No romance!
Dramas or movies I liked that don't have a major romance plot.
Criteria: 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: Keiji Senmon Bengoshi
Japanese Drama - 2016, 10 episodes
Drama. crime/detective genre, comedy, eccentric main character, food, puns
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2. Damashie no Kiba
Japanese Movie - 2021
Film. business, intrigues and plot twists, fast-paced, interesting female characters.
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3. Departures
Japanese Movie - 2008
Film. 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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4. Double Tap
Chinese Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
Drama. crime drama, winter setting, interesting female characters, chinese province, police
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5. Freckles
Japanese Movie - 2022
Film. Aro-ace main female character and her journey in a hetero-romantic society.
[No review, as this hit too close for me.]
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6. Haken Anime!
Japanese Movie - 2022
Film. business, anime, female leads, fast-paced.
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7. Happy Flight
Japanese Movie - 2008
Film. 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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8. Her Love Boils Bathwater
Japanese Movie - 2016
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9. Isekai Izakaya 'Nobu'
Japanese Drama - 2020, 10 episodes
Drama. Isekai, comedy, food
Season 2 is similar, but has a stronger romance subplot between side characters.
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10. Juhan Shuttai!
Japanese Drama - 2016, 10 episodes
Drama. 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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11. K
Japanese Drama - 2020, 8 episodes
Drama. comedy, bordering on slapstick, buddy cops parody, no wait they are actually good detectives!
[no review yet.]
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12. Kagi no Kakatta Heya
Japanese Drama - 2012, 11 episodes
Drama. Crime/detective drama, very classic main character & side kicks, a "Howtheydunnit"
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13. Midnight Museum
Thai Drama - 2023, 10 episodes
Drama. 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.
[no review yet, need to rewatch]
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14. Midnight University
Thai Movie - 2016
Film. super-natural, mild gore (Thai-typical ghosts), potential for romance but qickly abandoned.
[No review yet, need to rewatch it first]
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15. Monster
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
Drama. dark, unpredictable story, grey characters, some gore.
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16. Mr. Long
Japanese Movie - 2017
Film. 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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17. Mr. Nietzsche in the Convenience Store
Japanese Drama - 2016, 10 episodes
Drama. convenience store, plot what plot comedy, absurd conversations at 3 a.m.
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18. Muchu sa, Kimi ni
Japanese Drama - 2021, 5 episodes
Drama. teenagers, weird weird weird, in this world we mix and connect
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19. Mysterious Lotus Casebook
Chinese Drama - 2023, 40 episodes
Drama. Wuxia, bromance, detective cases, intrigue
Some time is spent saying good-bye to a past love.
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20. Nishi Ogikubo Mitsuboshi Yoshudou
Japanese Drama - 2021, 6 episodes
Drama. bar setting, alcohol and canned food, melancholic, hopeful
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21. Order of the Sommelier
Chinese Drama - 2022, 64 episodes
Drama. Xianxia, bromance, time travel / alternate universe, supernatural.
short love-stories between side characters in some episodes.
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22. Peaceful Property
Thai Drama - 2024, 12 episodes
Drama. goofy Thai humour, heart-wrenching, Thai ghosts!, food, solid writing and acting
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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23. Rokuhodo Yotsuiro Biyori
Japanese Drama - 2022, 10 episodes
Drama. sweet sweet sweet, found family, food, comedy, mention of the covid pandemic in the last episode.
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24. School Meals Time Graduation
Japanese Movie - 2022
Film. school-setting, food, comedy, 1980s Japanese province, food as metaphor for education
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25. Shall I Have a Cup of Coffee?
Korean Drama - 2021, 12 episodes
Drama. slice-of-life, coffee making and coffee drinking, gentle, mention of the Covid pandemic at the end.
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26. Stove League
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
Drama. baseball off-season, business (managing a team)
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27. Teacher Ma, Grade 3 Kor.
Thai Drama - 2022, 12 episodes
Drama. 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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28. The Edge of Metamorphosis
Japanese Movie - 2022
Film. inter-generational friendship between two women over BL manga
[No review, as this did not speak to me personally, and I couldn't give an appropriate rating.]
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29. The Ghost and I Becoming Family
Taiwanese Movie - 2022
Film. comedy, ghost marriage between a homophobic cop and a gay ghost, redemption arc, comedy violence
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30. Trillion Game
Japanese Drama - 2023, 10 episodes
Drama. fast-paced, business but in a very superficial sense, playing the late-stage-capitalist game, female opponent
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31. Twenty-Four Eyes
Japanese Movie - 1954
Film. World War 2, Japanese Ultra-nationalism, school setting, female lead. Slow and sad.
From 1954.
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32. Ume Kiranu Baka
Japanese Movie - 2021
Film. main autistic character, slice-of-life, societal commentary
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33. Unnatural
Japanese Drama - 2018, 10 episodes
Drama. 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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34. White Cat Legend
Chinese Drama - 2024, 36 episodes
Drama. detective story with wuxia elements, comedy, bromance and friendship, palace intrigue in the later episodes
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35. Yuzuki-san Chi no Yon Kyodai.
Japanese Drama - 2024, 32 episodes
Drama. light, slice-of-life, 15 minute episodes
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36. Zombie Detective
Korean Drama - 2020, 24 episodes
Drama. 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.