Movies like 武蔵と小次郎 (1952)
The best movies like 武蔵と小次郎 (1952) are Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956), Crazy Samurai Musashi (2020) and Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955). If 武蔵と小次郎 hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYojimbo (1961)8.1/10 from 1,789 votes
- NewestKubi (2023)Released 2023
- In JapaneseSamurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)Also in Japanese
Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrazy Samurai Musashi (2020)
In 1604, Miyamoto Musashi attacked the Yoshioka family at their dojo and defeated master Seijūrō and his younger brother Denshichirō in two duels. To save their reputation, the Yoshioka family decides to fight back with all 100 family members and hire an additional 300 samurai. Now Musashi sets out to defeat all 400 enemies in his most famous battle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSamurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school's followers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGate of Hell (1953)
Japan, 1159. Moritō, a brave samurai, performs a heroic act by rescuing the lovely Kesa during a violent uprising. Moritō falls in love with her, but becomes distraught when he finds out that she is married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYojimbo (1961)
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhen a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
Keiko, whom everyone calls Mama, narrates her story: she's a hostess on the Ginza, 30, a widow. She describes life's vicious cycle: acting cheerful around drunks, dressing and living well to convey confidence, needing money for these expenses and for her demanding mother and brother, and knowing she's growing older.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCrows Zero II (2009)
Genji and his victorious G.P.S. alliance find themselves facing down a new challenge by the students of Hosen Academy, feared by everyone as 'The Army of Killers.' The two schools, in fact, have a history of bad blood between them. And the simmering embers of hatred are about to flare up again, burning away any last remnants of the truce they had so rigorously observed until now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this47 Ronin (2013)
Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSakuran (2006)
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmperor (2012)
As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTenchu! (1969)
A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHere Comes the Boom (2012)
A high school biology teacher moonlights as a mixed-martial arts fighter in an effort to raise money to save the school's music program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Outlaw Samurai (1964)
Shiba, a wandering ronin, encounters a band of peasants who have kidnapped the daughter of their dictatorial magistrate, in hopes of coercing from him a reduction in taxes. Shiba takes up their fight, joined by two renegades from the magistrate's guard, Sakura and Kikyo. The three outlaws find themselves in a battle to the death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKubi (2023)
Lord Oda Nobunaga plans to control Japan where rival warlords battle by waging war against several clans. His vassal Araki Murashige stages a rebellion and promptly disappears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Ball: Mystical Adventure (1988)
Master Roshi has succeeded at the one mission he valued most: to train Goku and Krillin to become ultimate fighters. So, he arranges for them to test their mettle at a competition hosted by Emperor Chiaotzu. Not everyone's playing by the rules, however, as a member of the ruler's household schemes to use the Dragonballs to extort money and power from the royal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kingdom of Dreams and Madness (2013)
Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)
At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 47 Ronin (1941)
In the early 18th-century, Lord Takumi-no-kami Asano, feuding with Lord Kira, tries to kill his opponent in the corridors of the Shogun's palace. The Shogun sentences Asano to seppuku and deprives the palace and lands from his clan, but does not punish Kira. Asano's vassals leave the land and his samurais become ronin and want to seek revenge against the Lord's dishonour. But their leader Kuranosuke Oishi seeks to restore the Asano clan with his brother Daigaku Asano. One year later, the Shogun refuses, and Oishi and 46 rōnin are out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like 武蔵と小次郎 and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 武蔵と小次郎?
The closest matches to 武蔵と小次郎 are Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956), Crazy Samurai Musashi (2020) and Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 武蔵と小次郎?
Start with Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956), the closest match to 武蔵と小次郎.
What is the highest-rated movie like 武蔵と小次郎?
Yojimbo (1961), rated 8.1/10 by 1,789 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 武蔵と小次郎?
Kubi (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like 武蔵と小次郎?
Yes: Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956), Crazy Samurai Musashi (2020) and Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955).
How are movies similar to 武蔵と小次郎 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 武蔵と小次郎, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.