Jun 27, 2013

[Jdorama Review] Last Cinderella

miura haruma

The first (and only) Jdorama review I posted here was that of Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge starring the awesome Kamenashi Kazuya and after three years (it's that long ago?) I'm back to write another one. It's not that I didn't watch anything Japanese in three years but rather it's been that long since I became so invested in a dorama. Anyhow, here I am going to talk about Last Cinderella starring Shinohara Ryoko, Miura Haruma and Fujiki Naohito.




The Last Cinderella is a story Toyama Sakura (Shinohara Ryoko), a 39-year old career-oriented woman who has been too focus on her job as hairstylist that she doesn't have a love life (and the perks of having one) for the last ten years.


Tachibana Rintaro (Fujiki Naohito) is her boss and long time friend. He just came back to town but that didn't stop him from teasing Sakura for being an old maid.



Fed up with her current no bf status Sakura decided to take matters in her own hand and with the support of her two best friends she attended a go-kon party. With too much intake of alcohol she had a hard time navigating the stairs on the way home and dropped one shoe in the process.


It's Saeki Hiroto (Miura Haruma) who found the shoe which led Sakura into thinking that he is the Prince Charming to her Cinderella story.




But that's not the whole of it. Behind the fated encounter is a tale of mid-life crisis, unrequited love, guilt-ridden sibling relationship and the classic clueless friend who didn't realize his true feelings until it's too late.

Sakura is definitely the wind  behind the sail of this story. She is a cheerful and lovable character who is comfortable with her own skin that it doesn't take a genius to conclude that the two men will definitely fall in love with her and fight for her love at all cost.

Which led us to the question of who is the right man for her?


Rintaro who knows her inside out. The good friend she had all this time through thick and thin. The only problem with this guy is he is slow on the uptake. The whole world knows he loves Sakura except himself. What a bummer.


Then there's 24-year old Hiroto who's too young for her. Their age gap is a whooping 15 years. But despite that, he makes her happy in a giddy way. I mean, who doesn't fantasize of having a younger lover? *cough* pedo noona alert *cough* As the story progress we see Sakura fall head over heels in love with him. He too eventually fell for her. The problem with Hiroto is that he has a secret that if revealed will not only ruin their relationship but it will also hurt Sakura big time.

So who ends up with her?

I rooted for Rintaro myself which is anchored on me being a realist, but endings are tricky in doramaverse. As I looked back at the entire run of the drama, this is what I saw: One man changed from a total douche bag to a man with purpose. The other one took eight episodes into the series before he realize his true feelings and he even got help to realize that. Huh! Basically he's just another plot machination to murk the waters. It's no brainer who ends up with Sakura.

Ultimately, it took a giant leap of faith and Sakura chose the man who made her heart skip a beat. She chose the man that made her believe that even she can become Cinderella. *wink wink*


Aside from Sakura's romantic woes, there is also the story Sakura's two best friends, Miki and Shima. This side of the spectrum dealt with the highs and lows of married life and the life of someone who took love as a game never to be taken seriously. These too is pretty interesting.

I enjoyed watching Last Cinderella because it has that breezy, cute and feel-good quality of romance comedy. It's also a dorama so I was in for a manga-ish approach in story telling that never fails to amuse me. I'm a happy fan! You see, Korean dramas has deprived me of a good rom-com  in the first months of 2013 so I turned to Japan for my fix of it.


But really, who am I kidding? It was Miura Haruma who made watching this dorama a one of a kind experience. Miura Haruma of Koizora, Kimi Ni Todoke and Bloody Monday. He was the reason I anticipated the airing of Last Cinderella but I didn't know that I was in for a treat until I saw it with my own two eyes. Dude, 9 out of 11 episodes there's a scene of him without his shirt on and wearing nothing but boxers! There's even one episode with a butt exposure! That alone is worth it! *evil laugh*

Thanks for the two and a half months of fun, Last Cinderella. Until next time, doramaland!





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