[First Impressions] "Tomorrow Cantabile" Episodes 1 and 2

Tomorrow Cantabile is a typical, charming rom-com/coming-of-age story about a young man, Cha Yoo Jin (Joo Won) who dreams of becoming a conductor like the great Sebastien Viera. However, his training is in classical piano (like his mother), and he’s faced with many obstacles, including his professors and their own petty jealousies and thirst for power, a new Maestro called on by the university’s dean, as well as his fear of flying. And, of course, there is also the whole underdog aspect to the story of pitting one already exceedingly good orchestra against one made up of misfits.

Yoo Jin isn’t perfect either, though his command of music is amazing: he is stubborn, and most definitely imbued of his own person, and is so not afraid to show others how poorly they are playing music (though the latter could be a sign of his OCD side, which is also shown in his need for cleanliness, even outside his own apartment). Contrast his personality with that of Seol Nae Il’s (Shim Eun Kyung), a young, ardent girl who’s always bright and cheery (aren’t they always in young rom-coms?), and has a very interesting take on music that draws Yoo Jin in despite himself.

The key to being a great conductor is not to simply be able to read and interpret full music scores, but also to turn individual musicians into the music itself. Yoo Jin manages to do this with Nae Il, then later with Yoo Il Rak (Ko Gyung Pyo), a classical violinist with the soul of a rockstar.

I must say that at first I was rather dubious about seeing Joo Won in another comedy—I was never able to get into his Han Gil Ro character in 7^th Grade Civil Servant. However, I am pleased to announce that Joo Won’s comedic side seems a lot more polished than it was before, and some of the faces he makes are really hilarious. Sure, there were some comedic moments that felt way too forced and made me cringe (the beginning of the first episode for instance), but as I watch the main characters grow, particularly the development of the relationship between Yoo Jin and Nae Il (by far the best thing in this series so far, I think), I can say without any reservation that I am looking forward to seeing the next episodes.

So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite parts.

1) Yoo Jin waking up in the dumpster that Nae Il lives in, and later finding himself unable to resist the urge to clean her entire apartment.

2) Nae Il constantly trying to get a hug from Yoo Jin.

3) Yoo Jin taking care of Nae Il like a pet.

4) Yoo Jin saying he doesn’t want to eat with Nae Il then buys her some food anyway, only to find her eating with Il Rok and getting jealous…

5)…and trying to get her jealous as well.

6) Yoo Jin and undercover Maestro Franz Stresemann pitting against each other for the right to keep Nae Il with them all night long (Yoo Jin wins by offering not only his whole bed for the night, but also his arm as a pillow, something he immediately regrets).

Close seconds in favorite scenes/moments are:

1) Nae Il’s doll.

2) Il Rak and his father.

What about you, what was your favorite moment of the show this week?