No romance!
Dramas or movies (not documentaries) that don't have a major romance plot.
Criteria:
- I liked it.
- Main Characters may be married or have a lover, if it's "just there" or in the past. Side characters may have a romance plot, if it's only a very minor part of the drama/movie, e.g. just in one or if it's a very long drama, a few episodes or similar.
- Genre, length, Country etc. don't matter.
List might be in alphabetical order, if MDL hasn't glitched again.
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1. 99.9: Criminal Lawyer
Japanese Drama - 2016, 10 episodes
crime/detective genre, comedy, eccentric main character, food, puns
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2. Anime Supremacy!
Japanese Movie - 2022
business, anime, female leads, fast-paced.
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3. Beyond Evil
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
dark, unpredictable story, grey characters, some gore.
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4. BL Metamorphosis
Japanese Movie - 2022
inter-generational friendship between two women over BL manga
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5. Captivated, by You
Japanese Drama - 2021, 5 episodes
teenagers, weird weird weird, in this world we mix and connect
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6. Departures
Japanese Movie - 2008
gentle, death, cello music
Main character has been married for a while, and they do have troubles, but it's neither a "romance" nor is the marriage the focus of the film.
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7. Double Tap
Chinese Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
crime drama, winter setting, interesting female characters, chinese province, police
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8. Drama for All: Criminal People 5G
Thai Drama - 2021, 2 episodes
edutainment, scammers, comedy, has Pond Ponlawit
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9. Happy Flight
Japanese Movie - 2008
comedy, always one mis-step away from catastrophy, gives insight about the behind-the-scenes of the work at airports and in airplanes
[No review from me, this one says it all.]
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10. Her Love Boils Bathwater
Japanese Movie - 2016
late-stage cancer, mother-daughter-relationships, devoted mother, bath house
I did not quite get on with it, for personal reasons.
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11. Hot Stove League
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
baseball off-season, business (managing a team)
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12. I Am What I Am
Japanese Movie - 2022
Aro-ace main female character and her journey in a hetero-romantic society.
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13. Isekai Izakaya "Nobu"
Japanese Drama - 2020, 10 episodes
Isekai, comedy, food
Season 2 is similar, but has a stronger romance subplot between side characters.
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14. Itomichi
Japanese Movie - 2021
coming of age, Aomori, Tsugaru-shamisen, maid cafés
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15. Kagi no Kakatta Heya
Japanese Drama - 2012, 11 episodes
Crime/detective drama, very classic main character & side kicks, a "Howtheydunnit"
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16. Khru Ma
Thai Drama - 2022, 12 episodes
comedy, school-setting, 1970s Thailand-Laos border town, some corporal punishment shown
Two blink-and-you-miss-it maybe-romance scenes between the male lead and his colleague.
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17. Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction
Japanese Movie - 2021
business, intrigues and plot twists, fast-paced, interesting female characters.
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18. Marry My Dead Body
Taiwanese Movie - 2022
comedy, ghost marriage between a homophobic cop and a gay ghost, redemption arc, comedy violence
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19. Midnight Museum
Thai Drama - 2023, 10 episodes
supernatural, SF, theological themes this dramas tries to do it all
"gives censored Chinese BL vibes" as someone said, but it's really all the viewers decision to see something or not.
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20. Midnight University
Thai Movie - 2016
super-natural, mild gore (Thai-typical ghosts), potential for romance but qickly abandoned.
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21. Move to Heaven
Korean Drama - 2021, 10 episodes
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22. Mr. Long
Japanese Movie - 2017
check the TW in my review! not for the faint-hearted, still very sweet between the main protagonist and the boy.
A 5 minute tragic love story in the middle of the film, no tropey romance.
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23. Mr. Nietzsche in the Convenience Store
Japanese Drama - 2016, 10 episodes
convenience store, plot what plot comedy, absurd conversations at 3 a.m.
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24. Mysterious Lotus Casebook
Chinese Drama - 2023, 40 episodes
Wuxia, bromance, detective cases, intrigue
Some time is spent saying good-bye to a past love.
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25. Nishiogikubo Mitsuboshi Youshudou
Japanese Drama - 2021, 6 episodes
bar setting, alcohol and canned food, melancholic, hopeful
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26. Once a Doctor, Always a Doctor
Thai Drama - 2024, 16 episodes
medical slice-of-life, "They have the heart of a doctor"; crime drama sub-plot
romance is simmering in the background (you can't even call it that, it's long-time friends to couple); no kiss, even the declarations don't use the word "love"
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27. One Cut of the Dead
Japanese Movie - 2017
c movie, horror comedy, zombies, fake blood, surprises!
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28. Order of the Sommelier
Chinese Drama - 2022, 64 episodes
Xianxia, bromance, time travel / alternate universe, supernatural.
short love-stories between side characters in some episodes.
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29. Oretachi wa Abunakunai ~ Cool ni Saboru Keijitachi
Japanese Drama - 2020, 8 episodes
comedy, bordering on slapstick, buddy cops parody, no wait they are actually good detectives!
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30. Peaceful Property
Thai Drama - 2024, 12 episodes
Bit of queerbaiting, with lots of allusions to New and Tay's work in BL dramas, but easily ignored, as it's mostly in a livestream chat.
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31. Project Dreams: How to Build Mazinger Z's Hangar
Japanese Movie - 2020
lots of passion, fan-culture, engineering, snack metaphors for soil
romance toes the line -- it's there, but minimal.
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32. Rokuhodo Colorful Days
Japanese Drama - 2022, 10 episodes
sweet sweet sweet, found family, food, comedy, mention of the covid pandemic in the last episode.
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33. School Meals Time Graduation
Japanese Movie - 2022
school-setting, food, comedy, 1980s Japanese province, food as metaphor for education
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35. Sleepeeer Hit!
Japanese Drama - 2016, 10 episodes
manga publishing business, ganbarimasu!, female lead, mixing comedy and serious issues
Once, there's an interested glance from one character towards the female lead, but nobody else ever notices it, and it's never spoken of.
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36. The Death of Khun Phra
Thai Drama - 2025, 12 episodes
comedy-with-harder-topics, quasi-historical, Pond Ponlawit!
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37. The Lone Ume Tree
Japanese Movie - 2021
main autistic character, slice-of-life, societal commentary
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38. There Is No Poverty at the End of Labour
Korean Movie - 1920
Japanese propaganda film, but actually very sweet
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39. Trillion Game
Japanese Drama - 2023, 10 episodes
fast-paced, business but in a very superficial sense, playing the late-stage-capitalist game, female opponent
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40. Twenty-Four Eyes
Japanese Movie - 1954
World War 2, Japanese Ultra-nationalism, school setting, female lead. Slow and sad.
From 1954.
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41. Under the Open Sky
Japanese Movie - 2020
sad, hopeful, and sad
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42. Unnatural
Japanese Drama - 2018, 10 episodes
pathologists, no gore!, crime drama, strong female characters
Some interest from one character towards the main protagonists for a short while, but never acted upon.
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43. Where Does the Sea Begin
Japanese Drama - 2024, 12 episodes
motherhood, female agency, family, death and grief
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44. White Cat Legend
Chinese Drama - 2024, 36 episodes
detective story with wuxia elements, comedy, bromance and friendship, palace intrigue in the later episodes
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45. Would You Like a Cup of Coffee?
Korean Drama - 2021, 12 episodes
slice-of-life, coffee making and coffee drinking, gentle, mention of the Covid pandemic at the end.
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46. Yuzuki-san Chi no Yon Kyodai.
Japanese Drama - 2024, 32 episodes
light, slice-of-life, 15 minute episodes
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47. Zombie Detective
Korean Drama - 2020, 24 episodes
some gore (zombie!) but no people eating, comedy, sometimes slapstick, detective cases
The female lead's sister seems to be push the female lead towards the male lead, but he doesn't even notice.