Champon Tabetaka

Its taken me quite a while to get around to watching Champon Tabetaka. Nothing about the poster makes me want to watch this show. Not the guy from Dele nor the guy with the most punchable faced in all of jdorama sitting on the right of the poster.

In fact, the only appealing thing that Champon Tabetaka is that Ozaki Masaya, the writer of KDO adapted the novel written by Sada Masashi who sang Kanpaku Sengen.

Champon Tabetaka is a story about being young and not knowing what to do with life from the perspective of a young man who went all the way from Nagasaki to Tokyo just to study the violin.

From the first episode with one of the characters trying to woo this tsundere girl with a guiter, Champon Tabetaka took hold my attention and never let go because there was such an authenticity to it. Its got the feel good element and innocence of an asadora flavoured with the realism of Sada Masashi's experience.

I got to know the characters and could emphatise with all their worries. I enjoyed watching them grow and navigate real life and meeting a host of interesting characters who helped them grow.

One thing I really liked about Champon Tabetake was that it was set in a world where one could put in a mountain load of effort and still not succeed because the chances of success was that low compared with jdoramas where characters put in a tiny bit of effort and somehow everything falls into place.

If you want a feel good and fun jdorama with a 60s and 70s vibe, Champon Tabetaka is for you. Almost a must watch show for me. Very well made and very watchable.