No romance!

World War 2, Japanese Ultra-nationalism, school setting, female lead. Slow and sad.

From 1954.

My review.

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.

My review.

Aro-ace main female character and her journey in a hetero-romantic society.

teenagers, weird weird weird, in this world we mix and connect

My review.

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.

My review.

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.

My review.

main autistic character, slice-of-life, societal commentary

My review.

sweet sweet sweet, found family, food, comedy, mention of the covid pandemic in the last episode.

My review.

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.

My review.

comedy, ghost marriage between a homophobic cop and a gay ghost, redemption arc, comedy violence

My review.

convenience store, plot what plot comedy, absurd conversations at 3 a.m.

My review.

bar setting, alcohol and canned food, melancholic, hopeful

My review.

sad, hopeful, and sad

crime drama, winter setting, interesting female characters, chinese province, police

My review.

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.]

comedy-with-harder-topics, quasi-historical, Pond Ponlawit!

My review.

school-setting, food, comedy, 1980s Japanese province, food as metaphor for education

My review.

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.

My review.

supernatural, mystery, gay main characters, metaphors for colonialism, being different, child abuse survivors

My review

c movie, horror comedy, zombies, fake blood, surprises!

My review.

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.

My review.

baseball off-season, business (managing a team)

My review.

motherhood, female agency, family, death and grief

My review.

medical slice-of-life, "They have the heart of a doctor"; crime drama sub-plot

romance is simmering in the background (you can't even call it that, it's long-time friends to couple); no kiss, even the declarations don't use the word "love"

Here's my review.

lots of passion, fan-culture, engineering, snack metaphors for soil

romance toes the line -- it's there, but minimal.

My review.

dark, unpredictable story, grey characters, some gore.

My review.

time travel, samurais, jidaigeki

This squeezed by by a mu -- the main character does have crush on someone, but a) he vehemently denies it, b) I'm not sure she is aware and c) it's not relevant for the plot pprogression and just a small part of his personality.

Here's my review.

Japanese propaganda film, but actually very sweet

detective story with wuxia elements, comedy, bromance and friendship, palace intrigue in the later episodes

My review.

Wuxia, bromance, detective cases, intrigue

Some time is spent saying good-bye to a past love.

My review.

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.

"the way of the Bath", Japanese bathing culture, beautiful bathing house, brothers' relationship

supernatural, genius loci, the human heart, calligraphy

My review is here.

Sumi-E, ink, Dō, camellias

Link to my review.

cross-generational friendship, coming-of-age (rather stepping into adoloscence), Yakuza, bad singing, Karaoke and choirs

My review.

"We are reliving the same week over and over!" -- "Yes, it feels that way, right?"

fantasy timey shenanigans, surprisingly moving, no pretentious "life is good" message

oppressive oligarchical society, homosocial enviroments, manga-esque, layers of meaning, excellent set design and acting

My review.

Xianxia, bromance, time travel / alternate universe, supernatural. 

short love-stories between side characters in some episodes.

My review.

edutainment, scammers, comedy, has Pond Ponlawit

My review

coming of age, Aomori, Tsugaru-shamisen, maid cafés

Crime/detective drama, very classic main character & side kicks, a "Howtheydunnit"

My review.

Three years after the Kumamoto earthquake, hormonal boys, SNS and its empty performativity, handball

Link to my review.

crime/detective genre, comedy, eccentric main character, food, puns

My review

light, slice-of-life, 15 minute episodes

My review.

tea, Japanese tea ceromnies, philosophical and did I mention tea?

My review.

Isekai, comedy, food

Season 2 is similar, but has a stronger romance subplot between side characters.

My review.

comedy, bordering on slapstick, buddy cops parody, no wait they are actually good detectives!

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.

My review.

slice-of-life, coffee making and coffee drinking, gentle, mention of the Covid pandemic at the end.

My review.

business, anime, female leads, fast-paced.

My review.

business, intrigues and plot twists, fast-paced, interesting female characters.

My review.

fast-paced, business but in a very superficial sense, playing the late-stage-capitalist game, female opponent

My review.

underdogs against the corrupt system, school clubs, hidden identity

My Review

late-stage cancer, mother-daughter-relationships, devoted mother, bath house

I did not quite get on with it, for personal reasons.

My review.

inter-generational friendship between two women over BL manga

super-natural, mild gore (Thai-typical ghosts), potential for romance but qickly abandoned.