Movies like 元祿美少年記 (1955)
The best movies like 元祿美少年記 (1955) are Chûshingura (1962), Ranma ½ (2011) and Kids Return (1996). If 元祿美少年記 hooked you, these 28 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHarakiri (1962)8.5/10 from 1,324 votes
- NewestA Man (2022)Released 2022
- In JapaneseChûshingura (1962)Also in Japanese
Chûshingura (1962)
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRanma ½ (2011)
Akane is the youngest of three daughters for Soun Tendo. Her father Soun Tendo runs a dojo for martial arts. Akane hopes to carry on her father's dojo into the distant future. Meanwhile, Akane has been selected to marry Ranma, the son of her father's long time friend Genma. Akane and Ranma's relationship has developed into a love and hate relationship. Also, Ranma isn't your typical boy. While on a training journey Ranma fell into the Spring of the Drowned Girl and now changes into a women whenever cold water is splashed on him. Warm water will allow him to revert back to a male. Problems arise when Akane's father declares that the successor to their dojo must be a male. Now, Akane and Ranma (being a man only half of the time) must find a secret spring that can cure him of his curse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKids Return (1996)
Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisThe Makioka Sisters (1983)
This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.
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 thisThe Garden of Words (2013)
Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDemons (1971)
Gengobe Satsuma, an exiled samurai cast out as an Asano clan retainer, is given a second chance to join his brothers in arms to become the 48th Ronin against the Shogunate. His faithful servant gathers the 100 ryo required for his acceptance. Gengobe is also in love with a greedy geisha named Koman. About to be sold to another man, Gengobe learns that in order to keep her, her debt is exactly 100 ryo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHaru (1996)
A young Tokyo businessman joins an online movie forum and develops a special bond with one of its members through back and forth e-mails.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMemoirs of a Geisha (2005)
In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFireworks (1997)
Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With those close to him suffering their own tribulations, Nishi's methods become increasingly extreme.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable – Chapter 1 (2017)
Welcome to idyllic Morioh, whose ocean views and charming townscapes make it a breezy Japanese utopia. But a chain of grisly killings has cast a bloody pall of uncertainty over its residents, especially Josuke Higashikata, a high schooler with offbeat hair and even more eccentric abilities. Now, with his grandfather on Morioh’s homicide list, Josuke must resort to his surreal “Stand” powers if he ever hopes to heal his beloved family and town. Josuke may have a Stand-wielding relative at his side, but the killer has plenty of help too.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisHarakiri (1962)
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Man (2022)
Akira works as a lawyer. One day, he meets with his former client Rie, who asks Akira to perform a background check on her late husband Daisuke.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHoney (2018)
Kogure Nao is a shy and cute high school student. One day, Onise Taiga asks her "would you like to date with me on the promise that we will get married?" Nao is unable to turn down his proposal because she is scared of him. Taiga has red hair and piercing eyes. His appearance gives off the impression that he is a bad boy, but he is actually considerate to others and good at cooking. After getting to know Taiga, Nao begins to have feelings for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrom Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter the Rain (2018)
Akira Tachibana is a soft-spoken high school student who used to be a part of the track and field club. Working part-time at a restaurant, she finds herself inexplicably falling in love with her manager, a divorced 45-year-old man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReLIFE (2017)
Arata Kaizaki, a jobless adult, undergoes an experiment that makes him 10 years younger. He goes back to high school and falls in love with Chizuru Hishiro, who is more than she seems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDevoted Servant Naosuke (1939)
Naosuke, a servant of Okajima Yasoemon, devoted himself to his master. One day, his master Okajima Yasoemon, lost his face in front of people. It was a revenge by Oono, a karo (minister) who lost his chance to earn money by selling a fake antique to the lord. Okajima told the lord it was fake. Okajima endured Oono's humiliation. But, his servant Naosuke, could not. But what could he do? Oono is superior of his master. Naosuke would not hesitate to lay down his life for his master. But killing Oono would ruin his master. He wanted to clear his master's disgrace. What to do?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The 47 Loyal Ronin (1910)
An adventure film with Benshi performers. Sometimes considered the 'first Japanese feature film', it survives today as a compilation of scenes from various different 1910s adaptations totaling nearly three hours in length. The bulk of the content comes from the 1911 adaptation by legendary Japanese filmmaker Makino Shozo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Loyal 47 Ronin (1932)
This 1932 adaptation is the earliest sound version of the ever-popular and much-filmed Chushingura story of the loyal 47 retainers who avenged their feudal lord after he was obliged to commit hara-kiri due to the machinations of a villainous courtier. As the first sound version of the classic narrative, the film was something of an event, and employed a stellar cast, who give a roster of memorable performances. Director Teinosuke Kinugasa was primarily a specialist in jidai-geki (period films), such as the internationally celebrated Gate of Hell (Jigokumon, 1953), and although he is now most famous as the maker of the avant-garde silent films A Page of Madness (Kurutta ichipeji, 1926) and Crossroads (Jujiro, 1928), Chushingura is in fact more typical of his output than those experimental works. The film ranked third in that year’s Kinema Junpo critics’ poll, and Joseph Anderson and Donald Richie noted that 'not only the sound but the quick cutting was admired by many critics.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Last Ronin (2010)
16 years after the fateful "revenge of the Forty-seven Ronin," involving samurais from the Ako domain who avenged their leader and then commited seppuku (ritual suicide), the sole survivor of that incident, Kichiemon Terasaka (Koichi Sato) traverses the country on a mission. His purpose is to find the families of the fallen samurais and spread the truth of the ronin uprising.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Fall of Ako Castle (1978)
This is the story of "The Forty-Seven Ronin." Based on historical events in 1701-2, the movie tells the tale of the Asano clan's downfall and the revenge of its former samurai on the perpetrator of the catastrophe. Lord Asano was goaded, or tricked, into drawing his sword inside the Shogun's palace -- a crime which carried the death penalty. The newly installed Shogun was furious at Asano and ordered all his clan's assets seized, meaning some 20,000 samurai and commoners were unemployed and landless at a stroke. Forty-seven of these ronin (masterless samurai) banded together to take attempt revenge on Lord Kira, who had goaded Asano into drawing his sword.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The 47 Masterless Samurai (1959)
While the story of the Ako Clan's vendetta has been told countless times, never before has there been an array of major motion picture stars to bring new life to this timeless tale. Starting with the corrupt practices of Lord Kira and Yanagi-sawa, the Shogun's Secretary, which in essence led to the incident of Lord Asano's attacking Kira in the Pine Corridor of the Shogun's Palace, this is the definitive version. Asano Takumi no kami was a young lord with high scruples, who refused to join in the general corruption and bribery which ran rampant in the capital at that time. By not giving bribes, he angered Kira Kozuke no suke the elder lord in charge of protocol at the Palace. Refusing to teach the younger man, and giving him false instructions was only the beginning. Insults followed, and a man of honor had no choice but to draw his sword in anger. Forty seven masterless samurai are willing to give their lives to avenge their lord.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Crest of Betrayal (1994)
Weaving two storylines together: the first is the story of 18th-century shogunate intrigue and loyalty, and the second is a ghost story about a beautiful woman who falls victim to passion and evil.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Ako Retainers (1961)
Toei’s 10th anniversary film, featuring an all-star cast from the golden movie era of the 1960s. A famous story of the 47 loyal samurai. When Lord Asano is unjustly executed, his loyal retainers strike back for revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 元祿美少年記?
The closest matches to 元祿美少年記 are Chûshingura (1962), Ranma ½ (2011) and Kids Return (1996). Below are 25 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 元祿美少年記?
Start with Chûshingura (1962), the closest match to 元祿美少年記.
What is the highest-rated movie like 元祿美少年記?
Harakiri (1962), rated 8.5/10 by 1,324 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 元祿美少年記?
A Man (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like 元祿美少年記?
Yes: Chûshingura (1962), Ranma ½ (2011) and Kids Return (1996).
How are movies similar to 元祿美少年記 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 元祿美少年記, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.