Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 8

Chiaki is shaken by his newfound memory, but tells Nodame that he's okay.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 7

Nodame and her Gorota puppet wonder if Eto is mistaking her for someone else by claiming to be her instructor. Eto knocks Gorota across the room and tells Nodame to be grateful that he's going to fully bring out her talent. He sees her musical score entitled "Fart Exercises" and Nodame explains that she's working with Tanioka to finish it. Together with choreography, it will be used in her student teaching. Eto demands that she play a normal classical piece.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 6

Nodame dreams that she is playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2. Strezemann tells her it was a strange rendition, but interesting. However, it won't work with an orchestra. Nodame asks him to help her to be able to perform a concerto with an orchestra too (like Chiaki did). He tells her that she has to face music head-on, otherwise she won't be able to enjoy music from her heart. Nodame insists that she is enjoying the music.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 5

It's been a week since S-Oke's triumphant performance. Nodame uses Chiaki's internet because her phone has been cut off again. Chiaki tells her it's time to go to school, but when she opens her umbrella, it's full of holes. Chiaki coldly walks off, refusing to share his umbrella and Nodame chases after him.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 4

Nodame decorates to celebrate Chiaki's appointment as conductor to S-Oke, but he's not happy at all. However, he reasons that many conductors have no chance to conduct, so he resolves to make S-Oke sound good.

First Impressions:// Nae Il's Cantabile

When it comes to assessing Nae Il's Cantabile, comparisons to Nodame Cantabile are inevitable. The Japanese drama was the manga come to life, with theatrics and over-the-top comedic violence that would put the hero behind bars in reality. It was fun, sweet and personified the characters perfectly, with casting that couldn't be beat.

Nae Il's Cantabile tells the story in a more realistic way, expanding upon motives and adding real world aspects. There is still physical comedy, but rather than hitting the heroine across the room, our hero nudges and pushes her. Facial expressions are less exaggerated, and I miss Tamaki Hiroshi's exasperated visage, however I do like the realism of this grown up version of a beloved story.

Tamaki was a sexy, brooding Chiaki, and Jdrama fans might have a hard time accepting Joo Won in the leading role of Cha Yoo Jin just based on his appearance. However, Joo Won is an excellent actor and I'm sure he'll win them over in time. Yoo Jin is serious with hints of sensitivity, and his mastery of piano completely believable. The one thing I would change, though, is his hairstyle; it's unflattering and ages him. Makeover please!

Yoo Jin is the son of a famous pianist and he himself has enormous talent and ability in violin, piano and conducting. His problem is that he's had some harrowing experiences that prevent him from travelling to Europe, where he would need to go in order to seriously pursue a career in music. He clashes with his elite piano teacher which sends him down a fated path towards a certain quirky pianist.

Professor Do Kang Jae (Eto) played by Lee Byung Joon, has a bigger role in the Korean version, as does Professor Ahn Gun Sung (Tanioka) portrayed by Nam Goong Yun. It seems that they, along with dean Song Mi Na (Minako) played by Ye Ji Won, will have more of a voice as they help shape the students, as well as add the element of conflicting agendas in the school; namely dreams versus practicality.

Shim Eun Kyung as Sul Nae Il (Nodame) is sweet, fresh and eccentric; everything that she should be. She understands the character and has studied her expressions, depicting her childlike enthsiasm perfectly.

Nae Il is a bit of a mess. She gets distracted and tends not to do things like cooking, cleaning or washing her hair often. However, she's brilliant in piano and able to play pieces after hearing them once. She's just undisciplined and not able to read sheet music well.

Joo Won is an excellent straight man to Shim Eun Kyung's comic, and their chemistry develops naturally as they clash, exchange soft looks and make beautiful music together. One of the things that has made this story so popular is the fact that Yoo Jin (Chiaki) is such a serious and abrasive personality, but will still do things like cook Nae Il (Nodame) gourmet meals and wash her hair before they're even a couple. Sure, he's doing it for his own purposes, but where in real life would you find such a man?

It looks like a different approach might be taken with maestro Franz von Stresemann. The Korean version seems a bit more dignifed, but we'll see what happens. I had thought that they might cast a caucasian for the role of the German conductor, but Baek Yoon Shik is a good choice. Takenaka Naoto played his Japanese counterpart in a very comical way with flashes of gravity. I suspect Baek Yoon Shik will do the opposite.

There wasn't too much emphasis on the side characters in episode one, but so far they do look promising.  Baek Seo Bin as Han Seung Oh (Hayakawa) was a benign character in the Japanese version, but it looks like there will be some friction between him and Yoo Jin as he's a bit obnoxious. He seems like a combination of the Hayakawa and Ookouchi characters. Chae Do Kyung (Saiko) played by Kim Yoo Mi is Yoo Jin's ex-girlfriend with attitude.

Go Kyung Pyo is Yoo Il Rak (Mine) and he has really captured the spirit of the character; immature, a bit rebellious and completely warm-hearted. Here again, I would change that horrible hairstyle! He's supposed to be all about rock; they should have given him a more dynamic do. Ahn Kil Kang plays his doting dad, Yoo Won Sang, and I hope they give him a decent amount of scenes because he is hilarious. 

The music is wonderful, and like their Japanese counterparts, Joo Won and Shim Eun Kyung are believable at the piano. (I always wonder if they feel silly doing all that posturing when they aren't really playing.) Harmonizing together gives them an added level of communication and collaboration that lends itself to a bond that you don't find in a typical romantic comedy. 

The Korean version obviously has a bigger budget than the Japanese, with beautiful sets and pianos. It adds elegance to this world of classical music, though I would have preferred that they leave the apartments as small student dwellings.

I enjoyed watching the iconic scenes remade and am also looking forward to seeing where they will expand on the story. With 16 episodes as opposed to the 11 + 2 specials of the original, there will be three more hours to play with. In one scene, Nae Il defends a bag that Yoo Jin wants to throw away, telling him she got it from Kim Tak Goo's bakery, referencing the 2010 drama King of Baking, Kim Tak Goo that Joo Won appeared in.

The troubled Yoo Jin seems lost as if in a forest, but the way clears when he hears Nae Il's piano and he finds his way to her. I like that they added some romantic symbolism from the start. Episode one takes us through lessons one, two and most of three of the manga. The Korean production has stayed true to the material while asserting a voice of its own. I hope to see even more of that as the series goes on.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 3

Although the girls are happy that Chiaki is there to conduct S-Oke, the boys are doubtful he can do it. Where is Strezemann? Nodame recalls what happened when she begged Strezemann to accept Chiaki's request to transfer to the conducting department. Convinced that Chiaki would go off to Europe if he couldn't study conducting at the academy, Nodame accepted Strezemann's condition of giving him a kiss to approve the transfer. They both puckered up, but as he stepped forward, she suddenly punched him, knocking him out.

Batzy & Panda's Art Challenge #2

Panda's Entry:

My art renders her totally unrecognizable, so I added in some hints from three of her dramas.  ;)




Batzy's Entry:
My hint for my lazy sketch.
Believe it or not, we drew the same person. lol.

미안하요.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 2

 

The announcement is posted regarding Strezemann's new orchestra, and someone comments that it's made up of underachievers. At the bottom of the list, Nodame has the position of mascot.

 

Nodame tells Strezemann that she wants to be a pianist, not a mascot. He tells her that pianists can't join orchestras, but this way she can be near him all the time.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 1

 

Chiaki recalls how being raised in a family of musicians and having a famous pianist father, afforded him access to performances all over the world. It was when he saw Sebastian Vieira, though, that he became engrossed in music.

Two New Romantic Comedies for the Fall

I was pleasantly surprised when I caught the first episodes of two new romantic comedies the other night. Why surprised? We'll come to that later. For now let me introduce you to:

Romantic Comedy #1

Leading Lady: a vapid, social media-obsessed narcissist who dresses provocatively because she thinks the attention it brings from men is positive. She is always focused on her phone, says things like "LOL" and adds hashtags to her sentences.

Leading Man: a workaholic marketing genius who doesn't make time for personal relationships.

One day, LL humiliates herself and finds that for all the online friends she has, not one would come to her aid. She enlists the help of our LM (who, incidentally, is her co-worker) to repair her image and teach her how to make real connections with people. He doesn't want to cooperate at first, but soon takes pity on LL. Thus begins a series of lessons that will change them both.

Romantic Comedy #2

Leading Lady: a small town girl who is clumsy with technology, so she does things like inadvertantly updating her Facebook status with her blind date's name and sending him an embarrassing text that she meant for her best friend. She seems naive, but she's strong and intelligent.

Leading Man: a jaded boy from the city who thinks he's seen all that it has to offer. He's a bit self-absorbed and enjoys being a playboy.

LL moves to the big city to pursue her dream career. She's bullied at work, but determined to find a way to excel there and be accepted. Her best friend sets her up on a blind date with LM and while there is a physical attraction, their personalities clash. We hear their innermost thoughts and realize that relationships can only be maintained when these thoughts are never voiced out loud.

Both are good setups for the classic dynamic of a Kdrama. What is surprising is that these aren't Kdramas, but sitcoms on abc. Whaaat? Was I really watching American television programming? Obviously someone had hijacked my TV because when I turned it on, instead of displaying the Korean channel, it was on this abc network - who has heard of it? But it was John Cho who caught my eye and pulled me into the first sitcom. Incidentally, he's Korean American and was born in Seoul.

 

John Cho plays Henry, the stern workaholic professional, in a warmer version of the archetypical iceberg role. Karen Gillan is Eliza, the shallow ditz in need of a makeover... or makeunder. I should mention that I watched these shows through the filter of my natural Kdramavision. Yes, I was seeing it in Korean, visualing it as an actual Kdrama.

 

 

I know, I know, I could have kept John Cho as the leading man, but Bae Soo Bin came to mind. I've loved him as both hero and villain, and pictured him giving a sweet performance as a not so cold iceberg. Yoon Eun Hye would be perfect as the self absorbed Eliza. She is so good at superficial and trying-too-hard, and also at transformation in a role. I would love to see the chemistry Bae Soo Bin and Yoon Eun Hye would develop in this setting!

 

 

I'm not at all famliar with Analeigh Tipton who plays the lovable Dana, but she totally reminds me of Meg Ryan - adorable even while being tough. Jake McDorman as Peter is a likeable obnoxious pig, who tries to be accommodating, though he's ultimately selfish. Kind of like most of the men I've met, though at varying degrees of likeability. Their inner voices are hilarious, and their push/pull is quite fun - I only hope they keep it up and everything doesn't get all lovey dovey early on.

 

 

I kept seeing Daniel Choi as the bratty Peter, at times condescending and at times considerate, yet more clueless than he realizes. Han Hyo Joo plays a good sweetheart, but also conveys strength and resilience well. I would love to see her make a comeback to the small screen in a comedy like this.

 

Selfie and Manhattan Love Story opened to Nielsen ratings of 1.4 and 1.3 respectively (among 18-49 year olds), which isn't terrible. They were up against powerhouses like NCIS which got 2.6 and The Voice with 3.5. If I were to guess what the equivalent would be in Korea, I would say 6. Not the greatest turnout, but pretty decent and not likely to get cut. I'll continue to watch these shows this fall (can I really spare an hour from my Asian drama addiction?) and will probably end up becoming increasingly frustrated that they aren't being done in Korean. Oh wait, with my potent Kdramavision, I'll be thinking they were Kdramas by the end of the season.