Cinderella and the Four Knights (2016)

I am not a fan of this cheesy, fairy-tale-like kind of dramas but I do love some dose of romance. This is why at episode 3, while trying to understand what propelled me to continue watching this drama, I also started thinking what did I want to change in order for it to actually be a drama that I would enjoy watching because of the characters and not because of the stupid reverse harem kind of fresh storyline. First of all, Eun HaWon is a pretty okay character. I felt bad for her and at the same time cheered for me, and was proud of her and she let me feel ashamed of how actually a person can be so greedy, while she just enjoying the little she had and never put her head down. Eun HaWon, in another setting wouldn't have worked. She is confident, nice and feisty, but especially strong. I liked Eun HaWon and honestly she was a refreshing sight in terms of female leads. On the other hand, the rest, just kind of passes by. So much potential wasted, it's crazy. But, the thing that makes me go crazy is definitely the treatment the writers had for SeoWoo. Honestly, nice guy, has a knack for music, knows how to cook, has a little perfectionist side and a cute smile? But no, we just make him dirty, because well, we need a character to be in love with the female lead but that could never have her because she is of course in love with someone else.
And the way he humiliated himself just for her not to take the toll? Girl, if you don't want him, I'll take him. SeoWoo was a surprise, and I honestly thought that maybe, they could have something else for him, but apparently not.
Onto other matters, Lee YoonSung. Please, he was the cutest guy in the whole drama, and just didn't fit into the drama whatsoever. I wish we could see him being a male lead in a better drama next time. Getting to the REAL triangle in this whole mess. I must admit that I cheered for HyunMin since the beginning. HyunMin is just lost in his own little world, where he blames himself for everything and where everyone just leaves him, and then suddenly he meets someone he genuinely likes a person, for the first time in a while, just for her being a person and this whole thing, which could have been more developed if only they didn't want HyunMin to be a fake second lead for a while, just goes by with a confession and them kinda being friends, and then ignoring each other most of the time. I don't understand why did they did not show how HyunMin grows, a growth that is due to HaWon, in terms of person. HyunMin seems to snap out of his habits and just return to be warm after HaWon, but all of this gets trashed for Parl HyeJi, and him toying with her. As for Park HyeJi, I am so angry with the writers. She is a passive person, in love with someone, or more obsessed, for more than 10 years, she literally just cries. She has no backbone and her character just feels fake and forces. God, do you have any dignity left girl? Please, I hate to see her just throwing herself to a guy that clearly does not want her and then just adjusting this whole non sense into him being actually in-love with her for years but blaming himself for the death of her brother. Wow, never saw so much trashed piled up altogether and ruining a character. I am so sorry, HyunMin. I am sorry as well for JiWoon. JiWoon,was not a disappointment, but a bit more. His passion for cars/motors? Absolutely useless (same as HyeJi being a designer). His friends? Never saw them again. The overprotective older brother character to HyeJi was overbearing and cliche, tiring and forced. Did he have actual feelings for her? And why the whole I-am-tired-of-you-so-lemme-switch-to-your-cousin trope? Absolutely daunting. JiWoon could have been the treasure of the show, but he was just the typical tsundere that has cute moments. Very, very sad.
The romance was okay, I guess. They were cute, cringey and romantic. But I gueas that's what you can expect of this kind of drama. I did like some episodes, the way characters reacted, but in the end, the whole plot just feels fake, with fixed cliches that have no window of expiration in this drama, and a few forced scenes. YoonSung and SeoWoo, you deserved better.

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Nostalgic, but not my cup of tea.

Cinderella and the Four Knights is cliche as you'll get to be honest, given the name and all. I didn't hate it, but it wouldn't be on my top 10. I liked all the cutesy scenes in it, and when I first watched it the love triangles messed with me a lot! Poor girl, a bunch or rich guys the monets to come with. The chick you'll hate and the second lead you'll love almost more than the main lead himself. This drama did start off pretty well, but went downhill from around episode 7-8ish. Very predictable.

The actors were nicely chosen for this type of drama, but even tghough they tried hard to give the character justice, it didn't really work out. Not saying the characters were completely terrible, they just weren't as good as they could've been.

The OST's were nice.

I wouldn't rewatch this drama because It would be a waste of my time. If you're looking for something light to watch in the background, this could do.

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Bad story line, bad acting

I am profoundly disappointed, the leading actors / actresses have talents but they performed so poorly in this "Cinderella and the Four Knights" K-Drama series. I only tolerate "Cinderella and the Four Knights" when High Schooler Eun Ha Won and Cousin Kang Ji Woon / Han Ji Woon characters are smiling, their smiles brighten the screen. However, there are no on-screen chemistry at all for all characters in this poorly written story. Cousin Kang Hyun Min character is the heir of Chairman Kang, but he does not even work and only lounges in the Sky House and dating / dumping girls. What a complete loser. I love the younger cousin Kang Seo Woo that is productive as a singer and composes songs. I am so disheartened when cousin Kang Ji Woon stops working as a mechanic and looks so idle for the rest of the series. Hoping to see these promising actors/actress with strong talent to be in well written K-dramas series next time.

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YES , it IS Cliché, and it doesn't hide it!

This is base don my expectations of this type pf dramas and issues withot.
So when I go for a poor girl/rich guy, I alredy accept that the plot is gonna be quite ridiculous ,in favor of the good things that could come of it (for me, mainly comedy , and eventually good romantic chemestry).So when a drama of this trope seems to want to remind me of the ridiculness of its premiss and treat me as stupid because I accepted it , through though and "rationnal figures" ( The evil rich family), to me , the whole point of the show has been missed, which makes it a pure waste of time. Also the dynamic happy-lucky-go girl/rational-strict guy is one that trully gets on my nerves.
So, when I start this drama, what really pleased me is, although the roles of all the characters is cliché and falls in line with what i described from a writing perspective, the execution and portrayalof the characters is completely embracing the ridiculness, which makes it a real fun drama.Everyone , including "the evil" grandpa could be made fun of and is here to make us laugh.
Everyone is ridiculously funny to the same level, and you can just relax and enjoy without this vibe getting trampled upon.
Now wether it's gonna be cringe or not has to do with your own cringemeter and treshold on that matter.
Yes the story is passable at best , but this not the area I expected to be good at anyway.I did what I wanted it to do, and if you're jot looking just for fun and cuteness , this is not going to be for you.

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HOT MESS

This show is a hot mess! Really.

FOR PEOPLE WHO: want to watch couples with lots of issues, misunderstandings, senseless fights, who like to make things hard for themselves.
It's for people who want to hate watch shows. Really the only reason I finished the series is because I love shouting in frustration at the characters and what a hot mess they were. Especially Naeun's character. Omg so annoying.

NOT FOR PEOPLE WHO: want to watch a decent poor girl, rich boy story. Not for people who want a convincing reverse harem/love triangle/love rectangle relationship. Sure the female lead was nice but.. really?

OVERALL:
I loved hate watching it though but really I won't watch it again. The only reason I'd recommend it to someone else is so that they'll hate watch it too and we can hate comment on it together. Spread the despair. And also, I like the actors but not in this show. I also liked BTOB's song. Anynway, in short, if you want to become even more frustrated, or want to vent your frustration, then watch this and shout at your screen.

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Why I watched it: Jung Il Woo. That was all I needed.

Was it worth it: Absolutely.

What I liked the most: “The kisses,” she said unapologetically.

What I disliked the most: The music during the “tense” moments got cheesy. I rolled my eyes a few times.

Moment Meter: 6/10 – Lots of moments. The quality of the moments, however, ranges from straight cheese to heart attack.

Other thoughts: I’m a Jung Il Woo fan, because even though he isn’t drop dead gorgeous, he has some flattering angles and a knack for intense acting. Combine that with the fact that he had the tsundere character (like usual), and this was a hit for me. (He’s also a phenomenal on-screen kisser)

Note: Certain actors will automatically make the drama better (for me), so the rest of the review will be biased. Consider yourself warned.

It watched a lot like a reverse-harem anime, which I enjoy from time to time. Park So Dam nailed this role, and has good control over the tones in her voice. I’m not too crazy about Ahn Jae Hyun’s acting. He didn’t do poorly, but I didn’t get as much feeling from him as I did the others, and one of them is a musician before they’re an actor. I liked the story and it moved along well without stagnating too often.

Conclusion: Actor bias boosted this one up for me, so I would have enjoyed it even if it were complete garbage. Was it unpredictable and fresh? Not entirely, but it hit all of those juicy KDrama notes that keep me coming back for more.

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At first I thought this was another typical drama about one woman and several men...not much new there.
But, I was wrong!

Strong cast, great chemistry between all characters, excellent story line which brought out the theme of the drama and none of the episodes felt too long - kept me going from one to the next! There was such a strong chemistry between the leads, and it didn't feel forced at any point and the story didn't fall apart or seem incredulous either.

For once, I thought the OST was good too (though I don't understand Korean) but the music brought out the feelings. The characters were quite true to life without a lot of the melodrama that sometimes goes with dramatizing the difference between rich boys and poor girls thrown into their lot. A clean and sweet drama, full of touching scenes where you just want to go back, re-watch and live the feeling all over again. I don't usually re-watch dramas, but this is going to be one of the ones I will watch again!

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Initial thoughts when listening to OST on Youtube without having seen any of Cinderella and the Four Knights episodes: "The music score is just SOOO good. Maybe this will be mind blowing....*few seconds later* Just watched trailer ---- looks pretty good."

After watching: UPDATE----- LOVE LOVE LOVE!!!!! SO GOOD AND OST WAS AHHHHMAZZZZZING!
Honestly, I was pretty hesitant to start watching this show because it looked really cliched, but it was actually really really REALLY good! I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did and I'm so glad I ended up watching it. It still stands as one of the best drama OST's EVER (for me personally), with each song sucking you in, feeling how the main characters are feeling.

The plot is pretty straight forward being a Cinderella story, but you shouldn't pick up this show thinking it will be unique, because, really, it's not. It's the same ol' story told in a fun, sweet, happily-ever-after, modern style way. The ending has all the loose ends wrapped up nicely and leaving you feeling super happy. I still watch the music videos on Youtube just to see the hilarity of the character dynamics and how the story inevitably unfolds.
I am not a fan of Cinderella stories traditionally, but this show is something I would gladly rewatch, force others to watch with me, and sing along the whole way through!

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CATFK is exactly what you would expect from a reverse harem drama. The story is wonderfully cliche and I would have given it a higher score if it had more character depth. I understood each of the guys, but the reason why they act the way they do is pretty lame. I actually like dramas like this that are reminiscent of the gateway dramas like BOF, Hana Yori Dango, and You're Beautiful. Plus, the eye candy is daebak!

Park So Dam as Eun Ha Won saves this drama. She is so adorable, strong and determined. She isn't stupid from the beginning and doesn't get on the nerves like other characters similar to her. I mean I still avoid the girl that played the female lead in BOF. The other actors are good to considering what they have to work with.

I loved the music.

I may rewatch this some day for fun, but I highly doubt it.

If you like reverse harem dramas, then this is one of the best I have seen.

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