[ANIME] Toradora!

There's something in this world that nobody has seen yet. It's something gentle and very sweet. And if you had been able to put your eyes on it, then you would yearn for it. That's why the world has hidden it. To make sure that not just anyone can get their hands on it. But at some point, someone will find it. That one person who is supposed to find it is also the one who will be able to find it. That's just how it is.

(Toradora! Episode1)

Foto untuk Taiga

Anime yang satu ini namanya mungkin terdengar asing bagi banyak orang di Indonesia. Termasuk saya pada awalnya...

Episode pertamanya kurang menampilkan sesuatu yang bisa dibilang menarik. Sangat normal. Saya sempat menyerah untuk terus menonton anime ini pada awalnya.

Tapi setelah saya teruskan ke episode 2 ternyata ceritanya berkembang menjadi lebih, lebih dan lebih menarik (kocak, seru deh!)  dan membawa efek ketagihan. Ending yang disajikan juga sangat masuk akal dan terhitung manis!

Anime ini saya rekomendasikan untuk semua orang (yang sudah cukup umur tentunya,karena banyak adegan yang hanya dimengerti oleh orang yang sudah cukup umur...hehe)! Karena semua orang berhak untuk mencintai dan dicintai! Hohoho!

Peringatan! Spoiler! Bagi yang ingin menonton anime ini disarankan hanya membaca sinopsisnya saja... Okay?! Jangan merusak kejutannya... Huuuuummmm...

Sinopsis

Yap! Waktunya untuk menyelami dunia Ryuuji dan Taiga... Anime ini mengambil setting masa-masa sekolah menengah atas. Masa di mana banyak orang mencari arah dan jati diri.

Cerita dimulai di tahun ajaran baru Ryuuji dan Taiga. Dua orang yang legendaris di sekolah ini ditempatkan di satu kelas yang sama! Legendaris karena apa? Dua-duanya terkenal sangat menyeramkan!

Awal pertemuan keduanya di kelas sangat buruk dan hubungan mereka bertambah buruk lagi ketika Ryuuji menemukan amplop surat cinta Taiga untuk Yuusaku, sahabatnya, yang salah dimasukkan Taiga ke dalam tasnya... Hohoho. Saat Taiga menyuruh Ryuuji untuk mengembalikan amplop surat cintanya (yang ternyata kosong) Ryuuji juga ketahuan menyukai Minori (karena kecerobohannya tentunya...), sahabat Taiga, dan akhirnya... mereka sepakat untuk membantu satu sama lain untuk menyatakan cinta masing-masing pada orang yang mereka sukai.

Tapi sayangnya...hubungan yang harusnya saling mendukung itu dijalani dengan Ryuuji yang diperlakukan seperti seekor anjing oleh Taiga... Hahaha.

Karakter-karakter Utama Toradora!

Takasu, Ryuuji

Cowok pemeran utama kita ini bukan flower boy. Wajahnya yang sangat "laki" (lebih condong ke preman) membuatnya ditakuti dan salah dimengerti oleh banyak orang di sekitarnya. Ryuuji sempat membenci dirinya karena ini.

Gimana? Serem ga? XD

Dia tinggal bersama ibunya yang biasa dipanggil  Yacchan yang seorang wanita penghibur (bukan pelacur ya...), sang ayah (yang selalu dirindukannya) pergi entah kemana. Waktu kerja ibunya yang selalu malam (tentunya...) membuat Ryuuji sangat mandiri dalam mengurus segala hal di rumahnya.

Dia itu... istilah terkenalnya... clean freak! Gila kebersihan (gila dalam artian sebenarnya disini.hehe). Dia paling tidak tahan melihat segala sesuatu yang kotor. Tempat kotor membuatnya bersemangat untuk bersih-bersih! (mantap ditiru nih...).

Ready for some cleaning!

Lain di luar lain di dalam kan...? Ryuuji itu anak yang sangat baik dan peduli sekali sama sahabat-sahabatnya. Lucu sekali melihat "preman" yang satu ini salah tingkah di depan Minori. Pertemuannya dengan Taiga, yang ternyata tetangga sebelah rumahnya, merubah sudut pandang dan hidupnya selamanya.

"Hubungan"nya dengan Taiga membuat Ryuuji sangat memperhatikan Taiga. Dia membuatkan bekal dan memberi Taiga makan di rumahnya (setiap jam makan tentunya). Pelan-pelan perasaan lain yang tak disadarinya di awal pada Taiga muncul... dan untungnya... dia tidak terlambat menyadarinya pada akhirnya, dan meraih kebahagiaan...

He is so gentle indeed...

Aisaka, Taiga

Cewek kasar yang satu ini tidak menyeramkan kalau hanya dilihat ukuran tubuhnya. Dia sangat pendek dan kecil. Satu-satunya saat di mana dia terlihat sangat imut adalah ketika dia tidur! khekhe... Tapi jangan menyepelekan Taiga karena ukuran tubuhnya, tinjunya yang super duper kuat akan membuatmu merasakan akibatnya!

11 12 deh seremnya sama Ryuuji

Taiga itu sangat jorok. Bagai 2 sisi mata uang jika dibandingkan dengan Ryuuji. Karenanya dia merasa sangat tertolong ketika Ryuuji hadir di hidupnya dan perlahan-lahan mulai tergantung pada keberadaannya. Taiga tinggal seorang diri di apartemen mewahnya. Keluarganya yang berantakan menorehkan kesedihan yang mendalam padanya. Sebelum bertemu Ryuuji dia hanya makan makanan instan, mungkin itu yang membuat tubuhnya tidak tumbuh dengan sempurna.

Tuh...imut kan? Kayak boneka!^^

Taiga menyukai Yuusaku, tapi pada akhirnya dia sadar bahwa kebahagiaannya ada bersama Ryuuji.

Awalnya Taiga mengingkari perasaannya pada Ryuuji, karena ingin melihat Ryuuji bahagia dengan Minori. Tapi pada akhirnya... (lihat sendiri ya...hoho)

Kitamura, Yuusaku

Wakil ketua OSIS, pintar, tampan, baik hati, dan berkacamata. Sempurna bukan? Tapi jangan salah karena bukan itu semua yang membuat Taiga suka padanya. Cowok yang terbilang normal ini pernah menyatakan cintanya pada Taiga (yang ditolak mentah-mentah oleh Taiga) pada tahun pertamanya di SMA.

Saat patah hati oleh Taiga, hatinya tersentuh oleh kakak kelasnya yang ketua OSIS. Sang ketua OSIS inilah yang menjadi inspirasinya, motivasinya dan cintanya setiap hari (tentu saja sang ketua OSIS mengetahuinya, tapi pura-pura tidak tahu). Saat ketua OSIS menyatakan dirinya akan pindah keluar negeri, Yuusaku berubah jadi aneh dan memberontak (rambutnya sampai diwarnai lo...).

Ssst...dibalik semua kesempurnaannya itu dia agak... hentai!!! XP

Kushieda, Minori

Karakter yang paling saya benci di anime ini sebenarnya. Dia terlalu ceria (kelihatan terlalu dibuat-buat)! Minori adalah kapten klub softball yang sangat ceria dan bersemangat. Impiannya menjadi pemain baseball saat dia kuliah nanti. Untuk meraih mimpinya itu dia mengambil banyak sekali kerja paruh waktu untuk menabung.

Minori terhitung sangat rakus, tapi di sisi lain dia juga seorang aktivis diet (bingung? sama...). Minori sebenarnya menyukai Ryuuji, tapi dia menyerah saat tahu bahwa jauh di lubuk hati Ryuuji, dia sangat menyayangi Taiga.

Kawashima, Ami

Cewek yang satu ini akan membuat semua orang iri. Wajahnya cantik, badannya tinggi dan proporsional, seorang model pula, sempurna deh! Dia adalah teman masa kecil  Yuusaku.Ami pindah ke SMA di mana Yuusaku bersekolah pada tengah semester tahun kedua. Di balik kepribadiannya yang sempurna, Ami menyembunyikan ketidakpercayaan dirinya dengan menampilkan kepribadian yang dia "buat".

Ami takut jika dia menampilkan dirinya yang sebenarnya, tidak ada yang mau menerimanya. Ami sangat menderita karena dia tidak berhenti dikuntit oleh salah satu penggemar beratnya. Untuk menghindari penguntit ini dia terus menerus pindah sekolah, tapi ternyata taktiknya ini tidak berhasil, ini membuatnya sangat frustasi. Pada perkembangan cerita, Ami adalah orang yang membantu Ryuuji menyadari perasaannya yang sebenarnya.

Ami sangat cemburu pada Taiga yang bisa dengan terang-terangan menunjukkan pada dunia dirinya yang sebenarnya dengan caranya sendiri. Perasaannya sendiri menjadi lumayan misterius, tapi sepertinya dia juga menyukai Ryuuji.

Seiyuu (Pengisi Suara)

Takasu, Ryuuji -> Majima, Junji

Aisaka, Taiga -> Kugimiya, Rie

Kitamura, Yuusaku -> Nojima, Hirofumi

Kushieda, Minori -> Horie, Yui

Kawashima, Ami -> Kitamura, Eri

Soundtrack

Soundtrack anime ini bener-bener unik dan enak banget... dan semuanya dinyanyikan oleh para seiyuu...mantap... My favourite: Pre-parade and Orange. Happy listening and search for it!^^

Opening Theme:

#01: Pre-Parade by Rie Kugimiya, Eri Kitamura, and Yui Horie (eps 1-16)

#02: Silky Heart by Yui Horie (eps 17-24)

Ending Theme:

#01: Vanilla Salt by Yui Horie (eps 1-16)

#02: Orange by Rie Kugimiya, Eri Kitamura and Yui Horie (eps 17-18, 20-25)

#03: Holy Night by Rie Kugimiya and Eri Kitamura (ep 19)

My Opinion

Sangat menarik bukan? Toradora! akan membuka mata setiap orang bahwa kita tak akan pernah bisa mengerti semua hal tentang seseorang. Yang perlu kita lakukan adalah saling menerima dan memahami. Setiap orang, siapa pun dia, memiliki sisi gelap dan terangnya masing-masing.

Jangan pernah tertipu dengan sisi luar yang ditunjukkan oleh siapa pun. Cinta bisa membawa perubahan yang sangat besar pada hidup seseorang dan cinta adalah saling melengkapi. Seperti halnya Ryuuji dan Taiga, dua sisi yang selalu ada untuk satu sama lain.

Source: myanimelist.net and personal experience

How to Train Your Dragon

I was so unlucky to miss this movie while it was still showing at the cinemas. But finally... I've watched it. And I gotta tell you this is a very good movie for all your family members. I'm sure that most of you have seen it. but for the ones who haven't don't read this post until the end cos it has spoiler section. Just don't ruined the surprises...hehe... So, happy reading!^^ And be sure to watch the movie too...

Movie Poster

Have seen any dragons who learn to smile? hahaha XD

Beautiful Friendship: Full of Loyalty

Hiccup (voiced by Jay Baruchel) is the son of the chief Viking, Stoick (voiced by Gerard Butler), on the island of Berk. The Vikings have been plagued by attacks of dragons raiding their livestock and destroying their homes; their lair has remained elusive from Stoick's searches. Hiccup, scrawny and destructively clumsy compared to others in his community, attempts to compensate by building contraptions to kill dragons, specifically the most dangerous dragon known, the mysterious Night Fury, whom no one has ever fought and survived, to earn some respect, most importantly with Astrid (voiced by America Ferrera), a competently aggressive girl of his age intent on joining the Viking ranks.

After the latest dragon attack, Stoick organizes yet another search for the dragons' nest, while signing Hiccup up for dragon killing lessons with other children under the tutelage of Gobber (voiced by Craig Ferguson), the local blacksmith. Between lessons, Hiccup explores the nearby woods and finds that one of his inventions has indeed trapped a Night Fury, damaging its tailwing. Hiccup tries to kill it but cannot bring himself to do so, and instead cuts the dragon free. The dragon pins him down and roars at him but then disappears. Hiccup returns later to find the dragon cannot fly away from a small depressed glade due to the condition of its tail. Hiccup becomes friendly to the dragon, and over time he learns what actions please or distress the Night Fury. In understanding how he can make the Night Fury react, Hiccup is able to transfer this knowledge to his dragon training classes and "defeats" the foes Gobber sets on the class through pacification, becoming renowned in his community as a formidable warrior, much to Astrid's dismay. Due to the dragon's retractable teeth, Hiccup names the Night Fury "Toothless".

Hiccup secretly fashions a make-shift prosthetic tail and riding assembly, allowing him to guide Toothless in free flight. Hiccup and Toothless develop a close bond over time, and Hiccup finds that other dragons can be similarly domesticated. One day, Hiccup finds Astrid spying on them; worried that Astrid will reveal this to the rest of the village, Hiccup has Toothless bring Astrid aboard, then shows Astrid the joys of flying. However, while soaring, Toothless finds himself lured along with a flock of dragons returning with stolen livestock, heading towards a volcanic island. Inside, they find the dragons fearfully serve a gargantuan dragon (a Seadragonus Giganticus Maximus) living inside the island, feeding it the stolen livestock to avoid being eaten themselves. Hiccup, Astrid, and Toothless escape and return to Berk. By this time, Stoick and the fleet have returned, having failed to find the lair themselves.

The next day, Hiccup is put to the final test, and when he refuses to kill the offered dragon and instead tries to pacify it, Stoick attempts to end the fight, scaring the dragon and putting Hiccup's life in danger. Toothless hears Hiccup's screams and saves his life from the other dragon, but is soon caught by the other Vikings. Hiccup is forced to reveal his training and the lair, and Stoick, after disowning his son, sets out with another fleet, using a chained-up Toothless to guide them. Left alone, Astrid helps the aggrieved Hiccup come to a personal epiphany that his empathy and daring inventiveness with Toothless are in fact strengths of a worthy warrior. Thus inspired, he convinces Astrid and the other teenagers to pacify and mount the other training dragons to set off to try to stop the Viking fleet, yet unaware of the giant dragon awaiting them.

The children are too late to prevent the Vikings from rousing the monstrous dragon against them, but they are able to delay it long enough for the Vikings to retreat safely, and for Hiccup and Stoick to free Toothless. Hiccup and Toothless lead the giant dragon on a dangerous flight, eventually into a direct descent to the ground. As the giant dragon nearly devours them, Toothless turns around and ignites the dragon's breath; the dragon cannot stop and collides into the ground, killing it and releasing a giant fireball. Hiccup falls out of his saddle and blacks out, but as he falls towards the flames, Toothless saves his boy and protects him from the flames with his wings, much to Stoick, Astrid, and the other Vikings' relief.

Some time later, Hiccup wakes up from the injuries and finds himself back in Berk. Toothless is in his home, and Hiccup finds out that he has lost his left foot, replaced with an artificial limb Gobber made. Whatever regrets he has are quickly forgotten when he exits the house to find that the Vikings and dragons are living together. Hiccup is celebrated as a hero by everyone, particularly Stoick and Astrid. Hiccup and Astrid race their dragons through the newly-reformed Berk, signifying a new beginning for both worlds.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_%28film%29

Personal taste: I love Night Fury! I love Hiccup! I want to have a dragon as a pet... hahaha XD

From this movie I learn to be what I meant to be, to be what I really wanted to be...

Make a change in a static environment sure needs lots of sacrifices but we shouldn't give up...

Who knows... Someday... We can make a better world for all of us...

Like Hiccup and Night Fury did... Love you guys...really... ^^

Nodame Cantabile (My Invitation to Classical Music)

Readers who like classical music rise your hand! Why did I ask that? Because I am myself is one of its fans. Not very fanatic though. But I do love classical.
Imagine why, I, a girl from Indonesia, a very far away country from Europe, the continent where classical music was born, can love classical music? The answer is Nodame Cantabile.
Does Nodame Cantabile come from Europe? The answer is no. It comes from Japan. A unique way to meet classical music I guess. I read a review about Nodame Cantabile manga in a magazine a long time ago (I forgot the name of the magazine, I'm sorry... XP).
I was interested indeed. Its unique theme, story, and characters had attracted me. I liked it, but not too much that time. Years goes by and suddenly one day, I found Nodame Cantabile Live Action Series in a DVD store. I thought, "I know this one, I'll give it a try", and bought it.
My curiousity was so big, so as soon as I got home from that store, I turned on my DVD player, and watch the first episode. You know readers, the effect is unimaginable. I thought I was actually going crazy! The story, plot, dialogues, scenes, and characters captivated me.
I felt really really happy watching it. I watched it more and more and more, and yes... finally, I'm crazy for Nodame Cantabile now. Haha... I've watched the live action series, special edition, and one of two movies of Nodame Cantabile until now. Still hunting for the first Nodame Cantabile The Movie.
It is so hard to get... Anyone can help? Please...???

So now let me to tell you what is Nodame Cantabile actually. Shall we?
(I translated this section from an Indonesian magazine: Advance, the animation and comics magazine, grab some sentence from wikipedia, and add some words of my own too^^)

Nodame Cantabile is a very famous manga (meaning: Japanese comics) created by Tomoko Ninomiya (very brilliant author!!! XD). It has won Kodansha Manga award for Shojo (meaning: girls) manga in 2004 and had been licensed in some countries, including Indonesia.
The manga's popularity is followed by the making of the drama, which is also get very very great responses from all this manga fans.
After the drama, the anime from this manga is created. JC Staff makes the anime version of Nodame Cantabile and it's been aired since January 11th, 2007.

The Story: Nodame Cantabile tells a story about the life of 2 persons with very opposite personalities and characteristics and how they influence each other to be a better person. One day, Chiaki Sinichi, a top student in Momogaoka Music Academy, had a fight with his teacher and had been thrown directly to the banishment class. Here, in the banishment class, he met a girl, Megumi Noda, who insisted to be called Nodame. Nodame is "special". Nodame fell in love quickly with Chiaki (who does't?hehe). Unrequited love at first. Chiaki needed quite a long time to realize and give some respects to Nodame's ability and affection towards him. Their relationship, without they realized, had improved their personalities, to be the better ones.
Nodame Cantabile centres around aspiring conductor Shinichi Chiaki and Megumi Noda, an extremely talented pianist. As students at the Momogaoka College of Music in Japan, they have many friends with their own musical ambitions, in particular Ryutaro Mine and Masumi Okuyama, and teachers like conductor Franz von Stresemann and piano instructor Kouzou Etoh to guide them. Early on, the series focuses on the S-Orchestra, a group of maverick students chosen specifically by Stresemann, who leaves them to be conducted by Chiaki. Several notable members go on to join the Rising Star Orchestra (R☆S Orchestra) partially founded and also conducted by Chiaki; the formation of the new orchestra introduces several new colleagues for Chiaki, including violinist Kiyora Miki and oboe player Yasunori Kuroki. When Chiaki and Nodame move to Paris to launch Chiaki's career as a professional conductor and for Nodame to continue her studies as a pianist, they find new friends and rivals, as well as remaining in contact with their friends from Japan. Along with the Conservatoire students, Tanya, Franck, and Yunlong, who share the same boarding house as Nodame and Chiaki, they meet famed musicians, like Son Rui, and conductor Jean Donnedieu.

Main Characters (My favourite main characters actually... XP)

Megumi Noda is a very clumsy, messy, and dirty girl. Often, she doesn't take a bath for a couple of days and confessed to it. In other words, she is a weirdo. (Haha!). But Megumi is very talented at playing the piano and Chiaki acknowledges this. Noda is, at the start of the series, a twenty-year-old free-spirited second-year music student. She is depicted as a complete slob: her cooking and cleaning skills are atrocious to the point of having mushrooms growing on her clothes and poisoning anyone who dares to eat her food (yet she's never been poisoned). However she is an incredibly talented pianist who primarily plays by ear, in a cantabile style.
In love with Chiaki, she follows him around constantly, claiming to be his "wife," and leans on him to help her get through sticky situations. She sometimes compulsively needs to play the piano, neglecting everything in order to do it. As well as that, she seems to enjoy childish manga and movies. She is constantly hungry, and is fed dinners by Chiaki; she also steals many lunches from her fellow friend, Maki. Nodame has a tendency to speak cryptically (sometimes she doesn't even understand herself), often refers to herself in the third person and uses nonsense words like mukya and gyabo. Nodame is initially very dependent on Chiaki in terms of ambition - she has little intention of becoming a professional pianist, despite her remarkable talent, and wants to become a kindergarten teacher, though many feel she is too reckless and lacks the appropriate sensibility to be responsible with teaching children. Her piano style is considered to be completely haphazard, diverting from original intent at both dynamics, rhythms and even themes. Realizing that her current attitude towards music will eventually drive her apart from Chiaki, Nodame gradually develops the necessary drive to pursue music for her own sake. Her attitude towards music is largely due to an incident in the past where she was hurt by a teacher who demanded her to play music "as it's written".

Sinichi Chiaki (a very handsome and perfect senpai->senior! XD) is an incredible music student. A perfectionist, egocentric man who with a great talent in playing both piano and violin (what a musician prince ay?! hehe...). He wants to be a conductor actually, but he was trapped in piano division and can't get his long waited lesson with his Viera Sensei (meaning: teacher) in Prague because of his phobia of flight and sail.
He is a top student of course. He was born into a musical family. He once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy (namely Prague). He is dismayed to discover that this freakish but talented girl, Nodame, lives in the apartment next door to him,. However, he develops a sort of empathy with Nodame as he discovers her hidden potential to be a great pianist, and he begins to transcend his perfectionism and begins to enjoy his music and the music of others. Despite his constant irritation towards Nodame, he eventually develops romantic feelings toward her and he chooses to find work as a conductor in Paris, where she is going to study. As Chiaki realizes his life's ambition to become a conductor, he also finds that he needs Nodame's support and he cannot move on without her. He also appears to have fear of being abandoned and surpassed, the former comes from being abandoned by his father as a young boy. Afraid of being abandoned, he often abandons other people instead, especially Nodame. In various instances, he's also shown to have reservation over being "too friendly" with others, (mentioned in a rehearsal with RS orchestra). He's constantly afraid of being surpassed by Nodame, trying to go even further from her, which leaves her miserable as she is trying to catch up to him. He also can be considered as insensitive. (attractive cool guy I must say!) Chiaki is twenty-one years old and a 3rd-year piano student at Momogaoka Music Academy at the start of the series.

Maestro Franz von Stresemann a.k.a Milch Holstein is a highly-respected internationally famous conductor who comes to Momogaoka Music Academy as a guest instructor. In love with the Academy's Director, he comes as a favor and immediately is pegged as an oddball lecher. Perverted, demanding, and not at all dignified, Stresemann seems to be opposite of what his reputation makes him. Stresemann, however, immediately takes to Nodame, and even accepts Chiaki as his one and only apprentice after repeatedly rejecting his application to enroll in his conducting classes. His wild behavior constantly gets Chiaki in trouble, but he also teaches him how to feel and express music in a way that only he can. He often takes his orchestra out for mixers or group dates, and go to night clubs and host clubs (especially a place called One More Kiss) instead of attending the rehearsals he is supposed to conduct. He also gets drunk easily, forcing Chiaki to take over for him as vice-conductor. Stresemann is eventually forcibly taken back to Europe to continue his professional life by his hardnosed assistant, Elise. He later develops a fatherly-like affection towards both Nodame and Chiaki. (a very talented but perverted jisan...)

Ryutaro Mine is 4th-year Violin student. His father owns a Chinese restaurant "Uraken" right next to the university. He is something of a primadonna whose violin technique is seen by himself to be deeply personal but by others to be simply sloppy. He sees Chiaki as a rival for attention and tries hard to compete with his "Princely" image of him. He likes Nodame for her free-spirited ways. He is the concertmaster of the S Orchestra conducted by Chiaki, and a violinist in the R☆S Orchestra. He is also the one who thought that performing like Jimi Hendrix, and adding a touch of 'rock' would give quality despite that it looks dumb in an original orchestra (as stated by Chiaki). He has been dating Kiyora Miki. (Mine is a true gentleman in my opinion... I like him! XD)

Kiyora Miki is a prodigious violinist Chiaki met at the Nina Lutz's seminar, she joins him to form the R☆S Orchestra as his concertmaster. She also becomes Mine's girlfriend. In all media, she had studied abroad in Vienna and had received private tutoring from the Berlin Philharmonics concertmaster, Kai Dowin. She also returns abroad a year after they started the R☆S Orchestra, after she is replaced as concertmaster of R☆S by Takahashi Noriyuki. In the live-action version, she was a student of Momogaoka and concertmaster of A Orchestra, where she became friends with Masumi. (I feel that I and Kiyora have the same personality... Don't know why. Hm... Maybe because I always want a boyfriend like Mine, hehe XP)

Masumi Okuyama is a claustrophobic 4th-year timpanist (percussion), who is an okama. He is homosexual. He developed a crush on Chiaki. Since Nodame starts to hang out with Chiaki, he considers her as a rival and often bullies her and anyone else who tries to get close to Chiaki. Despite his idiosyncrasies, he excels on his percussion skills, earning him the title of "Queen of Percussion" and a place in the S and R☆S orchestras conducted by Chiaki. (He is quite a nice friend...^^)

Yasunori Kuroki is a talented oboe player who falls for Nodame at first sight (oblivious to her true nature) and performs the inaugural solo of the R☆S orchestra. Because he tends to be phlegmatic and quiet, many members of the R☆S orchestra think of him as "samurai-like". Though he is crushed and distracted after learning about Nodame's actual nature, Kuroki becomes a good friend to both Nodame and Chiaki and goes on to study abroad in France with them. Once there, he has much difficulty adjusting to the language, people, and culture, making it hard for him to socialize and make friends. His awkward and quiet demeanor earned him the scorn and nickname "Glauque" from Tanya (meaning dark and depressing, also means green/blue-ish). However they do seem to warm up to each other later. Kuroki later becomes a member of the Roux-Marlet Orchestra conducted by Chiaki. (A very cool oboe player... XD)

Hm... There are a lot of classical music pieces here and there in Nodame Cantabile. I've tried to collect them all but... I couldn't. Hard to find the free download files... hehe. Enjoy the story guys... I'm sure you'll fall in love with it... 'Cos it had happened to me... XD

Nodame's Mojamoja Suite

Recommended classical music pieces: Ravel- Piano Concerto in G Major - 1 Allegramente
Mozart Piano Sonata in D+ for Two K.448 1st Movement (Chiaki and Nodame Version)
Mozart-Variations On Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, K_265
Nodame Cantabile -Beethoven - Symphony No. 7 - 1st Movement
Nodame Cantabile -Beethoven - Symphony No. 7 - 4th Movement
Mozart_ Oboe Quartet in F (K370) 1st movement
Tchaikovsky - Tchaikovsky - Violin Concerto in D Major Op 35

Source: Advance Magazine (Volume 10,2007)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nodame_Cantabile
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nodame_Cantabile_characters

Life Is An Adventure

I want to live my life to the absolute fullest
To open my eyes to be all I can be
To travel roads not taken
To meet faces unknown
To feel the wind
To touch the stars
I promise to discover myself
To stand tall with greatness
To chase down and catch every dream
LIFE IS AN ADVENTURE
Taken from: Nutrilon Royal 3 Adds

Bubbles

Spongebob, maybe the first thing in mind when you read this word. For me, bubbles are so beautiful.

"Bubbles philosophy: No matter how limited our time is, give the best, share our beauty and kindness. Life is colorful, share our colors with the world. Though we are small and fragile don't be afraid with sharp obstacles ahead, just face it."

I WANNA LIVE LIKE BUBBLES...