Too cliche
It’s an easy and certainly boring watch, but for some odd reason I just couldn’t drop this drama. In all honesty, this should’ve been a nice limited series with 6 episodes, but instead we got 12 which mostly focused on the second male lead and female lead story line which lead to nowhere. Watching this series felt more like a chore than entertainment. Both main characters also fell into tired J-drama stereotypes: the woman with low self-esteem and the man who hides himself behind a cold exterior/ has a weird personality. If you’re thinking of watching this, don’t.Was this review helpful to you?
Disappointingly mid
I was so hopeful for this one, but it was all surface and no substance. I don't know how some people are calling it stereotype braking and whatnot when it is, in essence, the most traditional romance you can get with almost no depth.Both Hikaru and Haruka had a lot of potential as characters but were handled really badly, with repetitive conflicts that didn't push them further than the mere superficial and kept them going in circles.
I was so disappointed that Hikaru's gender fluidity wasn't more developed and was treated merely as an accessory to Haruka's "feminine awakening", his queerness is described as "magic", which is very yikes. He doesn't talk about what it means to him, other than superficial "we shouldn't tell people that I'm a guy" or "my parents don't accept me" but without any depth as to why or what that truly means to him or how he found his expression through it. He wasn't portrayed as a drag queen, he was portrayed as gender fluid, which is refreshing, but it was treated as if the writers didn't really care about what that is other than for aesthetic purposes.
Haruka was incredibly bland. She was portrayed as this young naive girl finding her way through life, which is fair given her age, but she never got absolutely anywhere. All her changes were superficial and in aesthetic, not deep enough to have the pretty words really mean something. She doesn't find anything to be passionate about, something that belongs solely to her, she goes back and forth between what the people around her do (Mio's job, Hikaru's job, Keisuke's social circle) and her self-deprecating behavior is swapped for a dependent behavior in which her aim is to be deserving of someone else.
There's so much talk in this drama about what being truly yourself means and how to reflect that outside but, in the end, when your characters don't get meaningful developments and the things that could make them interesting are only superficial tools in yet another by-the-numbers het romance (love triangles, misunderstandings, sharing the same room, getting drunk and being carried home, you name it), it's just the same bland thing pretending to be more.
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A shoujo that takes me back!
What a fun show! It made me all nostalgic for my teen years when I used to devour gender-bending and crossdressing manga because that was the extent of the queerness my library had to offer. In Cinderella Closet, all the characters are adorable in their earnestness and believable despite being firmly rooted in shoujo fantasy land. From the leads to the side characters, everyone has an appropriate amount of emotional depth, and pretty much all imaginable pairings work well together. Haruka's heart-shaped smile and Hikaru's pout are equally charming, though I definitely get more out of femme Hikaru than his more masc presentation. The leads are well-matched and well-supported by the rest of the cast. Unfortunately, the last two episodes lost me because they ramped up the conservatism which had intermittently been rearing its ugly head all throughout the show's runtime to 11.Was this review helpful to you?
Waving all the green flags!
Started this show on a whim and was pleasantly surprised! Hikaru and Hakara were both genuine delights, wrapped in so many green flags. Their friendship was so empowering, and I loved watching them grow in each other’s confidence.Each episode runs just around 20 minutes, so the usual drama pitfalls barely have time to settle in, which I really appreciated. Every time I thought we were heading toward a predictable trope, the story shifted into something fresh. It made the whole experience feel light, heartfelt, and refreshingly self-aware.
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1Cute and sweet : very shojo in its core.
This series was a breath of sweetness, each episode felt like a nice treat in a shiny packaging. The premise was definitely refreshing at first with the main lead way of dressing. However, the story felt less novel in its last arc with the script hitting all the usual beats of the standard shojo romance.Characters were very likeable which is foremost thanks to the solid acting of both main actor (Matsumoto Leo) and main actress (Osaki Ichika). Matsumoto Leo is incredible playing this multi faceted role. He really stands out and I will be looking forward for more with him. Osaki Ichika managed to make her role super endearing despite the character being quite hair-headed : she never felt annoying. The weakest point might have been the more intimate scenes, it felt so cute but at the same time I was expecting some range and evolution as the story progressed. However, the passion never really came.
I would recommend this to people looking for a very relaxing and feel good show. Even if the story is kind of classical for a shojo once you look past the interesting premise of the main lead, it never bothered me and always brought me joy to watch.
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So good and entertaining
I won’t give away any spoilers, but I can say for sure that this drama is truly worth watching. What makes it stand out is how refreshing and fun it feels from the very beginning — it doesn’t try too hard to be dramatic or heavy, instead it embraces a lighthearted and engaging atmosphere. The characters Hiraku and Haruka are absolutely delightful; their personalities balance each other so well, and their interactions bring a genuine warmth to the story. You can really see their relationship grow in small, subtle ways that make the whole experience more enjoyable.The storyline itself is simple, but that’s part of its charm — it’s cute, easy to follow, and never drags. It’s the kind of drama you can relax with, where you don’t need to worry about complicated twists or overly intense emotions. Instead, it gives you those little moments of joy that leave you smiling. If you’re in the mood for something light, comforting, and full of heart, this drama is definitely the one to watch.
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Interesting story but PG 13 on the romance
The story is intriguing and presses the social boundaries of what's normal and what's not. The drama's lesson is about being your true self and feel confident about it. That being said, you get a very lightweight PG 13 romance from this show, even though the ML gives intense vibes. By the way, he is so gorgeous! I guess conservative scenes it is something to be expected to in Japanese dramas. The main theme song was very nice on the ears too. Suitable for younger audience.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Such a "Feel Good" Series
This series will put a smile on your face from the first few minutes, and you will not lose it right through episode 12. The story is extremely entertaining, not to mention the acting from Leo Matsumoto is brilliant in this role as a woman. I've watched him in several supporting roles over the last few years, and he was always entertaining ... but this lead role was done with perfection. I have a feeling you'll be seeing him in more main roles in the future.Haruka Fukunaga & Keisuke Kurotaki balance out the rest of the cast and both add a pure innocence to the story. They made a great trio, with a brief love triangle early on.
I guess if you want to find fault with anything, it would be there really isn't one antagonist through the entire series. You could say there's no one to root against throughout this comedy/drama. Usually there's one or two that try to ruin it for everyone else, but not here. That's what kept the feel good emotions coming in each and every episode. Had there been a negative storyline running parallel to the main story, it probably could have lengthened the series a bit more. It seemed to go too quickly from start to finish.
A great story with happy endings for all.
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Better than expected
I LOVED it, even slightly more than I thought I would.Japanese romcoms are usually a hit or miss, so I keep a my expectations within reach because I don't like dropping dramas, and Jdramas tend to be short most of the time so I can safely say it was a safe choice to pick it up.
Surprisingly, this was much more than just average romcom.
1- I loved the story, cast and execution.
Pros: You almost rarely find a drama that has everything, acting was great, story was well executed, cast had great chemistry, no annoying characters or huge misunderstandings, not boring and can be binged easily.
Cons: they danced around the parent acceptance topic, but it can be discarded as they showed their point, "some old folks would accept Cross-Dressing and some wouldn't, let's show that and end it here."
Which is also something I really liked and was surprised to see in asian dramas, specifically in Japan, they always shows one side, either too accepting or against all the way, like, parents are against an idea and that's it, nothing else, but showing another parent that accepts the foreign idea or different preferences is a good addition.
So it's not old people Vs young people, it's just opinions of different people despite their age.
2- Cross-Dressing in a straight drama
Pros: this would really sound weird but I'm glad this wasn't a BL, I watch BL I've actually seen too many, but cross dressing would be for gays only or the feminine males that wanted to be women or feel like women, act like one and be pretty, that's not the case here and i loved that, mainly all drag queens or cross dressers were gay men, but I find it refreshing that also straight men can also do whatever they want, dress and do makeup whatever they like, and also be normal straight men, the duality of the character was like a breath of fresh air.
Cons: not really a con, but there is no background story for the ML and why he love drag, I don't know if it was in the source material but I would like to see that.
3- not the average route for romcoms.
Pros: I think at this point we all were expecting the breakup then getting back together at the end of the series, fortunately, that didn't happen. Also I like that once they got together everything went fast, they didn't drag the story more than necessary, everything was good and happy ending.
I believe those are the main reason I rate this drama high, for me it's quite different than average romcom dramas, not that it's way better, but simply it fixed what usually bothers me in other Japanese dramas, that's why I highly recommend this drama ~~
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This follows the typical shoujo formula except what attracts our main female character innocent, sweet and good hearted to our non gender conforming lead is - she thinks his gender fluidity is super cool and attractive.
What makes this all work, better than most modern dramas, is that the miscommunications and hurdles make a lot more sense in this context. Of course a non-gender conforming male would struggle with their parents, be more aloof and avoidant, be a bit sarcastic and disbelieving.
Haruka things Hiraku is attractive, cool the best of what our modern cities can offer. And the audience can see it. It's really nice in this modern age to be reminded that right now all around us, especially in cities around the world, people are able to live authentic, creative lives openly and freely. - And that that can be an attractive admirable phenomena. People can be good and open minded. You can be attracted to gender fluid people without othering them or fetishizing them.
There's often a valid criticism of the shoujo formula - where all the girl can offer is her loyal and good heart. But more and more, I feel perhaps that it isn't a cringe message, but healing. I really do think we could use a lot more Harkukas and Hirakus in this world.
It's low budget, and it may not get everything right, but this is worth a watch.
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This review may contain spoilers
-_-
This drama turned out to be quite disappointing - overly predictable and at times even ridiculous. The acting skills were lacking, and the constant overreactions made the performances exhausting, bordering on cringe-worthy.Honestly, the only reason I’m still watching is because I already started it, not because I’m genuinely enjoying it. It feels more like a commitment than entertainment at this point.
Overall, it’s not a series I would ever recommend.
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Very good.
Honestly, this is a drama is very good. I’ve been on a J drama hit as of lately and this one has really satisfied the fill. it has a very unique storyline of when we’ve seen before, but not actually gone into. The cross-dress male lead really does add a nuance to the story, but doesn’t overbear it. But I do feel like the second male leads, and the female lead relationship could’ve been better and more developed, but still show is amazing. I would recommended to anybody.Was this review helpful to you?
