Terminal illness
This list contains dramas/movies which touch upon terminal illness or similar. It doesn't need to have a tragic ending, but it has to be more serious than a flu. The list itself is ordered alphabetically.
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1. 1 Litre no Namida
Japanese Drama - 2005, 11 episodes
While the acting will definitely feel very amateurish to some, if you can forget that bit and focus more on the content, you'll like this one. I highly recommend reading/buying the actual book as well.
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2. A Wedding Invitation
Chinese Movie - 2013
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3. Beautiful World
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
Not terminal illness, but one of the main characters falls into a coma. The series revolves around finding out what exactly happened. It also explores the impact severe bullying can have.
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4. Boku no Ita Jikan
Japanese Drama - 2014, 11 episodes
This one was superb.
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5. Chocolate
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
This series and many of the episodes, are kind of like stand alone short stories. The first episodes are there to establish the main and supporting actors you'll see towards the end of the drama.
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6. Hospital Ship
Korean Drama - 2017, 40 episodes
One of the main characters has cancer, though it's a very small part of the series over all. It does bring up several cases which involves terminal illnesses though.
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7. Koizora
Japanese Drama - 2008, 6 episodes
It's short, but not too bad.
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8. Mama
Korean Drama - 2014, 24 episodes
This one was quite good. It did feel a bit draggy towards the end.
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9. Marriage Contract
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
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10. More Than Blue
Korean Movie - 2009
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11. Nirvana in Fire
Chinese Drama - 2015, 54 episodes
While it certainly is a ficticious illness, the end result is death. It's a big aspect of the main male lead's character.
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12. Only One Person
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
The main FLs all have terminal illnesses.
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13. Scarlet Heart
Chinese Drama - 2011, 35 episodes
While it definitely feels dated and the terminal illness part is only during the latter part, it's still quite good.
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14. Scent of a Woman
Korean Drama - 2011, 16 episodes
I really liked this one. Great characters.
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15. Taiyou no Uta
Japanese Drama - 2006, 10 episodes
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16. Thirty But Seventeen
Korean Drama - 2018, 32 episodes
Not terminal illness, but rather a female lead who wakes up from a 17 year long coma. The reason for the coma was a bus accident and it focuses on her getting back into society after she wakes up.
It's for the most part light and quite good.
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17. Uncontrollably Fond
Korean Drama - 2016, 20 episodes
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18. Woman
Japanese Drama - 2013, 11 episodes
FL finds out that she has cancer.