Since we've been talking a lot around these parts about Nodame Cantabile lately, I thought it was only fitting to address the live action version of the show on this week's Dramataku. If you've seen the anime or read the excellent original manga, you already know who these characters are, but if you don't, I'll be happy to fill you in on all the details.
In the beginning of Nodame Cantabile, you're introduced to two key characters: Shinichi Chiaki, a determined student who discovered music as a young child and has a burning desire to become a conductor, and Megumi Noda (nickname Nodame), a scatterbrained piano student who may be truly gifted, but also is a bit of an eccentric type (she isn't really too interested in keeping her apartment clean, for example).
As you can imagine, these two end up being thrown together with the possibility that love will blossom. That's where the similarities to a traditional drama end, though. If you find yourself wondering just what Nodame could do to give Chiaki the expression of exasperation he wears in the picture above, follow me past the jump and I'll do my best to explain it all to you.
Before I really get into the meat of this show, I have to tell you that the music is truly one of the great signatures of the series. As I'm sure you can see, one of the most immediate differences between Nodame Cantabile and just about every other drama you've watched is that a goofy j-pop soundtrack is noticably absent. Instead, it's replaced with the glorious classics of legendary composers such as Mozart, Beethoven and more. If you don't care for classical music, this will probably be a turn off to you, but if you love it, get ready to fall in love startlingly fast.
Speaking of falling in love, if you don't find yourself digging Chiaki-senpai at least a little bit (or laughing your ass off every time he's on screen), you must be the icy type, because his character is remarkably easy to get attached to. He takes everything very seriously and approaches things with a finicky attitude, and actor Tamaki Hiroshi brings even more life to the performance with a variety of absolutely hilarious expressions. See the gallery to see what I mean.
Nodame, on the other hand, is truly Chiaki's opposite in every way. As I said before, she's a bit of a scatterbrain, but you won't really get the uniqueness of her character until you see actress Ueno Juri bring her to life on screen. Hers is easily one of the most incredible performances I've seen for any drama, and if you have any reason to watch this show, watch it for that. Her joyful exuberance is almost childlike, but watching her grow and change as the story progresses is truly rewarding for the viewer.
Chiaki would probably be enough to pull the show on his own as his character is a strong one, but what makes the show magical is the chemisty between the two. It's not a sexual chemistry either, although Nodame makes it clear more or less right off the bat that she's fallen for Chiaki. Like the manga, the relationship is more about the way their differing characters play off of one another. I could watch these two do anything -- go to the grocery, go to church, practice square dancing. ANYTHING. It's that fun to watch.
Besides these two strong leads, you have a great cast to back them up. Soon enough, Nodame and Chiaki find themselves involved with the S-Oke (a nickname for the S-Orchestra), which helps them both to learn more about their craft and hone their skills. The supporting cast that makes up the S-Oke is great, but the star here is Eita (played by Mine Ryutaro), who turns in a really memorable performance as the unique young lead violinist. Koide Keisuke also makes a mark as the flamboyant timpanist Okuyama Masumi.
I know, I'm going on and on about the actors. I'm sorry (well, not really). This show really outshines most of the other dramas out there when it comes to strong performances. Speaking of, there's one that really stands above and beyond all the rest when it comes to being over the top. Franz Stresmann (played by Takenaka Naoto), fondly referred to as Milch by Nodame, plays the character in a much more exaggerated way than the version in the anime. If you've read it first, you may not care for his interpretation, but I found it truly brilliant, right down to his hilarious way of pronouncing words. I never stopped laughing when this character was on screen.
In case you haven't guessed it already, this is one of my favorite dramas of all time. Nodame Cantabile did well at the 51st Television Drama Academy Awards, taking home Best Drama, Best Actress for Ueno Juri, and Best Director/Best Musical Arrangement for Takeuchi Hideki. In other words, it won almost everything there was to win. It also never rated lower than a 16.2 during its airtime, which is fairly impressive for a j-drama.
With eleven episodes and a special, this one won't take you too long to digest, and it gets the official Japanator Recommends seal of approval. You'll be glad you did.
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This show really is a great one, well deserving the attention. Even if you annoy yourself at the fake violin-playing and other such details, the good points well out-weight the bad ones: the outstanding cast being one. And the orchestras have musicians that are real enough. Suddenly live-action dramas don’t seem like such a bad idea to watch.
This is the only series I know of where the live action and the anime are both equally good in quality. There is really no distinguishing between the two of them.
And I became a classical music geek after watching this series.
just finished watching it in 2 nights and loved it! got the special too! can't wait for the movie! Now thinking of how to get hold of the OST haha..
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