Movies like Kudokiya Joe (1994)
The best movies like Kudokiya Joe (1994) are The Magic Hour (2008), Adrift in Tokyo (2007) and The Great Yokai War (2005). If Kudokiya Joe hooked you with its comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedContract Killer (1998)7.1/10 from 286 votes
- NewestLaid-Back Camp the Movie (2022)Released 2022
- In JapaneseThe Magic Hour (2008)Also in Japanese
The Magic Hour (2008)
A hustler who gets in trouble with a gang boss in the port town of Sukago agrees to make good with the don by putting him in contact with a mysterious hitman — an assassin the hustler has no idea how to contact. Instead, he hires an actor to play the role, though the thespian has no idea what he's getting into.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdrift in Tokyo (2007)
A thug offers to pay a law student's gambling debt if the student will accompany him on a trip across Tokyo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Yokai War (2005)
A young boy with a troubled home life becomes "chosen," and he stumbles into the middle of a great war of yōkai (a class of mythological creatures), where he meets a group of friendly yōkai who become his companions through his journey. Now he must fight to protect his friends and free the world of the yōkai from oppression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: Action Kamen VS Leotard Devil (1993)
Everyone's favorite TV superhero Action Mask shows up in Kasukabe, and he's trying to get something from Shin-chan -- but what could it be?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fable (2019)
The Fable is a legendary yakuza hitman equal to none—but his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKill! (1968)
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonday (2000)
A simple funeral turns a man's world Topsy turvy. He wakes up in a posh hotel room, totally clueless about how he got there. Slowly, he recalls what happened a day before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1999)
In dreamlike mountain scenery, Toshiko makes a daring escape from her sexually warped Uncle Sonezaki. Fortunately, she met Samehada as she runs for her life, which is also escaping from some slayers. What follows is a wild chase that leads the audience into a comically violent world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsychic Kusuo (2017)
Born a powerful psychic, high schooler Kusuo Saiki craves the simple life. But the weirdos in his class make it difficult to conceal his abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYo-kai Watch: The Movie - The Great Adventure of the Flying Whale & the Double World, Meow! (2016)
A giant whale appears and flies above Sakura New Town. With the whale’s sound of crying, some changes occur to Kenta Amano and Yokai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYo-kai Watch: The Movie (2014)
When the evil Yo-Kai Kin, Gin and Bronzlow makes the Yo-Kai Watch disappear from time so they can help Dame Dedtime prevent humans and Yo-Kai from being friends, Nate Adams finds help in the Yo-Kai Hovernyan, who takes Nate, Whisper and Jibanyan 60 years to the past, when the Yo-Kai Watch was first invented by Nate's grandfather, Nathaniel Adams, while he was a boy. Together, the 2 boys fight Dame Dedtime and her evil Wicked Yo-Kai minions to save the world from her evil plans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMetal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987)
Ace female test pilot Kusomoto Elle humiliates macho tank driver Lt. Kilgore in the first demonstration of the advanced personal battle tank, the MADOX. Kilgore vows revenge, and gets his chance when the army rather carelessly loses the prototype in Tokyo. The MADOX is found by engineering student Sujimoto Kouji, who doesn't take the time to completely read the manual and ends up zooming around Tokyo trapped in a machine he doesn't quite know how to operate. Guess who gets the job of stopping the now mobile missing MADOX? Poor Kouji. If he's late for his date, it's over between him and his girlfriend. His current attire redefines the term "over-dressed." And to top it all off, Kilgore wants to make him late- as in "the late Kouji!"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: The Legend Called: Dance! Amigo! (2006)
Something sinister's afoot in Kasukabe. Shin-chan doesn't know what it is, but he's pretty sure it involves samba-dancing doppelgängers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: My Moving Story! Cactus Attack! (2015)
The Noharas must survive a hoard of man-eating killer cacti after Shin-chan's father relocates the family to Mexico for work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
A movie within a movie, created to spoof the martial arts genre. Writer/director Steve Oedekerk uses contemporary characters and splices them into a 1970s kung-fu film, weaving the new and old together. As the main character, The Chosen One, Oedekerk sets off to avenge the deaths of his parents at the hands of kung-fu legend Master Pain. Along the way he encounters some strange characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (2013)
Reiji Kikukawa, who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan to set him up as an undercover cop in the Yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonster Family 2 (2021)
To free Baba Yaga and Renfield from the clutches of Monster Hunter Mila Starr, the Wishbone Family once more transforms into a Vampire, Frankenstein's Monster, a Mummy and a Werewolf but when aided by their three pet bats, the Monster Family zooms around the world again to save their friends, make new monstrous acquaintances.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLaid-Back Camp the Movie (2022)
Your favorite cozy camping anime returns with a movie as the former members of the Outdoors Club get together again, this time to build a campsite! Reunite with Nadeshiko, Rin, Chiaki, Aoi, and Ena as they gather around the campfire once more with good food and good company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragon Ball: Yo! Son Goku and His Friends Return!! (2008)
Following the defeat of Majin Buu, Son Goku and friends travel to Mr. Satan's newly-opened hotel for an all-you-can-eat banquet, when they are paid a visit by Vegeta's younger brother Tarble. They are informed by Tarble that the terrible brother duo of Abo and Cado have terrorized his planet and are on their way to Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: The Secret Treasure of Buri Buri Kingdom (1994)
The Noharas win a vacation to the Kingdom of Buri Buri -- but the whole thing was just a clever ploy by an evil organization to kidnap Shin-chan!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Heist (1995)
Two petty gangsters get ransomed by a group of Yakuza members, fortunately they are rescued by a kindly Kindergarten teacher.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!! The Escape (1995)
Hapless gangsters are hired by the yakuza to tail his daughter. Once the identity of the boy she's dating has been unveiled, the boss offers a reward for his capture.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Party 7 (2000)
Seven characters, introduced at the start of the film, get thrown together into the same hotel room: a thief who's stolen a suitcase of money from the mob, his ex-girlfriend, her obsessive boyfriend, the mob soldier sent to retrieve the briefcase, another mobster sent to kill them, master voyeur Captain Banana and his new apprentice, The Mister Yellow. Who will end up with the money?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Adrenaline Drive (1999)
A gas leak explosion at a yakuza hideout provides a shy nurse and a rental car clerk with the opportunity to take a briefcase full of money. A cross-country chase ensues.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Fudoh: The New Generation (1996)
In order to settle a business dispute, a mob leader murders one of his own teenage sons. The surviving son vows to avenge his brother's death, and organizes his own gang of teenage killers to destroy his father's organization.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPostman Blues (1997)
Sawaki is a postman who's not quite thrilled about his boring way of life. But his life is about to change when he delivers mail to his old schoolmate Noguchi, who's now a member of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia, and just finished cutting his little finger off.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisContract Killer (1998)
Financially troubled, a newbie hitman reluctantly takes the job of finding the plotted killer of a Japanese tycoon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYakuza: Like a Dragon (2007)
Former yakuza underling Kazuma Kiryū has recently been released from prison after a lengthy incarceration and is trying to piece his life together and distance himself from his yakuza past. Unfortunately, Kiryū's problems slowly escalate as he is pursued by a former associate, the baseball-bat-wielding psycho Gorō Majima, who has a grudge to settle with Kiryū.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Viper Brothers (1971)
After spending several years in prison, yakuza punk Masa (Bunta Sugawara) and his underling, Katsuji (Tamio Kawachi) are back out in the mean streets of Kobe to make a name for themselves amongst the local yakuza organization.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Kudokiya Joe and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Kudokiya Joe?
The closest matches to Kudokiya Joe are The Magic Hour (2008), Adrift in Tokyo (2007) and The Great Yokai War (2005). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Kudokiya Joe?
Start with The Magic Hour (2008), the closest match to Kudokiya Joe.
What is the highest-rated movie like Kudokiya Joe?
Contract Killer (1998), rated 7.1/10 by 286 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Kudokiya Joe?
Laid-Back Camp the Movie (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Kudokiya Joe?
Yes: The Magic Hour (2008), Adrift in Tokyo (2007) and The Great Yokai War (2005).
How are movies similar to Kudokiya Joe chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Kudokiya Joe, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.





























