100 Best Foreign Shows on Netflix Right Now

Based on a novel, A Perfect Story feels like a classic, straightforward romcom series. All of the elements are familiar to fans of the genre – running away from a wedding, bar meet-cutes, and fake relationships – but there’s a certain charm whenever these familiar elements show up. The show alternates between the timelines of Margot and David, taking its sweet time in the first episode before their timelines merge. And when they catch each other’s eye, it’s easy to root for these well-meaning characters looking for their match. While the story could be easily condensed into a film, the length allows the main duo to delve into a slowburn, friends-to-lovers romance.

After the success of the 2017 series Strong Woman Do Bong-soon, it makes sense to try to recreate the same magic through a spin-off. Strong Girl Nam-soon has plenty of the same elements that made the original a success – the wacky humor, the love triangle with a cop and a CEO male leads, crimes to solve, and of course, the girl with superpowered strength. However, unlike the romcom approach of the original series, this spin-off is more of a family drama, as the titular strong girl gets lost in Mongolia at a young age – leading to the split of her parents, and the focus on that family dynamic. It still is able to balance the crime element too, with the family’s vigilantism. While the humor can sometimes feel forced, Strong Girl Nam-soon keeps what’s great with the original, but rewrites its plot points to have a more natural and understandable background.

When a loved one dies in front of you, immediately, suddenly, and unexpectedly, the normal reaction is to freak out. Tore portrays a man, who, upon that death, turns back to his work, focusing on the logistics of the event his company is hosting. Tore’s grief isn’t the histrionics we’re used to– instead, it spurs him to seek out experiences that he’s not used to, given that he’s still living in his parents’ house at 27. This strange disconnect is compelling to watch, as the show studies the way he avoids anything related to the death, just to keep his normal demeanor, in a steady and economical way. It makes for a unique and honest depiction of grief that still packs an emotional punch.

With a turbulent publication history – rebooting three times with three separate publishers – the Netflix adaptation of Akuma Kun doesn’t have the exact same plot or protagonists. Instead of the original Shingo Umoregi from the 60s manga and 80s anime, this show hands it off to Shingo’s successor and son Ichiro, who conducts the same magical experiments but also investigates rogue paranormal activity. However, this anime doesn’t stray too far from the original, taking inspiration from the 60s with its ink scratched art style, and even calling back the original director and voice actors. It makes for a weird and quirky supernatural series that stands out from today’s anime, while still honoring the original creator, the late Shigeru Mizuki, on his 100th birthday.

Modern dating can seem so frustrating, because it feels like there’s a set of nebulous, unwritten rules behind it, and every single player in the game has different levels of awareness and variations to each rule. Turn to Me Mukai-kun depicts this through the titular office worker, who happens to be out of the dating scene for ten years. As he tries to go back into the dating market, he’s well-meaning, but totally ignorant, so he stumbles at certain moments in his quest to cease his loneliness. It’s very relatable, and Eiji Akaso’s doe-eyed cluelessness makes Mukai seem more endearing than foolish. While there are certain moments that falter, and certain relationships that lack a spark, Turn to Me Mukai-kun is a lighthearted yet unpredictable dorama that might charm you into binge-watching the whole series.

Today’s child pop stars have a lot on their plate. On top of the already strenuous touring schedule, they have to deal with the fact that every move they make can be recorded, saved, and spread online just to cause their own downfall. Brazilian popstar Luisa Sonza grew up with the spotlight, and at the ripe old age of 25, has gone through two messy break-ups, a nude leak, and a racist controversy, all while creating two of her most captivating albums so far. If I Were Luisa Sonza portrays her at her most vulnerable– through the creating process, and the team meetings, and the doctor visits– but also at her most defiant, as she turns her scandals into art. The resulting intimate documentary might just be one part of her life, as she declares, but it’s just the precise viewpoint from this generation’s artists that is needed to question what it means to be a young artist in this day and age.

From Me to You: Kimi ni Todoke is a high school romance drama. It’s sweet, it’s wholesome, and it’s comfortingly familiar. It leans more on its romance than its comedy. It doesn’t have high stakes fantasy or action-packed battles, but it captures the high school experience in such a lovely way. Of course, the show would likely reach its romantic happy ending, but what makes the show compelling isn’t just the thrill of connecting with a crush– it’s the inspiration for Sawako to open up, and enable her to connect and have friends. The live action adaptation may not fully capture everything from the original and it speeds through the plot, but it retains the parts that make it work, even for viewers totally unfamiliar with the story.

Part court drama, part medical procedural, and part detective mystery, The Apothecary Diaries is the sort of anime that easily handles multiple genres and does it so well. With the insatiably curious Maomao investigating certain court ailments as a poison tester, it naturally creates a new mystery of the week, all deduced from her apothecary beginnings and her life in the red light district. It’s also integrated well into the main plot, as Maomao’s whole promotion starts from her sense of justice, with each mystery carefully revealing the court dynamics, various motivations each player has, and how the overall world of this Imperial China-inspired court operates. The Apothecary Diaries ties it all together with excellent writing.

With Sweet Home and Stranger Things, we weren’t surprised that Netflix opted to create a live-action Parasyte, but we were surprised it comes from the other side of the sea. Based on the iconic Japanese manga, Parasyte: The Grey is a Korean spin-off with different characters but the same titular aliens, with a more serious approach to the concept. The series alternates between the Grey Team, the leading government agency that aims to eradicate the alien parasites at all cost, and with Jeong Su-in, who, like the original Shinichi Izumi, co-exists with her parasite, as they try to figure out their strange existence. Fans of the original might be disappointed at the lack of humor, but some viewers might appreciate the unflinching, gruesome way The Grey deals with the parasitic nature of human society, as well as the gross and scary transformations these aliens make of their hosts.

At first glance, 1670 seems to be a historical drama, with the actors dressed in fairly historically accurate attire, and the show being set in the titular year, just around after the late Middle Ages. However, the first few scenes disabuse us of the notion, as the eccentric Jan Paweł routinely breaks the fourth wall in order to introduce us to the family. While the sets and the costumes are of its time, the approach and events are not, as 1670 plays out like a reality TV show, with candid shots and interviews introducing the weird and fame-obsessed village inhabitants, satirically depicting modern day scenarios with a historical flair. While some of the jokes seem Polish-specific and they rely on breaking the fourth wall a bit too often, 1670 is a funny reminder of how good things currently are, and how silly we remain, through resituating modern petty grievances in medieval times.