Part of the reason why Nodame Contabile was so awesome, was in fact it had nothing to do with the show.



Everytime "Stressman" came on, it was usally to a dramatic classical tune called "Dance of the knights." In the UK, that song is also used as the theme for The Apprentice. Now Stressmen (and his ennunciation) is one of the funniest things about Nodame. So whenever he talked, or the music came on, I kept picturing Sir Alan Sugar (UK's version of Donald Trump) in Stressman's place. Because they're both old and grey see :) And ROFLing like crazy!



Hiroshi Tamaki was another big factor. He looks like the no-nonense type of guy, used to the more exclusive part of life. So whenever he stepped out the "norm" (quite a lot) by pulling exagerated facial expressions, I just loved it! He's amazing at rolling his eyes back ftw



Also Hiroshi's character is unable to leave Japan for the majority of the series, because of a childhood fear of planes. The one he was flying on as a kid took an emergency landing, and it traumatised him for life. The flashback (same one everytime) is pretty hilarious, and the reason is too...until you realize that plane ride has a more significant meaning to him than an emergency landing later on.



Nodame is pretty crazy too. Hands down, she's the craziest. But I'm glad in all that crazy, she doesn't become a magnetic leech so many female leads are demoted to these days. Ok...so she does follow him around a fair bit...but she's not afraid to part ways from him either



*winkwink*



A scene at the very end is soooo cute! I'm not telling you which one it is (you'll know when you come to it) and I replayed it twice.



On the whole I would recommend watching it, if you like crazy/slapstick humour. I, myself, only reached the end because the internet had so many glowing reviews about it. But I don't regret watching it! And I'm now in a position to go and watch the 2 sequels and know the entire back story :) For what it's worth- the movies come even more highly recommended!



Watch it for Hiroshi. Watch it for Stressman. And just for plain silliness :)



OH...and how could I forget the 10/10 music? Seriously. Like the other guys said...it opens up your eyes/ears to classical music and appreciate it in a whole other dimension. And I rarely mark music 10/10!

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"People don't get boyfriends by being hit on in town" intones Junpei with a deadpan face. I burst out laughing, and said "so true!"



For being Oto's debut (haha the title fits and everything) she did a pretty bang up job of the lead. There was loads of bright colours, and it really cheers you up! I wish I was bold (or naive) to go into my local town and stand there in bright colours waiting to be hit on. Like the girl experienced though, it would only be the pervs and pigeons interested :P



But still...she met Junpei! With her shoe flying of in a rather dramatic moment, and him picking it up all gentlemen like. He agrees to be her coach in love, but gives the ominous warning "Don't fall in love with me."



And like all good cliches...that's exactly what she... In risk of giving away the entire move if I keep talking, watching it will give you a cheesy grin and make you feel happy for no apparent reason than you watched it.



Brilliant J-movie!

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The opening minutes of episode 1, were enough for me to know I was in this for the long haul.



The first six episodes are brilliant at summarising and basically laying the groundwork for the rest of the series, without making the audience feel like they were loosing out. Or things were being rushed too quickly.



A beautiful story, with adorable characters (even now, I remember little Xio Bin, the five year old with the charisma of a person twice his age...wait, are 10yo's charismatic? You decide)



The grasshoppers are frigging annoying, and with them chirping horribly in one shot, and the next one everything's deadly quiet clearly show there needs to be a continuity error person on the lookout.



Also some of the supporting character's tales are worth skipping, but otherwise BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL

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I recommend this drama to all and sundry. I watched the entire thing in one go, and was scarcely disappointed.



Although far from perfect, Lee Jun Ki does a brilliant job of a vengeful ninja out to get the bad guys. Of course he has an ulteriour motive (finding the man who murdered his dad) but the way he switches personalities is just..!



Whenever he's around the villagefolk, he keeps up the image of an unsuspecting simpleton. But what highly impressed me, was the gritty resolve in his eyes, when he let the mask slip in private.



Every death is likely to make you shed a tear, depending how emotionally invested you are. But within minutes, you'll be laughing or on the edge of your seat as the drama unfolds.



I also like how Iljimae isn't automatically good at martial arts. You see him struggling a lot, so by the time he IS good at it, you're cheering him on every step of the way.



I found Eun Chae (his romantic interest) a little wet around the ears and was glad the drama wasn't more romance based. She was too...perfect, if you get what I mean. Never a hair out of place. When she gets angry, she still manages to look serene. I dunno...



Watch it, if you haven't already. NOW.

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