JDrama Review: Promise Cinderella

Title: Promise Cinderella

Episodes: 10

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Manga Adaption

Story: 7 out of 10

Characters: 8 out of 10

Cinematography: 7 out of 10

Japanese Drama Promise Cinderella make the age gap work

Poster of the Japanese Drama Promise Cinderella

Story

One day, all of a sudden, Hayame finds herself divorced, jobless and homeless, plus being harassed by a group of high school bullies led by rich heir, Issei. Iseei loves playing games, and he sees in Hayame his next victim. Therefore, he offers her shelter in exchange for her participating in his twisted games.

Japanese Drama Promise Cinderella is a light and enjoyable rom com that blends colorfully a work drama subplot as well as some family drama dynamics.

The main story starts odd, but the chemistry between the leads quickly shifts the focus from the quirky games to the relationship being established between them. However, the love triangle was predictable and had less intensity compared to the main love story.

Still, it allowed the story to explore Hayame’s past and some parts of her personality that weren’t easily detected. It also offered some space for having some short plotlines concerning Hayame’s job place and her relationship with her coworkers, as well as the customers.

The job place, actually, was a pretty compelling set as it had the traditional vibes while creating some nostalgic ones to boot. 

That part of the story, along with the family drama that existed between the two brothers, which, unfortunately, needed more time to be properly presented, helped the drama be more interesting and entertaining and move away from just being a cheesy romantic comedy.

That said, the mystery of Akira, though pretty intriguing at first, was not handled with the care it needed, as they left a lot out, which would have helped understand her and her actions better.

Finally, the love story was well-paced, with a smooth development and enough trigger scenes to enhance the intensity.

The main characters of the Japanese Drama Promise Cinderella

Characters

Hayame is a 27 year old who has to start over after her life has hit rock bottom. Nevertheless, she is optimistic, having a more practical take on her situation and never letting anything bring her down.

Niakido Fumi was very energetic and she presented her character in a way that was enjoyable to watch.

Issei is a spoiled rich boy who finds everything in his life boring. He likes using others to entertain him and he doesn’t form strong relationships.

Maeda Gordon was a real delight to watch, portraying his character with charisma. He also had chemistry with his partner.

Watch Maeda Gordon in his other drama JDrama Renai Mangaka

Seigo is Issei’s older brother. He is a serious business owner who is respected by his employees and is considered to be a real prince.

Iwate Takanori did a good job with his performance and he gave a nice touch to his role.

Watch Iwate Takanori in the JDrama High&Low series

The characters of the Japanese Drama Promise Cinderella

Cinematography

The drama was fast paced and it included all the genres of the story in an enjoyable mix.

Overall

My overall rating for the Japanese Drama Promise Cinderella is 7.5 out of 10. The drama was pretty entertaining and blended a lot of plots smoothly.

Interesting in this drama? Take a look at the relationship map of the characters

Relationship map of the Japanese Drama Promise Cinderella

And take a peek at the trailer for the Japanese Drama Promise Cinderella

Diclaim: none of the pictures and videos used in this post are mine. credits to the owners. click on them to get their links.