Saturday, August 26, 2006

Nodame Cantabile drama adaptation in autumn '06

Although I'm a fan of Nodame Cantabile, I wasn't particularly thrilled to hear news about the drama adaptation. The most worrying thing is the selection of Tamaki Hiroshi to play Chiaki Shinichi which I object to vehemently. Of course, my views mean nothing and the decision has been made. I have never been convinced that Tamaki can act well as he usually plays roles which seem so silly and never fail to make an impression on me. I am not confident of him playing Chiaki-sama at all.

On the other hand, we have Ueno Juri playing Nodame. Well, Ueno has been billed as one of the uprising young actresses these days but I've never really felt that she acts very well. As compared to Tamaki, I have slightly more faith in her that she can make Nodame a success but it's easy to go overboard and make a nuisance of herself.

If the rumours are true, Okada Junichi was the initial choice to play Chiaki-sama and the drama was supposed to be produced by TBS. However, due to some problems between Okada's agency i.e. Johnny's Jimusho and TBS, the plans were shelved and Hana Yori Dango was made at the last minute during autumn 2005.

Personally, I feel that Okada would fit Chiaki-sama's image closer in terms of his brooding looks and his strong acting skills. Coupled with the fact that Okada has some music background and knows how to play the piano (his mother is a piano teacher), I think he is more suitable to play Chiaki-sama. The only thing which he differs from Chiaki-sama would probably be his height. Okada is not short though but he has never been thought of as someone who's tall. And Ueno Juri looks quite tall on screen so I think by placing them together, it doesn't fit the impression we get from the manga since Chiaki-sama is 181cm tall while Nodame's height is 162cm.

Contrary to the lack of confidence in the leads, I think the selection of the supporting cast gives the impression that more thought has been put into this aspect. Takenaka Naoto is a good choice to play Stresseman a.k.a. Milch and I'm sure he would be a joy to watch.

Eita, Mizukawa Asami and Uehara Misa bear striking resemblances to their respective characters i.e. Mine, Kiyora and Saiko. However, Koike Keisuke to play Masumi was a surprise to me. It will be hard to imagine him with an afro and having the hots for Chiaki-sama but this could be a chance for Koike to seek a breakthrough in his career. Another issue which bugs me would be the change of setting for Kiyora who is one of the founders for Rising*Star Orchestra and wasn't in Momogaoka Music University nor the S-orchestra in the first place. I don't see the rationale for doing that but I guess they had to include her relationship with Mine so there was no way to delay her appearance if Rising*Star wasn't going to be mentioned in the drama.

FujiTV is putting a lot of effort in this production and even had an audition to find members to be part of the S-orchestra. That means the drama will probably cover up to the S-orchestra section although I was looking forward more to seeing Rising*Star Orchestra.

I will be watching this drama but I have a hunch that I might drop this well before the end of the season if the perfomances of the leads irk me to a major extent. Of course, I hope that there won't be any amendments to the storyline too. It's best to take the conservative approach of sticking to the manga instead of trying anything funny to incur the wrath of the manga lovers.

The good thing is that the anime version will begin in January 2007 via the Noitamina slot on FujiTV and I feel that this would probably turn out to be much better than the drama...We'll see when the time comes.

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Death Note - the Last Name - Trailer

For those who are interested to watch a short trailer of the second part of Death Note - the Last Name -, please go to the following website.

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It seems like the main focus of this concluding instalment of the movie would be the period when Light (Fujiwara Tatsuya) asks L (Matsuyama Kenichi) voluntarily to be kept under custody so as to prove his and Misa's innocence when L grabs hold of Misa (Toda Erika) to fish for information about Kira. The manner which Misa was tied up already seemed quite overboard in the manga but to see it replicated in the movie strengthens the impact. In addition, Misa was wearing a pantsuit in the manga while she was kept under supervision but in the trailer, Misa seems to be clad in a short dress or should I say, it looks more like lingerie. Eye-candy for the guys?

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Besides that, the entry of Takada Kiyomi (Katase Nana) should be another point to take note of. I don't know how the movie will introduce her because the story doesn't really follow the manga. For a start, L and Takada do not appear in the same period since Takada only came back to the story in a big way towards the last 2 volumes of the manga. Besides, Takada was supposed to be Light's "official" girlfriend during university days so for the Light in the movie who's still an university student, I wonder how the scriptwriter will introduce her. Anyway, one thing is for sure, Takada is going to be a baddie after all.

Friday, August 11, 2006

Hachikuro seiyuu, Kamiya Hiroshi injured in traffic accident

According to the "Hachimitsu to Clover" official website, the seiyuu who plays Takemoto Yuuta i.e. Kamiya Hiroshi was involved in a traffic accident on 7 Aug and is now hospitalised. As the voice-recording of the series is only completed up to the 11th episode due to be shown on 7 Sep, there will be a replacement to do the voice-acting for Takemoto in the final episode on 14 Sep. There is also an official notice from his agency, Aoni at their website with regards to this matter.

Here's wishing Kamiya-san a speedy recovery! It's a pity that something like this has happened and I hope that he can return to work in the best condition soon.

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

Hachimitsu to Clover Merchandise on FujiTV Shop

FujiTV and Lohmeyer are working together for the 2nd time to launch a specially made Lohmeyer x Hachikuro ham which will be sold via FUJITV SHOP. The first 50 customers to buy the item will get a special premium.

Besides this product, FujiTV Shop has other Hachikuro offical merchandise on sale including mugs, postcards, Lohmeyer ham & sausage sets, can badges, cafe tumblers, posters, handkerchiefs and face towels. You can also find the manga, CDs and DVDs under the Hachikuro series via the online shopping portal which has a link to J-Book.