Fandom Crossover: Nodame Cantabile + Yu Aoi

March 18, 2010 — 7 Comments

I haven’t read the Nodame manga series, but I sure am waiting for the last two movies, because I loved the live action adaptation. Also, Juri Ueno is the perfect Nodame!

Anyway, I’ll let Kawaii Joyuu do the explaining~

Actress Aoi Yu (24) or at least her voice is going to appear in the second “Nodame Cantabile” movie that is opening soon. They announced today that she is going to dub the young Hungarian woman Jadwi. Jadwi’s actual name is Jadwiga, meaning “mysterious sleeping beauty” and is a popular character in the original manga. She becomes a close friend of Nodame (Ueno Juri) and therefore one of the key characters in the second movie. Both of them meet at the music school they attend in Paris. Jadwi can play the theremin, the first ever electronic music instrument in the world. Her unique character and unique instrument eventually helps Nodame enjoying music again, after she got separated from her beloved piano.

Jadwi has a very fluffy personality. Aoi actually would be the perfect actress for the role, even Ueno already noticed that. “She has a fairy-like, very mysterious aura surrounding her, almost like Aoi Yuu,” she said. There were plans to transform Aoi into a foreign girl with the help of make-up, but who knows how that would look like in the end. Now they have a French actress playing that role and Aoi dubbing her in Japanese. “There would be no better person for this,” Ueno commented after hearing that Aoi got confirmed for the voice cast.

I have often talked about Yu’s voice acting, and her different voices. She’s got her regular voice lower and sort of as-a-matter-of-fact, and then there’s also her sponsoring voice which is high and chirpy. But she’s also done a lot of cute voice, and you also know I prefer Yu when she’s not cute… even though I can’t deny that she’s cute, and that makes you smile nonetheless. This is why Juri’s remarks on Yu’s fairy-like qualities is fascinating.

Anyway, for those Yu Aoi fans that have not seen Nodame Cantabile – it’s just a blast. I mean, the first couple of episodes are something to get used to for the wacky and over-the-top qualities [mind you, I had just gotten into J-entertainment back then], but once you get into it, it’s so SO funny. Part of the funny behind the casting of Yu as the dubbing for a Hungarian character is hilariously and bluntly pointed out on the first Nodame Europe Special.

Now there’s more reason to watch Nodame Cantabile Movie 2! xD

7 responses to Fandom Crossover: Nodame Cantabile + Yu Aoi

  1. I read about this yesterday and was going to send it to u but then got sleepy!
    Imagine if Yuu would have been in the movie!

  2. I only wish she would do less cutesy roles xD

  3. I wished Yuu played a real role in Nodame, I think she would have suited the wacky dorama very well.
    I’m curious, because I’ve met many people who like both Juri & Yuu (which I’m one of them, they’re my most fav. Japanese actresses). Is it just a coincident, because these two look nothing similar, though they’ve played in 2 movies together before (Turtles & Rainbow Song).

  4. I like both Juri and Yu too… coincidentally~~~, but I fuzz more about Yu because she does more film roles, and that’s more where I roll… and that’s where most Yu fans I’ve met roll too.

    They’re obviously very physically different from each other… and perhaps even their personalities and vibes are different. However, they both are not the “norm” as far as female idols go, and they both stand out (alongside Aoi Miyazaki) as personalities with a lot of acting chops… unlike, let’s say Masami Nagasawa whom I’ve noticed is more known for her legs than the acting talent or acting projects she chooses.

    I wished Juri did more films, as I know she’s got the talent to carry a film, but she’s certainly proven she finds the more success on TV work (hence the Taiga drama for NHK! xD)… foreign dramas are kind of hard to promote on film communities because they demand more than 2hrs. Yu, however, seems fairly popular because of her films (even outside a prominent J-Film circle)… even if her TV shows (namely Osen and Camouflage) weren’t huge commercial breaks. I mean, Osen isn’t even on DVD! While the success of Nodame didn’t only sprang 2 Europe Specials, but 2 theatrical films…

    LOL, sorry… I’ve talked about everything. xD

    So since I’m more of a film buff, I wish Yu did more risky roles… resembling the ones she did before (in Lily Chou, playing the suicidal teen), but wouldn’t mind seeing her weekly on a show xD

  5. “foreign dramas are kind of hard to promote on film communities because they demand more than 2hrs.”

    -Exactly, and that’s the main reason why I tend to stay away from dramas. I know there’s some good stuff in these foreign shows, but why would I want to watch one series when I could be watching around 5 films instead? And besides, movies are what stand the test of time…(if they’re good). Foreign drama series, no matter how great, tend to be forgotten after 10 years. So I would prefer it if Yu spent her valuable time making films since that’s what she’s going to be remembered for when her career is all said and done.

    As for her voice-acting role on Nodame Cantabile, it doesn’t really excite me that much. I mean, her voice acting was great in Tekkonkinkreet and all, but come on….she’s beautiful! Why would I want to see a movie just to hear her voice? I want the full “Yu Aoi” experience!

    I did, however, like the pairing of Yu and Juri in movies such as Turtles and Rainbow Song. Too bad they couldn’t just use lots of makeup on Yu to make her look Hungarian. I would prefer it if they took that route. Hopefully if they make another film together, this time Yu will play the lead and Juri the co-star….Or possibly both of them as the lead would be fun….Maybe in something like Hana & Alice where they’re fighting over the same guy!

  6. LOL about the Masami part. I don’t think she’s necessarily bad when she has a role that doesn’t make her laugh & giggle a lot (don’t I just hate it when she goes on a grinning roll). I do agree, however, that Yuu and Juri seem very versatile (and Miyazaki as well, but for some reason she doesn’t appeal to me as much) and can take on pretty much any role out there. I also know Yuu through her movies, first Rainbow Song, then Hana & Alice. I do watch dorama though, but recently I’ve been into J films (after getting used to the sometimes unbearably slow pace…). Now I’m really excited for Otouto! I just hope Yuu does more main roles in the future, it seems like besides Hana & Alice and One million yen she only plays supporting roles. She does shine in them though, so much that most of the times I pay more attention to her screen time than the main actress haha.
    I didn’t like Osen, especially the main male lead. Thought he was too girly and annoying at times. But Yuu sure was heavenly (borrowed this one word from a youtube comment).

  7. “Exactly, and that’s the main reason why I tend to stay away from dramas. I know there’s some good stuff in these foreign shows, but why would I want to watch one series when I could be watching around 5 films instead? ”

    I’d rather watch 13hrs (or 6-ish hours if it’s a 30min episode) of a good show, than 5 bad movies. I mean, I know there are LOADS of films out there to actually get to discover (and so little time in a day), but there’s also some good TV shows, at least American cable shows are giving some films a run for its production money.

    “I want the full “Yu Aoi” experience!”

    I agree. But I do like Nodame, so it doesn’t really bother me xD I do think, however, that Yu Aoi fans that haven’t watched Nodame before (series and other specials) should just skip this, unless they do watch the rest. Otherwise we’ll get another batch of people who didn’t watch Dr. Koto Season 1 and didn’t know anything going on with Season 2 xD

    HH, LOL @ “I don’t think she’s necessarily bad when she has a role that doesn’t make her laugh & giggle a lot (don’t I just hate it when she goes on a grinning roll).”

    Did you see the Eri my Love bit where Asami Mizukawa impersonates all her Last Friends castmates? Mizukawa NAILS the Nagasawa giggle.

Leave a Reply to HHCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.