Cantabile Youth (2020)

A new kind of Cantabile!

If you are expecting that it factor from the original Nodame Cantabile (japanese drama) or the craziness that was Tomorrow’s Cantabile (korean version), this isn’t it. This drama is not a remake but an adaptation. There are elements from the original story that are waaaay tone down and this makes Symphony’s Romance break away, distinguish itself, and become a drama on its own but still be that familiar tale you know so well. As a result I could enjoy the drama without constantly comparing it to the other versions.

The relationship between Xiao Wo and Zhen Yan develops naturally, from a mutual admiration of the talent each holds to a professional and personal partnership among equals. This makes the romance feel more grounded and mature. A welcome change since it makes leading man more affectionate and open to the leading lady’s proactive and flirty ways and, in return, he becomes the person she can rely on when her genius overwhelms her. They support each other’s dreams and ambitions, based on the knowledge not only of themselves as individuals but as a couple. They keep choosing each other through hardships and insecurities. Xiao Wo and Zhen Yan work out things together like the dream team they choose to be.

The same can be said about the secondary characters. For once we see what happens when some of them make it in the world of classical music and others don’t. What happens among friends, lovers and rivals, whom so far have been following the same path, when they go out into the stage of the world. Do they follow their vocation? Was music just daydreaming? Do they decide to follow society’s expectations of what kind of job they should have?

I appreciate this more realistic take on the story. It’s not a youth drama, it’s a drama about young adults trying to find their place in the world and that’s definitely Symphony’s Romance strongest point.

The only weak point, for me, it’s the musical performances. In a drama about musicians and the need to stand on the stage as the best version of yourself, the performances were lacking for my taste. I am not sure if it was the music selection or the editing but, at times, it felt like there was no emotion behind the music that was playing. It should have been since it was supposed to be the culmination of trials the characters had gone through. In very few performances I can truly say that it felt like these passionate musicians left everything on the stage. However, this does not take away from the drama or the character development.

Overall, I had a really great time with this drama and enjoyed every episode. I have no complains about this drama, it gave me exactly what I wanted and needed from it. Symphony’s Romance is the perfect drama to relax and enjoy as the story evolves and its characters grow. With a super cute romance on top. I recommend it!

Lire davantage

Dull Symphony

As a remake of one of the greatest musical dramas, i.e. Nodame Cantabile, this show was dismal. Instead of becoming the strongest point, music was the biggest downfall in this symphony. They changed the music into the lousy ones and there's practically no spark during music performances. These were actually very odd because both should become the highlight in this drama instead.

Basically this drama ONLY followed main plot points from the original source. Characters and focus were totally different. Say goodbye to quirky yet amusing traits we saw in Nodame Cantabile. Here, even main leads portrayal were lack of depth :(. The writer excessively toned down their unique personalities. Moreover, it often seemed like they were not main leads because too much time dedicated for developing side character's love stories. Some episodes even heavily focused on them.

Integrating wholly different characters into the original main plotlines evidently was a total disaster. Every turning point became flat while character's actions and decisions made no sense. Comedic parts were mostly removed, but there's no adequate plot to cover that. Neither serious nor comedic, just plain. So boring.

The way they shot scenes was weird. Cameras were shaking, zooming in and out rather randomly and sometimes shooting from odd angles. It's uncomfortable to watch. Transition from one scene to another was kinda rough. Same footages were always shown everytime location was changed.

Generally, the acting was rather tolerable, but during music performances was poor. The lead actress, unfortunately, had the least acting quality. Whether the writer really made a dull character for her or she just couldn't portray the character well, her performance was below standard. Acted as a dull character while looked appealing to viewers definitely was not easy, especially for rookie actors/actress without rich face expression or gesture.

All in all, if you have spare time, it's better to invest in other activities than watch this drama :)

Don't you think people should really consider to not remake any drama, especially the great ones, if they just have a half-baked idea?

Lire davantage

Its very underrated and more people need to watch it

!This review might contain spoiler!
I have not watch the other versions, so I came with a fresh perspective. Plus, other reviewers said that this is not a remake but more of an . Here are what I like and dislike about the drama:

What I LIKE:
1. The main leads got together very early (before episode 10). And they didnt break up until the very end (there was a fight later, but no official break up and time jump). Which I really appreciate and surprised, considering its a 40 ep drama, which are prone to break ups. Buy when they're together its very fluffy, especially because the FL is the aggressive one.
2. The romance is very natural, there was never an official "will you be my girlfriend?" scenes or kissing scenes even. You just see them being together all the time and they naturally grew on each other and going out. I didnt notice until a scene where FL called herself as the girlfriend and ML didnt refute it (which I think is kinda romantic).
3. The journey of growth can be seen. This drama spans a few years, so you can see how the leads grow, dreams changes, and how they achieve them. I always enjoy this kind of drama where you can see the Leads grows.
4. No toxic pursuers and love triangle for our main leads. There are other pursuers, but they dont intervene with the leads relationship, which I really appreciate.
5. The Acting & Chemistry is goooooddd. I really like the FL personality, she the bubbly, innocent, type and FL pulls it really great. This also make the chemistry between the leads really good, despite the minimal kissing scenes, we can still believe the chemistry

What I DISKLIKE:
1. Too much side story. Initially the side story is nice and cute, but eventually there are soo many side characters and issued they need to fix. So I do skip a lot of the drama, especially the later half.
2. Questionable ML choices. The ML decides to not tell some things to the FL, which I can never understand the logic behind it. Because these information is readily available online, so whats the point of hiding these? Like whyy?

Overall, this is a good drama and very underrated, I hope more people are watching and talking about this. If you dont have anything planned for the weekend, I'd recommend watching this over the weekend. It lighthearted and low on angst.

Lire davantage

Best drama ever

I am Steven Zhang's fan and just because i didn't like his hairstyle I didn't watch this drama for long and I regret it. This is drama moved me with music. every supporting character did their job, I liked all the supporting characters especially fie'sher and wo grey. The female lead was shown as pure and innocent but not dumb most of the shows tend to show innocent lead as dumb which this show did not do. This is the first ever drama that made me cry. The ost were nice. I used to hate orchestra music but now I keep listening to Mozart's Beethoven and Chopin's music by various orchestra's. Every side character had a story which was worth it. Never did I feel this story was boring. I wish I learnt any instrument. I highly recommend this drama

Lire davantage

How I Met Your Mother in Classical Music University

Having read the Nodame Cantabile manga, watched the anime, Japanese drama, and Korean drama, I was really excited for this version since it is one of my favorite mangas. Despite having been disappointed with You're My Destiny, my expectation for this drama is really high.

This drama gets really draggy in the middle parts and because I expected it to follow the original plot, I decided to watch all 40 episodes of this drama and watched how they're going to utilize this amount of episodes to tell Chin's version of this Nodame Cantabile. Upon finishing it, despite the ending being sweet and will satisfy most viewers, it didn't satisfy me in a lot of ways.


PART I: PROS
I really liked that they toned down the ML's character because I didn't like him in the original because he was a bit harsh on the FL, especially on the final arc. Because of this, we get a lot of sweet moments.

Since this drama is 40 episodes long, I was really hoping they will include the Paris Arc since that Arc is my favorite on the manga and I am glad they did.

I really liked that they tried to include Chinese instruments despite it feeling surreal and kind of forced.

I loved the ending's final concerto because it made the story come into a full circle.

PART II: CONS
--- THE FL ---
They kind of followed the events of the source material but without the satisfaction of seeing the FL develop as a pianist. One of the reasons why I liked the manga was not because of the romance. Instead, because even if the FL is very in-love with the ML, she still had her own agency as a character who has her own struggles, dreams, feelings, and other interests that don't revolve around the ML.

What happened with this drama is that EVERY character in this drama treats the FL like a toddler, especially the ML and Mr. Fisher. The result of this? The FL remains a toddler. She's timid, immature, and insecure. Not only that, she seems like a shelled version of Nodame whose reason for existence revolves around him.

GONE was the eccentric Nodame that I cheered for, cried, and celebrated with when she becomes a professional pianist. The world FINALLY gets to hear her wonderful unorthodox playstyle when she had her world tour. Instead, she's a generic clingy C-drama FL.

--- THE BORING SUBPLOT ---
I really get that they're trying to put a twist on the source material by trying to include some elements of modern music and I think draw some parallels on it? The concept but the execution was BLAND.

The thing is, what it brought me was more confusion, especially with what happened with one of the subplots. I never knew that an opera singer transitioning into a pop singer is really boring because of how it was told. This really pissed me off because the writers could've used the screen time allotted for this boring subplot could've been used to deepen the FL's interesting character development.

---INTERESTING NEW CONCEPT, BLAND EXECUTION---
The blending of the classical and modern aspects of music was really a missed opportunity because the message that I got was "THE CLASSICAL MUSIC WORLD IS BORING AS HELL SO YOU HAVE TO MODERNIZE IT" instead of "EACH OF THESE WORLDS HAS THEIR OWN BEAUTY" or "HOW DO THESE WORLDS INFLUENCE ONE ANOTHER IN AN INTERESTING WAY" sort of.

While I’ve given this drama the benefit of the doubt, I’ve heard that this drama was supposed to introduce Chinese audiences to classical music. Well, they’ve certainly done an abysmal job at that, and it infuriated me more! Here, the criticisms about this drama's musicality choices actually make sense.


Such a shame really that in the end, these two worlds are still far apart.

--- THE ENDING ---
The ending of the character arc of the ML and FL? THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE DRAMAS THAT YOU CAN PULL THAT KIND OF ENDING ON THE CHARACTERS.


PART III: Conclusion
Unlike the source material which took its time to build its classical world in an interesting and nuanced way which this drama tried to do but failed therefore this drama fails as an adaptation. They had freakin' 40 EPISODES to make the protagonists interesting! Instead, they wasted it on boring subplots that do not tie into the story.


Instead, what I got was a long-winded drama of How I Met Your Mother in a Classical Music University.

Lire davantage

A sweet story

1st of all I didn't watch the Japanese adaptation so can't compare it with that.For me, I am a fan of Zhang XinCheng. So started to watch it. Gradually fall in love with the story. Music on point. Not over dramatic. Funny Romantic Musical. If you want to watch something with less over dramatic things then go for it.It will surely enlight you mood. All the actors did a fav job. Some locations are so beautiful. Already watched it twice. Will watch it again. The innocence of the story and it's music will make you fall for it. Specially I love these kind of dramas. The ending was a little bit rushed. But it gave a perfect ending or conclusion of the entire story. Overall worth watching. If you love music you will surely love it. Happy watching. ?

Lire davantage

i cant move on !!

☆just a quick note before my review, i didnt read the manga or watch anything so this is my thoughts on only this drama. i absolutely love the drama! the storyline is 9.5 instead of 10 since there was a little bit too much focus on the side characters but the storyline is overall excellent !! this drama has one of the best opening songs and i actually didnt skip it like how i would normally for other dramas :) i strongly recommend yall to watch it !! also, as a fan of BOTH steven zhang and jelly lin, this made my watching experience a ton better ! i really cant move on ㅠㅠ

Lire davantage

Romantic drama with great music

i love it that the couple is a great support to each other and they get together pretty early. It was funny that i didnt even realise they were official. I guess it is true in real life where couples are together without a real official ceremony.

ML is really sweet and i love his smile. A very low angst, lighthearted drama. I love classical music and this drama has lots of it! Not a musician, so the music was good for me! Also love the sights in paris, really brings out the romance and the atmosphere of love.

Maybe the only thing i would have wished for is for the FL to be more expressive and maybe for her growth to be more prominent. Thought their love could also mature a little more.

Lire davantage

Best Symphony CDrama

If you are a classical music fan, this Cdrama is for you. The story is not focus on romance but there are many sidelines of romances. The plot focuses on understanding the depth of the composers’ music and seeing it beyond a score on a piece of paper. Brilliance is the ability to be beyond memorizations. Passion is what distinguishes between artists and mediocrity. Some viewers state that they wanted to skip all the music pieces. But that is the story. How the characters allow the music to grow in their imagination and become one. It is a growing process for the individual students.

Lire davantage

Lower your expectation to the production quality to enjoy this series

As someone who never read the manga and watch the other versions, this drama is ok and kinda fun to watch. I love the side stories and characters especially JiMo and Yan Yan. They’re so calm and supportive. The ML is well known as a good actor but sometimes, he looks awkward and being forced doing certain scene. Lol

The huge turn off for this series is actually the transition between scenes. It is so bad and I hate the heavily repeated shots during the transition. There’s 40 episodes and they’re using the same shot in every of it. Sometimes, serious scene became funny due to the weird camera angles and the shots are shaky with repeatedly zoom in and zoom out. The production of this drama is so so bad. Feels like watching indo or filipino soap opera.

Overall, I still enjoy watching it despite the bad editing.

Lire davantage

Nice ? one ☝️

am Steven Zhang's fan and just because i didn't like his hairstyle I didn't watch this drama for long and I regret it. This is drama moved me with music. every supporting character did their job, I liked all the supporting characters especially fie'sher and wo grey. The female lead was shown as pure and innocent but not dumb most of the shows tend to show innocent lead as dumb which this show did not do. This is the first ever drama that made me cry. The ost were nice. I used to hate orchestra music but now I keep listening to Mozart's Beethoven and Chopin's music by various orchestra's. Every side character had a story which was worth it. Never did I feel this story was boring. I wish I learnt any instrument. I highly recommend this drama

Lire davantage

I have watched all three adaptations of this drama and they all have their moments. What I really liked about this adaptation is that we can see the growth of the FL and the ML relationship. The support couples didn't really distract from the leads. The FL was caught up in her love for the ML but gradually we saw where the ML feelings grew. Unlike in the other adaptations, we saw explicitly how he felt towards his FL. He spoke about his feelings, we got to see intimacy between them and how they became comfortable with each other over time. I must say, I liked that they kissed whereas in the other two adaptations, I don't think they kissed any at all. And I really liked that all the couples had happy endings (for the most part) and their life after the orchestra.
The only downside I found in the drama was the music. In the Korean and Japanese adaptations, the music was extraordinary and that's what pulled me back time and time again. In this adaptation, the music was really lacking. Their was no connectivity between the actors and the music. Other than that, I really enjoyed this drama. I'm not particularly sure if I would watch it again though but it was worth the two days I took to watch it.

Lire davantage