Nodame Cantabile Live Action ep.02

October 30, 2006 | 24 Comments

I am pretty much sold on this series. When I started watching it, I was simply looking for something that is different from all of the anime that I cover here. I never thought that I will like the characters and their story so much. The thing is, I wasn't that enthused about the musical part of the story. I do like one or two classical musics but I wouldn't call myself a big fan. Having said that, sometimes I regret the fact that I wasn't serious about learning Piano when I was a kid because when I see a friend playing Piano so well, I wish I could have done the same thing. Speaking of classical music, I decided to rip the Ending theme if you haven't had the chance to see it. It's only in PSP/Quicktime format though since I haven't done proper compression on the AVi version. Anyway, the summary will be shorter this time around although I still haven't been able to figure out how to condense a one hour show into 12 paragraphs or less sentences.

Anyway, in this episode, the list of students who have been selected by Strezemann is revealed much to the disappointment of those who were not selected. Everyone is also interested to know the job of a 'Mascot Girl', a role that has been assigned to Noda Megumi. Meanwhile, Chiaki is reeling from the disappointment that someone who did a good job of conducting Mahler's symphony no.8th like Strezemann actually looks more like a horny old man. Despite this, Chiaki still wants to transfer to the conducting course. Meanwhile, Nodame tells 'Milch' that she's disappointed that she's not selected to play Piano. 'Milch' explains that the reason is because she's been selected to be a Mascot girl who gets to stay by his side. Their conversation comes to a halt when they overhear Chiaki handing in his transfer application form to Tanioka-sensei. Nodame jumps out to stop him, but Chiaki steps aside and lets Nodame hits the stone on the pavement.

Nodame, however, continues to pester Chiaki, telling him that they won't be able to play piano anymore. As if responding to Nodame's plea, 'Milch'/Strezemann comes over and rips apart Chiaki's transfer form, telling the boy that he won't allow Chiaki to transfer to the conducting course because he hates Chiaki. In addition to this, Chiaki was also a student of Viera and Strezemann hates Viera. Nodame is happy to hear this and asks Chiaki to give up on the idea. Unknown to Nodame, someone else hates her for being so close to 'his' 'Chiaki-sama'. Meanwhile, Strezemann goes to visit the group of students that he has selected to be in his orchestra. He tells the students that he personally selected them himself and they'll be a family from today. However, in order to become a real family takes time and requires effort. Because of this, he wants everyone to go out on Goukon (a drinking party that is actually closer to blind date).

The students are of course shocked to hear this and wonders if Streseman, who's a foreigner, understands the true meaning of the word. Elsewhere in the college, Ryuutarou has just finished a highly disturbing song using a violin. He, however, is very pleased with himself and claims that he knew all along that he prefers Rock music. His friends, however, remind him that he has normal violin exam next week and wonders what would happened if he doesn't pass again. One of them also want to know if Ryuutarou ran away from a piano session with Chiaki. Ryuutarou denies this and explains how back then Chiaki insulted his violin playing lesson and ordered him to practice at home. Because of this, he demands his friend to find him a better partner. As if getting his answer, he suddenly hears a noise coming from outside the practice room. The noise is actually Nodame falling flat on her face after stealing someone else's lunch as usual.

Upon seeing her Piano book, Ryuutarou asks Nodame if she'd mind accompanying him in his violin exam. Outside the building, Timpani player, Okuyama Masumi tells his friend about the first time he developed a crush on Chiaki. Back then he was carrying a large ass drum across the stairs and almost fell over backwards had Chiaki wasn't around to stop him. That was 4 years ago, and ever since then he's been in love with Chiaki and is pissed off with the fact that Nodame manages to be closer to Chiaki. Speaking of Chiaki, he's inside a piano room trying to write Withdrawal request. Nodame who has come to ask him if he knows Beethoven Violin Sonata freaks out upon seeing this but Chiaki explains that if he can't transfer his field of study then he'd rather move to a better university. Nodame grabs the paper and rips it apart but Chiaki continues to write it on another piece of paper. Chiaki eventually lost it and punches Nodame across the room.

Later on that night when he is about to go home, Chiaki wonders what he should do now that he can't go overseas or transfer to another course. His thought, however, is interrupted when he hears a very energetic violin sonata which he thinks is unbelievably messed up. As it turns out, it's actually Ryuutarou and Nodame playing a duet and do a very good job since their style is quite similar to one another. Ryuutarou is impressed by this and thinks that Nodame's piano playing has a lot of soul in it. Because of this, he knows he's going to do well on the exam. Meanwhile, Chiaki arrives in front of a fish shop and decides to buy one for himself. He then remembers how Nodame wanted the two of them to have party together so he ends up buying two instead. When he walks out of the shop, however, he hears a familiar sound coming from a Chinese restaurant. Inside, Nodame is in the middle of eating a lot of foods courtesy Ryuutarou and his father.

Nodame seems to enjoy the food a lot to the point that he makes "Hauu" sound. Ryuutarou is happy to know that Nodame loves his father's cooking and tells her that he can come anytime to eat here for free. Outside the restaurant, Chiaki looks jealous when he realises that Ryuutarou is the violin player who asked Nodame to accompany him to his exam. He compares Nodame to a cat who doesn't care where her food comes from. In his anger, Chiaki throws the fish that he bought for Nodame back into the aquarium in the fish shop. Inside an Izakaya, Streseman is having his Goukon party with the students and chanting "Boyfriend, boyfriend" before stopping at a female student and asks her if she has one. The girl then says that she doesn't have one much to the excitement of every male in the Izakaya. Upon seeing this, the students realise that Strezemann does know what Goukon mean since he's busy hitting on every female students.

Back in his house, Chiaki is having his stylish Sushi all alone. He thinks it's been a while since he's had this kind of quietness. His peace, however, gets disrupted when the doorbell rings. He assumes that the person is Nodame and opens the door roughly and is surprised when it turns out to be Saiko. Chiaki then gets his revenge on Nodame when she sees him and Saiko together. Chiaki quickly pulls Saiko inside and closes the door. He's looks satisfied when he sees Nodame looking jealous. The next day, Nodame looks as if she's lost her will to live and has to be dragged by Ryuutarou to their practice. Not far from them, Saiko tells Chiaki that a fat girl gets a main role over her. Unknown to them, Nodame and Ryuutarou have been spying using a binocular. Upon seeing Saiko, Ryuutarou thinks Nodame already lost much in the battle. Nodame is depressed to hear this. It doesn't help that she just received a death threat recently.

According to the letter that she receives, she must write 100 copies of this letter in 2 days or else she'll be dead. Ryuutarou dismisses the letter as a chain letter but as soon as he crumples the letter, he and Nodame get a bucket of water poured on top of them. Ryuutarou also gets the empty bucket dumped on top of his head. Ever since then, Nodame is constantly harassed through various ways from getting attacked by little brats to slipping on a banana peel. Nodame eventually snaps when she tries to eat her friend's lunch but finds out that someone else had eaten it. One day Nodame pretends to be sleeping in a public place, allowing the perpetrator to draw something in her face. When the guy about to leave, however, Ryuutarou appears and catches him. They finds out that Nodame's harasser is none other that Masumi, the Timpani player. He warns Nodame to stay away from Chiaki since Chiaki is his 'prince', 'apollo', and his 'sun'.

Nodame naively tells Masumi that Chiaki is actually a guy so Ryuutarou tells her that Masumi is someone with 'that kind' of interest. Masumi then challanges Nodame to a battle, which Nodame accepts right away. Because Nodame can only play Piano and Masumi can only play Timpani, Ryuutarou suggests a competition in which the two of them are equal. He suggests that the winner will be the one who gets to ask Chiaki out on a date. At the same time, Saiko tries to seduce Chiaki but Chiaki tells her to save it for her boyfriend. Saiko is confused about this but when Chiaki points out it's that 'ham' guy, Hayakawa, she realises that Chiaki misunderstood her because Hayakawa is not her boyfriend. Besides, he's in German right now. Despite this, Chiaki refuses to go back with Saiko since he hates 'loser'. That night, Chiaki feels sick when he goes home and thoughtlessly agreeing to go out with Nodame when the next holiday arrives.

At the same time, Masumi manages to score ticket to a Philharmonic Orchestra. Ryuutarou, however, asks Masumi if he has invited Chiaki to go and watch this with him. But it seems Masumi has never even speak to Chiaki at all. Since Ryuutarou doesn't want to help him, Masumi ends up asking his best friend, Miki Kiyora, to invite Chiaki to their orchestra practice. However, in an attempt to show off his ability to Chiaki, Masumi ends up acting like a fool and gets kicked out of the practice by the conductor. As if that's not bad enough, Chiaki left the practice saying that Masumi is a disastrous idiot. By the time Chiaki comes home, Nodame asks him which restaurant he'd like to go out to but much to her disappointment, Chiaki rejects her offer flatout this time around. Because Nodame is depressed, she's not doing well in her practice with Ryuutarou. In desperation, Ryuutarou asks Nodame why she doesn't just go out with him.

Nodame rejects the idea flat and it's not like Ryuutarou is interested in her. She then whines about wanting to eat Chiaki's home-made food. Masumi, who overhears this, is livid to know that Chiaki has been cooking for Nodame. Ryuutarou, on the other hand, realises that Chiaki can't possibly hate her if he was willing to cook for her. Because of this, he launches a plan to make Nodame more attractive. Unfortunately Nodame can't even apply make up properly and her idea of a sexy pose is acting like Marilyn Monroe. Masumi pretends to help her by giving Nodame make up tips but the truth is, he's making her face looks worse. She looks quite bad to the point that Chiaki freaks out when he comes into the room. Masumi, however, gets his just desert when Chiaki criticises his behaviour. Chiaki then chips away at Ryuutarou's pride by asking the guy if he's a good violin player. In retaliation, Ryuutarou tells Chiaki that he won 3rd prize in Junior competition.

Chiaki is not impressed by this and borrows Ryuutarou's violin to show the guy that he can play the Sonata very well. To rub salt into the wound, Chiaki also tells Ryuutarou that he won first prize at a Junior violin competition in Vienna. After Ryuutarou left the apartment feeling upset, Chiaki forces Nodame to listen to the CD of the song. He points out that the song from the CD is how 'Spring' should sound. When Nodame tries to tell Chiaki that she feels great after she and Ryuutarou perform a duet, Chiaki tells her that's because Ryuutarou plays for self-gratification. Moreover, Chiaki also thinks that Ryuutarou is bad at playing in an ensemble. Nodame tries to pass off the criticism as her own but Ryuutarou knows it's actually Chiaki's words. Ryuutarou tells Nodame that this is why he hates Classical music because someone like Chiaki always comes and chips away at his confidence. He thinks it's unfair that Chiaki can play Piano and Violin so well.

Upon hearing this Nodame assures Ryuutarou that the truth is, Chiaki doesn't think that Ryuutarou is a bad player. He thinks Ryuutarou has interesting interpretation of the music. And while his ensemble needs improvement, his solo is good. At the same time, Chiaki is upset when he finds out that Vierra-sensei ends up becoming a teacher for the scholarship student, Hayakawa. A few days later, Chiaki finds Nodame laying in front of her door. As it turns out, Nodame is feverish and suffering from flu. Ryuutarou panics upon finding out about this but Nodame tells him that if a 'Prince' (Chiaki) kisses her, she'll probably get better. Chiaki refuses and instead tells Ryuutarou that he'll become his partner in the exam. At the same time, an upset Masumi tells his friend, Miki, that he's planning to leave Tokyo and head back to Yamagata. Back to Ryuutarou, he's nervous because he has to perform after a skillful player.

Upon finding out about this, Chiaki becomes enthusiastic and tells Ryuutarou that they'll beat them. Ryuutarou thinks it's easy for Chiaki to say since he's good at it. Chiaki is surprised to hear this and tells Ryuutarou that the truth is, he's been playing Violin and Piano ever since he was 3. He also practiced a lot prior to coming to this college. In fact, the reason he enrolled in Piano course was because he's not very good at it. He tells Ryuutarou that the reason he studied a lot of things is because he wants to become a conductor. When their turn is up, Chiaki tells Ryuutarou to forget about technique and just focus on listening to his Piano. He also asks Ryuutarou to play the song in any way he likes. Although Ryuutarou reverts to his usual free-style, Chiaki manages to match Ryuutarou's performance, giving Ryuutarou the confindence that he needs. Ryuutarou even feels as if he's transported into a flower field.

Chiaki explains how even though Violin Sonata No.5 was written when Beethoven was depressed, the song itself sounds like a cheeful song. Meanwhile outside the concert hall, Masumi decides to cancel his plan to leave the college when he hears the performance. Later on, Nodame is horrified when she finds out that Chiaki will only have one more year at the college unless he transfers into the conducting course. Because of this, Nodame drags Chiaki to Strezemann's office and asks the teacher to allow Chiaki to transfer into his conducting course. Strezemann, however, agrees only if Nodame gives him a kiss on the lips. A few minutes later, Strezemann orchestra is confused because their conductor is not coming. Nodame suddenly appears and tells them that in Strezemann's place, Chiaki will conduct them. It looks like Nodame has beaten the dirty old man unconscious when he tried to kiss her. As a result, Chiaki has to lead the Orchestra now.

Impression:

I take back what I said in my first impression about Eita not being appropriate for a rebel kind of role. I still think his haircut is stupid but I was really impressed by his acting as Ryuutarou on this one. I was laughing outloud when he tries to imitate Nodame crying and his interaction with Chiaki turns out to be quite interesting. In fact, the highlight of this episode is Chiaki's and Ryuutarou's friendship. They started off disliking each other but because of Nodame, they ended up respecting each other's style. I think their performance together in the concert hall was even better than Nodame and Chiaki's performance on last week's episode. It makes me wonder if both actors actually study classical music prior on taking their respective roles. I know that Hiroshi Tamaki is actually a singer but singers don't usually write their own song let alone play their own instruments. But if they fake it, they sure fake it quite well so far.

Speaking of Chiaki, some of the physical comedy routine that his character gets to do is a bit brutal here. Not only he punched Nodame, he also kicked her on the stomach. Those scenes made me cringe if it wasn't for the fact that Hiroshi Tamaki looks like he's about to burst into laugh. In general, however, Chiaki seems a lot nicer here. He actually went out of his way to buy a fish for Nodame and looked kind of jealous when she spent time with Ryuutarou. The new character, Masumi was also hilarious. I like it when he pour that bucket of water on top of Nodame and Ryuutarou. The bucket gag also worked surprisingly well given the fact that it's very 'animated' in nature. I didn't actually pay that much attention to the music but I like Nodame and Ryuutarou's fast-paced rendition of Violin Sonata. And before I forget, does anyone know the name of the classical song that plays when Nodame asked Chiaki to go out with her when the next holiday comes?

© memento 2003