Movies like Otakus in Love (2004)
The best movies like Otakus in Love (2004) are BOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie (2008), My Little Monster (2018) and Which Brings Me to You (2023). If Otakus in Love hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAzumi (2003)6.9/10 from 381 votes
- NewestWhy Did I Get Married Again? (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseBOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie (2008)Also in Japanese
BOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie (2008)
Four years have passed since that emotional marriage proposal at Tsukushi Makino's high-school prom, and Tsukasa Dōmyōji announced his engagement to Tsukushi to the entire world. At an engagement dinner between their families, Dōmyōji's mother, who has been strongly against their relationship before, presents Tsukushi a tiara, which is estimated to be worth roughly 10 billion yen, as a token of their engagement. But that night, the tiara is stolen by somebody! Then, Dōmyōji and Tsukushi travel around the globe to Las Vegas, Hong Kong, and even a deserted island to get the tiara back—the legendary tiara that has been believed to "bring eternal love." In the meantime, where and what are the "F4" fellows, who have just gone separate ways, doing now?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMy Little Monster (2018)
Problem student Haru Yoshida sits next to the cold and studious Shizuku Mizutani in class. Without any other friends to turn to, both of them start to get to know each other and grow closer. Haru eventually develop feelings for Shizuku and confesses his feelings to her. Will Haru and Shizuku get their happily ever after?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhich Brings Me to You (2023)
Two romantic burnouts, Jane and Will, are immediately drawn to each other at a mutual friend’s wedding. After a disastrous hookup in the coatroom, the two spend the next 24 hours together, trading candid confessions of messy histories and heartbreak, on the off chance that this fling might be the real thing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReLIFE (2017)
Arata Kaizaki, a jobless adult, undergoes an experiment that makes him 10 years younger. He goes back to high school and falls in love with Chizuru Hishiro, who is more than she seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKimagure Orange Road: I Want to Return to That Day (1988)
Kyousuke and Madoka have finally arrived at the point where they are close to graduation and have to decide where they want to go to college. Naturally, they want to go together, so beside all the studying they also have to look for a proper college where they can enter both. Hikaru, still a year from graduating, wants to support Kyousuke as well and does that in her own way. But while she does that, Madoka feels jealous and tells her feelings to Kyousuke. And then Kyousuke has to take action to finally decide on the girl he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHold Me Back (2020)
Mitsuko Kuroda is 31 years old and single. She enjoys her life as a single woman. A big reason why she enjoys her single life is that she has counsellor "A" in her mind, which is her other self. Whenever she does not know what to do, "A" gives her the right answers. She believes her happy and peaceful single life with "A" will continue, but she falls in love with Tada-kun. He is a salesperson and younger than her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA California Christmas: City Lights (2021)
Follows Callie and Joseph one year after they fell in love, now running a dairy farm and winery, but their romance is threatened when business and family obligations call Joseph back to the city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove in Taipei (2023)
A young American woman is sent by her parents to a cultural immersion program in Taipei where she begins a new journey of self-discovery and romance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best You Can (2025)
Cynthia Rand is a buttoned-up New Yorker married to a brilliant professor 25 years her senior. She begins feeling the effects of her husband’s advancing age on their relationship, just as her world is turned upside down by the arrival of sharp but chronically underachieving security guard Stan Olszewski in this smart rom-com that reunites Bacon and Sedgwick on screen for the first time in 20 years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhy Did I Get Married Again? (2026)
The couples reunite for the destination wedding of Marcus and Angela's daughter, bringing drama old and new as they ask, "Why did we get married again?"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisL.A. Without a Map (1999)
An aspiring Hollywood actress, on a visit to a charming North England town, has a brief fling with the town undertaker, who also writes obituaries for the local paper. Returning home, where she works as a waitress at a Japanese restaurant, she tells everyone about the handsome "writer" she met on her trip. Unfortunately, he decides to follow her back to Hollywood, setting up the expected light romantic comedy with asides as the newcomer gains experience about the goings on in Hollywood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Trial (2010)
After the horrific death of his wife and two sons, suicide seems to be the only escape for small town attorney Kent "Mac" McClain... until he's assigned a capital punishment case that begins to transform his life and those around him forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisIt Feels So Good (2019)
When it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko surprises him by proposing that they have sex again. The one night stand is the new beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNisekoi: False Love (2018)
Raku Ichijo (Kento Nakajima) is an only son and a high school student. His father is the leader of yakuza group Shuei-gumi. Raku Ichijo doesn't like to fight and he studies hard. His dream is to become a public official. One day, he passes the entrance gate at his high school and is kicked inadvertently by Chitoge Kirisaki (Ayami Nakajo). She is a new transfer student at the school. Chitoge Kirisaki is the only daughter of a rival gang leader. To keep the peace between the rival gangs led by their fathers, Raku Ichijo and Chitoge Kirisaki decide to act as boyfriend and girlfriend. --asianwiki
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRevenge Porn: PAIN OF LOVE (2019)
Rei is a college student in the midst of finding a job. She confesses her love to Mikio, a senior whom she admires. Mikio soon demands that she perform perverted acts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this10DANCE (2025)
Two dancers, opposites in all but their art, agree to train together for a competition. At first, they clash, but soon become drawn to each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNewness (2017)
In contemporary Los Angeles, two millennials navigating a social media–driven hookup culture begin a relationship that pushes both emotional and physical boundaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFire with Fire (1986)
A tough, street-smart kid serving a sentence in a state youth reformatory meets a beautiful, innocent girl studying at a nearby convent. When forbidden love blossoms between them, they must fight the prison authorities, their parents and the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAchilles and the Tortoise (2008)
Machisu is a painter. He never had the success he thinks he is entitled to. Regardless of this, he always remains trying to be successful. His wife Sachiko keeps supporting him, despite all setbacks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJane Eyre (1997)
After a bleak childhood, Jane Eyre goes out into the world to become a governess. As she lives happily in her new position at Thornfield Hall, she meets the dark, cold, and abrupt master of the house, Edward Rochester. Jane and her employer grow close in friendship and she soon finds herself falling in love with him. Happiness seems to have found Jane at last, but could Rochester's terrible secret be about to destroy it forever?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTouch 5: Cross Road (2001)
Trying to find his own game of baseball, and not that of his brothers, Tatsuya moves to America and pitches for a poor, struggling minor league baseball team called the Emeralds. Meanwhile, Minami is still in Japan, trying to find her own path after quitting gymnastics. Inspired by a photograph of her final performance, she becomes the photographers assistant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
Your Mom Is a Bitch! (2010)
College student Yu (Kobayashi Yuto) becomes friends with Fumie (Suzuki Sawa), a married woman who often comes to his store, but their relationship soon develops into something more. With very little romantic experience, he finds himself absorbed in this adult woman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
Tornado Girl (2017)
Koroki is a 35-year old man who admires Japanese singer-songwriter Tamio Okuda and aspires to live like him. He works as an editor at the lifestyle magazine "Mare," where he meets Akari Amami, a mischievous fashion press writer, and falls in love with her at first sight.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & comedy
Azumi (2003)
In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an assassin. Her name is Azumi, the ultimate assassin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPatalliro! The Movie (2019)
Patalliro du Malyner VIII is the crown prince of Malynera, a kingdom that produces diamonds. Despite being ugly and mischievous, he is loyal and fair. Many enemies of the throne, including Malynera's Prime Minister, plan to get rid of him and take control of the rich nation. Patalliro, however, has the protection of Jack Barbarosa Bancoran, his haughty and extremely handsome bodyguard, who will protect him even from the latter's own lover, the beautiful bishonen hitman Maraich Juschenfe and other assassins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & romance
Akihabara@DEEP (2006)
Set in Tokyo's otaku mecca Akihabara, "Akihabara@DEEP" tells the story of five otaku who drop out of society and end up founding their own successful IT venture called Crook. But Nakagomi, president of an influential electronics company called Digital Capital, will do anything to get his hands on Crook.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & comedy
I'm in Love With My Little Sister (2005)
Yori and his twin sister Iku used to be very close as children but lately Yori has grown colder toward Iku and is always eager to stay away from her. Iku was confused by Yori's attitude. Actually Yori is in love with Iku and that forbidden love is causing Yori sleepless nights since Yori and Iku are sharing the same room with bunk beds. Yori tried to ease his intense desire for Iku by bedding Iku's best friend. He had even applied to attend a boarding school in another city to take him far away from Iku. Yori lost his resolve to stay quiet about his feelings when Iku started to talk about having a boyfriend and going on dates. Now Yori want to have his little sister and he confessed. Iku loves her big brother and wanted them to stay together, so Iku is willing to anything to keep them together. But Yori wanted to have Iku as a lover, not as a sister loyal to her twin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Downfall (2023)
Kaoru Fukazawa is a manga artist. His manga series was published for eight years, but has now finished. He doesn't have any ideas for his next work. His situation seems bleak, with his editor seeming to not care about him anymore and his relationship with his wife Nozomi Machida being troubled. He spends his days in despair and darkness. Kaoru visits a business that provides sexual services and meets a prostitute named Chifuyu, who attracts him. They decide to head to Chifuyu's hometown together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sky High (2003)
A serial-murderer is on the loose who just so happens to also be removing the hearts of his victims and taking them with him. His victims however, are not merely random humans as thought by the police. They are in fact, the past and present guardians of the gateway of the afterlife.On the day he is to be married, Detective Kanzaki, who happens to be on the case, discovers that his fiancé Mina has been murdered with her heart also missing. He also learns that the killers are Kudo, a geneticist, and his evil secretary Rei. The two are trying to obtain six hearts from the guardians so that they may call forth a horde of demons from the Gate of Rage and have their every desire granted. Only problem is, once they open the gate the entire world will be covered in darkness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOkama Report (1991)
Straight college student Shinya Okama gets a job at an okama bar – a cross-dressing gay bar. He falls in love with a college girl he meets there, and attempts to get closer to her while concealing the truth of his identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Otakus in Love?
The closest matches to Otakus in Love are BOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie (2008), My Little Monster (2018) and Which Brings Me to You (2023). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Otakus in Love?
Start with BOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie (2008), the closest match to Otakus in Love.
What is the highest-rated movie like Otakus in Love?
Azumi (2003), rated 6.9/10 by 381 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Otakus in Love?
Why Did I Get Married Again? (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Otakus in Love?
Yes: BOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie (2008), My Little Monster (2018) and ReLIFE (2017).
How are movies similar to Otakus in Love chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Otakus in Love, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.