K-Dramas like The Lunchtime Detective
Finished The Lunchtime Detective (2020) and want that feeling again? These 12 shows come closest.
12 shows with a similar feel
The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity (2025)Also dramaWhen the intimidating Rintaro meets the open-minded Kaoruko, the unlikely duo grows closer. The issue? Their neighboring high schools hate each other.
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Beck: Mongolian Chop Squad (2004)Also dramaKoyuki Tanaka's boring life is changed after meeting Ryusuke Minami, a local musician with a bad attitude, who introduces him to foreign music.
Arte (2020)Also dramaBorn into an aristocratic family in Florence, Italy, during the 16th century Renaissance era, Arte has dreams of becoming an artist. In an age of social classes, Arte is willing to cast aside her aristocratic lifestyle and stops at nothing to achieve her dreams. She finds apprenticeship in a painting studio owned by Leo, an artist who is strict but prioritizes ability over gender.
The Apothecary Diaries (2023)Also dramaMaomao lived a peaceful life with her apothecary father. Until one day, she's sold as a lowly servant to the emperor's palace. But she wasn't meant for a compliant life among royalty. So when imperial heirs fall ill, she decides to step in and find a cure! This catches the eye of Jinshi, a handsome palace official who promotes her. Now, she's making a name for herself solving medical mysteries!
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7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy! (2024)Also dramaRishe, the duke’s daughter, is no stranger to reincarnation—it’s her seventh life, after all. Each life restarts at her broken engagement. Having been a merchant, a maid, and a knight, she now desires leisure. But her world changes when a prince, who killed her in a past life, proposes! To prevent war and live to a ripe old age, she begins her seventh life as the bride of an enemy nation’s prince.
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Honey Lemon Soda (2025)Also dramaAfter middle school, with its bullying and nicknames, Uka Ishimori is excited for a fresh start at Hachimitsu High School. Kai Miura, a cool and uninhibited boy, sits next to her in class. Uka remembers she met Kai in middle school and with a single word, he had convinced her to attend Hachimitsu. Though he’s popular, Kai supports Uka in her efforts to fit in with her new classmates.
Bokura ga ita (2006)Also dramaNanami Takahashi is a high school student entering her first year. Immediately on her first day however, she becomes the victim of a practical joke by the school's most popular guy, Motoharu Yano, who coincidentally also ends up in her class.
Senpai Is an Otokonoko (2024)Also dramaFor Makoto Hanaoka, life’s about to get more complicated. Saki Aoi, a lively girl with loads of confidence, confesses her love for Makoto one day. When he fails to reciprocate, Saki declares she will be his first love! She shares her goal with a mutual friend, Ryuji Taiga, who also confesses his crush on Makoto. Stuck in a love triangle, Makoto must find a way to make it work and have fun.
March Comes In Like a Lion (2016)Also dramaThis is a gentle tale about people trying to regain something. And it is a tale of battle. Rei Kiriyama had lost his family in an accident when he was young. Now he is a 17-year-old pro shogi player who is burdened with deep loneliness. Rei lives alone in an old town in Tokyo, but after becoming acquainted with three sisters, Akari, Hinata and Momo, he begins to change little by little...
Golden Time (2013)Also dramaBanri Tada is a freshman at a Tokyo law school. After an accident, he suffers severe memory loss. Despite the incident, he befriends fellow freshman, Mitsuo Yanagisawa, which leads him to the beautiful, yet obsessive, Kouko Kaga.
NANA (2006)Also dramaNana Osaki and Nana Komatsu meet while traveling to Tokyo in pursuit of their respective dreams, and decide to be roommates. Although drastically different people, the two become very close and together they find out if their biggest dreams have room for their best friend.
Wandering Son (2011)Also dramaShuichi Nitori transfers to a new elementary school, and there, meets Yoshino Takatsuki. The two children discover they share a similar secret.
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