Nodame Cantabile and Nae Il's Cantabile

I'm doing a joint review of these two dramas, not because I'm lazy (though I am) but because as good adaptations of the manga Nodame cantabile by Ninomiya Tomoko, or remake of one another, I would have repeated myself.

I've watched Nodame Cantabile twice but it's been some years and I've just watched Nae Il's Cantabile for the first time. I had actually read part of the manga, for once, and from what I remembered, the Japanese drama was quite faithful.

Japanese title : のだめカンタービレ

11 episodes

Aired on Fuji TV

From 2006 October to December

+ 1 special (2 ep, 2008) + 2 movies (2009 and 2010)

Main cast :

• Ueno Juri as Noda Megumi
• Tamaki Hiroshi as Chiaki Shinichi
• Eita as Mine Ryutaro
• Koide Keisuke as Okuyama Masumi
• Mizukawa Asami as Miki Kiyora
• Saeko as Saku Sakura
• Uehara Misa as Tagaya Saiko
• Takenaka Naoto as Franz Stresemann
• Fukushi Seiji as Kuroki Yasunori
• Mukai Osamu as Kikuchi Toru
• Toyohara Kosuke as Eto Kozo
• Nishimura Masahiko as Tanioka Hajime
• Ibu Masato as Mine Tatsumi

Production credits :

• Screenwriter : Etou Rin
• Producers : Wakamatsu Hiroki, Shimizu Kazuyuki
• Directors : Takeuchi Hideki, Kawamura Taisuke, Tanimura Masaki

Korean title : 내일도 칸타빌레

Other title : Tomorrow Cantabile

16 episodes

Aired on KBS2

From 2014 October to December

Main cast :

• Shim Eun Kyung as Sul Nae Il (Noda Megumi)
• Joo Won as Cha Yoo Jin  (Chiaki Shinichi)
• Go Kyung Pyo as Yoo Il Rak (Mine Ryutaro)
• Park Bo Gum as Lee Yoon Hoo
• Jang Se Hyun as Ma Soo Min (Okuyama Masumi)
• Min Do Hee as Choi Min Hee (Saku Sakura)
• Bae Min Jung as Jung Shi Won (Miki Kiyora)
• Baek Yoon Shik as Franz Streseman
• Kim Yoo Mi as Chae Do Kyung (Tagaya Saiko)
• Lee Byung Joon as Do Kang Jae (Eto Kozo)
• Nam Goong Yun as Ahn Gun Sung (Tanioka Hajime)
• Ye Ji Won as Song Mi Na
• Ahn Kil Kang as Yoo Won Sang (Mine Tatsumi)

Production credits :

• Chief Producer : Hwang Eui Kyung ; producers : Kim Jin Won, Park Woo Ram
• Directors : Han Sang Woo, Lee Jung Mi
• Screenwriters: Park Pil Joo, Shin Jae Won

 

Notes : Funny how I've just rewatched Secret Garden in which Lee Byung Joon and Kim Ji Sook also appear, in very different roles.

Review : Fav !

Title : Makes sense since these dramas revolve around students in a music school, and especially around the impact that the character Noda Megumi or Nodame / Nae Il has.

Girl : She's a tricky character to play because she's eccentric and childish, which can easily be annoying and ridiculous, but I think that both actresses nailed it. She's a piano genius but she doesn't want to make it her career. She's obstinate, honest, warm, lovable and doesn't care how she is perceived by people. (+)

Boy : He's also a genius in so many things. He's confident, hard-working and perfectionnist. Also closed-off emotionnally and struggles to express his feelings. (+)

Relationship : This shouldn't work. But it does. These two characters, also surrounded by their friends, help each other to grow and to overcome what is keeping them from achieving their true potentials. They also have the same passion for classical music and admire their respective talent.

Plot : The plot deals mostly with the growth of the characters, through the challenges they face individually and in relation to each other.

The Korean adaptation adds some power struggles at the head of the school, which was not that interesting but also not bad enough to ruin the drama.

Other characters : Characters are interesting and likable. The Korean adaptation has a new character, but, as with the other changes they've made, it fits well.

What the... ? Nodame/Nae Il is a quirky character, maybe she would be too much for some people ? Another tricky character is Stresemann and I'm actually glad they toned down his "pervert" side in the Korean adaptation.

Funny : Yes.

Music : Most diegetic and non diegetic music in these dramas are classical pieces. Classical music is at the heart of the story. You don't need to know anything about it (I don't) to like it and maybe these dramas will make you appreciate how beautiful and emotional classical music is.

Bonus : A glimpse of Salzburg !

Bottom line : I love the characters, in every iteration, their relationships and to watch them learn and grow. It's not realistic at all but it's very satisfying, funny, with sublime music. Fav !

Bad guy

Korean title: 나쁜 남자
Other title: Bad boy

17 episodes
Aired on SBS
From 2010 May to August

Main cast:

Kim Nam Gil as Shim Gun Wook

Han Ga In as Moon Jae In

Kim Jae Wook as Hong Tae Sung

Oh Yun Soo as Hong Tae Ra

Jung So Min as Hong Mo Ne

Kim Hye Ok as Mrs. Shin

Jun Gook Hwan as President Hong

Shim Eun Kyung as Moon Won In

Kim Eung Soo

Notes:

- Hello Paper fan teacher from Nodame cantabile! It's funny because Shim Eun Kyung who plays Girl's sister in this drama is playing the Nodame role in the Korean adaptation.

- Hello cute little girl also seen in Rooftop Prince!

- Hey guy from Coffee Prince in a major role!

- Strong feelings about that one. I'm going to have a spoiler space about it. It could have been a Fav but nope. It's been a few days so I'm not mad anymore, just bitter.

- Finally, I decided to start putting the production credits from Drama Wiki because these people are even more responsible for the end product than the cast.

Production credits :

Producer: Goo Bon Geun

Director: Lee Hyung Min

Screenwriter: Kim Jae Eun

 

Review: +

Title: I get it but it's hard to be more generic. Just "Guy" maybe?

Boy: I don't think you can go more mysterious-loner-dude-y than that. This drama lives or dies on his Boy. And he is SO good. He can do the single tear, the goofy smile, the smirk, anything. I read that actor Kim Nam Gil stole the show in another drama and I'm not surprised since I found him very charismatic. He had to, since the drama relies a lot on his character being that way. To sum up, all the pluses in the world for him.

Girl: All the pluses for her too. She is a art consultant (I had to get past the fact that it's a rom-com job despite not being on that list) from a poor background. She wants to be a social climber. Like Boy, she has an agenda, she drives the narrative. She is smart and level-headed but not boring. She's someome you'd like as a friend and it's the first time I wrote that about a drama's character.

Boy: The black sheep of his family. I'm not in love with him but he is touching. I feel for him.

Girl: A young spoiled girl but not the annoying brat type. She is cute and lively, passionnate and open-hearted. 

Girl: She's an unsatisfied married woman who always puts her duty to her family first. She could have been a cliché but she's a strong character and her story was well-handled.

Plot/relationships: The plot was so good. It was hard to see where it was going. It's driven by the characters' motivations, it makes you care about the characters, the pacing is great, revelations are dished out progressively. Fab! Triple Fab... But, triple but, at one point, characters act in stupid ways just to allow a plot point that makes no sense. And the end is completely botched. I was so mad. I've never been so mad... it doesn't ruin everything, I'd still recommend it but no to the end.
I'm just going to paraphrase one of my favourite reviews ever: "For about nine-tenths of the drama, this is perfect. The drama is tense, there’s a palpable sense of mystery, of trying to figure out along with the characters what the next move is, what the next layer is, how the disparate pieces that don’t make sense fit into a cohesive picture.
And then the bottom falls out catastrophically.
The last two episodes in which we get "resolutions" are just so terribly written that I think the screenwriter should get an MRI, because I think he had a stroke on page 85 and then ignored the smell of burnt toast to keep typing."

Funny factor? Nope.

Bottom line: It should have been a Fav! I'm mad it's not a Fav because of [spoiler].

But watch it! Just don't watch *first degree spoiler* the last two episodes and imagine it's the end.

However, I still need to dish on what I hated, so full blown spoilers coming  after the jump. You should really watch the show before reading this because, for one thing, you won't understand what I'm talking about and second, it will colour your experience of the show and you don't want that. Anyway, you will probably binge-watch it in days like I did so you're coming back soon.