Nodame Cantabile, The Final Score - my review

Nodame (Juri Ueno) is still pining for the affections of Chiaki (Hiroshi Tamaki), but Chiaki wants them to concentrate on their musical careers and moves out. Chiaki then gets the opportunity to perform with Song Rui (Yu Yamada) and the Wiltord Orchestra of Vienna. Meanwhile, Nodame remains at the conservatory in Paris, but Professor AuClair refuses to let her compete in musical competitions that could kickstart her career. When Nodame goes to a concert with her friends, she hears Ravel's Piano Concerto in G major and decides that is the song that she will one day perform with Chiaki. Unknown to Nodame, Chiaki is about to perform the song in front of her with Rui ...

So many feelings... In spite of having watched it before, watching the last movie was bittersweet. On one hand, it was like seeing my old friends after several years. My dear Nodame, my beautiful (and super thin) Chiaki-sempai, my lovelies Masumi-chan and Mine... and saying goodbye again... :(

The only part I disliked in the whole movie is the beginning, because it shows scenes that happened between Movie I and this one, Movie II. Meaning, it was all condensed and it is like there is a whole Movie inbetween that I missed. But no, there isn't, it was just all cut down, which to me is a huge waste.

There is less Stresseman and more dramatic scenes between Nodame and Chiaki. It is all because Nodame found the piece she wanted to play wit Chiaki... and turns out, it is the same piece that Chiaki will play with Rui. The possibilities! Gosh, this mangaka seriously makes them suffer.

Not all the movie was angsty, though. There are some light moments, like when Nodame is celebrating that Auclair calls her "Nodame" instead of "Bebe-chan" (so cute!). Or when Chiaki catches Nodame, Mine and Masumi-chan mocking him (so funny!). And of course, all the photographs of Mine and Masumi-chan and Nodame in Paris was a plus.

I love the OST of this movie... I've been searching the list to have them on my Ipod... Very beautiful.

Kuroki-kun is so cute! Why in the world didn't Becky date this guy instead of that ugly and married one??

I wish Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi date in real life... such a beautiful couple... <3

**My rating: 10/10**

OOKU, The Lady Shogun and her Men

In the year 1716 a mysterious epidemic stickens men in the country of Japan, dropping the population of men to 1/4th of its prior state. With the drastic reduction of men, the gender roles have become reversed in Japan. Woman become the dominant members of society and males are sought out for the ability to produce children.

A young man named Unoshin Mizuno (Kazunari Ninomiya) hopes to marry childhood sweetheart Onobu (Maki Horikita), but due to class differences realizes this is almost impossible. To raise his social status and also save his poor family, Unoshin Mizuno enters the Ohoku (inner chambers of the Shugun's castle) and attempts to vie among 3,000 other men for the affection of the female shogun. What Unoshin Mizuno quickly learns about the Ohoku is that the men there are all beautiful, but highly ambitious and conniving. In this environment, the 7th shogun Tokugawa passes away and the new shogun Yoshimune Tokugawa (Kou Shibasaki) takes the thrown and enters the Ohoku ...

This movie was really well done, very loyal to the manga (except for the ending). Amazing, but the whole movie is the first volume of the manga, only. I did not notice the manga was so long. So not only it is exactly like the manga, but the locations of the movie were beautiful! The castle, the town, the inner chambers... all so vast and clean and with so much light.

The cast... wow, amazing cast. Nino was good as Mizuno, but I wish he was taller. And maybe more handsome (the story is like that, it is not like I am shallow, but Mizuno needs to be, besides one of the prettiest boys, a strong one, a tall one, an agil one). At least he was very good at fighting. His little feet... <3 so cute. But those sex scenes (nothing explicit, just Nino, err, moving atop of an old lady) reminded me of that article that told that Nino is a sex-beast. Hahaha, impossible not to think about it.

This is the first time I see Shibasaki Kou, the Shogun Lady, and my first impression was, wow, she looks like Nakatani Miki. So lady-like, so imposing. She has a bit of a funny face due her mouth, but all in all, she is very beautiful (those eyes!). She doesn't make an appearance in front of her men until 1 hour and 10 minutes have passed.

All the other characters are actors I love. I can't complain, although, among the most beautiful men, there was one that I think is THE most beautiful, but if you blink, you miss him. He is my beautiful Saito Syuuske. Oh well, Ohkura looks nice, although a bit too feminine, and Tamaki looks handsome as well.

HoriMaki was cute and OK (although as stiff as ever when she has to kiss someone!), Sadai Abe is always good in no matter what role (funny, silly or serious) and wow, Nakamura Aoi, that boy from "BECK" got a kiss in the lips from Nino! Exaclty like in the manga, I am glad they did not exclude that scene merely for that fact. Terrible what these guys have to deal with: Ohkura, being of a lower rank, was the lover of Tamaki (higher rank). But Tamaki again has a lower rank of Matsushima, so he was, again, the lover of another guy.

That is my complain about the story (not the movie). Since the country was dealing with the death of men due the Redface pox, and there was 1 man for every 4 women, why in the world were 800 men inside the castle, while outside the few men left had to sell their bodies to give the women their seed? Why in the world would the Shogun need 800 men, if she could get pregnant just once in a while? Why in the world were men working as maids, and, having to be locked from the outside world, seek physical pleasure with other men, while outside there were hundreds of women needing a man? It was an issue that the same Mizuno questioned... men sleeping with other men and wasting their seed.

All in all, it was a great movie, great costume (but truly, the outfit the men had to wear, and the Shogun, for that matter, was completely ridiculous.. they could barely walk!), great cast... The (my) only problem was the story. At least it ended well (although unlikely).

**My rating: 9/10**