Continuing the TV series, these 2 special episodes open with the graduation of the final year students in Momogaoka College of Music. Some continue their education in Europe and these SP focus on Nodame and Chiaki in Europe. The first episode is about Chiaki: his competition as a conductor, followed by his first debut. The second episode tells Nodame's struggle in Europe and her first recital.
My opinion:
Sugoi sugoi sugoi!! I definitely love this better than the original TV series. First and utmost reason is because most of the film has Europe (France) as the settings. I am thrilled with the scenery and building: the castles, the architecture style, and the Christmas scenery in Paris wow... I am always fond of Europe. Lol..
Story-wise, there is more character development (mainly the 2 leads), although the challenges which Chiaki and Nodame face are roughly the same and hence repetitive. The development in the love relationship between the two is also something good (though the kiss scene is typical of J-drama kiss: so plastic, cold, and fake).
Humour-wise, it is few levels above the TV series. This time the jokes rely on the funny actings /words/expressions so I really enjoy the lameness and jokes. In the TV series, I hate the jokes which involve the hitting and being rude towards the females (these jokes are a bit trying too much in my opinion). My stomach really ached because Franck and Tanya are just super lame (read funny). The scene where Nodame learnt French in a cafe was classic but the expressions of the people in the scene is super hilarious. This time there was no hitting, but the "duel" scene in the Christmas night is somehow very funny and end in a very sweet way. Basically the comedy aspect works excellently in making people laugh.
The major eyesore for me this time is again too many characters without clear plots about them. They mainly serve as fillers (the Rising Star Orchestra people are cheerleaders, Ryutaro-Kiyora relationship is also just touch and go, Tanya&Franck are just there to make people laugh, and it's weird that the small boy suddenly becomes Nodame's friend). These SP again makes me wonder whether the main character of the show is Chiaki or Nodame. Nodame's story is more poorly developed (she suddenly gained the confidence just because of listening to Ave Verum Corpus in a church) and at the end of the SP, it again features Chiaki's first Europe debut. Another thing, I find it disturbing to see angmoh faces speaking in Japanese. Lol! They should just keep the subtitle and let they all speak French. But then I know it is kinda weird to watch a supposedly Japanese show in French. It would be like watching a French movie.
Afterthoughts:
A thing that I like from J drama is that many things presented are more realistically portrayed and closely resemble real life. Hence, it is no fairy tale and people can relate to them. In my own life, I also know that competition bring out the worst in me. It takes out the joy of doing something and often change my ownself for worse, making myself unable to be myself. Chiaki faced this with his rival in the competition while Nodame was jealous (in terms of love) and both fall into shit hole for awhile.
As a foreign student too, I can imagine similar difficulties such as language barrier, lack of friends, and inability to cope in class. Hence, I completely understand the desperation and the feeling of giving up and the loss of confidence. Sigh.. Perhaps one thing that I can learn from the show and apply to myself is to find a reason why I am doing things I am doing right now. Why am I studying in Singapore? What am I studying for? etc etc... Clearly money and enjoying a good life are not good enough as reasons for me to keep going.
In all, I really like it :) And I am looking forward for the 2 movies (one was out in Dec 2009 and one will be out in 2010). I hope both movies will be able to keep up with the good things: good humour, good music, nice story, etc.. If the character development is improved, that would be perfect. Hoho..
My opinion:
Sugoi sugoi sugoi!! I definitely love this better than the original TV series. First and utmost reason is because most of the film has Europe (France) as the settings. I am thrilled with the scenery and building: the castles, the architecture style, and the Christmas scenery in Paris wow... I am always fond of Europe. Lol..
Story-wise, there is more character development (mainly the 2 leads), although the challenges which Chiaki and Nodame face are roughly the same and hence repetitive. The development in the love relationship between the two is also something good (though the kiss scene is typical of J-drama kiss: so plastic, cold, and fake).
Humour-wise, it is few levels above the TV series. This time the jokes rely on the funny actings /words/expressions so I really enjoy the lameness and jokes. In the TV series, I hate the jokes which involve the hitting and being rude towards the females (these jokes are a bit trying too much in my opinion). My stomach really ached because Franck and Tanya are just super lame (read funny). The scene where Nodame learnt French in a cafe was classic but the expressions of the people in the scene is super hilarious. This time there was no hitting, but the "duel" scene in the Christmas night is somehow very funny and end in a very sweet way. Basically the comedy aspect works excellently in making people laugh.
The major eyesore for me this time is again too many characters without clear plots about them. They mainly serve as fillers (the Rising Star Orchestra people are cheerleaders, Ryutaro-Kiyora relationship is also just touch and go, Tanya&Franck are just there to make people laugh, and it's weird that the small boy suddenly becomes Nodame's friend). These SP again makes me wonder whether the main character of the show is Chiaki or Nodame. Nodame's story is more poorly developed (she suddenly gained the confidence just because of listening to Ave Verum Corpus in a church) and at the end of the SP, it again features Chiaki's first Europe debut. Another thing, I find it disturbing to see angmoh faces speaking in Japanese. Lol! They should just keep the subtitle and let they all speak French. But then I know it is kinda weird to watch a supposedly Japanese show in French. It would be like watching a French movie.
Afterthoughts:
A thing that I like from J drama is that many things presented are more realistically portrayed and closely resemble real life. Hence, it is no fairy tale and people can relate to them. In my own life, I also know that competition bring out the worst in me. It takes out the joy of doing something and often change my ownself for worse, making myself unable to be myself. Chiaki faced this with his rival in the competition while Nodame was jealous (in terms of love) and both fall into shit hole for awhile.
As a foreign student too, I can imagine similar difficulties such as language barrier, lack of friends, and inability to cope in class. Hence, I completely understand the desperation and the feeling of giving up and the loss of confidence. Sigh.. Perhaps one thing that I can learn from the show and apply to myself is to find a reason why I am doing things I am doing right now. Why am I studying in Singapore? What am I studying for? etc etc... Clearly money and enjoying a good life are not good enough as reasons for me to keep going.
In all, I really like it :) And I am looking forward for the 2 movies (one was out in Dec 2009 and one will be out in 2010). I hope both movies will be able to keep up with the good things: good humour, good music, nice story, etc.. If the character development is improved, that would be perfect. Hoho..
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