Terminal illness
This list contains dramas/movies which touch upon terminal illness or similar. It doesn't need to have a tragic ending, but it has to be more serious than a flu. The list itself is ordered alphabetically.
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1. 1 Litro de Lágrimas
Japanese Drama - 2005, 11 episodes
While the acting will definitely feel very amateurish to some, if you can forget that bit and focus more on the content, you'll like this one. I highly recommend reading/buying the actual book as well.
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2. A Horas da Minha Vida
Japanese Drama - 2014, 11 episodes
This one was superb.
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3. Canção do Sol
Japanese Drama - 2006, 10 episodes
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4. Chocolate
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
This series and many of the episodes, are kind of like stand alone short stories. The first episodes are there to establish the main and supporting actors you'll see towards the end of the drama.
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5. Contrato de Casamento
Korean Drama - 2016, 16 episodes
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6. Coração Escarlate
Chinese Drama - 2011, 35 episodes
While it definitely feels dated and the terminal illness part is only during the latter part, it's still quite good.
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7. Hospital Ship
Korean Drama - 2017, 40 episodes
One of the main characters has cancer, though it's a very small part of the series over all. It does bring up several cases which involves terminal illnesses though.
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8. Koizora
Japanese Drama - 2008, 6 episodes
It's short, but not too bad.
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9. Mais Que Azul
Korean Movie - 2009
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10. Mama
Korean Drama - 2014, 24 episodes
This one was quite good. It did feel a bit draggy towards the end.
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11. Mulher
Japanese Drama - 2013, 11 episodes
FL finds out that she has cancer.
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12. Nirvana in Fire
Chinese Drama - 2015, 54 episodes
While it certainly is a ficticious illness, the end result is death. It's a big aspect of the main male lead's character.
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13. O Inigualável
Korean Drama - 2021, 16 episodes
The main FLs all have terminal illnesses.
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14. Paixão Incontrolável
Korean Drama - 2016, 20 episodes
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15. Perfume de Uma Mulher
Korean Drama - 2011, 16 episodes
I really liked this one. Great characters.
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16. Trinta, Mas Dezessete
Korean Drama - 2018, 32 episodes
Not terminal illness, but rather a female lead who wakes up from a 17 year long coma. The reason for the coma was a bus accident and it focuses on her getting back into society after she wakes up.
It's for the most part light and quite good.
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17. Um Convite de Casamento
Chinese Movie - 2013
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18. Um Mundo Maravilhoso
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
Not terminal illness, but one of the main characters falls into a coma. The series revolves around finding out what exactly happened. It also explores the impact severe bullying can have.