Nodame Cantabile Live Action ep.07

December 4, 2006 | 32 Comments

Regardless of the actors' ability to portray a skilled musician, I think there are some really good acting in this episode. Ueno Juri startled me when she started yelling in a yankee-style voice at Etou-sensei. I didn't know she had it in her to play a tough role. Tamaki Hiroshi and Eita also acted really well during the last scene when they find themselves at odds with the rest of the R☆S Orchestra. Speaking of the new orchestra, am I the only one who thinks that the flute girl looks a bit like Hong Kong actress Chingmy Yau? Anyway, I recently saw Ueno Juri in Swing Girls and I can contest that she is also awesome in that film. The only thing I don't like about the film is that the film's portrayal of the band struggle wasn't as realistic as I thought it would be. Having said that, it was amusing to see Takenoto Naoto (Strezemann) acting as another music teacher. His character in that film is not as weird as Strezemann though. :D

The episode begins with 'Gorota' telling Nodame that he doesn't know Etou-sensei. Nodame nods in agreement telling the puppet that her teacher is Tanioka-sensei. 'Gorota' immediately get smacked into a wall for saying this. Etou-sensei explains that there's been a change in the teaching duty and wonders if Tanioka-sensei didn't tell Nodame about it. He then tells Nodame that he will bring out the talent that has been buried in the past 3 years. First, however, he wants her to play a music that she likes to play. Etou-sensei is puzzled when he spots Nodame's music book, which is titled "Farting Exercise". XD Much to his horror, Nodame explains that's music piece she's been playing thus far. Etou immediately orders Nodame to play classical like Choppin's or Liszt's. Nodame, however, chooses to play "Mary had a little lamb" instead, angering the teacher who now slams his Harisen (paper fan) into the wall.

Etou-sensei tells her that he selected her to become his student and therefore he doesn't want her to fool around for one more second. Nodame suddenly snaps and yells at Etou, telling the guy that she was serious and asks him what's so bad about "Mary had a little lamb". As she exits the room, she manages to tell the guy not to use "Omae" (rude version of "You") when talking to her. Nodame then runs into Tanioka-sensei's room but much to her disappointment, he's in the middle of teaching another student. She asks him why he suddenly switches teaching duties with Etou-sensei. Tanioka explains that it's Etou's decision to take Nodame as his student. Etou is usually doesn't listen to what others said and also has more power than Tanioka. Besides, Tanioka thinks it'll be interesting to see a combination of Etou-sensei's and Nodame's works. Despite Nodame's protest, Tanioka tells her that he's no longer in charge of her.

Elsewhere at school, Chiaki is in the middle of deciding the training and performance location with his Orchestra members when his cell phone rings. He finds out that it's a message from Mine and Sakura, informing him that they managed to get into the A Orchestra so that means they can play in his Orchestra too. Chiaki smiles upon seeing this and tells the others to add two more members. When Kiyora hears this, she asks Chiaki if the call is from his girlfriend while Kikuchi tells him that he has a dirty smile. They then laugh at Chiaki's expense while he denies their accusation. That night all members of Chiaki's new Orchestra meet at a pub for a get-together. Unlike Masumi, however, Mine and Sakura don't know anyone else so they feel out of place. Mine tries to assure Sakura that the conductor is their friend but becomes annoyed when he sees a new girl trying to befriend Chiaki. Because of this, he decides to sic Masumi on her. XD

While the group are talking about the kind of piece that they'd like to play, Chiaki realises that the atmosphere with this group is different from the one that he had with the S Orchestra. He thinks this group is a lot more calmer than the S Orchestra. As it turns out, however, the group is only calm for the first 30 minutes because once the alcohol takes over, they start looking like raving lunatic just like the S Orchestra. Kiyora and Mine start to suggest that they perform Mahler's Symphony of a Thousand. Kikuchi then starts suggesting that they do Cello concerto with him as the soloist. The new girl wants a Flute concerto. Kiyora and Mine suggest that they do Violin concerto but Kiyora ends up punching Mine when he suggests that he should be the soloist. Since no one can agree on who should become the soloist, they decide to ask Chiaki to select one. Chiaki decides to choose the most confident of them all, Oboe player, Kuroki.

At the same time, Nodame is spotted at Uraken, trying to find Chiaki and looking depressed. Mine's father tells her that Mine is having drinks with the new orchestra so he assumes Chiaki is also there as well. In order to cheer Nodame up, Mine's father tries to offer her some food but Nodame strangely prefers to go home instead. Because he's worried about her, he decides to call Mine and informs his son that Nodame behaves strangely tonight. Mine thinks it's normal for Nodame to behave strangely but his father insists that she looks like a ghost. Because of this Mine informs Chiaki about Nodame being strange and refusing to eat. Chiaki agrees that this sounds strange so when the group decides to go to another drinking spot, he tells them that he wants to go home instead. Unfortunately the group decides to drag him with them. Unknown to Chiaki, Nodame actually walks across the street as he and his orchestra heads to the new bar.

The next day, Kikuchi arrives at Momogaoka inside his girlfriend's car. After convincing said girl that he won't cheat on her, he proves otherwise by accepting a phone call from a girl called Susan. He also tells Susan in Engrish that he's just going to practice and is not cheating on her. Meanwhile, Saya decides to rub off her knowledge of Chiaki's new orchestra to annoy Saiko. Saiko, however, no longer cares about Chiaki while Ookouchi is annoyed that Chiaki gets to create orchestra with cool members like Kimura. Their conversation is then interrupted by the arrival of Etou-sensei, who wants to know if they've seen Nodame. Nodame's friends pretend that they haven't seen her even though Nodame can be seen hiding behind tree branches. Inside the practice room, Chiaki asks Mine and Sakura what they are doing on the back. He tells them that this Oboe concerto only needs 35 players. Because of this, they have to wait on the side.

Mine is upset about this but Masumi assures him that even Timpani player has to wait on the side. The Orchestra then begins playing Oboe Concerto In C Major, K. 314, the sonata form of the Concerto. Chiaki is very impressed upon hearing the Orchestra performs, especially Kuroki's solo Oboe, which is delicate and yet strong. Masumi likens Kuroki's performance to that of a Samurai. Chiaki himself is very pleased with the orchestra as a whole. Later on while resting at Uraken, Saiko informs Kimura that she manages to secure Tokyo Symphony Hall for their performance. Chiaki and the others are shocked about this since that hall's capacity is too large for an obscure orchestra like themselves. Sakuma and Eeko, however, asks Chiaki to leave the advertising to them and Classic Life magazine. Mine and Masumi then reveal that they've come up with a name for the Orchestra: R☆S Orchestra (Rising Star Orchestra).

Before Chiaki left Uraken, Sakuma gives him a CD recording featuring Strezemann performing Brahms while Mine's father gives him a meal set for Nodame. Chiaki thanks Mine's father for the meal set but he becomes horrified when he realises the implication of him accepting the meal. Inside the apartment, Nodame laughs at Chiaki when she finds out that Chiaki is conducting a Mozart piece because she thinks Mozart is synonymous with pink colour. Chiaki doesn't understand what she meant by this. Moreover, he wonders what Mine meant a few days ago when the guy said that Nodame looks like a ghost. He thinks Nodame is as chatty as usual and still eats a lot as always. Despite this, he decides to tell her to keep up with her study even though he won't see her for a while. In order to divert the conversation, Nodame tells Chiaki that she'll bring provisions for his new orchestra next time and asks him what he thinks about Lemons in Honey.

Chiaki is horrified to hear this and orders Nodame never to come near his new orchestra. The next day, as Chiaki conducts his Orchestra, he thinks instead of Pink, Oxidized Silver is a better description of his Orchestra's performance. Having said that, he does agree that Mozart's music would have benefited from brighter and warmer flair. Because of this, he tries to give Kuroki an instruction on how to achieve this. Much to his horror, Nodame appears in the practice room bringing some Onigiri and Miso soup. Mine, Masumi, and Sakura are surprised to see her but before they can talk to her, Chiaki already drags her out of the room. Nodame insists on greeting the orchestra members because she's Chiaki's wife. When Chiaki asks about her lesson, however, Nodame becomes nervous and claims that Tanioka-sensei has a flu today. Chiaki finally realises that Nodame has indeed been behaving strangely since she never skipped her lesson before.

While attempting to obtain an answer from Nodame, Chiaki is interrupted by Kuroki who has arrived with a question. Kuroki apologises for intruding between the two of them but Nodame uses the opportunity to escape from Chiaki. She proceeds to give the Onigiri and Miso soup to Kuroki before excusing herself from him and Chiaki. After Nodame left, Kuroki asks Chiaki if Nodame is his girlfriend. Chiaki immediately denies the accusation but can't help himself looking suspicious when Kuroki wants to know Nodame's name. Inside the practice room, Mine is impressed with Kiyora's Violin performance so he holds her hand and asks her to take him as her understudy. He even promises to do anything for her although what he really meant by this is that he promises that his father will do anything for her. XD Kiyora refuses because Mine has his own teacher but Mine claims that she's better than his teacher. In fact, he likes her......Violin. XD

Kiyora becomes embarrassed upon hearing this especially after Chiaki asks the two of them if they can start the practice and everyone else starts whistling at the two. She immediately punches Mine so he'll stop holding her hand. When the orchestra begins playing once more, it's obvious that Kuroki has Nodame in his mind while Kiyora is still embarrassed about the incident with Mine. Chiaki realises that the tone of his orchestra has now change from Oxidized Silver to Pink. Upon hearing the much warmer and brighter Mozart, Chiaki can't help himself from smiling as he recalls what Nodame said. Speaking of Nodame, she's horrified when she sees Etou-sensei looking all over for her. At the same time, Chiaki finds out from Tanioka-sensei that the person who's in charge of her is "The Harisen". As it turns out, Etou becomes interested in Nodame's talent after hearing her performance with Chiaki when the two performed Rachmaninoff.

Their conversation is interrupted when they hear Nodame screaming in terror as she is being chased around by Etou-sensei. Upon seeing this, Chiaki tells Tanioka that if Etou wants Nodame wants to be a good player, he should allow her to learn from Tanioka. In response, Tanioka tells Chiaki that he's not a teacher who is capable of drawing motivation from students who don't have one. Having said that, a student is an important customer and therefore, he is willing to give his effort and co-operation to fulfil the dream and hope of the student. As a result, he tried to help Nodame working on songs such as "Shaggy Suite" and "Farting Exercise" for 3 years. Having said that, although Nodame might not have noticed it, lately something has changed with her. Because of this, he wants to see Nodame doing well in her study. Speaking of 'seeing', a boy and his mother are transfixed when they see Etou trapped in between a fence bar and a wall.

That evening, Nodame goes to her practice room and looks happy upon noticing Chiaki. She invites him to come home with her but Chiaki instead asks her since when she skipped her lesson. When she's not being honest with him, he tells her outright that she's not suitable to become a teacher. When Nodame asks him why he said this, Chiaki tells her that she's incapable of educating and instructing kids. If anything, she'd be bullied by her own students. Nodame becomes upset upon hearing this and tells Chiaki that she wants to be a Kindergarten teacher. Chiaki counters her by saying that if he's a parent, he won't want his kid to have a teacher like her. In her anger, Nodame tells Chiaki that she's going home on her own tonight. Chiaki asks her to do that since he's going home on his own too. As he leaves school, Chiaki realises that Nodame's talent or his effort to pull her up won't matter if she's not making the effort to do her best.

Meanwhile, Nodame still tries to hide herself from Etou-sensei when she sees Kuroki sitting in the lobby. Kuroki introduces himself as Morimitsu College of Music student, Kuroki Yasunori and gives her a bouquet to thank her for the Onigiri. Kuroki also informs her that the reason he's still around is because he's shaving his Reeds. Clarinet and Saxophone players don't have to do this since they can just buy one but Oboe players have to make their own. Nodame decides to use the opportunity to ask Kuroki if he plans on becoming a pro. When Kuroki confirms this, she asks him if it's strange that someone who wants to be a Kindergarten teacher also aims for a higher goal. Upon hearing this, Kuroki tells her that although he does not understand what she meant by that, he knows that when he plays music, he feels happy when he does it well. He thinks the better you are at music, the more enjoyable your performance will be.

Meanwhile, Chiaki is hounded by Etou-sensei, who tells him that "his woman" is a natural weirdo. Chiaki denies that Nodame is his "woman" but he admits that Nodame is a weirdo. Etou immediately complains about the fact that Nodame won't accept a normal lesson from him. Chiaki scoffs at Etou's words and tells the guy that he doesn't do 'normal' lesson since no other teacher brings Harisen to their class. Etou claims that the paper fan is not just a Harisen - it's a form of his 'Love'. Despite this, Etou agrees to throw away the Harisen because he won't repeat the failure that he made when he teach Chiaki. Upon hearing this, Chiaki decides to help Etou to win Nodame over. In order to do this, Etou lays down several Puri-Gorota figurines so Nodame will pick them up and come to the classroom. Nodame tries to run away again when she realises that this is a trap so Etou assures her that he doesn't have the Harisen with him anymore.

Nodame agrees to do Etou's normal lesson if he signs an agreement which states that he will help her completing the arrangement for "Farting Exercise" and won't quit on her. As a result, Etou ends up dancing like an idiot to comply with Nodame's request. In the process, he drops a piece of paper which shows that Chiaki was the one who told Etou to supply the Puri-Gorota figurines and bento, and to allow Nodame to do what she wants first. Nodame realises that Chiaki really cares about her and decides to thank him. Before she can do so, she overhears him talking to Saiko about how he can't go overseas. Nodame eventually realises that Chiaki has a flight phobia. When she confronts him about this, however, he simply ignores her and instead listens on Strezemann's version of Brahms Symphony No.1, a symphony which took Brahms 20 years to complete. Chiaki decides to use the music for his orchestra's first debut.

The next day, Mine scolds a few members when they come late for practice. Unfortunately, unlike himself or Chiaki, the other members don't have the ambition to make R☆S Orchestra a professional orchestra. They want to study overseas or participate in Concours (music competition). Mine is upset to hear the rebuttal but decides to sit down and continue practicing with them. Chiaki is also equally frustrated that the rest of the orchestra laughed at Mine, the only person who shares his vision for the orchestra. After hearing the orchestra sounding disconnected, Chiaki decides to postpone the practice until the music competition is over. Nodame decides to follow an upset Chiaki and accidentally drops the thermos that she's been carrying. This triggers a forgotten memory from Chiaki's mind: one where he was trying to reach a bottle of tablets inside a plane but failed to do so. As a result, an old man sitting behind him suffered a heart attack.

Impression:

This episode basically shows how much Chiaki has changed ever since he met Nodame and the S Orchestra members. He clearly cares a lot about them now. The happiness on his face when he finds out that Mine and Sakura can make it into his Orchestra was a good example of this. He's also very concerned about Nodame as exemplified when Mine told him that Nodame behaved strangely in his father's restaurant. Chiaki was actually ready to leave the party and go home, presumably so that he can check on Nodame. Despite this, he still denies that he cares a lot about her. The look on his face when Mine's father told him to bring some meal set for Nodame was a good example of this. At first he gladly took the meal set without a second thought but he looks horrified when he realises the implication of his acceptance. Regardless of his denial, Chiaki clearly knows more about Nodame than everyone around him. His knowledge on how to win over her in the end helps both Etou and Nodame to reconcile with each other.

Having said that, Nodame really does need to pull her own weight. I realise some of the things that Etou and Chiaki said were harsh but I couldn't help but cringe after I found out what Tanioka-sensei had to teach her in the past 3 years. This is what Strezemann meant a few episodes ago about Nodame not being on the same wavelength as Chiaki and therefore, they can't be together yet. Moving on to other topic, I find the new R☆S Orchestra members to be quite snotty. The only exception to this is probably Kuroki. Maybe it's unrealistic of Chiaki and Mine to expect them to put priority on the orchestra. But if they've gone this far, why not make the best of it and put some effort? This incident, however, shows that Chiaki shares the same vision with Mine. He actually looks upset when he saw Mine looking like he's about to burst into tears after the orchestra laughed at his idea. I can't wait until the Orchestra members fail at their own endeavours next week and end up getting whipped by Demon Chiaki for being lousy yet snotty performers.

On next week's episode: Demon Chiaki is back and the S Orchestra comes to see R☆S Orchestra's performance.

© memento 2003