The Japanese entertainment industry is famous worldwide for its unique storytelling and beautiful cinematography. In recent years, the portrayal of the “friends with benefits” trope in Japanese drama has become common. These stories discuss unconventional topics and raise important questions about it.
By portraying friends with benefit trope, the media questions traditional ideas of love and commitment and encourages viewers to think about the different kinds of relationships in the contemporary world.
In this article, we will explore ten Japanese dramas that deals with the topic of “friends with benefit.”
1. Nibun No Ichi Fuufu
Thirty-two-year-old homemaker Nakayama Aya has been married happily for two years. She and her husband seem to be an ideal couple. She discovers some messages in her husband’s phone that make her suspect that he is having an affair. Aya starts looking for further proof of an affair.
2. Love is a Phantom
The love story of Hirasawa Momoko starts at the reception desk of the hotel where she works as a café clerk. She meets a stranger and can’t stop kissing him even though they have just met. She later discovers that the man is none other than Hase Kei, the affluent hotelier who works at the same hotel.
3. Liar
Narita Misao works at a company as a trainee employee. She dislikes Ichikawa Kazuya, a fellow worker. He is a very honest person that does not sit right with Misao. Even after not getting along with him she develops feelings for him and he reciprocates these feelings. They develop a close bond only to discover that Ichikawa is engaged.
4. Chijo No Kiss
This is story of a live in relationship of a man called Shinobu and a woman named Waka. He is in love with Waka but she believes that its better to be fulfilled rather than be in love.
5. Rinko-san wa Shite Mitai
Amaki Rinko is unmarried and twenty-seven years old. She works as a wedding planner and gets promoted. She is a virgin and so is Kamisaka Gen. Amaki invites Gen to a love motel.
6. Missions of Love
A cell phone author called Yukina has been getting requests from her fans to write a love story. To fulfil the request of her fans she makes up her mind to experience love for herself. She uses the popular boy in her school for her mission of love.
7. Assen to Sekken
Asako Yaeshima is a shy girl, but she is passionate about what she does. She works in the accounting department at Lilia Drop, a toiletry and cosmetic firm. She enjoys working there because the product of company is the only product that help her control her body odour.
8. Zenryoku de, Aishite li Kana?
The story of the drama is about Chiyo Takamura, a thirty-year-old civil engineer in a construction company. Ichika Seo, the vice president of a company proposes to Chiyo and asks her out on a date. These two begin a “trial” romance to explore if their relationship would be successful or not.
9. Tsumari Suki tte Ittai N Dakedo
Chitose was a victim of bullying who is now a famous manager. She is given to manage a popular personality who is an overbearing actor and the person who used to bully her.
10. Kuzu no Honkai
Mugi Awaya and Hanabi Yasuraoka, both are seventeen who are considered the perfect match according to people around them. But nobody is aware about their secret. They are only dating each other because they both are lonely. The are in love with different people but can’t express their feelings to their respective crush.
