CurlyFries

Cinderella Closet is a story that I feel deserved to be told in this day and age. I was drawn in by the progressive nature of its story-telling; I initially thought it would just be a straight romance story of a cliche girl that can win over her male crush with the aid of a transwoman, but I was glad it wasn't that. It IS a straight romance, but it went beyond stereotypical gender roles. I've never seen a straight romance between a woman and a cross-dressing man before, so I'm grateful I was able to watch it at least once even if it was short.

What I liked:
- Hikaru's actor is great in his role and I think they casted him perfectly as he is beautiful as both a man and woman. As a bisexual, I was being FED.
- Haruka's actress really did nail the role she was given. Whether or not I liked her expressive nature had nothing to do with the acting as the actress didn't once make me feel like I was watching a stilted performance. I'm certain she did her hardest to portray such an unrealistic personality to the best of her capability.
- The makeup was simple, but pretty.
- The ex coming back to town was not demonized nor a homewrecker.
- Breakup on good terms that wasn't caused by a trashy love interest.
- That the cross-dressing character wasn't pushed to the sidelines and was actually a major role in the story.
- Healthy main leads' relationship that still had a few realistic hiccups (slight jealousy, work taking up personal time, anxiety/awkwardness about getting sexual).
- Proposing with something original and not a generic ring.
- The show looked nice.
- Soundtrack was good.
- Hikaru's makeup and girly voice.
- Haruka's supportive mom.
- Treats femininity as a positive rather than a negative.
- Hikaru's straightforward nature.
- Non-judgmental protagonist.
- Creative mini-fashion show theme idea that I found realistic to win.
- Haruka not being a "traditional" female lead (tall, boy-cut hair, not girly).

What I disliked:
- An over-the-top protagonist that talked too loud.
- Central love interest's jealousy could be annoying at times.
- Prior love interest was going to give a tailored ring to their partner after dating for only a month.
- Time skips; especially near the end.
- Hikaru's family drama was never really addressed/resolved by the end.
- Didn't get to see the wedding scene.
- Not a lot of tension except for a fakeout scene in the last 7 minutes that everyone knew wasn't going to be real anyway.
- The prior love interest showing up again in an ugly suit that doesn't fit him well near the end to spark jealousy with main love interest.
- Leads fall in love super fast.
- Blandest kisses ever. Where was the passion?
- Hikaru is not shown to dress feminine after the relationship is established. Why couldn't he just swap between them?
- Hikaru's pushy co-worker/friend that couldn't stop pursuing him even after having been rejected multiple times.

I liked the central couple and how they didn't feel like a cliche romance pairing. There was something sweet and innocent about two inexperienced people with opposite personalities finding comfort in each other's company. I liked how they were good friends BEFORE they got together. I feel like a lot of romances tend to forget that your love can also be your best friend too. However, most likely due to the short episode length, the couple's love for each other developing as fast it did bothered me. I think there should have been more scenes of their friendship growing before they were visibly pining for each other. I can find it reasonable that they would eventually like each other based on their personalities, though. It makes sense that Haruka would like a person that is honest with her, supports her, and has the confident traits she admires. As for Hikaru, him liking a girl who is earnest and completely nonjudgmental towards him would open his soft heart he tries to deny. But when they got together I found their scenes to be a lot more lackluster compared to before they realized they liked each other. I know that isn't anything new in romance driven stories, but I feel there could have been a lot of content they could've written that just wasn't. I believe Hikaru meeting Haruka's family in their hometown would've been really cute, as well as them trying to mend his complicated relationship with his parents. Unfortunately, that is left unresolved by the end.

As for the cross-dressing element, I genuinely loved it. I loved how beautiful Hikaru was as a woman, and the way the story treated it with respect. Characters were generally accepting of him and he WAS regarded as gorgeous by practically everyone that saw him. He wasn't someone that needed to be "lose" his masculinity either; he is a man and is attracted to women. I loved how they didn't force him to be gay (not that there is anything wrong with gay men that cross-dress!), but rather made him being attracted to women seem normal. His character also related to a theme I loved about the story: being feminine is a POSITIVE trait. So many stories tend to demonize feminine characters (especially men), whilst promoting traditional masculinity. This story didn't resort to that. Haruka wanting to look good for her crush didn't diminish her having a personality that could still be found attractive and her crush didn't ONLY like her just because of her dressing girly. Haruka;s inexperience with makeup and dressing-up had nothing to do with her looking down upon those that do, nor the story trying to demonize the acts either. She was simply someone that never really had the initiative nor help to do so; something I myself can relate to. Women don't have to be on one extreme such as tomboy or ultra girly-girl; they can be in between. The only time I didn't like how they handled it was when they seemed to disregard Hikaru's cross-dressing the moment he started officially dating Haruka. It was lovely when he addressed it directly to Haruka out of fear she might be unattracted or embarrassed of him; to which, she asserted that she loves him regardless of how feminine or masculine he dresses. I just wish they would have shown him dressing up feminine again AFTER that scene at some point. It almost felt like they wanted him to appear more masculine so as not to make it look like a lesbian relationship. Though, everything before that was handled in an appropriate way, so I'll try to overlook it.

This show wasn't a masterpiece nor do I think it ever will be, but it deserved to be made at the time it was. It's shows like this one that I think will help promote diversity and acceptance of people breaking out of gender norms. Pairing an almost tomboy with a cross-dressing comfortable in his sexuality is not a pairing you see everyday, unfortunately. As such, I'm glad they decided to adapt this one and that I could be lucky enough to view it, regardless of any flaws it had. Even though it wasn't explicitly LGBTQ, it still felt like a show that is very welcoming of the community, and for that I appreciate it. So, would I recommend this show? Yes, but don't expect it to be a groundbreaking story that will blow you out of this world. It works best if you view it for what it is: a simple romance that breaks away from gender norms and is heartfelt through and through.

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