A few months ago on Twitter, Moritheil of Anime Diet proposed one of those ever popular communal rewatches that always seem to make the experience more fun. A couple posts have already been done to get the ball rolling , but I was busy drowning in my backlog toward the end of the summer and so I’m more than a little late to the party.
At any rate, there’s one aspect of modern Japanese media that I’ve always been illiterate in: live-action dramas. Admittedly, I’m not even well-versed in Western live-action films, favouring video games as a child, and I’ve only seen a couple anime-irrelevant Japanese live action movies (although one was directed by Hideaki Anno and the other was scored by Joe Hisaishi.) Most of my knowledge of the medium comes from little clips I’ve seen on my classmates’ computers and Hinano‘s screencaps. Needless to say, it’s about time I took a look at the medium for myself and figure out what I’ve been missing.
Besides, there’s promise of GYABO in here. How can it go wrong?
The first ep begins with a pleasant shot of Prague. There are points in which it felt more like a cheap tourism ad than anything else, but it builds anticipation nicely. European imagery and motifs (and, well, music) is ever-present in the series, and it was one of my favourite aspects when I first watched the anime.
As the introduction continues, Chiaki’s very own Vieira is conducting an orchestra in an impressive concert hall, which is apparently the norm over in Prague. The music plays in the background as we’re introduced to Young Chiaki and told of his early encounter with the Maestro.
The plane should tell you enough about the show’s quality of special effects (it looks even worse in motion), but I was impressed by the introduction of Chiaki as an adult. Lots of dramatic fades and transitions accompanied by the orchestra from his past, and a light-drenched room that feels like someone forgot to close the camera’s shutter – which is exactly the kind of thing that I like. The scattered sheet music on the ground is quick and careful exposition, moreso if you don’t already know him as a character. He might be a little untidy, but he’s no slacker.
Moving along, I thoroughly enjoyed the short campus scene as Chiaki discontentedly dismisses the unskilled students around him. It was almost the same as in the anime, but it reminded me of what a distinctive character the guy really is. He can be a little on the pretentious side, but he’ll always remain as one of the few bishounen I can genuinely respect.
And of course, the turning point. Like in the anime, there isn’t much talk about music theory; it’s portrayed in a light that anyone can understand. In this case, Nodame’s piano almost feels like a visual performance rather than an aural one. The slow transitions work well in all of the piano and music scenes, but Chiaki’s narration as he finds brilliance in the sloppiness of her performance in this scene is the icing on the cake.
Anyway, when you’re not in it for the music or light slice-of-life romance, there’s definitely one element that glues the whole story together: hijinks! And it’s here, all right, to the same degree that you’d expect.
By the way, she’s holding his belt. Make of that what you may.
I still wonder how she manages to walk around without crushing anything.
I honestly can’t remember Afro-tan’s full name (or gender), but she’s here, and she’s as awkward as she should be.
Suffice to say, I LOL’D. They managed to pull off both this and the subsequent Chiaki KICK as if it were the most normal thing in the world.
Oh yeah, he’s German. At least he does the accent pretty well.
Finally, with the usual comedy aside, we reach the climax: the real turning point in Chiaki’s musical career, as he plays successfully with Nodame and remembers the fun in music. As fans of the anime would know, it’s the beginning of an extremely unlikely and all-around awkward relationship, but we all know that those two need each other, even if they seem like complete opposites.
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All in all, I’m pleased with the first episode, though that’s largely due to the fact that I liked the original series. The romance undertones are nice, but personally, the setting will always be the biggest draw. The whole concept of a music academy is alien to me, and the sheer novelty of an anime centered around a group of classical music students is…well, music to my ears. The best thing about Nodame is that they use the setting to their advantage, playing ample music in the background and spending enough time talking about the concerts and rehearsals, without making it feel like you’re actually at school. The biggest danger with shows like these is that they introduce a novel concept and promptly forget about it a couple weeks later, but luckily I know that won’t happen here.
As far the live action medium goes, I’m mostly neutral to it. “Apathetic” sounds negative, but really, the medium didn’t make much of an impact on me. Maybe it’s because it felt considerably lower budget than your average Hollywood movie (as with my prior experiences with Japanese film), but the directing and acting didn’t feel too different from an anime, aside from the obvious differences. On the plus side, it always looks better to have real people perform musical instruments than to try to animate it, and it’s doubly funny to see Chiaki’s and Nodame’s rom-com hijinks acted out.
In conclusion, I can see myself enjoying this rewatch, and I’d recommend the drama to anyone who wants to re-experience the series but still wants to try something new. At the very least, I know that Nodame can whet my appetite for classical music without forgetting to keep things fun.
~ ETERNAL
つづく
