Nodame Cantabille

Watching Nodame Cantabille now. Probably will be the last show i watch before going back next week. It centres around a music academy and thats what makes this show so good. For me,that is. Of course, the storyline and cast are great and it has the right amount of drama and comedy involved but it's the music used in the show that makes it stand out.

I love classical music. It helps me when im stressed out, it's the only type of music i can listen to when im studying and it acts as a great lullaby when i need to sleep. Being centered around a music academy, this show uses classical music as it's soundtrack. And they choose the most awesome pieces. For different scenes, different pieces are inserted and what's amazing is that they always fit the mood and. It actually even gets you in the mood. Like theres one scene where they use Mozart's The Bumblebee and you just feel yourself getting drawn into it.

I get sidetracked sometimes watching it. I'll be listening to what music they choose and i'll forget to actually see what's going on. haha.

Nobuta Wo Produce

I just finished watching Nobuta Wo Produce, this Japanese drama my brother recommended to me a few years ago. I never got around to watching it before this mainly because i couldn't find it in the stores. Took me a while to realise that they marketed it here using it's English title. Like there's no inkling at all that it's called Nobuta on the dvd cover which is why the store workers couldn't help me. Anyway, this has got to be by far one of the best dramas i watch especially when it comes to dramas dealing with high-school students.

It revolves around 3 main character, 2 guys and a girl. There's Shuji, the most popular guy in school who thinks life is a game, and whose actions portray him as a totally different person than he actually is, which is someone who is afraid of loneliness and the thought of people not liking him. There's Akira, a weird eccentric guy who hangs around Shuji, even if Shuji finds him annoying. The guy who acts as Akira totally makes the show with his weird mannerisms and hand gestures. Then there's Nobuta, a girl scarred from childhood when she is rejected by her stepfather and goes through life being bullied which makes her into this person who doesn't find the it worth living. They make her character have this kind of eerie presence, she's really pale, she talks so little and it's only at the end of the show when she actually smiles...that also in a somewhat weird way.

Basically this story is about Shuji and Akira deciding to bridge forces to make Nobuta into the most popular girl in school. For Shuji, it's just another form of a game for him and weird Akira finds itto be an equally amusing activity. Of course, it's no easy feat and they create all this funny ways of trying to make her popular. At the same time the friendship between the three become stronger and you start seeing that it's not just Nobuta who's going through a makeover but the other two chracters also start unveiling to become who they actually are.

The main theme in this show is friendship, which is why it is so attractive to me. And the way the characters act and how the story moves on is realistic enough that you can see how it could happen in real life. The theme of love (in the sense of between male and female) takes a minor role here. I loved that. Most dramas take the route of creating a love triangle and making that it the main story which i find so overdone and irritating. Most of the times they make it very emotional and the friendship goes through all these unnecessary strains.

In this drama, there is a love triangle but it hardly becomes a main story.Akira falls for Nobuta and realises he loves her. While at first he makes a point to win her heart, he gives up because he realises that he wouldn't be able to make her happy. That part in the drama was particularly touching for me. When Akira tells Shuji his reason, Shuji says that the only important thing should be love and that that would be enough. Akira then replies saying that love was important but to be happy there were other things you also needed. I loved that response, it's exactly what i think. Most dramas just use love as the pretense of getting together and the character go around thinking and exclaiming that just by truly loving that person they were meant to be together.

Nobuta also shows slight feelings for Shuji but never acts on it probably because she values his friendship more and realises that the three of the remaining as friends is the best way to go. Their friendship goes through many adversities through out the show and i like how when they're faced with problems regarding each other they dont jump to conclusions and instead decide to actually listen to explanations and believe in each other. When a vindictive girl gives Akira a picture of Nobuta hugging Shuji while she was comforting him, instead of going all psycho and feeling betrayed he chooses to ignore the picture(which was totally the right to do as the hugging scene wasn't like how it looked) . So the issue of the picture was eliminated and it's only at the end of the show that Shuji finds out that Akira had the picture and realises even more of how he really is a great friends.

The ending is bittersweet,very satisfying. I didnt fast forward once watching this drama. It was too dramatic, so there wasn't any sad too depressingg moments, the cast is great,funny.The chemistry is fabulous. The soundtrack is nice to hear. It has just 10 episodes so it doesnt drag on. All in all, a great show.

Nikolai Gogol and IWGP

I've decided to bring back Middlesex and Sophie's World when i start uni. I'm probably going to be real busy so i don't think theres are point in bringing too many. Chose Middlesex cause so many people have recommended in to me and i've read a few pages to know that it's definitely a good read and i'm taking Sophie's World cause i've read it a few times and it's something i can read when i'm too busy too start on a new book but still need some reading material.

I read a collection of short stories by Nikolai Gogol recently. I heard about it when i watched this movie 'The Namesake' where the main character was named Gogol. His two most popular short stories i think were ' The Overcoat' and ' The Nose'. Both are extremely good. I like how his subject matters are simple yet what he is trying to portray in his work usually covers extensive ground. The Nose is really comical i must say even if the story itself is like crazy.

Also finished the Ikebukuro West Gate Park(IWGP) series. It was really good. Much more edgier, seedier type of Japanese Drama. Acting was top-notch, the plot moved along quite fast, and the ending while it was a bit sentimental for me, it still seemed believable. Towards the end they even killed off one of the main characters and that's not something you usually do in dramas( except for those dramas where the main characters have some illness and find love before they die). I'd give it 8/10.

Watched Made Of Honour that day. It was ok. Nothing great but it wasn't terrible either. But it's no My Best Friend's Wedding for sure.

Orange Days

I just finished watching Orange Days..and i loved it!! I actually wrote a post all about it..but i didn't save it and it's lost. So, i'll just leave you with a picture of the main character - who is so adorable and his character in the show ( so baik, selfless) is to die for! The show left me smiling and satisfied.

Trip Down Memory Lane 2

Last Sunday, met up with Hema at CS. I've known Hema since primary school and we were really close during that time and we stayed tight during the early years of high school. We got into different classes after form 3 so we weren't as close after that but we make a point to keep in touch cause you know, there's all those, memories we have. I think she's really different from me which i guess is a good thing. Sitting through lunch, i realised she hasn't changed much and things were just like old times.

Also, congrats to my smarty of a cousin Chitra for getting into KYUEM. Really proud of you!! Spent all day yesterday getting stuff for her and buyinh clothers, school supplies,etc.. it was fun...so exciting seeing other people going through the whole feeling of embarking on something new.

At the moment i'm rewatching GTO. I finished S.O.S but it was quite bad,slow and i hated hated the two main characters. It's hard to enjoy watching something when the lead characters piss you off most of the time. And even the part which i liked didn't end in a great way. So i need GTO to make get me out of the melodramatic funk and get me laughing. At the same time i'm watching The Life of Yamado Taro. My friend recommended it to me. It's okay. Very light comedy.

Rantings

Yeah, im blogging about J-drama again. Haha. Sorry, but I can’t help it. Usually if I was at college, or my sibs were here I would be ranting to them about it and talking to myself is something I reserve to more perplexing stuff. Yeah, I’m crazy. Anyway, whenever I watch these dramas I always think about the situations these dramas portray and think about how I would react to them if they actually happened around me or to me. I find that most of the times I tend to disagree with the endings given, especially when it comes to love stories. I’m not a big believer in perfectly happy ever after endings. Moving on, coincidentally the last 3 dramas I watched had the theme student-teacher relationship them. I didn’t purposely choose these dramas because of that mind you. Only one of them was exclusively about that, the other two had it as one of the subplots. So I was thing about it, and whether I was against this kind of relationship or not. I came to the conclusion that I think I would have a problem with the teacher having a r’ship with

The student while they were in school but I think I wouldn’t have a problem with them having a relationship after that student graduated. I just think having the whole relationship within the school system is wrong. And anyway if they really loved each other and all that they can wait right. While most people I’ve talked to it about have a problem about the age difference, that factor doesn’t bother me. It never really has I think. If you’re planning on finding your life partner or something why limit yourself to those only in a certain age group. You never know what you’re missing and age doesn’t depict accurately how a person is.

This is on a totally different note but I was going through videos at You Tube and I was watching some Japanese variety shows where various actors and artistes are featured. Their variety shows are so chaotic and I think they’re really good at building the artistes image in the sense that they make a point to show them being all goofy or making a fool of themselves which I think is a great publicity stunt because viewers will then find them endearing. I doubt thought that everything is genuine and I think there’s a lot of play acting involved. Like there’s this vid where one of the members of this J-pop group was reading out a letter to his members and it’s like all sentimental, and it’s about how he feels bad that he got hospitalized and sick at one time and he’s weeping on air. And like his members all crying too. And the viewers really lap it all up. I’m not trying to say that dude wasn’t sincere but why does he have to read it on air. I mean, can’t you just do it when you’re with your group? Does the whole world have to hear? That’s what I find real dodgy. But then again, it’s the entertainment world so what do you expect right?

Another thing is that I don’t understand why they choose to wear whatever it is they’re wearing when they’re performing. The costumes are really bad. Seriously. Most of the times, they’re all extremely flashy, glittery and there’s things or like bits of cloth hanging off them. They look like over-decorated Christmas trees. Maybe it’s the style over there – but I think anyone would find it to be a bit too much.

Conclusion: I have to much free time to be doing all this. Haix. I guess I’m trying to cram as much fluff into my brain before I start first year med and the crazy studying commences.

P.s: XJ! I was actually contemplating getting Coffee Prince that day but I decided that starting on Korean dramas would not be a good idea. I’d start watching to many of them. Do I have to mention A Kindred Spirit? Haha. And I still think the guys all look like girls.