Romance! (Dramas)

I'm not a fan of romance. There, I said it. It's just not my genre. But when a love story hits me, it totally knocks me out.

This is a list of dramas with couples that worked for me to a degree that I could have watched the whole thing for them  alone (even if they weren't the MCs). 

yeou_bi feb 23, 2022
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  • 49 Days

    1. 49 Days

    Korean Drama - 2011, 20 episodes

    8.0

    [Side plot] Like, literally, that was the kind of side plot that was only gradually revealed and that absolutely broke my heart.

  • A Tale of a Thousand Stars

    2. A Tale of a Thousand Stars

    Thai Drama - 2021, 10 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Rich boy with a heart transplant falls in love with a forest ranger!

    There are honestly a lot of good things about the show apart from the romance part. The scenery and message are beautiful to a degree that it made living in a hut in Northern Thailand seems like an appealing way of life, even for a bug and heat hater like me.

  • Arakawa Under The Bridge

    3. Arakawa Under The Bridge

    Japanese Drama - 2011, 10 episodes

    9.5

    [Main plot] Young businessman who refuses to be indebted to anyone is rescued by a girl who believes she is from Venus, so he moves to the riverside where she lives to pay her back. 

    It's even wackier than it sounds and I loved it so much.

  • Bad Buddy

    4. Bad Buddy

    Thai Drama - 2021, 12 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Awwwwwwwwwww. Enemies to lovers is already great but forced to be enemies but secretly friends to lovers? Even better. 

  • Cheap Love

    5. Cheap Love

    Japanese Drama - 1999, 10 episodes

    8.5

    [Main plot] A teacher and a night club scout meet! 

    This was made in the 90s, so upon rewatch there were some pretty messed up things. But the angst and the chemistry just works somehow.

  • Coffee House

    6. Coffee House

    Korean Drama - 2010, 18 episodes

    8.5

    [Main plot-ish?] People who you don't think will end up together end up together and I sat there like, ohhhhhhhhh!

  • Fantastic

    7. Fantastic

    Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Terminally ill screenwriter meets the actor she used to be in love with. Sweet but sad!

    [Side plot] Woman trapped in an unhappy marriage meets a student who instantly worships her because she's badass. I love that part so muchhhhhh. They had so many good scenesssssss.

  • Gloomy Salad Days

    8. Gloomy Salad Days

    Taiwanese Drama - 2010, 20 episodes

    8.5

    [Mostly side plot] Local boy sees a girl no one else can see and tries to stop her from killing people, or so he thinks. 

    What I loved about it was that the drama technically focuses on other people and their issues, so the ML and FL at first barely had any scenes together. That added a lot to the addictive factor.

  • Happiness

    9. Happiness

    Korean Drama - 2021, 12 episodes

    10

    [Main plot] Duo of competent police people fake engagement to rent a nice apartment and then find themselves in the middle of a zombie outbreak. 

    Romance was really just a small part and I would have loved the drama without it. But ohhhh man, they had some really good scenes.

  • Hormones

    10. Hormones

    Thai Drama - 2013, 13 episodes

    7.5

    [Multiple mains, so technically main plot but feels like side plot] Girl cheats on her boyfriend with his friend. They're arguably not great people (at first?) but ohhhhhh, the chemistry.

  • Hottokenai Majotachi

    11. Hottokenai Majotachi

    Japanese Drama - 2014, 44 episodes

    7.5

    [Not actually canon] ... but hear me out. It was a woman running a restaurant and the cook who works for her and they were like super close and even if it would have never led to anything, I still could have watched 40 more episodes of them hatching out plans.

  • I Hear Your Voice

    12. I Hear Your Voice

    Korean Drama - 2013, 18 episodes

    9.0

    [Main plot] Chemistry worked for me.

  • Ice Fantasy

    13. Ice Fantasy

    Chinese Drama - 2016, 62 episodes

    6.5

    [Side plot and one-sided] Daughter of the evil fire empire and second son of the good ice people who have a really odd relationship in which they're supposed to hate each other but don't? Count me in!

    I literally only watched the drama for the SML and SFL. There was nothing else I cared about in the drama and if you consider how long this thing was, I held out pretty well. Do I regret it? No but I can't say I was super happy with it either.

  • Ima Ai ni Yukimasu

    14. Ima Ai ni Yukimasu

    Japanese Drama - 2005, 10 episodes

    9.5

    [Main plot] A young widower has to take care of his sun. Then, one day in the beginning of the rainy season, his wife return.

    Ok, that admittedly sounds like a horror movie. But this wouldn't have been remade so often if it wasn't a great story.

  • Kekkon Aite wa Chusen de

    15. Kekkon Aite wa Chusen de

    Japanese Drama - 2018, 8 episodes

    9.0

    [Side plot] because it was all about marriage but not so much from a romantic but a practical point of view. But the guy with OCD and the woman who actually suffered because she was too popular just were cute together.

  • Kekkon Dekinai Otoko

    16. Kekkon Dekinai Otoko

    Japanese Drama - 2006, 12 episodes

    8.5

    [Main plot] A stubborn architect meets a doctor and they don't get along.

    I loved how the ML just seemed like a total douche at first and how that also was exactly what the FL thought of him. But then they both bent just enough to make it work.

  • Kimi Wa Petto

    17. Kimi Wa Petto

    Japanese Drama - 2017, 16 episodes

    6.5

    [Main plot] Businesswoman is sick of relationships with men who have complexes because of her status and decides to keep a young guy as a pet.

    Sounds like porn but isn't. 

  • KinnPorsche

    18. KinnPorsche

    Thai Drama - 2022, 14 episodes

    8.0

     [Side plot] mafia violence! literal torture! lots of crying! self-harm! codependency! 

    This is a ship with so many red flags/triggers, if anything, enjoying this possibly means that there's something seriously wrong with me. But man. The angst. The tenderness between the heavy violence. This ship sliced open something in my heart. It's the kind of story I don't wish on anyone IRL but in fiction it works so wellllll.

  • Koi no Chikara

    19. Koi no Chikara

    Japanese Drama - 2002, 11 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Woman accidentally quits her job to work for the startup advertisement agency of a really arrogant guy.

    Kinda misogynistic upon rewatch in 2021 but the chemistry still works.

  • Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu

    20. Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu

    Japanese Drama - 2014, 10 episodes

    7.5

    [Main plot] Woman turns 30 without ever having been in a relationship and accidentally sleeps with the young intern in her office.

  • Love Shuffle

    21. Love Shuffle

    Japanese Drama - 2009, 10 episodes

    7.5

    [Side plot] Photographer falls for a suicidal girl (or that's what I think it was about? All I remember is that I loved them)

  • MARS

    22. MARS

    Taiwanese Drama - 2004, 13 episodes

    9.5

    [Main plot] Popular boy meets introverted girl. Sounds cliché, starts cliché and then hits you over the head with some heavy stuff. 

  • Muscle Girl

    23. Muscle Girl

    Japanese Drama - 2011, 10 episodes

    [Main plot] Korean idol accidentally starts working for the owner of a wrestling organization.

  • Nakuna, Hara-chan

    24. Nakuna, Hara-chan

    Japanese Drama - 2013, 10 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Woman accidentally brings comic character to life.

    This was honestly just so sweet.

  • Nechan no Koibito

    25. Nechan no Koibito

    Japanese Drama - 2020, 9 episodes

    8.5

    [Main plot] Woman who had to give up her dreams to raise her brothers meets a coworker with a secret.

    Man. That whole drama was just sweet. 

  • Non siamo più vivi

    26. Non siamo più vivi

    Korean Drama - 2022, 12 episodes

    7.5

    [Side plot] Popular guy refuses to believe that the girl he has a crush on could turn into a zombie.

    If you look at it logically, the guy was super reckless. But man, I shipped it so hard. "Bite me, not yourself" all the way.

  • One Million Stars Falling from the Sky

    27. One Million Stars Falling from the Sky

    Japanese Drama - 2002, 11 episodes

    10

    [Main plot] Spunky reporter meets a cook who is very rude and related to a murder case. Started simple and then ripped my heart out of my chest. 

  • Orthros no Inu

    28. Orthros no Inu

    Japanese Drama - 2009, 9 episodes

    8.0

    [Side plot] This was one of those cases where I was just DYING for them to end up together but I don't think they did? Because the plot was focused on other, more important things? Idek.

  • Ossan's Love

    29. Ossan's Love

    Japanese Drama - 2018, 7 episodes

    7.0

    [Main plot] Tbh, I thought that the ML was an idiot. But the romance still worked and I just really wanted things to work out for them.

  • Pride

    30. Pride

    Japanese Drama - 2004, 11 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Hockey player and office worker date but not really until and then they both get confused.

    Idk, Pride is just a staple for romance. Kimutaku is good in this type of role and Takeuchi Yuko is always great.

  • Queen Cheorin

    31. Queen Cheorin

    Korean Drama - 2020, 20 episodes

    9.0

    [Main plot] Local chef transmigrates into the body of a Joseon noblewoman and finds himself getting married to the king.

    Look, the ending sucked. I thought this was the bravest Korean prime time drama ever but then they copped out, But everything else was perfect.

  • Shadow Beauty

    32. Shadow Beauty

    Korean Drama - 2021, 13 episodes

    8.5

    [Side plot] Girl pretending to be an internet celebrity ends up with the person I thought she wouldn't end up with but then the drama proved me wrong and I loved that ending so much.

  • Strawberry Night

    33. Strawberry Night

    Japanese Drama - 2012, 11 episodes

    8.5

    [Side plot] It didn't actually lead to anything but there were some scenes that just got me way too excited.

  • Tatta Hitotsu no Koi

    34. Tatta Hitotsu no Koi

    Japanese Drama - 2006, 10 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Rich girls falls for poor guy. 

  • The Bride of Habaek

    35. The Bride of Habaek

    Korean Drama - 2017, 16 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] It's kinda weird to admit that this worked for me because so many people hate the drama.

  • The Great Horror Family

    36. The Great Horror Family

    Japanese Drama - 2004, 13 episodes

    9.0

    [Side plot] Boy living in a haunted house meets a ghost. This whole drama was a weird comedy but the dynamic was super cute.

  • The Legend

    37. The Legend

    Korean Drama - 2007, 24 episodes

    9.5

    [Side plot] A young king and his trusted (alcoholic) sidekick going to war! 

  • The Lover

    38. The Lover

    Korean Drama - 2015, 12 episodes

    8.5

    [Side plot] Older woman lives with her younger boyfriend, who is an aspiring musician but also lazy af. I just loved those two and they had some really touching scenes near the end.

  • The Romance of Tiger and Rose

    39. The Romance of Tiger and Rose

    Chinese Drama - 2020, 24 episodes

    8.5

    [Main plot] Screenwriter accidentally falls into her own script and is now getting married to a guy who she knows plans to kill her.

    I would have watched the drama for the hilarity and social commentary alone but the FL and ML were so good together, ahhhhh.

  • The School Nurse Files

    40. The School Nurse Files

    Korean Drama - 2020, 6 episodes

    8.5

    [Side plot and not canon in the drama I guess? But I read the novel and there they end up together in the end, so there you go] In order to save the school, local school nurse had to leach energy off a grumpy teacher. 

  • The Untamed

    41. The Untamed

    Chinese Drama - 2019, 50 episodes

    7.5

    [Main plot but censored] Is there anyone who hasn't seen this? I have to make a confession though. It's maybe because I went in with zero prior knowledge but except for the two mains and their interaction, there wasn't much else I cared about in the drama.

  • Watashi no Otto wa Reitoko ni Nemutte iru

    42. Watashi no Otto wa Reitoko ni Nemutte iru

    Japanese Drama - 2021, 6 episodes

    9.0

    [Main plot] Woman kills her fiancée and puts him in a freezer. The next morning, he walks into the kitchen as if nothing happened.

    This isn't romance and the whole plot was messed up. But somehow, it worked in the end.

  • Who Are You?

    43. Who Are You?

    Korean Drama - 2008, 17 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Tbh, I didn't actually like the FL so much but I was very on board with the ML being happy and the chemistry was right.

  • Women of the Sun

    44. Women of the Sun

    Korean Drama - 2008, 20 episodes

    [Side plot] Successful woman falls in love with a taekwondo instructor who happens to be the best friend of her sister whom she abandoned when they were little.

    Arguably not a great drama unless you love old-school melodrama. But man, I loved the FL and I just wanted her and the guy to be happy.

  • Word of Honor

    45. Word of Honor

    Chinese Drama - 2021, 36 episodes

    8.5

    [Main plot but censored] It's still amazing that the makers got away with this. This is at times more romantic than official romance.

  • Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge

    46. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge

    Japanese Drama - 2010, 10 episodes

    8.0

    [Main plot] Popular guy is tasked to turn weirdly introverted goth into a beauty.

    Honestly, this was probably 80% me just loving the FL.

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