Best tv shows like Minami's Girlfriend
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Everything started when a high school couple, Chiyomi and Minami had a mysterious and ominous fortune cookie at a Chinese restaurant… “If you stay close to him, he will become great and the two of you will be together for a long time. However, when the two of you drift apart, horrible thing will happen”. Just as the prophesy, on the very day when Minami decided to leave Chiyomi, a magical curse struck Chiyomi. Believe it or not, it shrunk her into a size of merely 16 cm tall! What would happen when a tender boyfriend and a miniaturized girlfriend secretly starts living together?.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 33
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Minami's Girlfriend (2004):
Similar in 75%
Sumika Sumire (2016)
Plot Summary:
Kisaragi Sumi is a 20-year-old university student. But do not be surprised that she is a 65-year-old inside. Under pressure to help out with the family business from a young age, she could not have a youth. Even afterwards, she devoted her entire life to taking care of first her grandmother and then her father and mother. Sumi finds herself turning 65 without ever having had a boyfriend. She takes a little pride in having lived with integrity. But after her mother passes away, she has the sudden thought of regaining her youth once more and making a fresh start in life. A miracle happens to her. One day when Sumi wakes up, she has the appearance of a 20-year-old. Despite being bewildered by this unbelievable reality, she introduces herself as Sumire and gets another try at youth.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 70
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 89%
Ooku: The Inner Chambers (2023)
Plot Summary:
In an alternative feudal Japan, a strange disease that only affects males caused a massive population reduction, leaving females to fill the vacant jobs, therefore changing the social structure. Now, 80 years after the initial outbreak with a 1:4 male:female ratio, Japan is a completely matriarchal society. Females hold all important political positions, and males are their consorts. Only the most powerful female--head of Tokugawa shogunate--may keep a harem of handsome and unproductive males, known as "Ooku.".
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 15
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: historical romance, historical drama
Similar in 87%
My Lover's Secret (2017)
Plot Summary:
When Rei Okumori was in the 3rd grade of middle school, he killed his father to protect his mother Akiko. His father physically abused his mother. They buried his dead body in their yard and made it appear he went missing. Since that time, they kept they their secret and did not tell anyone. 8 years later, Rei Okumori is now a law school student and pursuing his dream of becoming a lawyer. At his law school, he meets Sawa Tachibana who hopes to become a public prosecutor. They fall in love and Rei Okumori wants to marry Sawa Tachibana. He begins to receive a message from someone that knows his secret.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 51
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 82%
It's All About the Looks (2017)
Plot Summary:
Jun Jonochi works at a paper manufacturing company. She is earnest, but clueless about her own appearance. She doesn't have any interest in making herself look good. One day, she realizes that people don't view her as other women. She begins to read up on things like make-up and fashion trends with her two female colleagues.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 32
Genere: Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: romantic drama
Similar in 79%
Public Enemy (2017)
Plot Summary:
Sato Tomoko leads an ordinary life with her husband and young child. One day, she defies the rules at the company where she works part-time to supplement the household income, and is fired. Tomoko is in her 40s, a high school dropout and has no qualifications. How is she to get a job? She happens to find out about the huge pay and high winning rate of members of the city, townand village councils through a TV programme. Equating huge pay with family happiness, the foolhardy Tomoko quickly decides to run for the city council. Her rival in the election race is Todo Makoto, who comes from a long line of politicians. Hirata Kazumi, a former star political journalist at a newspaper and a friend whose child attends the same nursery school, is inspired by Tomoko’s energy and ability to unify people, and becomes her supporter.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 81
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
The Benza (2019)
Plot Summary:
Chris and Kyle share a house in Tokyo, Japan. They lived in peace and happiness until the day their toilet seat broke. What happened? Where do you buy a toilet seat in Japan? How do you even say 'toilet seat' in Japanese? What exactly is a Final Benza and what does it have to do with the world ending? Join Chris and Kyle on their journey for answers in this hyper realistic comedic adventure.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 72
Genere: Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: buddy comedy
Similar in 77%
You Are Tender When It Rains (2017)
Plot Summary:
Nobuo is a book editor with a sincere personality. He is married to Aya. She used to work as a reader model, but, after their marriage, she now works as a nursing assistant at a nursing home. Nobuo is aware that his wife has a sex addiction and she will sleep with other men on a sunny day. Nobuo agonizes over his wife and Aya carries heavy guilt over her actions.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 10
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
Breathless Summer (2012)
Plot Summary:
A 19-year-old girl burdened by a cruel destiny, a 41-year-old man living in atonement, and a forbidden love that cannot be accepted by the people around them. Breathless Summer is as much a social drama as it is a love story. Takei plays said girl who learns that her mother never recorded her birth in their family register. While falling into despair after finding out the secret about her birth yet wholeheartedly trying to live to regain "herself", she happens to run into a former journalist who is suffering from a deep scar in his heart himself. Although they could be father and daughter, they start to develop much stronger feelings for each other, a love forbidden by society.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 9
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
Fragile (2016)
Plot Summary:
The story of Kishi Keiichitaro, a dashingly handsome pathologist who is intensely eccentric and brutally honest, but also holds one of the most brilliant minds. A pathologist is a physician whose job is to determine a diagnosis of disease or cause of death based on an assortment of data, including a patient's tissue, bodily fluids, organ samples, blood, etc.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 41
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
The Youngsters (2014)
Plot Summary:
Five siblings struggle to live together after their parents have passed away. Arguments are a norm, and each have their own problems with studying, finding a job, marriage, etc. But no matter how dysfunctional their family can be, blood is thicker than water and the ties that bind will keep them together through thick and thin.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 132
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
A Song to the Sun (2006)
Plot Summary:
Amane Kaoru lives a night life, not because she wishes so, but because she is infected with the xeroderma pigmentosum virus. This virus defects the ability to repair damage caused by the sun's rays. Although she cannot expose her body to the sunlight, she dreams of becoming a singer, even if remaining positive has been ruined many times due to her illness. One night, playing outside, she meets Fujishiro Kouji, who has lost his job and hope, and becomes someone who reminds him of his long forgotten music passion.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 213
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, dorama
Similar in 86%
The Novelist (2018)
Plot Summary:
Haruhiko Kuzumi is a university student. One day, he causes a bicycle accident. The accident causes novelist Rio Kijima to break his arm. Haruhiko doesn't have insurance or money to pay Rio for his injury. Rio asks Haruhiko to transcribe a story he is writing. Haruhiko is surprised to learn the story is obscene.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 769
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, touching, emotional, talky, crying
Similar in 87%
The Diary of the 38-year-old Divorcee who has tried a Dating App (2020)
Plot Summary:
Matsumoto Chiaki is a 38-year-old woman who got married at 24 and divorced at 35. As she's almost 40, she decides to try a dating app and meet various types of men to recover the youth she lost from her early marriage.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 9
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, emotional, melancholic, talky
Similar in 86%
Ru: Taiwan Express (2020)
Plot Summary:
In 1999, a general trading company in Tokyo celebrates because Shinkansen of Japan wins priority negotiating rights for the Taiwan High Speed Rail. Haruka Tada (Haru) has been working at the general trading company for 4 years and she is sent to Taiwan for work. When Haruka Tada was a university student, she visited Taiwan for the first time during the summer. During that time, she happened to meet young Taiwanese man Eric and he showed her Taiwan for a day. She lost contact with him after that and she could not find him again. She then sealed away her thoughts about him in her mind. 6 years later, Haruka Tada arrives in Taiwan again.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 25
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan, Taiwan
Duration:
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, emotional, melancholic, talky
Similar in 79%
Perfect Partner (2020)
Plot Summary:
A story about public relation officers who start out looking out for themselves and gradually learn to fight side by side to overcome many obstacles. Wei Zhe (Huang Xuan) has received many awards as the most valuable independent public relations officer in the field. He has many connections, resources and methods to become the best of the best. Jiang Dalin (Tong Liya) is a rookie with a lot of potential. She is upright, competent and has a way with words. The two form a partnership in a race against time.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 14
Genere: Romance
Country: China
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, sexy, emotional, talky
Similar in 80%
The Legend & Butterfly (2023)
Plot Summary:
Oda Nobunaga and Nōhime were originally married to mend a hostile relationship between neighbouring regions. Unfortunately, they were like oil and water, making for a somewhat unhappy marriage. When Oda's enemy, Imagawa Yoshimoto, attacks Owari with his vast army, Oda is devastated by the overwhelming gap in military strength. However, Nohime encourages him not to despair, and the pair draw up a tactical plan that will allow them to overcome the odds.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 462
Genere: Drama, History, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 168 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
A Story to Read When You First Fall in Love (2019)
Plot Summary:
Junko Harumi was once a model student during her middle school and high school days. She failed to enter prestigious Tokyo University and her life has not gone smoothly since then. She has a hard time finding a job and having relationships with men. Now, at the age of 31, she works as a teacher at a private institute. 3 men, who vary in type, appear in front of her. Masashi Yakumo is smart and a cousin of Junko, Kyohei Yuri is a disorderly high school student and Kazuma Yamashita is Kyohei ’s teacher in high school.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 169
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing, romantic drama
Similar in 76%
Red Thread of Fate (2008)
Plot Summary:
Akai Ito is Japanese television drama series based on a popular mobile phone novel written by Mei about two soulmates - junior high school students Mei and Atsushi - who must overcome drugs, rape and attempted suicide in order to be together. The love story was an online hit in 2006 and later published as a series of five books which sold 1.8 million copies.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 18
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 89%
Silver and Gold (2017)
Plot Summary:
Morita, a man who never succeeds in anything, takes his anger out in gambling. He meets an underworld fixer named Ginji Hirai, who introduces him to the underworld trade, where billions of yen changes hands every moment, and speculators and other influential people bet their lives for greed.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 29
Genere: Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
The Tragedy of W (2012)
Plot Summary:
"W no Higeki" is an adaptation of a novel by Natsuki Shizuko, which was first published in 1982. It was turned into a theatrical movie in 1984, and has seen numerous adaptions into TV drama in 1983, 1986, 2001 and 2010 respectively. This new version of the story has Takei Emi playing two different characters with the exact same face. One is Mako, the future successor of a billion-dollar pharmaceutical conglomerate. She has always lived in comfort, but yearns for freedom. The other character is Satsuki, a lowly cleaner in a show pub who lives in solitude and destitution, and would do anything to get money, including prostituing her own body. One day, they met and decided to exchange lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 31
Genere: Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Lost ID (2016)
Plot Summary:
Shinichi Todo is handsome and smart. He is loved by family, friends and his girlfriend. Everything in his life seems to go well, but, one day, someone with the same name is arrested. After that, his smooth life changes. An imposter takes his life.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 35
Genere: Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
School Counselor (2017)
Plot Summary:
Aizawa Hinata is a high school counselor who provides support to students with school and family problems. This is motivated by the warped relationship she had with her over-controlling mother which she could not discuss with anyone. One day, a male student who has not been attending school confesses that he likes her. However, he dies mysteriously the next day. Hinata takes action to determine the cause of his death and learns that the boy suffered insidious bullying at school and excessive meddling by his mother. He had a record of delinquency and kept rough company. Hinata is hounded by his mother who believes that she is responsible for her son's suicide, and is driven to the verge of breaking down.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 15
Genere: Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Chushingura: A 48th Loyal Retainer in Love (2016)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Edo period, a story revolves around Kiyo, a woman who strives to overcome status differences of those days. When she pledges to live for love, a knife attack occurs at Edo castle. And as a 48th loyal retainer, her fate changes after a raid on Kira: she is determined to serve at the inner palace of Edo Castle called "Ooku".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 7
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 35 min
Plot tags: romantic, captivating, period drama
Similar in 77%
Frankenstein in Love (2017)
Plot Summary:
A monster was created from an incident that took place 100 years ago. He possesses super physical ability and can live forever. He yearns for humans and listens to the radio. He picks up things thrown away by other people. The monster dreams of living as a human. One day, he meets a young woman Tsugaru. He falls in love with her.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 35
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: light, romantic, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 78%
Is this Love Checkmate!? (2018)
Plot Summary:
A love story between a 24-year-old office worker who has neither love experience nor communication skills and a 32-year-old female shōgi player he meets on his daily commute.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 54
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: light, romantic, captivating, entertaining
Similar in 80%
Hirugao: Love Affairs in the Afternoon (2014)
Plot Summary:
Life is simple for Sasamoto Sawa, a young housewife, but when the adulteress Takigawa Rikako moves into her neighborhood, so too does a new world of sophistication and sex. After Takigawa is nearly caught in the act, Sasamoto covers for her during the ensuing aftermath, unwittingly involving herself with a handsome teacher named Kitano Yuichi — and discovering her own desires for extramarital passions.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 407
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, captivating, disturbing, entertaining
Similar in 81%
Love Catharsis (2016)
Plot Summary:
Mia Kurihara works in the public relations department of a company. She falls in love with Kairi Miyoshi. He is the vice president of the company, but he is also married.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 37
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 54 min
Plot tags: psychological, romantic, captivating, disturbing, dorama
Similar in 78%
Us Forever (2020)
Plot Summary:
Ichiharu Sudo is a furniture craftsman. He is very serious about his craft and becomes immersed in his work, but he has a hard time to create a new work that can surpass that of his teacher. This causes him to go into a slump. Ichiharu Sudo meets Sakurako Motohashi. Sakurako Motohashi works at an advertising company and she isn't very good when it comes to dating. These two people become attracted to each other, but they both carry emotional wounds that they don't talk about. Ichiharu Sudo can't get over the death of a person who was very important to him. For about a week every December, Ichiharu Sudo loses his voice. Meanwhile, Sakurako Motohashi’s father went bankrupt. She has supported her family since that time, but she wants to run away from her situation. Ichiharu Sudo and Sakurako Motohashi begin to date for themselves.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 15
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: touching, psychological, romantic, captivating, melancholic, dramatic, talky
Similar in 87%
Bad Boy and Good Girl (2010)
Plot Summary:
Shinagawa Daichi used to be a good student who has now become a delinquent, while class president Adachi Hana was a delinquent who is now trying to move on. Her secret is discovered by Shinagawa, but she involves herself trying to correct his ways.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 149
Genere: Comedy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: light, humorous, entertaining, dorama
Similar in 81%
Hana Nochi Hare: HanaDan Next Season (2018)
Plot Summary:
The setting of the drama takes place 10 years after the F4 graduated from Eitoku Academy. Edogawa Oto is the daughter of a former company president. Her life completely changed after their family business went bankrupt. Her fiance is Hase Tenma, the popular student council president of the rival school. With declining enrollment due to a recession and the rise of a rival school, Eitoku Academy is now ruled by the Correct5 whose leader is Kakuragi Haruto. The group seeks out, then runs out, any students whose families haven’t made appropriate donations to the school. When Haruto and Oto discover each other’s secrets — that Haruto buys self-help items to get stronger, and that Oto is poor and works at a convenience store – they promise to keep each other’s secret.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 201
Genere: Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, disturbing