducting is one of those things that I have yet to see an animation capture the motions decently. Much of the conducting involves finger tip controls ( I was once grilled for 20 minutes for not getting the middle finger tip right ), eye contact ( this can only be aquired with experience ), and left hand independent gesture, and since most of the motions and details are small, it will take enormous effort to animate it properly. Even the latest motion capture technology won't help you, unless you put that tracer with less than 3 cm spacing, which would mean huge amount of money; it would be much cheaper to use live footage of real conductor in action, but that wouldn't be anime. Hope the anime studio has tons of money, and all the involved personnel sees the two 'Art of Conducting' DVDs ( http://www.amazon.com/Art-Conducting-Great-Conductors-Past/dp/B00005V30T ) before starting the work.
lol that thing swinging was nodame in her mongoose costume XD
oh the manga is way too hilarious, so im really glad that the live-action has turned out rather decent. nodame, chiaki and "milch" are great cast choices. loved nodame doing her accent with milch :P
errata
1. Viera, not Vieri ( habit from bad Korean translation, sorry )
2. First music in Dvorak hall probably was one of Dvorak's Slavic Dance
3. it was Beethoven's 7th symphony, 1st movement theme on opening credit
4. >>> Eto-sensei takes the Chairwoman of the Academy to an orchestra rehearsal and lets her know that Momogaoka Music Academy has elite orchestra consisting the most talented students. When the Chairwoman is about to listen to the rehearsal, however, a teacher complains about how everything sounds the same.
That teacher is the Chairwoman. Eto was escorting a reporter from highly respected music megazine. The Orchestral conductor was not a real pro conductor but an announcer in TV program. He was using genuine modern upbeat conducting technique with right tempo for opening movement of Beethoven's 9th symphony played here. The music we hear here is probably not from the orchestra shown, but from one of Karajan Gold recordings.
Will post more after my 2nd viewing with my wife.
5. Prokovfiev's Romeo & Juliet Ballet Suite was the one used while Stressemann was taking pictures of the students, not Shostakovich's 5th. I must have been more sleepy than I thought when I wrote the first post.
"I was so afraid to see the live action version, since there's been so many mangas "destroyed" in the adaptation."
Such as?
I'm quite surprised by this (especially budget-wise). I'm glad they bothered teaching Tamaki how to conduct and the other characters how actually to play their respective instruments. I was actually very reluctant to watch this, given that I have not been very impressed by many previous live action adaptations (Nana...) Though I think the the exaggerations for Nodame Cantabile really fits.
"I also wonder if there will be room for non-classical instrumental music in this series. It'll be nice to see Nodame and the other characters play an original music"
I would beg to differ. Personally, I don't think I want to hear random original music unless it works with the context. Although, if you have read the manga, you'd know that there are a few original compositions to look forward to. I dare say, I was looking forward to Nodame's Clean-Up Sonata myself.
"other characters how actually to play their respective instruments"
Or rather, make it appear as if they can :P
> > "I was so afraid to see the live action version, since there's been so many mangas "destroyed" in the adaptation."
> >
> Such as?
>
Biggest example goes back a few years, but Iihito (by Shin Takahashi) was so bad that Takahashi quit having anything to do with it after watching the first episode. They kept some of the main character names, but the personality was changed, the setting was different... I mean, people dancing just doesn't fit into this story.
Going back even further, the Maison Ikkoku live action was completely different from the manga/anime. Actually it wasn't that bad if it wasn't titled Maison Ikkoku...
More recently, the Honey and Clover movie was pretty bad imho, but I guess it wasn't so bad as to say "completely destroyed." I didn't like how they changed Takemoto's character and story tho.
Actually I heard a rumor that Nodame Cantabile was actually supposed to be aired earlier on a different station (TBS), but the agency for the actors insisted they change the plot so that it's more applealing for the fans of the actors, and that didn't agree with the original author. The biggest problem was that they wanted to have the opening and ending themes sung by the actor, and was to be J-pop!
I'm glad they're going pure classical music and are following the manga in the current version.
>>Actually I heard a rumor that Nodame Cantabile was actually supposed to be aired earlier on a different station (TBS), but the agency for the actors insisted they change the plot so that it's more applealing for the fans of the actors, and that didn't agree with the original author. The biggest problem was that they wanted to have the opening and ending themes sung by the actor, and was to be J-pop!
Heaven forbid. If the agents suceeded with that pontetial travesty, there might be murder in my hands. Music is an integral part of Nodame Cantabile. It will be an insult to Tomoko-sensei if the drama is filled with an overload of J-pop monstrosity.
I'm surprised to see Memento blogging this dorama ^_^
I like Nodame Cantabille a lot. I read the translated manga until vol13. And I can say this drama follows the manga very closely. It's so funny to see Nodame's dressing style and her bag (I want that bag ^^), Nodame's messy room in live action. Also those silly manga scene like beating up using harisen. But one thing that I'd love to hear is Nodame saying weird sound like "Mukyaa".
Oh the soft-sub is available in d-addicts site.
Anyway, the torrent in d-addicts include preview, talk and behind the scene of Nodame cantabile. And the actors did get special training to perform well in their musical instrument.
I am THRILLED someone is actually blogging this series. (You are still doing it, right? ;-)
I've been waiting for Nodame live action news for ages, but it didn't seem like anyone was interested in writing about it at all -- luckily I was randomly browsing through Ex-Fansubber's blog and someone mentioned that you were doing Nodame, so here I am. Thank you so much for the detailed analysis (and screenshots!), you've made me ever so happy. :)
The manga is fantastic, if you ever have any free time I highly recommend it for your perusal. Nodame is charmingly (and disarmingly) eccentric, and one of the most over the top yet still believable characters I've ever seen in any medium. And the attention to detail in the artwork itself is stunning -- the pure unadulterated joy of performing is beautifully conveyed through every brush stroke and facial expression, it's really quite quite amazing. So, ermm, yes, I like this manga a lot. *grins*
Thank you again for blogging this series!
I'm not a manga person and have never read "Nodame Cantabile". I got into this drama mostly because I'm a Ueno Juri fan, and I do enjoy classical music.
Everyone else has probably said everything there is to say about this episode. Just allow me to thank you again for blogging this series.
It was about time I got interested in Nodame Cantabile! Garten, did you get the chance to read the manga now? It tops amazon's and yesasia's lists! I'll try to look for the live action subtitled first, but I'll turn to raws if I don't find any. I'll refrain from asking where you find them :P Heh, I'll give it a try myself :D
I must agree, the actors who play Nodame and Chiaki are great!
Does anyone know the song that is playing in the background as Chiaki is walking through the campus in the beginning and everyone is talking about him, thank so much for your help
can somepne name the song that is play while chiaki is walking through campus at the beginning
I have already seen this series, i think it is a wonderful movie. :) and i watched it with my sisters we were very happy. and it's the movie make us smile. it's a inspiration for me to practice piano more and more.
This series is great. I never expected it to be so entertaining and enjoyed every scene. It is recommendable to all to watch this series.
Have tried to watch the 1st episode of drama version, but just couldn't continue, stuck in the middle of the piano part(look very not real, they should probably practice to look real). maybe the reason is I watched the ANIME version first.
my comment on the 1st episode is, they should find a better person to be the conductor whom used to be his childhood "friend".
This is just my own point of view.
well i want to see the drama but i don't know where to find them... someone pls tell me
Try baka wolf. Sign up for an account and you can get the links there. :D
hey what is chiaki playing in this part: "In his anger, Chiaki starts to play the piano faster than the tempo, angering his teacher in the process. Chiaki immediately gets smacked with a paper fan before getting scolded by said teacher."
I wanna download it but ı dont know, would be great if you could help me
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