Movies like Patlabor: One Day of Noa (1992)
The best movies like Patlabor: One Day of Noa (1992) are Megazone 23 (1985), Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026) and Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Earth Symphony (2024). If Patlabor: One Day of Noa hooked you with its animation and science fiction, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRobot Chicken: Star Wars (2007)7.2/10 from 278 votes
- NewestCosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseMegazone 23 (1985)Also in Japanese
Megazone 23 (1985)
A young biker stumbles onto a prototype motorcycle with a hidden function that has a link to the true nature of his world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026)
Iroha's life gets knocked off its orbit when Kaguya, a carefree runaway from the Moon, moves in and convinces her to perform in a virtual world together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDoraemon the Movie: Nobita's Earth Symphony (2024)
When a malevolent entity intent on eradicating music from the world surfaces, Nobita and his friends must unite with supernatural companions to safeguard the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Flash Back 2012 (1987)
Flash Back 2012 is Minmay's farewell concert. Featuring some of her best songs, the music is performed over various scenes and events taken from the first Macross television series as well as Macross: Do You Remember Love film. Also included is a newly animated closing sequence showing the launch of Misa's colony vessel, the Megaroad-01, into space.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeavy Metal (1981)
The embodiment of ultimate evil, a glowing orb terrorizes a young girl with bizarre stories of dark fantasy, eroticism and horror.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 science fiction & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOrigin: Spirits of the Past (2006)
It is 300 years into the future. Earth's environment had been devastated by mankind's own foolish plans and humankind is beleaguered by the sentient forests which they have awoken. The world balance is tipped when a young boy named Agito stumbles across a machine that glowed in a strange blue hue inside a forbidden sanctuary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPatlabor WXIII the Movie (2002)
Set in the year 2000, when the level of Labor accidents begin to escalate around Tokyo Bay, police detectives Kusumi and Hata are assigned to investigate. What they discover leads to a series of government cover-ups, conspiracy concerning a new biological weapon entitled WXIII-Wasted Thirteen and a tragic, personal connection to Hata. The only hope to stop this threat is to cooperate with the military and lead WXIII into a showdown with the Labors of Special Vehicle Division 2.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScarlet (2025)
After failing to avenge her father's murder, Princess Scarlet, wakes up in the "Land of the Dead." In this world filled with madness, if she does not achieve her revenge against her nemesis and reach the "No End Place," she will become "Void" and cease to exist. Can Scarlet find a way to live at the end of her endless journey?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRobot Chicken: Star Wars (2007)
A series of 30 sketches, following the hilarious antics of various characters from a galaxy, far, far away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita and the Steel Troops (1986)
Doraemon and Nobita decide to build a perfect toy robot. However, their creation turns out to be a little more uncanny than an object of appreciation and wonder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoraemon the Movie: Nobita's Little Star Wars 2021 (2022)
During summer vacation Nobita picks up a small rocket containing Papi, a palm-sized alien president escaping rebels on his home planet Pirika.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Piece: Giant Mecha Soldier of Karakuri Castle (2006)
The Straw Hats visits an island, known as Mecha Island, where a fisherman sings an old folk song about a Golden Crown. Searching for that mysterious treasure, they find a hidden entrance into the island. The island's leader, Ratchet, impressed with the find and in search of the Golden Crown himself, invites the crew to join him in his search and the crew along with Ratchet and his henchmen enter the cave. As it turns out, the islands true form, is that of a giant turtle. Ratchet, who had known this all along, uses his mechanical castle to take control of the turtle, in order to use it, to take over the world. Now the Straw Hats have to stop not only Ratchet, but also the helpless turtle, from crashing into a nearby island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMobile Suit Gundam Hathaway (2021)
Twelve years after Char's rebellion, Hathaway Noa leads an insurgency against Earth Federation, but meeting an enemy officer and a mysterious woman alters his fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEVANGELION: DEATH (TRUE)² (1998)
A highly experimental film presenting a story out of chronological order taking place 15 years after a near-apocalyptic catastrophe, about four traumatized 14 year olds who are tasked with piloting massive humanoid decisive weapons called Evangelion, the psychologically maladjusted adults who handle and command them, and the events and forces that affect them or which they take part in as they engage massive hostile invaders known as "Angels."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Giant (2023)
High school student Dai Miyamoto has his life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. Picking up a saxophone and leaving his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, Dai will find that the life of a professional musician isn’t for the faint of heart, as he must confront what it truly means to be great.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCode Geass: Akito the Exiled 4: Memories of Hatred (2015)
While W-0 is away, Leila and the remaining crew at base find themselves surrounded by Britannian Knightmares. Piloting the Vercingetorix, Shin Hyuuga leads the enemy charge, having usurped the position of Grand Master in the Knights of St. Michael. With her core members unavailable, it's up to Leila to protect her comrades, but this may be much tougher than she realizes: a spy lurking among them is finally ready to reveal himself. Left with no choice but to surrender, Leila arranges a meeting with Shin in order to ensure the safety of her squad. But as negotiations begin to fall apart, Akito and an unexpected ally return in the nick of time to turn things around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCat Soup (2001)
The surreal black comedy follows Nyatta, an anthropomorphic kitten, on his travel to the land of the dead and back in an effort to save his sister's soul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPatlabor 2: The Movie (1993)
A Japanese police unit who use giant anthropomorphic robots (called Labors) is caught up in a political struggle between the civilian authorities and the military when a terrorist act is blamed on an Air Force jet. With the aid of a government agent, the team gets close to a terrorist leader to stop things from going out of control when after the military is impelled to impose martial law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGenius Party (2007)
The seven short films making up GENIUS PARTY couldn’t be more diverse, linked only by a high standard of quality and inspiration. Atsuko Fukushima’s intro piece is a fantastic abstraction to soak up with the eyes. Masaaki Yuasa, of MIND GAME and CAT SOUP fame, brings his distinctive and deceptively simple graphic style and dream-state logic to the table with “Happy Machine,” his spin on a child’s earliest year. Shinji Kimura’s spookier “Deathtic 4,” meanwhile, seems to tap into the creepier corners of a child’s imagination and open up a toybox full of dark delights. Hideki Futamura’s “Limit Cycle” conjures up a vision of virtual reality, while Yuji Fukuyama’s "Doorbell" and "Baby Blue" by Shinichiro Watanabe use understated realism for very surreal purposes. And Shoji Kawamori, with “Shanghai Dragon,” takes the tropes and conventions of traditional anime out for very fun joyride.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Patlabor: One Day of Noa?
The closest matches to Patlabor: One Day of Noa are Megazone 23 (1985), Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026) and Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Earth Symphony (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Patlabor: One Day of Noa?
Start with Megazone 23 (1985), the closest match to Patlabor: One Day of Noa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Patlabor: One Day of Noa?
Robot Chicken: Star Wars (2007), rated 7.2/10 by 278 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Patlabor: One Day of Noa?
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Patlabor: One Day of Noa?
Yes: Megazone 23 (1985), Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (2026) and Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Earth Symphony (2024).
How are movies similar to Patlabor: One Day of Noa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Patlabor: One Day of Noa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.