so i've only exclusively watched south korean dramas, not for any real reason, just that i fell down a rabbit hole after my first watch lol but i want to branch out.

are there any japanese romance dramas that you'd recommend that would be ideal for a newbie switching over from south korean dramas??

romcom would be ideal but anything with romance as a focus is cool

thank you!

  • Black devil and the White Prince 
  • Say I love You 
  • By chance 
  • Evergreen Love 
  • Orange 
  • Heroine disqualified 
  • Last Cinderella
  • From me to you 

I recommend Nodame Cantabile, a romantic comedy set in a music school, and one of my favorite J-dramas.

  • Rich Man, Poor Woman (seems to be popular among Kdrama fans new to Jdramas)
  • Ossan's Love (romcom; it's an M/M romance, but its storyline follows a classic hetero/shojo-manga template; hilarious but with a lot of heart)
  • We Married as a Job (romcom; sort of like Because It's My First Love, only funnier and less self-indulgent)
  • Koi no Chikara (oldie but goodie; office drama about a thirty year old woman who ended up working with her long-time crush)
  • Hajimete Koi wo Shita hi ni Yomu Hanashi (currently airing; a reverse harem which is surprisingly better than its generic synopsis made it sound like)
  • Kimi wa Petto (older woman-younger man; there's a newer Japanese version and a Korean adaptation, but please skip those two and opt for the 2003 version instead)
  • Ashi Girl (super cute story about a junior high girl who time traveled to the past and fell in love with the son of a local daimyo; [dubious] streaming sites only have it up to episode 8, but you can find the rest of the subs on Subscene)
  • Busujima Yuriko no Sekirara Nikki (about a woman who always made a point of dating multiple men at a time; a word of warning: it's pretty steamy)
  • Zenkai Girl (romcom, featuring an ambitious young lawyer and a poor single father)
  • Love Shuffle (six people decided to change partners among themselves; not smutty at all despite its description)
  • Bara no nai Hanaya (a single father raising a young daughter met a beautiful blind woman and ended up falling in love with her)
  • Hotaru no Hikaru (romcom; circumstances forced a lazy office lady to live together with her uptight superior)
  • Lunch Queen (another oldie but goodie; a reverse harem set in a restaurant)

light mood / comedy (maybe its better to start from the lighter ones)

-  Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu

- Boku, Unmei no Hito desu


(to a more serious. melo ones)

- Chugakusei Nikki  (only watch this if you are fine with student-teacher romance)

- N no Tame ni 


(and finally to a dark, heavy ones)

-  Byakuyako

- Sachiiro no One Room 

  • Hana yori dango – it’s a must see it’s the classical Cinderella story but one of the bests ever done (2 seasons and 1 movie)
  • Buzzer Beat – good romance drama about 2 people that meet and fall in love but first they have to find the perfect timing for them to be together
    Love Shuffle – it’s a story involving 4 couples and how they learn what love is
  • Pride – a classic romance drama with a mature couple who grow and learn from each other and also heal each others wounds
  • Tatta Hitotsu no koi – a very good romance and it’s a Cinderella story but inverse (rich girl, poor boy)
  • Hotaru no Hikari – this has 2 seasons and a movie, and it’s a bout a couple that has to live together due to some circumstances and gradually fall in love
  • We married as a job - As mentioned before this one is compared to Because this is my first life. I liked both of them but I'll have to say I liked better how they managed the "contract relationship" at the final episodes here. 
  • Soratobu Kouhoushitsu - I like this one, because is also about 2 persons who had their dreams broken about their ideal jobs but with the help of each other discover a new passion in life. 
  • Kahogo no Kahoko - This one is pretty sweet and lighthearted, the OTP is very cute and it centers alot on family.
  • Boku unmei no hito desu - This one is also pretty lighthearted, the male lead is very sweet and kind and it's totally focused on romance.
  • Sekai ichi muzukashii love - if you like male lead falls first. It's cute and light hearted.

I second 1 litre of tears but be aware that it lives up to its name, you'll definitely cry. But it's an excelent drama and inspiring one. 

 sailorscout:

so i've only exclusively watched south korean dramas, not for any real reason, just that i fell down a rabbit hole after my first watch lol but i want to branch out.

are there any japanese romance dramas that you'd recommend that would be ideal for a newbie switching over from south korean dramas??

romcom would be ideal but anything with romance as a focus is cool

thank you!

Why does your statement resonates my state right now? Haha! Ive been watching more Jdramas and jmoviews lately!

I will suggest a movie that I thought was cute and being remade actually for this year's release:

L♥DK 

p.s.  Ditto on everything above.   With the help of many of these MDLers above,  I too migrated to including JDramas in my watchlist regularly now.  

From 5 to 9

Kuragehime 

Takane to Hana

close range love

my teacher 

both are nice movie

If you don't mind with Japanese movie..I would recommend "Ore monogatari/My love story" it's light and a romcom high school movie