Is This The Real Life? Riho Nakamura Shines in "Cinderella Is Online"

In the online gaming world of "Tenkyo", Riho Nakamura plays a badass character named ViVi, highly skilled and respected by all her colleagues. She has an unusual relationship with an online character named Leon, who marries her out of convenience for the game and drops her just as quickly! But it's all in a day for the vivacious Vivi who doesn't let anything bother her!

That's in the gaming world- In reality, she is a humble student named Ichika Arisawa who unlike her online persona, has no interest in love or romance (a tried and true trope for the ages!), unlike her best friend Umi (Anna Tsuihiji) , who is swooning because a popular boy named Asahi Onoda (Toshiki Seto) is coming!

Ichika herself has no interest in boys- but the two already have a connection that she doesn't know about...that this boy Onoda is in fact Leon, her online partner for months!!!

Fate steps in one day when Ichika is at a restaurant blissfully playing Tenkyo when who should walk in but the Big Man on Campus Asahi Onoda!

He sees the girl playing on her laptop and doesn't give it much thought...

...until he walks by her...and realizes SHE is VIVI!!!

He makes no attempt to approach Ichika, but keeps his eye on her and thus is there when she happens to lose a sneaker when chucking it at the head of a bully. Rushing to slip the shoe back on, in complete Disney Cinderella style, he is immediately captivated by her....

But when Ichika realizes she is interacting with that super popular boy, she instantly becomes shy and with a quick, "Will ya look at the TIME?!"...DASHES away!!!

LOL, seems that though she may be as tough as nails in the gaming world, in real life she isn't QUITE as brave! A very UN auspicious first meeting between the two! LOLOL

I will be the first to admit that this kind of drama with High School Kids, High School Romances and the World of Video Gaming isn't my cup of tea at all, but Riho Nakamura is SO DOGGONE CUTE in this that I just HAD to check it out!!! 

The first episode of this drama was very charming , but I can already see by the previews of the upcoming episodes that it will soon fall into the usual boring and trite make-up-and-break-up teenage romance tropes that all these school dramas do. Will see how long I can stick to it!

A Few Good Men with Misako Renbutsu in “Riso No Otoko”

 Also been loosely watching the drama “Riso No Otoko~ The Ideal Man” starring Misako Renbutsu and Mina Fujii as two women going through the hoops and rings of romance as they make their way through a gaggle of guys in hopes of finding that one man who is truly for them!

Toko Komatsu (Renbutsu) is a hairdresser who is loved by her customers for her kind and caring ways. 

One day she is visited by her friend Marisa Azumi (Fujii), a Literary Editor, who has a favor to ask: to make her introverted client look presentable for his first big writer’s award.

A practical Hikkikomori, writer Mitsuyasu (Masanobu Ando) doesn't see the need  to get all dressed and cleaned up for an award, but he is won over by Toko’s positive attitude.

And so it is taht with a clip here and a cut there, Toko manages to deliver a spry and spiffy Mitsuyasu to the ceremony, just in time to accept his award! And along the way, he finds himself attracted to Toko….

Along the way Toko brushes with Keigo Shima (Ryosuke Mikata) , who happens to be a childhood friend of Toko’s. Keigo is an Editor working with Marisa and is delighted to see her at the ceremony. He tells Marisa that he and Toko are just friends, but you know when they say that, there’s a romance plot coming up…

There’s also a young art designer named Masami Takano (Toshiki Seto) working with the team who has a secret fancy for Marisa, and as the drama goes on, we will see how the five characters act and interact with each other in search of that “Special Someone”…

Been awhile since I've seen Mina Fujii in a starring role, and Misako renbutsu is always entertaining, we'll see where this one goes....