work motivation

If you ever feel demotivated at work you could use my secret weapon: Papaya Suzuki's song, which featured the ending of the J-Dorama Hataraki Man (literally meaning "hardworking man"). It is a story about a young female journalist (played by Kanno Miho) who switches into "male mode" (yeah, I know! They could have just named it "work mode", but whatever), meaning she has an extraordinary work ethic and, as soon as a good story comes up or a deadline approaches, she is unable of doing anything else exept...work. "Hataraki Man" was one of the most popular series in 2008 in Japan, since it was one of few doramas featuring female leads in slice-of-life depictions of independence, careers and workplace politics, as well as balancing these priorities with friends, lovers and families. Most importantly, this dorama highlights the various difficulties in figuring out just how these contemporary threads tie back into the bolt of Japanese society, which is deeply rooted in its cultural history and traditions. The role of women within contemporary Japanese society has obviously changed over the past few decades, and the prominence of stronger female leads, in the past few years, is a sharp indication of where women currently stand within evolving gender roles.

The "Hataraki Man" song is as silly as one can be, but it has successfully brought me into a hatarki mode before. Why? Because it is a caricature of work life, hence putting mine into perspective and relieving it of its dramatic feel. Because I want to stand up in my office and sing and dance the hataraki song. Here is a part of it, at the end of one episode, with the funny Papaya Suzuki group and one of the characters of the series:

Lyrics (more or less): Working more than anyone else/ without complaining/ for the sake of the future/ and the world/ forever./ Today, too, work, work, work, to the limits of your strength/ Crossing troubled waters and mountains/ Let's go, Hataraki Man!

lololol

Well, if the Japanese don't have a healthy work discipline, I don't know who has ^_^;

nodame cantabile

poster source

Classical music might seem too complicated to play, sometimes boring or simply just too sophisticated to listen to on a daily basis. That was until the series Nodame Cantabile appeared! It is one of my favourite J-Dorama: a wonderful story about a group of students at a classical music academy...about love, friendship, dreams and, of course, mainly about music. It is based on the Manga of the same name and is beautifully written, directed and acted. As opposed to other J-Dorama, this one has a very ostensible cartoonish feel to it, making it seem hilariously unrealistic. Even though J-Dorama usually have between 9 and 11 episodes, this live-action dorama was so successful, that a Special followed up and now...the movie is coming!

Nodame is the nickname of Noda Megumi a lazy, crazy, talented, funny, weird girl, who lives in her own fantasy world, has inimitable facial expressions, invents funny words and only wants to play the piano by her own rules, following her heart and not any other directions. Ever since childhood, she was a prodigy: she could play by ear but could never read music. Chiaki Shinichi is a talented pianist, who happens to study at the same academy and also be her neighbor. He dreads Nodame's lifestyle and piano-playing style but admires her genuine spirit and talent. Even though he is considered a piano virtuoso, he actually dreams of becoming a conductor. The rest of the adorable cast is just perfect: they are their friends and families, always a bit wacky and funny. In the end, of course, everyone grows and learns from each other.

There is no doubt that this series is terribly silly. But even so, everyone I know has fallen in love with Nodame's lovable character and her struggles. And this series/movie is just the perfect way to get people aquainted with classical music and the passion of playing an instrument or pursuing one's dream.

The Nodame Cantabile Resources is a wonderful blog dedicated to this story, where you can also find links to the amazing OST.

Here is the trailer for the upcoming movie.