Cantabile Youth (2020)

Poor adaptation

originally dropped this last year but picked it up again this year and stuck it out for ZXC.

I am a big fan of the anime and yeah..... this fell flat as an adaptation. Boring and dragged on. The romance was nice though. FL was annoying as she literally acted like a child, whining and moaning like she is 3 years old and spoke like a baby too. I don’t think this is Jelly’s fault, but the way the directors had attempted to translate Nodame’s character into this drama (although, Jelly’s acting was not top notch either). Her outfits were really nice in this though. ZXC did a good job as LZY (and it is cool he actually plays the piano!) but goddamn, they aged my guy 20 years with that hairstyle LOL

The camera work is like an american sitcom (strangely resembling The Office), random and dramatic zoom ins, shaking camera like it was a vlog. Not sure what the directors were going for but not a fan.
Overall, an alright watch if you treat it as if it was a standalone drama and not an adaptation of Nodame Cantabile. Drama was nothing groundbreaking but nothing terrible either. 5/10.

Lire davantage

struggles of chasing a dream when your not the top of the top

ive never watched any of the other stories this show is based off of.. so coming in blank

the ml/fl chemistry was great and they concentrated on what the fl did well which was being happy and perky.. her performance of being angry or annoyed.. wasnt so great and distracting at time though it was brief.. hopefully she will grow in time to do that better in the future..

the multiple storylines i found kinda refreshing as it hit all the various issues that young ppl esp young artist encounters in life trying to chase their dream of becoming a successful artist..

u have the various levels of skills and support from family.. and u can see that everyone has issues when chasing a dream as elusive as being a successful artist.. that part of the story worked well for me as someone who worked in this side of the field for a very long time and see the same type of suffering from many of my friends...

the music was fun.. i for one liked the remixed versions and which they did more pop classic.. but i understand they were trying to stay to the root of classical music.. the few remixed of classics was fun.. esp the wedding scene

good show nothing really extraordinary but.. if u have or know ppl trying to make it as a musician.. this will show the true struggles of everyone

Lire davantage

Underrated 'Whirlwind of Emotions' Coming of Age Drama

First of all, I came watching this drama without any expectation, so I never expected it to be this deep. I also considered this drama to be a whole new one, rather than complete adaptation. Yes, the characters & main events are similar, but it's a loose adaptation so,I will not tell my comment abt the comparisons with its predecessors.

Here's my thoughts :
❤Story Wise : 9/10. I love how they made this drama's pace to be relaxing, full of warm vibes with still some 'intense' conflicts that can be solved in a few episodes. The only problem is that, I felt a really long drags on the middle. It'd be perfect if they just cut out unnecessary scenes and made it into a 30 episodes drama. The interval scenes (that showed city's / their campus's scenery as their indications of the settings) were boring & repetitive too.
The overall plotline of seeing our characters grew up and fought for their dreams in professional classical music world as a milenial generation , made this drama into a coming of age drama with a bit sprinkle of slice of life and romcom.

BUT, I also want to address one of the biggest turn off in the story line. It's how they brought up the leads relationship. People, it was not healthy at all! Pls don't follow their relationship as an example.Xiaowo & Zhen Yan's problems mostly lies on their lack of mutual trust, understanding & communication. How can one continue their relationship if they still hide their feelings and events that are important to be told?!
Like how Zhen Yan always hided the fact that he performed with Song Ran, resulting in Xiaowo's never ending saga of crying over him. Boy, you got numerous chances to tell her, why it has to be someone else to tell you that she's hurt? It was painful to see someone's happiness robbed out just bcs they love their loved ones unconditionally. Yes, Xiaowo's love and obsession over him was not healthy too, but his actions were also not right.

❤Actings : 9/10. I love how they made a whole new traits from our characters. I felt their chemistry and sweetness between every couples, but I must say the minus 1 point goes to every cameo actors that acted very cringe. The mainleads and supporting actors were awesome too.

However, small things that I must add too is how Lin Yun acted as Xiaowo really reminded me of her play as Xiangqin in "Fall in Love At First Kiss". She still brought up her 'Kotoko vibe' and for me it was a little bothering me. Even if they have similar traits as a girl who only set eyes with one guy, they should have different upbeings. I also felt that Lin Yun has 'no soul' when she was playing piano, a complete different than how Zhang Xincheng played piano or conducted the orchestra.

❤Cinematography : 4/10. WORST shots and angles I've ever seen in C-Dramas. I'm sorry but it was one of the biggest reason why some people said that this drama lack of emotions. It's not the music pieces choice. It's not the actors fault. For me the biggest hole in this drama is how they shot, edited & packed it.

I understand there are few movies & series esp in Comedy genre that used 'shaky & sudden zooming in' shots (I'm sorry I don't know what's the name of it), like in "Brooklyn 99" or "Bad Trip". They matched the tones and it's okay to use the techniques in that situation. But, for a romance drama like this, it was the worst decision to use that technique. I even felt dizzy on many scenes esp on dialogues when the characters are sitting still, but the cameras went shaky and the actors even missed the frame a few times. Feel free to correct me tho..

❤Music : For the classical music pieces choice 9/10. They picked the musical pieces really well. It's refreshing how they introduced each of its pieces with their own history & background, and it matched the story line and conflicts. I don't have any problems with the pieces. I even cheered, shouted and cried every time the characters had a gig/concert/recital/competition. My favourite would be the first concert of S Orchestra. The only problem I scored the overall music is 7,5/10 was bcs the actual OST. I don't remember any of them at all. Nothing worth to remember actually.

❤Another things that I love :
- Loveable & memorable characters like Master Fisher (the mysterious, very wise, tactical, high pride but warm grand master) and Father Qin (the warmest, selfless & kindest character, father of RS Orchestra), Teacher Zhang (one of the most important person behind Xiaowo's progress, teacher that was willing to change for his student).
- Characters development : Hands down, one of the best characters development I've ever seen in C-Drama. You can see the difference and how they grew up overtime. The most noticeable would be the leads, Cia Wei & Qin Fen. Even the teachers were willing to change and 'grow up' to be more wise too.

❤Valuable Lessons : Love yourself before you can love someone else, stop wandering and start working on your dreams, don't push yourself too hard. There will always be rainbow after the storm, there's no use of cheating as it'd only bring you nightmares & guilts. Most importantly, believe and be confident in yourself!

❤Overall thoughts : Watch it! It's gonna be a hit or miss drama too. But I can guarantee if you love classical music, music & youth dramas like "Dream High" or "Swing Girls" you will enjoy this as much as I do. You will also relate on some scenes and felt the rollercoaster of emotions esp on the last 5 episodes. So, yeah, just be open minded, don't compare it, and enjoy the ride!

Would rate it 8/10!

P.S. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not going to rewatch the entire drama, as it's too stressful, dragging on some episodes and attracted complex emotions. But yeah, maybe I'll watch some cute scenes of the leads.

Lire davantage

I never imagine will found Love in the place full of garbages ^^

Hey I really like this drama..
Actually I'm here because of Steven Zhang of course.. I like when I see he play piano and be a conductor.. he really do his best..
I read manga and watch japan version.. the differences is every character not to be more dramatic like a manga. I love how they fix Chiaki's character (Li Zhen Yan) he more sweet and care with Xia Wo.. Actually I really hope XiaWo character is little more crazy like Nodame (Manga). Her character in beginning is messy and funny.. but later it turn out to be a normal girl.. But I still like her character in here..
The sad thing when I watch this drama is support character have a bad acting.. especially for overseas actress..
and why this drama mix the ost when they do some orchestra?? I really want to hear their musical :D
and please be aware because this drama has a lot of side couple.. sometimes I skip many scenes with no main lead there ^^

Love their chemistry.. they are so cute and always support each other.. FL is more insecure and not confidence but she really eager to reach her dream.. The FL doesn't know how important she is for the ML.. I really really hope she finally know what the meaning of 'Amour' ^^
And last, this drama has a best ending ^^

Lire davantage

Unabashedly an excellent adaptation BASED on the manga. Watch On Its Own Merit.

4* - Good rewatchable, might buy own copy. [NOTE : I will update this review after the series finished airing.]

This Chinese version is looking like a great adaptation -BASED on- manga. (Note emphasis) Nodamae Cantabile has been one of my favourite manga and I try to watch as many shows based on this story as I could. Of course, comparison cannot be avoided.

The screenplay followed the general manga story arcs with remodelled characters and modified origin stories (as of Ep 1-10). There was also directorial alterations such as the pared down madcap humour from the original manga, the omission of the fictional Puri Gorota anime, and the expansion of some of the side stories.

I found that the pace of the storytelling lagged because some of these alterations made to the script. More time was given to develop backstory which made this series a different experience. This adaptation had a smoother story flow and transition, for example : Chinese Stresemann's explanation of why he gave the male lead a chance to be deputy conductor for S Orchestra or the fuller story of the 'poverty-stricken' celloist in S Orchestra.

So far, I found this more enjoyable than the Korean version. It's different from the Japanese live action version with some of the changes made. HOWEVER, if was watched without preconception as an adapation on its own merit, it was quite enjoyable.

ACTING:
The male lead was definitely more palatable than the Japanese male lead especially how the female lead was treated; a different gentler take (based on first 10 episodes). I felt chemistry between the main leads. Though it might not be as natural due to the youth of the actors, however it was sweet and charming. The Chinese female lead appeared smarter , coming up with her own pops of wisdom that enlightened the male lead while retaining naivety and childishness.

The fellowship of the support cast was commendable, including the violinist Qin Fen , the Professors Zhang and Hu and especially the visiting conductor Fei She-er. I really enjoyed the Chinese version of Stresemann (Fei She-Er) . Not as eccentric but again, within the context of this version, I felt this character was a reliable and responsible version of Stresemann. I liked the Japanese version Stresemann but I often felt like smacking him because his treatment of the leads was so hapazardly, selfish even immature.

There was a small irritating point. When the characters played their instruments, their actions sometimes do not match the music but that's flaw noticeable in a lot of other chinese dramas.

This was definitely much better than the Korean adaptation though not quite comparably to the Japanese version. Acting of this series was mellow because of the suppressed comic elements.

MUSIC :
I was dissatisfied with the choice of music used in the show. This and the performances in the Japanese version decidedly outshone this Chinese version. I strongly believe the music has always been the soul of this story which would be why I would rated this lower than the Japanese version. However, this show would still be a 4* on my personal ranking scale.

I was not impressed by the OST as well.

REWATCH :
Definitely rewatchable with some skipping. Want to buy my own copy.

Lire davantage