The meaning of family
It's my custom list about unconventional families - found families, step-families, families not related by blood, adopted families and so on.
Some shows/movies on the list depict family dynamics - ie. two people treat each other like father and son but don't call each other that way.
Have any recs? Leave a comment below!
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1. Nobody Knows
Korean Drama - 2020, 16 episodes
all kinds of beautiful family-like relationships and friendships between non-blood related people; including (but not limited to): a friendship between a woman and her abused young neighbour, where they behave just like mother and son; brother-like relationship between a boy and his driver; friendship for life from multiple teenagers; subplots like patchwork families etc.
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2. To Be a Better Man
Chinese Drama - 2016, 42 episodes
a man takes care of his dead best friend's daughter and mother
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3. Home Sweet Home
Chinese Movie - 2021
"Family is forever" - Mr. Wang
Just watch it, can't say anything else without spoiling -
4. Avengers Social Club
Korean Drama - 2017, 12 episodes
three women become best friends and help each other (plus a stepson to one of them) feel the familial warmth they long for
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5. The Road Not Taken
Chinese Movie - 2018
depressed man picks up a woman and a child and forms a temporary family with them
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6. Smoking
Japanese Drama - 2018, 12 episodes
found family
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7. One Second
Chinese Movie - 2020
enemies to family-like relationship where Zhang Yi takes care of an orphaned teenage girl
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8. Reborn
Chinese Drama - 2020, 28 episodes
enemies to family-like relationship where Zhang Yi takes care of an orphaned teenage girl
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9. anone
Japanese Drama - 2018, 10 episodes
found family
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10. Where the Wind Settles
Taiwanese Movie - 2015
a soldier picks up an orphaned child and raises him as his own
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11. The Sand Princess
Thai Drama - 2019, 14 episodes
woman takes care of her best friend's child and enters a contract marriage with his brother to protect the child
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12. Wonderful Nightmare
Korean Movie - 2015
FL takes over someone else's body and has to take care of "the other" woman's family
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13. Our Little Sister
Japanese Movie - 2015
three sisters take in their youngest half-sister
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14. Banana Paradise
Taiwanese Movie - 1989
a man assumes identity of a dead man and takes care of his wife and child
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15. Red Family
Korean Movie - 2013
4 people pretend to be family for the sake of their espionage operation
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16. The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion
Korean Movie - 2018
adopted daughter
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17. Beautiful Accident
Chinese Movie - 2017
FL takes over someone else's body and has to take care of "the other" woman's family
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18. Canola
Korean Movie - 2016
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19. So Long, My Son
Chinese Movie - 2019
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20. Adrift in Tokyo
Japanese Movie - 2007
two guys (one older, the other younger) bond over money and form father-son-like relationship
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21. The Way We Are
Hong Kong Movie - 2008
mother and son befriend an elderly lady and form a family-like relationship with her
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22. Imperfect Love
Chinese Drama - 2020, 22 episodes
a woman kidnaps a young girl to protect her from her abusive parents; loose remake of Mother
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23. Coin Locker Girl
Korean Movie - 2015
Kim Hye Soo runs a crime organisation with her adopted "daughter" Il Young
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24. Gibo to Musume no Blues
Japanese Drama - 2018, 10 episodes
stepmother
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25. Dear Tenant
Taiwanese Movie - 2020
a man takes care of son and mother of his deceased boyfriend
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26. Bath Buddy
Chinese Movie - 2020
amnesiac man becomes a "fake" brother
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27. Seirei no Moribito
Japanese Drama - 2016, 4 episodes
a female bodyguard is tasked with protecting and raising a young prince
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28. Go Ahead
Chinese Drama - 2020, 46 episodes
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29. The Dead End
Chinese Movie - 2015
three fugitives take care of a little girl
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30. Kazoku Boshu Shimasu
Japanese Drama - 2021, 9 episodes
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31. Kotaro wa Hitorigurashi
Japanese Drama - 2021, 10 episodes
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32. Balangiga: Howling Wilderness
Filipino Movie - 2017
a young boy picks up an orphaned toddler (warning: sad film)
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33. All about Love
Hong Kong Movie - 2010
4 women, 2 men and 2 infants come together to form a co-family
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34. The Aobas' Dining Table
Japanese Drama - 2018, 4 episodes
found family; unrelated people living together (almost) like a family
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35. The Long Excuse
Japanese Movie - 2016
father-children like relationship
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36. Mamagoto
Japanese Drama - 2016, 8 episodes
mother-son like relationship
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37. Accidental Kidnapper
Japanese Movie - 2010
father-son like relationship
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38. Enjiya
Japanese Drama - 2021, 6 episodes
found family
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39. Bad Family
Korean Drama - 2006, 16 episodes
A group of strangers forms a foster family to help little girl regain her memory
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40. The Great Show
Korean Drama - 2019, 16 episodes
A politician takes in his ex-crush's kids
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41. Welcome 2 Life
Korean Drama - 2019, 32 episodes
ML takes care of his "other timeline" self's kid and wife
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42. Miracle That We Met
Korean Drama - 2018, 18 episodes
ML gets reincarnated into a body of someone else and has to take care of "the other" family (wife and kids)
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43. Mr. Long
Japanese Movie - 2017
an assassin and a lonely young boy become father and son
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44. Lost and Love
Chinese Movie - 2015
father searching for his long lost son and a young man searching for his parents form a father-son like relationship
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45. New Face
Chinese Drama - 2020, 25 episodes
ML has to take care of wife and kids of a man whose identity he assumed (and more)
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46. Kikujiro
Japanese Movie - 1999
father/son-like dynamics embark on a roadtrip looking for boy's mother
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47. All for Love
Chinese Movie - 2012
woman finds a baby on the street and takes care of it
disclaimer: it's rubbish and I do NOT recommend it but I put it here because it fits the theme. Watch at your own risk.
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48. Home Drama
Japanese Drama - 2004, 11 episodes
A group of people move in together and become a multi-generational big family
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49. Bunny Drop
Japanese Movie - 2011
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50. The Aobas' Dining Table
Japanese Movie - 2021
Sequel to The Aobas' Dining Table (webdrama), focuses more on friendship and coming of age rather than found family but the living arrangements from the previous part are still relevant
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51. Record of a Tenement Gentleman
Japanese Movie - 1947
A widow takes in an abandoned kid
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52. Princess Pearl
Chinese Drama - 1998, 24 episodes
an orphan girl becomes sworn sisters with a princess and gets adopted by the emperor
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53. My Mongolian Mother
Chinese Movie - 2010
Set during 1960's when children from poor families were sent to Mongolia to be raised; adopted children/family not related by blood
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54. Kanakana
Japanese Drama - 2022, 28 episodes
former delinquent takes care of a distant relative's neglected child
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55. Nobody Knows
Japanese Movie - 2004
four children live on their own
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56. Miracle in Kasama
Japanese Movie - 2018
young actress takes care of an old farmer; they find a wounded man and begin living together
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57. Shabon Dama
Japanese Movie - 2017
an old woman takes in a young man who saved her life
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58. Fagara
Hong Kong Movie - 2019
three estranged half-sisters
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59. The Defected
Hong Kong Drama - 2019, 30 episodes
subplot; one of the characters takes care of his dead friend's daughter
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60. The Touch of Fate
Taiwanese Movie - 2007
kind of
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61. The Stand-in
Chinese Drama - 2014, 60 episodes
ML pretends to be someone he isn't; has to live with his fake wife and family
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62. Third Time Lucky
Japanese Movie - 2022
woman stumbles upon an amnesiac young man and decides to take him in; also features other relationships like stepmother-stepdaughter
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63. Crime Family
Japanese Drama - 2023, 4 episodes
family-like dynamics
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64. Bokura no Shokutaku
Japanese Drama - 2023, 10 episodes
romance between two men; focuses on daily life and two MLs co-parenting one partner's younger brother
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65. The Rickshaw Man
Japanese Movie - 1958
father-son like dynamics
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66. Homesick
Chinese Drama - 2022, 12 episodes
family with a pinch of Stockholm Syndrome
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67. Ototo no Otto
Japanese Drama - 2018, 3 episodes
a family life of a man, his daughter, and his dead brother's husband
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68. Lighting Up the Stars
Chinese Movie - 2022
man picks up an orhpaned girl
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69. Genkai Danchi
Japanese Drama - 2018, 8 episodes
Stockholm Syndrome family version
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70. The Kidnapping Day
Korean Drama - 2023, 12 episodes
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71. Analog Squad
Thai Drama - 2023, 8 episodes
a group of people pretending to be family
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72. Invincible Stepmother
Chinese Drama - 2023, 24 episodes
a woman transmigrates and has to take care of her "other timeline" stepchildren
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73. Mei no Mei
Japanese Drama - 2023, 6 episodes
uncle takes in his niece
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74. Daughters
Japanese Movie - 2020
two friends (prepare to) co-parent a baby
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75. Legally, Dad
Korean Drama - 2020, 6 episodes
a man "adopts" a child and her older (adult) sister; it focuses more on romance and is an adoption on paper only; not that good (I do not recommend it)
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76. Like Father, Like Son
Japanese Movie - 2013
two boys got mixed up as babies and are raised by families that are not their own
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77. Present Perfect
Thai Movie - 2014
an aunt takes care of her niece
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78. Making Family
Chinese Movie - 2016
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79. Shoplifters
Japanese Movie - 2018
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80. Broker
Korean Movie - 2022
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81. Pawn
Korean Movie - 2020
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82. Be My Family
Chinese Movie - 2023
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83. My Father Is Strange
Korean Drama - 2017, 52 episodes
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84. Everybody Say Kungdari
Korean Drama - 2019, 99 episodes
I 2xed through this so I don't remember details but FL takes in two kids that are not hers
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85. Family by Choice
Korean Drama - 2024, 16 episodes