I thought that I needed to be into classical music or at least play a musical instrument to be able to appreciate a series such as Nodame Cantabile. Although the title is in itself quite intimidating, it's less discomforting to know that "Nodame" was made to be the female lead's nick name. Juri Ueno plays Noda Megumi, the non-conventional genius of a pianist. She delivers a sparkling performance as an innately talented but hygienically challenged musician. Nodame takes "messy" into a whole new level. While you might find the purple fluid oozing out of her room disgusting, you will also find her charming antics for Chiaki, funny and often times downright hilarious. What I enjoyed best was the digitally enhanced slapstick scenes between the two main leads. Hiroshi Tamaki is Shinichi Chiaki, born into a rich family of musicians, he lives and breathes music but his ultimate dream is to be a world renowned conductor. It's amusing that the only hindrance to making this come true is his fear of flying. Largely influenced by Nodame, it's refreshing to see his character grow from being obstinate and aloof to becoming well-loved. You will surely be pleased with the mostly violent banter between Chiaki and Nodame. The rest of the characters held their own as they each had a story to tell. Surprisingly, I never realized that I would find orchestral music entertaining but I sure did. Well, at least while the drama lasted.

Title: のだめカンタービレ / Nodame Cantabile
Episodes: 11 + 2 specials (aired in Jan 2008)
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Broadcast Network: Fuji TV
Broadcast Period: 2006-Oct-16 to 2006-Dec-25
Official Site: http://wwwz.fujitv.co.jp/nodame/index.html

Cast:
Juri Ueno (Rainbow Song) as Megumi Noda
Hiroshi Tamaki as Shinichi Chiaki
Eita (Kimi wa Petto) as Ryutaro Mine
Keisuke Koide as Masumi Okuyama
Naoto Takenaka as Maestro Franz von Stresemann

I think there's a really good chance that I'm way past warming up to Matsumoto Jun but not quite a fan just yet. He definitely has the potential of making it big as far as his acting skill is concerned. After all, he did win the Best Actor award in the 53rd Television Drama Academy Awards for this particular series. Though I find some of his Kleenex scenes here a little too dramatic. Cooking seems to be a fad in dramas these days and Bambino! is no exemption. Jun plays Ban, an overconfident Italian chef wannabe. The dishes he whips up is a crowd favorite in his hometown but is a tad too ordinary for the tastebuds of Bacanale Trattoria's extremely competitive chefs. He makes an instant enemy out of Katori, the pasta lead, and is constantly bullied by the rest of the kitchen staff. His cooking blunders earned him the nickname Bambi. Though his life as an intern was no walk in the park, it did not stop him from becoming a full time employee in Tokyo's top Italian restaurant. Even if it meant losing the woman he loves. Can't blame him for taking the red pill on this one. Watching Bacanale's chefs strut their stuff is highly engaging to say the least. So, you can just imagine Ban's pure stricken face on his first day at work when he was assigned to the dining area instead of the kitchen. Yonamine is the charming dining manager who works magic on Bacanale's customers. He helps Ban work on his 25 point smile and teaches him the value of teamwork in the process. It's actually interesting that I found his "waiter" episodes more appealing specially his futile attempts to please the snob Nogami Kyoko. His kitchen moments with the eccentric and aloof pastry chef, Oda Toshio, were entertaining too. A notable line came from lead chef, Kuwabara, when he told Ban that, "A person who cannot focus on the work given to him has no right to speak about his dreams." This series will help you see through difficulties and take them as detours that make achieving your dreams more worthwhile. I have this series to thank for fueling my desire to learn more about Italian cooking. The result was a downloaded recipe and a delectable serving of "frutti di mare". Bene!

Title: バンビーノ! / Bambino!
Episodes: 11
Genre: Drama
Broadcast Network: NTV
Broadcast Period: 2007-Apr-18 to 2007-Jun-27
Official Site: http://www.ntv.co.jp/bambi/

Cast:
Matsumoto Jun (Hana Yori Dango) as Ban Shogo
Karina as Hibino Asuka
Sato Ryuta (Rondo) as Katori Nozomi
Sasaki Kuranosuke as Kuwabara Atsushi
Kitamura Kazuki (Like a Dragon) as Yonamine Tsukasa
Mukai Osamu (Honey & Clover) as Senoo Masashi

Image courtesy of http://www.japdvd.com/

When you feel like strangling the main lead instead of the villain something must be wrong, right? But if you're watching Maria, the female lead of "Lobbyist" played by Jang Jin Yeong, it simply cannot be helped. Her character seem to be devoid of any trait that will make you immediately like her. Clouded by her determination to seek revenge she resorts to manipulative measures from seducing the defense minister to bribing the president's son. Fueled by the knowledge that Maria is ultimately doomed to destroy herself, Harry (played by Song Il-guk) will do whatever it takes to stop her and save the only woman he loves but he was rejected by Maria not less than 5 times. So, somewhere between episodes 14 and beyond, I was sorely tempted to slap him and make him realize that he deserved better. It was a struggle for me to believe Jang Jin Yeong as an enchantress. I'm not sure if it's the uneven skintone (make-up maybe?) or the supposedly fashionable clothes that made her look otherwise. One look at Song Il-guk's healthy shade of skin and impeccably well dressed bod (except for the purple turtleneck), the mismatch becomes more apparent. Their total lack of chemistry was another blow to this unsuitable pair. It was also uncomfortable to hear their painstaking English lines which is ironic for their characters who have lived in the US since childhood. They were in luck to have such a wonderful support cast and a line-up of superb villains. The bellboy turned Harry's sidekick (sorry, forgot his name!) was a welcome relief amidst the heavy backdrop of retribution, guns, blood and more blood. His comical punchlines and wacky personality was a breath of fresh air. Heo Joon Ho was excellent in playing the ultimate lobbyist and Maria's mentor, James Lee. Ruthless, cold, calculating and full of surprises. Just what a true blue villain should be. You can never guess what goes on in his mind. He played this role so well that it was more exciting to watch him than pay attention to stubborn Maria or predictable Harry. So, I found it odd that in the last episode he would be singing at his own victory party in a ship (no less) which defeats the low-keyed character of James Lee. Maybe they realized they've made him too untouchable and decided to let him be vulnerable for a day, making it convenient for Maria's long waited revenge to finally materialize. Doesn't make any sense to me. Also, it seems that the writer must have a certain inclination with two Ss. Singing and submarines. Submarines were all over the place. Song Il-guk had a song number in English but it was obviously not his voice. Kang Tae Hyuk, played by Han Jae Seok, was tolerable but didn't really made an impact. Madam Chae was the classic nagger of a villain. Her less than subtle sexual overtures to Harry gave me goosebumps as she could very well pass as his mother. I'm far from impressed with Song Il-guk's acting skills having seen this series and his movie "The Art of Seduction" but it's always a treat to see such a good looking guy on-screen so, I'm still looking forward to his other projects. Too bad can't say the same thing with Jang Jin Yeong. I do hope she gets a better role next time. A good make-up artist and stylist wouldn't hurt, as well.

Title:로비스트 / Lobbyist
Episodes: 24
Genre: Action, Romance
Broadcast Network: SBS
Broadcast Period: 2007-Oct-03 to 2007-Dec-26
Official Site: http://tv.sbs.co.kr/lobbyist

Cast:
Song Il Guk (The Art of Seduction) as Harry Kim (Kim Jun Ho)
Jang Jin Yeong (Over the Rainbow) as Maria Yoo (Yoo So Young)
Han Jae Seok as Kang Tae Hyuk
Heo Joon Ho (His Last Gift) as James Lee
Kim Mi Sook as Madam Chae

Image courtesy of http://www.koreandrama.org

I wish there was a nicer way to say this but "Honey & Clover" bored me to death. I don't even know why I'm bothering to write about it. The 3 main leads: Hagumi, Takemoto and Morita were all successful in portraying their lukewarm roles. Both Mayama's and Yamada's unrequited love were quite interesting but not enough to keep the series afloat. The paintings made by Hagu were truly artistic but it was all there was to it. The only entertaining factor of this show is Lohmeyer-senpai played by Yūichi Kimura. He is the esteemed idol of the 3 male leads as he has always won every single game of chance in Tokyo. The scene where he "grants" Takemoto's wish for a watch but gave him a cuckoo cluck instead while stepping on Takemoto's feet in the process was funny enough. I can't seem to think of anything else noteworthy so, I would just say that right after seeing Ikuta Toma for the 3rd time in a different role, I realized that I was not really a fan of his. His villain role in "Hana Yori Dango" did not suit him at all, same goes for his melodramatic role as Yuta Takemoto here in "Honey & Clover". I understand an actor's need for versatility but I guess, at this point this is still beyond Toma's grasp. I loved and absolutely adored him as Nakatsu Shuichi in "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e". Sadly, it started and ended there.

Title: ハチミツとクローバー / Honey & Clover
Episodes: 11
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Broadcast Network: Fuji Television
Broadcast Period: 2007-Jan to 2007-Mar
Official Site: http://wwwz.fujitv.co.jp/hachikuro/index.html

Cast
Riko Narumi as Hagumi Hanamoto
Toma Ikuta as Yūta Takemoto
Hiroki Narimiya as Shinobu Morita
Osamu Mukai as Takumi Mayama
Natsuki Harada as Ayumi Yamada

Image courtesy of http://wiki.d-addicts.com

I was quite skeptic that "Hana Yori Dango" would spark a similar addiction in me like what "Meteor Garden" did about 5 years ago. That's probably why I'm not all too excited to see it. MG started my obsession with Asian series and admittedly, would be a tough act to follow. I was right but I'm still glad that I watched HYD. Otherwise, I would not have known that Matsumoto Jun played the Domyoji Tsukasa role better than Jerry Yan. Jun's seemingly "model like" manner of walking peeved me a bit though. Inoue Mao was great too although, am still undecided if she was better than Barbie Xu but she was definitely prettier (minus the bangs). MG's Season 1 was way better than HYD's primarily because the latter lacked the vibrant character played by Wang Yue (Sanchai's mom) and the ruthless elegance of Daoming Feng (Dao Ming Zi's mom) from MG. Their counterparts in HYD paled in comparison to their ability to extend the viewer's interest beyond the 5 main characters. Although, Sakurako's character was effective and so was Okami-San (Makino's employer) with her endless past love stories, it was still not enough to measure up to MG 1's success. It was not as fun, too. On the other hand, HYD was more convincing in presenting the magnitude of its characters' "richness". A distinct comparison would be Makino running after Domyoji in his private jet and Dao running after San Chai in a bus. Susumu's role was also one of the saving graces of HYD 1. He plays Makino's younger brother and shares the most touching scene with Domyoji in season 1 as he tries to win the heart of a girl with Tsukasa's help. HYD's Season 2 was an entirely different story beating MG's Season 2 in my own humble opinion. While the latter belabored Dao's sudden amnesia which started and ended the series with tiresome melodramatic events, HYD did the exact opposite. Domyoji remembered everything except for Makino and his loss of memory lasted only for about 2 weeks but was exceedingly interesting with Umi's character. Umi made Sakurako, Kaede (Domyoji's mother) and Shigeru (Domyoji's fiance) seem like angels. She was wickedly cruel. Taking advantage of Domyoji's loss of memory, she deliberately took Makino's place in his heart right in front of Makino's very eyes and nose, for that matter. She really got into my nerves and I was extremely tempted to pull out her limbs (if I only had the chance). I guess, that means she played the part really well (unlike Ikuta Toma in season 1) to evoke such feelings of hate. I don't know about Makino but helping me start up my dad's car is not an automatic guarantee of forgiveness. After all, she almost died in the blizzard because of her. After Umi, Ken's character was probably the second most interesting character. He was the cause of Domyoji's sudden change which will leave you clueless in the first half of season 2. The twist is also a revelation both for Domyoji and the viewer. Towards the end, the season suddenly kicks up a notch towards unrealistic when Kaede approves of Makino and Domyoji's relationship in return for the upcoming business of an old man which was indirectly influenced by Makino. Lastly, Domyoji's surprise for Makino is a must-see, drawing massive approval both literally and figuratively. Makes watching HYD 2 worth your while.

Title: 花より男子 / Hana Yori Dango
Episodes: 9 (Season 1), 11 (Season 2)
Genre: Comedy
Broadcast Network: Tokyo Broadcasting System
Broadcast Period: 2005-Oct to 2005-Dec (Season 1), 2007-Jan to 2007-Mar (Season 2)
Official Site: http://www.tbs.co.jp/hanayoridango/ (Season 1), http://www.tbs.co.jp/hanadan2 (Season 2)

Cast
Inoue Mao as Makino Tsukushi
Matsumoto Jun as Domyoji Tsukasa
Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui
Matsuda Shota as Nishikado Sojiro
Abe Tsuyoshi as Mimasaka Akira

Image courtesy of http://farm1.static.flickr.com/