Recap: Nodame Cantabile in Europe Part 2

Chiaki recognizes Oliver, Elise's henchman, as his abductor and shoves him off. Oliver tries to convince Chiaki to come quietly, then makes a grab for him, prompting a little girl to bring her mother's attention to the "hugging" men. Oliver throws Chiaki over his shoulder and runs off.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile in Europe Part 1

It's spring and everyone is celebrating graduation. Tamaki points out that since they will all be together in R.S-Oke, it's not really goodbye. Mine congratulates Nodame on passing her exam to enter the Conservatory in Paris. She declines the invitation to drink with the others because although she doesn't have to be in Europe until the fall, Chiaki asked her to come with him that week. Masumi is overcome with jealousy.

Recap: Nodame Cantabile Episode 11

It's Nodame's first visit home in two years. The Noda family is happy to have everyone together. They wonder what her plans are after graduation. Nodame's brother points out that she will have to teach. The family has spent so much money paying for her tuition to an expensive music academy, that if it doesn't result in her getting a job, it will turn into a bad debt. Mrs. Noda remarks that piano is all Nodame has. Her father agrees; she could never have gotten into a regular college. At least graduating from a music academy will make her seem refined and she might be able to get married.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 10

Nodame finishes performing a slapdash rendition of Etude and the audience is confused when she doesn't start her second piece. Nodame sits dazed until she spots Chiaki in the audience. She remembers Kaori's advice to think of the happiness of being in love. She begins to play L'isle Joyeuse beautifully, which doesn't please Yuuta who has been watching her with disdain.

Recap:// Nodame Cantabile Episode 9

When Nodame's timer goes off, Chiaki wakes up and finds the pocketwatch in his hand.

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.

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.

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.

First Impressions: Nobunaga no Chef

Ken (Tamamori Yuta) a modern day chef, suddenly finds himself in 1568, the volatile period in Japan's history when Oda Nobunaga was working towards the unification of Japan. As if that's not problematic enough, he has lost his personal memories. While he retains his cooking skills and knowledge of history, he doesn't know who he is, or how he slipped back in time.

Nobunaga no Chef is based on the ongoing manga written by Nishimura Mitsuru and illustrated by Kajikawa Takuro which began publication in 2011. Though the drama plot follows the same path, its divergent in the details, presumeably to include more action and intrigue right from the start, and to expand the role of the female lead. While the manga's story has more integrity, the live action is still entertaining, so I try not to compare the two too much.

Ken is thrown right into the thick of things as Oda Nobunaga (Oikawa Mitsuhiro) defeats a horde of soldiers in the street around him. The action throughout the episode is done well and Oikawa is very believable as the ruthless and autocratic Oda.

Ken gains help from the swordsmith, Natsu, who is masquerading as a man being that she lives alone. I'm not a big fan of Shida Mirai. She plays Natsu exactly as she played a high schooler in 2010's Hammer Session. I understand that she's not supposed to have any feminine charm in this role, but while her overly exaggerated facial expressions and silliness could work for an annoying teen girl, the same is not appropriate for a swordsmith in the Warring States period.

Though the events that led to Oda's retainment of Ken in the drama are not as natural as those that occured in the manga, the story is still believable knowing Oda's love of innovation would make him curious about Ken's wondrous cuisine.

Ken realizes that his life is in danger and he must fight using his cooking skills. The situations he finds himself in are inconceivable to his modern mind, but he stands by his convictions.

 

The food porn portion of the drama is underwhelming. I was hoping for more interesting preparations filmed at romantic angles, but this can be overlooked...

 

 

... in part because the final products are beautiful and the tasting is satisfying to watch. Ken's mastery of cooking techniques, unheard of in that era of Japan, put him in good stead with Oda who realizes that Ken can be put to good use as more than just a personal chef.

That doesn't mean Ken has carte blanche, though. Being in close proximity to those in power brings danger from all directions. Tamamori Yuta expresses Ken's maturity well as he rises to meet each challenge and struggles to regain his memories.

Visually, the sets and establishing shots do ensconse the audience into the past authentically. I was hoping for a more epic feel similar to Jin, another time travel drama, but it seems that Nobunaga no Chef  has a lower budget with their limited locations. Nevertheless, it is still visually pleasing.

While it's best not to compare the storyline details of the manga and the live drama, if you have read the manga, it's fun to see how certain scenes are brought into motion. If you've been meaning to read the manga, I'd suggest waiting until after you've seen the drama since the manga is the more serious of the two.

The best thing about time travel dramas is getting to glimpse history and perhaps the fictional way our hero may have influenced events. Episode one features the meeting of Oda and the Portugese missionary, Luis Frois, who gifted him with a bottle of konpeito while seeking permission to spread  Christianity in Japan.

 

Other prominent figures that are established in the first episode are Kinoshita Tokichiro Hideyoshi (Goro) whom Oda refers to as Saru, and Akechi Mitsuhide (Inagaki Goro), one of Oda's vassals who later rebelled and brought upon his death. I'd suggest reading about them briefly. Brushing up on the history of the time may be spoilerish, but enhances the entertainment value overall. Stop rolling your eyes, Batzy-chan!

 

Ultimately, Nobunaga no Chef's entertainment value outweighs its faults and gives us two Johnny's boys as a bonus. It aired from January to March of 2013 and brought in a decent Kanto average rating of 10.8. On 10 July 2014, a two hour special will air in which Ken regains part of his memories and finds a way back to the present.

First Impressions:// Border

Although BORDER is listed as a mystery/suspense, it's more of a supernatural crime drama. It's dark with offbeat characters that stir your interest. The first episode seemed rather simple, but I gave it another shot and was glad I did. Though episodic, it seems that the cases will be varied, and there are a couple questions that I suspect will string us along until the end.

Ishikawa Ango (Oguri Shun) is a competent and ambitious detective with a serious personality. He has no personal life due to his career, and possibly his cold demeaner. The series starts with him hanging between life and death after being shot in the head.

Ishikawa recovers and gets back to work, but is surprised to find that he can see and communicate with the case's dead victims. The ghosts don't have a special appearance and it feels a bit like The Sixth Sense where ghosts appear as normal people.

Ishikawa's unpersonable disposition is further emphasized, contrasting with detective Tachibana's (Aoki Munetaka) boisterous character.

Akai (Furuta Arata) is a mysterious underworld figure who does favors for a price, and is surprised when Ishikawa approaches him. Whether they have some significant connection is yet to be seen.

Higa Mika (Haru) is the coroner who works with such thoroughness that she seems like another detective. She's smart and serious, the female version of Ishikawa and they collaborate well. This being a Japanese drama, I don't expect any romance to develop, but it would be interesting to see if their composures would crack at all in a social situation.

A bit of comic relief is subtle and comes from quirky characters that Ishikawa interacts stonefaced with. His silent prolonged stare does, though, speak volumes, and you can't help but feel affection for him.

I was surprised at the outfits in the autopsy room and I wondered if they really wear those clear plastic getups in Japan. Although the police work doesn't always feel authentic, it does follow a logical progression and moves the story along smoothly.

After the first episode, I was afraid that Ishikawa would just go around being helped by ghosts, and his main challenge would be to find evidence to support what he already knew. However after watching episode two, I am reassured that the ghosts will be varied and can complicate matters.

Overall, my first impression of BORDER is that it's a low-key series with a bit of eccentricity to make things interesting, and definitely worth a try.



POW:// Hiro Mizushima

Looks like there's a new guy on the list. If you don't recognize the name, maybe the face will do the trick. Here's my first Point of Weakness of the Year. And he's Japanese!

Hiro Mizushima (Birth Name: Tomohiro Saitō)
DOB: April 13, 1984
Birth Place: Tokyo, Japan
Occupation: Actor, Writer, Model
Languages: Fluency in English and Japanese
Blood Type: AB

First place I recalled seeing him was Hana Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e) where he played Minami Nanba. This character was the head of the second house and nephew to the school doctor. The following actors also played this character in other adaptations: Renn Kiriyama (2011 version), Danson Tang (Taiwanese version) and Seo Jun-Young(Korean version, To The Beautiful You)

Hiro is married to the beautiful Ayaka, and has been since 2009.

Hiro will be playing Sebastian in the live action movie for Black Butler (Kuro Shitsuji). His character is a demon butler with some bad ass moves. I am excited since I loved the anime and expect Hiro to do an awesome job as Sebastian in the role that marks the end of his 3+ year hiatus. He also slimmed down for the role. (Not like he needed to...but he still looks great)

Here's the trailer to Kuro Shitsuji which will be released later this month.


Images copyrighted to their respective owners.