Movies like The Law of Asuras (2012)
The best movies like The Law of Asuras (2012) are The Yakuza (1974), Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Sympathy for the Underdog (1971). If The Law of Asuras hooked you with its crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedChocolate (2008)7.3/10 from 587 votes
- NewestBad City (2022)Released 2022
- In JapaneseTokyo Drifter (1966)Also in Japanese
The Yakuza (1974)
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Drifter (1966)
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSympathy for the Underdog (1971)
A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGraveyard of Honor (1975)
A self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the yakuza but quickly loses his self-control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Yakuza Tale (1973)
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStreet Mobster (1972)
After serving time, a defiant street thug is incensed to find his town overrun by two yakuza factions. He gathers his crew and takes them on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outsider (2018)
A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Return of Sister Street Fighter (1975)
When Koryu's childhood friend Shurei is abducted by gangsters, the desperate young woman recruits a female martial artist and a tough-as-nails stranger to join her for a dangerous rescue mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBranded to Kill (1967)
After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYouth of the Beast (1963)
When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo's underworld explodes with violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead or Alive (1999)
Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad City (2022)
Kensuke Sonomura directs the legendary Hitoshi Ozawa in this ultimate V-Cinema actioner. Kaiko City is plagued with poverty and crime. When a corrupt businessman decides to run for mayor and starts eliminating opponents from the rival mafia, a former police captain serving time for murder is secretly released and put in charge of a special task force to arrest him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
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 crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981)
A high-school girl inherits a declining yakuza organization, which seeks to repair its fortunes under her leadership.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeyond Outrage (2012)
As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now become a nationwide war in Outrage Beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrows Zero (2007)
The students of Suzuran High compete for the King of School title. An ex-graduate yakuza is sent to kill the son of a criminal group, but he can't make himself do it as he reminds him of his youth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Tribe (2014)
In an alternate Japan, territorial street gangs form opposing factions collectively known as the Tokyo Tribes. Merra, leader of the Wu-Ronz tribe of Bukuro, joins forces with heavy-hitting gangster Buppa of Buppa Town. With Buppa's support, Merra aims to initiate a gang war between the Wu-Ronz and the Musashino Saru, and in a confrontation between the two attempts to kill Kai of the Musashino Saru. The inadvertent murder of Kai's friend Tera (a Musashino Saru member beloved by all Tribes since before their formation) leads to the joining of forces between all of the Tribes in an all-out war against Merra and Buppa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Private Police (1969)
After the war, Kijima (Bunta Sugawara) returns to Tokyo where he meets Ôba (Noboru Andô), an Ex-Kamikaze pilot, and the two ruffians gather hooligans to join their group. In Ginza, the Togawa gang have taken over Sakurada's territory. After several fights Kijima and Ôba gain control of the territory by chasing out the notorious Togawa Group in the name of Sakurada. But Kijima is arrested for assaulting an American soldier. A few years pass. Kijima has served his prison term and the sears of war have been erased from Ginza. Ôba is now president of a company specializing in collection of bad debts, cheque frauds and everything that means money. People call their organization the “Private Police,” and Kijima begins to work for Ôba. Now the Takegami gang waits a chance to seize the Ginza territory.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Gozu (2003)
Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoughneck From Asama (1958)
When Boss Juzo's Shinmachi Yakuza family struck fear into the hearts of his adversaries, Boss Shohei's Okabe Yakuza family with a merciless gang of raiders, Itaro of Asama was missing. With the courage of a lion he had gone off to face the enemy and settle the score all by himself. As a result he had to take the blame in place of Boss Shohei, and went off to adventures on his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Chocolate (2008)
Zen, an autistic teenage girl with powerful martial arts skills, gets money to pay for her sick mother Zin's treatment by seeking out all the people who owe Zin money and making them pay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisViolent Island: Dirty Money Hijack (1992)
In the scorching heat of Okinawa, former lovers meet. Now, he is a gangster on a mission, she is a window trying to protect what is hers. Together, they get caught in the crossfire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Semi: Nakanai Semi (2003)
A taxi driver becomes involved in the world of the mafia & their wars.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Chameleon (TBA)
In early 2000's in Sapporo, Japan. Filipino transgender dancer Marie becomes entangled with the dangerous underbelly of the criminal world after an immigration raid pulls her into the orbit of the deadly Yakuza.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Yakuza Ladies Revisited: Love is Hell (1994)
The seventh movie of the series “Yakuza Ladies” focuses on a wife of a small Osaka family. She risks her life to protect her husband’s family and its members against much larger, more established organizations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Tales of a Gunman: The Man Without Tomorrow (1960)
The fourth film in the Tales of a Gunman series. When Ryuji throws his pistol into the sea, he is attacked by a man who calls himself Sabu and says that he is the younger brother of Colt Jo's killer. When Ryuji escaped difficulties with one blow knocking out the enemy's weapon, Sabu reveals that Colt Jo is in the hospital in Gifu. Ryuji decides to visit his old enemy. However, he does not know that this is a trap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Law of Asuras?
The closest matches to The Law of Asuras are The Yakuza (1974), Tokyo Drifter (1966) and Sympathy for the Underdog (1971). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Law of Asuras?
Start with The Yakuza (1974), the closest match to The Law of Asuras.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Law of Asuras?
Chocolate (2008), rated 7.3/10 by 587 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Law of Asuras?
Bad City (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Law of Asuras?
Yes: Tokyo Drifter (1966), Sympathy for the Underdog (1971) and Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973).
How are movies similar to The Law of Asuras chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Law of Asuras, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.