JDorama Review: Gyabooo! Nodame Cantabile

Gyabooo! A Nodame Cantabile Review for Japinoy.com

By: Maneki Neko

Synopsis: Based on the successful manga series by Ninomiya Tomoko, Nodame Cantabile is a romantic comedy between musical opposites: an arrogant guy who always seeks perfection, and a freespirited girl who abhors hygiene and reading musical scores.

When they met, it was instant attraction for Nodame, and instant repulsion for Chiaki. However, Chiaki slowly began to appreciate Nodame’s talent and character. As they work together on their music, they unwittingly inspire each other to take big risks and further hone their musical talents, and mature as persons, as professionals, and as a couple.

Review: My boyfriend, who saw this in Japan, was actually insisting that we watch it. A couple of online buddies also recommended the series. They were all raves about it, so I thought this should be worth my time. Hehe.My initial reaction is that I didn’t like the numerous anime-ish scenes that the director (or whoever) is so fond of. Gokusen was ok; Nodame was a tad too much. The harisen, the flying Nodame, and the Street Fighter-like punches are a bit out of place, even in a funny series like Nodame, IMHO. Also, the first few episodes dealt mostly with Chiaki’s angst, and his desire to shut himself in his miseries about his ‘career limbo’ sort of drags the story.

I noticed that this was more of Chiaki’s dorama than Nodame’s. Until the very end, he had more character development than Nodame. I suppose that if they had a second season (since the series is only up to volume 9 of the manga), it would probably focus more on Nodame.

Eventually, the series (and the Nodame-Chiaki tandem) grew onto me, and I found myself liking it as I go per episode. I even shed a few tears of happiness during S-Oke’s first public performance. Nyar.

The thing that surprised me most about this series is that none of the actors, save for Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi, really knew how to play the instruments. They were particularly trained to pretend how to play instruments like the violin, contrabass, oboe and tympani. Ueno Juri (Nodame) studied piano in high school (?) while Tamaki Hiroshi (Chiaki) had to learn piano, violin and conducting all at the same time for the series. How cool is that?

Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi do make a good pair, though I still don’t believe that they are dating! Ha! Not happening (I hope).

But they aren’t the only great ones in this dorama. Takenaka Naoto is unbelievably funny (and icky) as Maestro Franz Stresemann, the famous European conductor who loves Japanese idols. It is also good to see Eita in a more substantial role than the bit roles he had in previous dramas. Eita the violinist. Eita the concert master. Eita the concert master with a concert master girlfriend. ^_^

However, my most favorite will have to be Koide Keisuke, who plays Okuyama Masumi, the typanist guy who has the hots for Chiaki. The colorful clothes, the big hair, the way he says “Chiaki-sama”: it’s all him and he certainly steals the show from Nodame and Chiaki. Forget Oishii Propose, this is probably the best (and funniest) I have seen him so far.

Rating review: 8/10

Starring:
Tamaki Hiroshi – Chiaki Shinichi
Ueno Juri – Noda Megumi
Takenaka Naoto – Franz Stresemann
Eita – Mine Ryuutaro
Koide Keisuke – Okuyama Masumi

Network: Fuji TV
Season shown: Autumn (Oct-Dec) 2006
Average rating: 18.79%

Related Threads:
Nodame Cantabile のだめカンタービレ
Best 20 ~Most Favorite Doramas of 2006~ by Junon Magazine
Ueno Juri 上野樹里
Tamaki Hiroshi 玉木 宏