Swapped, Possessed, or Sharing a Head

Father-son swap (prime minister + college-aged son)

• Genre: political-ish comedy
• Pros: great cast; quick snappy writing
• Cons: very Japanese wordplay-based humor, shouldn't be your first J-drama
• Recommendation: excellent silly Freaky Friday. god I love this show

Coworker share (detective + lab rat fuse into superhero)

• Genre: tokusatsu detective comedy
• Pros: unarguably one of the best Kamen Rider series, good first toku series for someone that's never watched toku
• Cons: very monster-of-the-week toku, divisive female lead
• Recommendation: definitely for toku fans and anyone curious about Kamen Rider's 50-year history

Strangers-to-friends swap (gangster + high school student)

• Genre: action comedy with a bit of romance
• Pros: snappy action scenes, hilarious while still a solid story
• Cons: first act leans too much on fat jokes
• Recommendation: great swap/mob movie

K-drama adaptation of the movie

Strangers-to-friends possession (extroverted ghost periodically possesses introverted musician)

• Genre: music melodrama
• Pros: music integrated really well, gorgeous shot composition and color correction
• Cons: if it doesn't hook you in the beginning, it might be long and dull
• Recommendation: for anyone wanting a body swap played straight and serious but still not too heavy

Enemies-to-friends possession (timid man possessed by four demons)

• Genre: tokusatsu ensemble comedy
• Pros: hilarious group chemistry
• Cons: overarching plot is...bad. Weak at best.
• Recommendation: for anyone wanting a hearty laugh. If you're on the fence, watch episode 15 first as a sampler, trust me.

Rival swap (popular + unpopular student)

• Genre: supernatural school mystery thriller
• Pros: solid YA story about body image and social opinion
• Cons: has some anime-esque cliches (originally a shoujo manga)
• Recommendation: great, quick watch for more of a serious take to body swapping

Enemies-to-bros possession (cop + disembodied conman)

• Genre: cop comedy with a touch of romance
• Pros: great leads and fun acting
• Cons: backloaded the mystery, making the third act mostly a detective show and all but discarding the female lead
• Recommendation: if you're looking for great bromance with a decent mystery

Strangers-to-friends swap (ambitious anchorwoman and doting housewife)

• Genre: sci-fi-ish comedy
• Pros: maybe THE best swap acting I've ever seen, and so many great women
• Cons: story's not that great; linguistical inaccuracies 
• Recommendation: if you're looking for sismance and no romance--nay, this even has a negative amount of romance (which was ideal for me)

Rivals-to-friends/coworker possession (disembodied stuck-up surgeon and ghost-seeing hotshot newbie)

• Genre: medical dramedy w/ ghosts
• Pros: interesting story and relationships
• Cons: besides the possession aspect, nothing much more than your basic K-drama; sloppy continuity between shots
• Recommendation: for fans of ghost antics, lighter medical dramas, and/or the lead actors

Enemy swap (rich pilot + lowlife actor)

• Genre: suspense drama w/ occasional action
• Pros: gripping characters w/ great redemption arc and good ending
• Cons: first act is way more soapy and a melodramatic slog; hard music cuts kill the mood
• Recommendation: really surprised me and made me real glad I stuck with it, if you can handle long lakorn

Enemies-to-lovers swap (idol + entertainment reporter)

• Genre: romcom, heavy on the rom
• Pros: very very good swap acting; ML is one of only four people that I've ever thought was cute
• Cons: problems happen all at once at the end and then got solved off-screen; essentially not a body swap for the last act
• Recommendation: for body swap fans that want actors to just do it right for once, fluffy romantics, and/or Secret Garden fans.

Stranger possession (student can jump between his original body and an "empty" one)

• Genre: school sci-fi mystery
• Pros: endearing characters and interesting mystery
• Cons: it's probably not worth this high of a rating. It's like a guilty pleasure that I like this so much. Don't think it's that accurate to the original webtoon
• Recommendation: I personally love it enough, so if you don't mind the kinda cheap production and wonky dubbing, give it a shot!

Strangers-to-lovers swap (emperor and palace maid)

• Genre: historical romcom but mostly com
• Pros: great humor (I still think of the cooking montage in episode 2 to this day)
• Cons: the last four episodes...........
• Recommendation: very good silly fun

Ensemble possession (man possessed by four ghosts)

• Genre: supernatural romcom
• Pros: lovely little romance
• Cons: you're either gonna love or hate the humor
• Recommendation: I went into this already critical as its very similar to my favorite movie (Heart and Souls, 1993), but it held its own and was good in its own way!

Remake of the Korean movie of the same name

Spirit medium possession (college student reluctantly helps shinigami solve ghost problems)

• Genre: Paranormal romcom manga adaptation
• Pros: fun characters; only nine episodes but still keeps the formula fresh the whole time
• Cons: I'm iffy about the lead actor
• Recommendation: a great find for possession comedy fans, or if you like Fukushi Sota

Sibling swap (20-something brother & sister)

• Genre: YouTube miniseries dramedy
• Pros: realistic siblings; the show utilizes its time and resources well; actually funny movie references
• Cons: vague swap mechanic and handwaved details
• Recommendation: I recommend! I was pleasantly surprised by this nice and simple webseries

Colleague share (villains from main series in same body)

• Genre: tokusatsu comedy/drama
• Pros: one of the best Kamen Rider side stories I've seen; Heart half very funny, then Mach half unexpectedly hit close to home
• Cons: you're not gonna understand most of this without watching the main series Kamen Rider Drive
• Recommendation: must-see V-cinema for Drive fans! Drive is a fun series for episodic police procedural toku: it's not one of my favorite KRs because others shine more, but it's maybe the most consistent with every episode of consistent quality.

Father-son share (depressed son + recently deceased absent father)

• Genre: family/youth light drama
• Pros: people TALK to each other! Finally, not staunchly keeping it a secret for no real reason and just avoiding telling anyone for a little bit out of awkwardness before gaining confidants!
• Cons: since sharing a body, their emotions are jumbled, and they swap whenever they feel too discordant, like son feeling his father's love for his mother, going "that's not right," and swaps out with his father. It doesn't ever go too far, and it's not really played for laughs, but still :/ feels gross at times
• Recommendation: I still recommend it! It's a short fun show that takes unexpected turns, and characters actually talking to people about their swap predicament is a rare treat. However, if you didn't like Himitsu, maybe skip this one.

Strangers-to-friends swap (child welfare social worker + yakuza boss)

• Genre: slapstick-ish comedy w/ a bit of life drama
• Pros: so goofy and fun with varied situations
• Cons: the Don Quixote metaphor is stretched a bit thin? It's not a problem, it's just a little strange. Also I sometimes got annoyed with the main character's decisions
• Recommendation: a great time and a great choice for when you want a Japanese comedy

Rivals-to-cohorts possession (ghost possesses ghost-seeing woman)

• Genre: paranormal cooking romcom
• Pros: good acting; good integration of food and the restaurant; there's a corgi
• Cons: strange camera framing; third quarter drags
• Recommendation: nothing too unique or outstanding but still a solid K-drama

Remake of the K-drama of the same name

Enemy swap (lawyer + death row convict)

• Genre: law mystery drama
• Pros: good character arc; solid ending
• Cons: more of a law series w/ body swapping rather than a body swap series; didn't quite live up to expectations
• Recommendation: definitely check it out if you like law dramas or want a serious swap not played for comedy

[spoiler] [spoiler] (college student intrigued by two polar opposite "twins")

• Genre: tragic-ish romance
• Pros: short n simple sweet story
• Cons: doesn't look the greatest
• Recommendation: if you want a light bittersweet gay romance

Alien share (alien hides in college student's body)

• Genre: sci-fi action comedy w/ little thriller and romance
• Pros: creative cinematography, better effects than expected, good physical acting
• Cons: main alien's CGI is the weakest; story's nothing new, especially second half which gets action generic; FL has one expression
• Recommendation: it's Parasyte boiled down and simplified, which was fun because I like Parasyte but up to you if you want to watch another symbiosis bromance. It is fun, though, and not that long

Stalker possession (incel possesses his crush but...)

• Genre: psychological mystery
• Pros: clever little story that gets in your head; creative filmography
• Cons: a few too many miscommunication/apology cycles
• Recommendation: for an interesting psychosexual queer time 

Stranger possession (female mangaka dies and possesses some guy, told from the POV of her assistant/admirer)

• Genre: romcom drama/tragedy
• Pros: has a twist that made me the most excited I'd been that year; music cue jokes simple but still done very well; great character arc for ML; excellent title card drops
• Cons: strong secondhand embarrassment in the beginning
• Recommendation: if you love a tragic doomed love story or just like Matsuzaka Tori, definitely give this a try

Enemy swap (detective + prime murder suspect) [called Heaven and Hell: Soul Exchange on US Netflix]

• Genre: murder mystery thriller w/ a touch of comedy
• Pros: big name lead actors; interesting mystery; minor queer subtext that, while it doesn't do anything with it, is still nice to see
• Cons: the symbolism is SO heavy-handed; not a perfect swap in terms of acting; takes place during Covid and that's a plot point, so take into account how you feel about that
• Recommendation: for fans of serial killer mysteries, Takahashi Issei, and/or Ayase Haruka

Announced adaptation of the J-drama Tengoku to Jigoku

Spirit possession (disembodied coma patient leaps from life to life playing Cupid)

• Genre: semi-anthology romantic melodrama w/ touch of comedy
• Pros: a very nice time
• Cons: nothing much more than that; first story is weakest and weirdly anti-abortion?
• Recommendation: a very enjoyable movie for when one love story per movie isn't enough

Serial killer/spirit medium possession (serial killer enthusiast possessed by dead killer)

• Genre: paranormal cat-and-mouse police thriller
• Pros: first half so so good!
• Cons: second half so so bad...
• Recommendation: I don't know.............

Adaptation of the novel of the same name

Father-daughter swap (classic Freaky Friday flip)

• Genre: family/generational comedy
• Pros: better than the 2007 adaptation; completely removes the rival woman character; has a new fun twist
• Cons: focuses more on daughter's crush, taking time away from the father-daughter development; added social media subplot that doesn't resolve into anything
• Recommendation: a very classic swap story that you've probably seen before if you're on this list, but an alright show for swap fans

Adaptation of the novel of the same name

Father-daughter swap (classic Freaky Friday swap)

• Genre: family/generational dramedy
• Pros: good boyfriend character
• Cons: horrible 'jealous other woman' character
• Recommendation: if you were to only watch one of these, maybe watch the other, 2022 one, unless you're really fixing for a 2007 J-drama

Adaptation of the book Colorful

Adaptation of the book Colorful

Adaptation of the book Colorful

Adaptation of K-drama Secret Garden

Strangers-to-lovers swap (CEO + stuntwoman)

• Genre: romcom
• Pros: only movie length and not 20+ hours
• Cons: flimsy substance and pacing; more of an homage than its own movie
• Recommendation: Sure, go for it. I liked it more than the K-drama. 

Strangers-to-enemies-to-lovers swap (CEO + stuntwoman)

• Genre: comedic romance K-drama
• Pros: one of the most prolific K-dramas in the USA at the time; pretty good reveal scene
• Cons: has not aged well. I'm not a romantic, but a lot of this guy's actions seem less "romantic" and more "a crime"; don't swap until episode 5 or so
• Recommendation: if you have nostalgia for 2010 Hallyu or watched Boys Over Flowers (K-drama version) and/or The Master's Sun back in the day, go ahead. Also I guess if you're interested in K-drama throughout the years. I know this is like THE body swap Asian drama, but there's better ones out there. I don't know why I even rated it this high when all my memories of it are mediocre-to-fine at best.

Remake of K-drama Secret Garden

Enemies swap (cop + snuff film director)

• Genre: psychological police torture thriller
• Pros: mad respect to anything that'll play around and do something different with the swap trope
• Cons: besides that, just a middle-of-the-road police movie
• Recommendation: Seen too many body swaps and want something new? Have I got the twisted little movie for you!

Friends-to-lovers/ensemble swap (reformed delinquent boy + ace student girl + most other characters)

• Genre: manga adaptation school supernatural romcom
• Pros: rewritten/redesigned to work okay as a J-drama while still staying close enough to the original
• Cons: kinda corny and cliched adaptation even still
• Recommendation: I recommend you read the original manga of the same name. I adore it, it's so fun, and it has probably the most individual body swaps in a single story, and that's just the power of ONE of the witches. I think I'd only meaningfully recommend the J-drama to fans of the manga