Movies like The Real Thing (2020)
The best movies like The Real Thing (2020) are We Couldn't Become Adults (2021), Journey to the Shore (2015) and Close Range Love (2014). If The Real Thing 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 ratedBLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024)7.6/10 from 268 votes
- NewestBLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseWe Couldn't Become Adults (2021)Also in Japanese
We Couldn't Become Adults (2021)
Prodded by a friend request, a feckless forty-something recalls his past relationships from the 90s onward, looking for his vanished hopes and dreams.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney to the Shore (2015)
Mizuki's husband Yusuke has been missing for three years. He suddenly comes back home as a ghost and asks Mizuki to go on a trip with him. Their trip consists of visiting the people that helped Yusuke on his previous travel.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClose Range Love (2014)
A smart high school student falls in love with her English teacher after she receives one-on-one tutoring from him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRadiance (2017)
The story follows the social intercourse between a cameraman, Masaya, with a visual impairment, and Misako who disconnects from the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFruits Basket -prelude- (2022)
Kyoko, who couldn't believe anything in the world and lived a desolate life, meets Katsuya Honda, who has been assigned as an educational trainee. She is at the mercy of Katsuya, who is rude and has a strong habit, and she is gradually attracted to her. However, she is disowned by her parents in the wake of an incident with her bad fellow. It's a punishment that I've been doing as much as I like. Katsuya appears in front of Kyoko who thinks so...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNine Lives (2005)
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
Plagued by a seemingly endless stream of haunting dreams, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming sense of anger and emptiness. Then, one fateful day, he meets the mysterious and beautiful Nagisa, and his world begins to change. While helping Nagisa revive the defunct Drama Club at their high school, Tomoya discovers that she has the same dreams. Their story starts beneath the cherry blossoms, but where will fate lead them?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNorthanger Abbey (2007)
A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSay 'I Love You' (2014)
Mei Tachibana is a high school student. Due to a traumatic incident when she was a kid, Mei has been unable to make friends or have boyfriends. By mistake, Mei then injures the most popular male student named Yamato Kurosawa. Somehow, Yamato Kurosawa likes Mei Tachibana and tells everyone unilaterally that Mei is his friend. One day, Yamato Kurosawa saves Mei Tachibana from a stalker by kissing her. From that kiss, their love story begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEndless Love (2014)
A privileged girl and a charismatic boy's instant desire sparks a love affair made only more reckless by parents trying to keep them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Tomorrow, Your Yesterday (2016)
Takatoshi Minamiyama majors in art at an university in Kyoto. On the train to the school, he sees Emi Fukuju and falls in love with her at first sight. Gathering up all his courage, he speaks to her. They begin to date and enjoy happy days together, but Emi reveals her secret to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between (2022)
Clare and Aidan make a pact to break up before college — no regrets, no broken hearts. But will one epic goodbye date offer them a last chance at love?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome by Spring (2018)
When an ambitious event planner gets an opportunity she can’t refuse, she goes undercover as her boss and returns to her rural hometown. With the help of her family and the man she left behind, she pulls off the perfect spring retreat, but will she discover home is where her heart is?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPride and Prejudice (1940)
In early 19th century England, Mr and Mrs Bennet's five unmarried daughters vie for the affections of rich and eligible Mr Bingley and his status-conscious friend, Mr Darcy, who have moved into their neighbourhood. While Bingley takes an immediate liking to eldest daughter Jane, Darcy has difficulty adapting to local society and repeatedly clashes with second-eldest Elizabeth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorrowed Hearts (1997)
Single mom Kathleen Russell (Roma Downey) and her daughter Zoey pretend to be Kathleen's boss's "family" so he can close a major business deal with the mysterious Mexican financier Javier Del Campo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter (2019)
Tessa Young is a dedicated student, dutiful daughter and loyal girlfriend to her high school sweetheart. Entering her first semester of college, Tessa's guarded world opens up when she meets Hardin Scott, a mysterious and brooding rebel who makes her question all she thought she knew about herself -- and what she wants out of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIf Cats Disappeared from the World (2016)
A postman learns that he doesn't have much time left to live due to a terminal illness. A devil then appears in front of him and offers to extend his life if he picks something in the world that will disappear. The man thinks about his relationships with ex-friends, ex-lovers, relatives and colleagues who will be sincerely sad when he dies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024)
When apathetic gamer Nagi agrees to join his rich classmate Mikage in soccer, their partnership leads to the famous Blue Lock program — and to changes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFamily Romance, LLC (2019)
Love is a business at Family Romance, a company that rents human stand-ins for any occasion. Founder Yuichi Ishii helps make his clients’ dreams come true. But when the mother of 12-year-old Mahiro hires Ishii to impersonate her missing father, the line between acting and reality threatens to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot in Textbooks 3 (2017)
The third work in the "Not in Textbooks!" series, which is a live-action movie of a popular love comedy manga by Kazuto Okada from "Sundome" starring Ayaka Morikawa from the former AKB48. It depicts the love pattern that the main character, a high school girl Aya Shirakaba and a homeroom teacher, Arihiko Tairaku, living together for a long time. One day, Okubo, a senior student who noticed Aya who is very popular in the school with excellent looks, abducts Aya. Tairaku heads to the rescue and falls into the worst situation. On the other hand, in the school there was an incident in which May Yayoi took the students hostage.... Morikawa played the role of Aya Shirakaba, Ryouma Baba played the role of Arihiko Tairaku, and May, an English teacher longing for Tairaku, was the debut performance of the rising gravure idol Anna Hongo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Not in Textbooks 4 (2017)
The fourth in a school romantic comedy that features a popular comic by Kazuto Okada starring Ayaka Morikawa and Ryouma Baba. One day, a love letter arrives under the Japanese language teacher, Tairaku Arihiko, at Otome High School. Around the same time, an incident occurred around the student, Aya Shirakaba, who was living with him...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
The Stranger by the Shore (2020)
Abandoned after coming out, Shun befriends Mio just before he has to move. Years later, Mio returns with a confession. How will Shun feel?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMiss Hokusai (2015)
A daughter is constantly overshadowed by her famous father, but she is determined to make her own mark in the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost World (2001)
Two quirky, cynical, teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives following high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle-aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the girls’ friendship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTwin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
In the questionable town of Deer Meadow, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended, and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the more cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Laura Palmer hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHulk (2003)
Bruce Banner, a genetics researcher with a tragic past, suffers massive radiation exposure in his laboratory that causes him to transform into a raging green monster when he gets angry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKamen Rider Revice: Final Stage (2022)
Taking place after the final episode, the Iggarashi Family and FENIX reunite for one last battle against Giff and the Deadmans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Real Thing and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Real Thing?
The closest matches to The Real Thing are We Couldn't Become Adults (2021), Journey to the Shore (2015) and Close Range Love (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Real Thing?
People who watched The Real Thing most often go on to We Couldn't Become Adults (2021) and Journey to the Shore (2015).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Real Thing?
BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024), rated 7.6/10 by 268 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Real Thing?
BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Real Thing?
Yes: We Couldn't Become Adults (2021), Journey to the Shore (2015) and Close Range Love (2014).
How are movies similar to The Real Thing chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Real Thing, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.