One of the bestest and loveliest love stories imaginable. A drama which not only deserves that rare 10/10 rating but makes you wish you could give it 1,000,000/10 because of how inspired, satisfying and rewarding it’s been.

Promise Cinderella reminds me of the 2000s classic jdrama rom-coms (which is a good thing) aka the way they used to be until they contracted some sort of a narrative plague and basically died out, with few exceptions. Tightly plotted, well-written, brilliantly acted and with an OTP that oozes chemistry, it’s a very thoughtfully and sensitively made adaptation of the original manga (even though, I only read the first 18 chapter on Comikey so far). The drama took the Cinderella tropes and spun them on their head, breathing a new life into them.

All that is perfectly accompanied by a sublime soundtrack composed by Yamada Yutaka who delivers perhaps a first full-fledged bona fide jdrama OST with several distinct songs, not merely the insert and closing themes. Each song is written in such a way that the lyrics perfectly describe each character’s feelings and storylines.

Fumi Nikaido and her Hayame have been all sorts of awesome – mature, strong and plucky but still vulnerable and so real and relatable - and not the infantilized caricature of an adult female you often see in Asian dramas nowadays.

Maeda Gordon has been such a revelation - he does an amazing job portraying all the various facets of Issei, this boy-man on his journey to become an adult. I love how gradually Issei turns softer and more vulnerable because Hayame and his feelings for her make him shed his bravado to reveal all the insecurity, vulnerability, and tenderness he has been trying to hide. There is this amazing dichotomy of showing a teenager with what is basically a body of a grown-up man but personality that no longer belongs to a boy but neither to a man yet. It’s a great choice and casting. He has such a wide range of facial expressions and has the natural ability to act with his whole body, giving Issei so many adorable quirks, that very few actors possess, especially ones so young.

Seigo has turned out to be truly great second male lead. You can root for him and he poses genuine competition for Issei. If this were a kdrama there would be no way in hell he wouldn’t get the girl if only for the sole reason they share a past and are each other’s first love. I love how Hayame and Seigo’s relationship is actually properly developed, not some childhood sweethearts trope or them meeting a couple of times without getting to know each other. Iwata Takanori does such an incredible job portraying Seigo and conveying his conflict. I remember him from Dear Sister and stealing the whole show with Ishihara Satomi so it’s great to see him in a well-made jdrama once again that gives him a good script to work with.

Even the supporting characters are unforgettable and an absolute joy to watch, each one having a distinct personality – Issei’s cool matchmaking grandma and adoring Yoshitora, who are always there to support him, or Koya, Issei’s new BBF with who he shares epic bromance,… - without stealing the thunder from the main characters with multiple irrelevant side stories, which is something so many Asian dramas utterly fail at these days.

Even the ending is a perfect farewell to a perfect love story, completely reversing the Cinderella tale…

The fairy tale ends just like the love story for the age it is, with Issei’s proposal and promise to his Cinderella (hence the drama’s name) to live with her happily ever after - after she saved him from the evil witch - and the shoes to make up for the ones he threw away in episode 1, but, hilariously, they don't fit (turning another Cinderella trope on its head) and, just like his body and love for her, pretty much swallow her whole.

Their future lies ahead of them with one part of their journey ending where they have learned that reality and real love are much better than any games and dreams.