Movies like What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister (2024)
The best movies like What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister (2024) are Nine Days (2021), Picnic (1996) and Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974). If What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister hooked you with its drama and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHarakiri (1962)8.5/10 from 1,325 votes
- NewestCommunist Pacha Adhava Appa (2025)Released 2025
- In JapanesePicnic (1996)Also in Japanese
Nine Days (2021)
A bureaucrat interviews five souls to decide which of them will be given a life on Earth. But he soon faces an existential challenge of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPicnic (1996)
Believing that the world will end that very day, three mental patients Coco, Tsumuji, and Satoru set out upon a journey. Walking upon the tops of the walls of the city, they seek to find a picnic spot with the best vantage point to view the final event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPastoral: To Die in the Country (1974)
A director faces creative block while working on his latest film – a reimagination of his adolescence growing up in a mountain village in rural Japan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTuesday (2024)
A mother and her teenage daughter must confront Death when it arrives in the form of an astonishing talking bird.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Witch's Family (2011)
A young witch visits her cousin in a small town during a heated mayoral election race. Her kind-hearted cousin, the town’s beloved “good witch” and newlywed with two teenage step-kids, is running for office, but must keep her family from falling apart when their visitor uses her magic to put them—and the whole town—under her bitter spell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHereafter (2010)
Three people — a blue-collar American, a French journalist and a London school boy — are touched by death in different ways.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)
After being used and betrayed by the detective she had fallen in love with, young Matsu is sent to a female prison full of sadistic guards and disobedient prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood on the Sun (1945)
Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisInuyasha the Movie 4: Fire on the Mystic Island (2004)
The mysterious island of Houraijima has reappeared after 50 years, and with its reappearance has brought the attack of four gods, the Shitoushin, who have their eyes set on the powers that protect and sustain the island. Now it's up to Inuyasha and his friends, along with Sesshoumaru, to find a way to defeat the powerful Shitoushin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYu Yu Hakusho: The Movie - Poltergeist Report (1994)
When the Spirit World is flooded due to an unusual rainfall which overflows the River Sanzu (aka the River Styx), Lord Koenma senses an extremely powerful enemy. He entrusts Death God Botan, to deliver to Spirit Detective Yusuke, a mysterious item which must be protected from the invading enemy. However, by the time Botan finds Yusuke, she's too weak to explain the situation. Yusuke and his friends are left in the dark about the new enemy, but not for long. Soon it is a battle for Earth between mere Spirit Detectives and the almighty king of the Netherworld.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
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 drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSteins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu (2013)
One year after the events of the anime, Rintarou begins to feel the repercussions of extensive time travel, and eventually completely fades from reality. Kurisu, being the only companion to remember him, now must find a way to bring him back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Pagemaster (1994)
Rich knows a lot about accidents. So much so, he is scared to do anything that might endanger him, like riding his bike, or climbing into his treehouse. While in an old library, he is mystically transported into the unknown world of books, and he has to try and get home again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wonderland (2019)
The story follows Akane, a girl with no self-confidence. On the day before her birthday, she meets a mysterious alchemist, Hippocrates, and his student, Pipo, who both tell her they're on a mission to save the world. Together, they set out from the basement for "Wonderland," and Akane finds herself labelled Wonderland's savior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInuyasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler (2003)
Inuyasha and his brother, Sesshomaru, each inherited a sword from their father after his death. However, their father had a third sword, named Sounga, that he sealed away. Seven hundreds years after his death, Sounga awakens and threatens mankind's very existence. How will the children of the Great Dog Demon stop this unimaginable power?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRe:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- Memory Snow (2018)
Subaru finally gets to take a breather, but he does not waste any time as he prepares for a date with his beloved Emilia. He scouts the nearby village for the right dating spot, and with the help of the village children, he finds a wonderful location. With that, he is well prepared for his date! Unfortunately for Subaru, cold weather suddenly sweeps across Roswaal's mansion on his important day, leaving him with no choice but to postpone the date. Overnight, it becomes even colder and unbearable. Subaru must get to the bottom of this because, at this rate, his date will be the least of his worries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPacific Rim: Uprising (2018)
It has been ten years since The Battle of the Breach and the oceans are still, but restless. Vindicated by the victory at the Breach, the Jaeger program has evolved into the most powerful global defense force in human history. The PPDC now calls upon the best and brightest to rise up and become the next generation of heroes when the Kaiju threat returns.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDemon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Tsuzumi Mansion Arc (2022)
Tanjiro ventures to the south-southeast where he encounters a cowardly young man named Zenitsu Agatsuma, a fellow survivor from Final Selection. His sparrow asks Tanjiro to help keep him in line. A recap of Kimetsu no Yaiba episodes 11–14, with new footage and special end credits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGung Ho (1986)
When a western Pennsylvania auto plant is acquired by a Japanese company, brokering auto worker Hunt Stevenson faces the tricky challenge of mediating the assimilation of two clashing corporate cultures. At one end is the Japanese plant manager and the sycophant who is angling for his position. At the other, a number of disgruntled long-time union members struggle with the new exigencies of Japanese quality control.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Morning Sea (TBA)
After the stillbirth of his child, a young photographer Hiroshi, begins to see spirits as he searches for new purpose.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Always - Sunset on Third Street (2005)
In 1958 postwar Tokyo, the residents of a humble Third Street neighbourhood struggle, dream, and grow together as rapid modernisation transforms their lives beneath the shadow of the newly rising Tokyo Tower.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCommunist Pacha Adhava Appa (2025)
An exploration of a small rural community and the effects that COVID-19 restrictions have on their daily lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Ninja Scroll (1993)
Jubei is a masterless ninja who travels the land alone, lending his services to those with gold—or a worthy cause. His fearsome abilities have served him well, but a plot to overthrow the government threatens to end his wandering ways—and possibly his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPa (2021)
Andries van Rensburg worked his whole life so that he could retire with his wife. But an unplanned baby and COVID-19 upended their plans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Dead or Alive 2: Birds (2000)
Two contract killers cross paths in the middle of the same job and realize they are childhood friends. Together they take a break from killing and visit the small island they once called home. After reflecting on their past lives they decided to team up and use their talents in killing for good... much to the upset of the crime syndicates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhen the Last Sword Is Drawn (2003)
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a samurai and family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the low pay he receives from his small-town clan. He is forced by his love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister?
The closest matches to What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister are Nine Days (2021), Picnic (1996) and Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister?
Start with Nine Days (2021), the closest match to What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister.
What is the highest-rated movie like What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister?
Harakiri (1962), rated 8.5/10 by 1,325 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister?
Communist Pacha Adhava Appa (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister?
Yes: Picnic (1996), Pastoral: To Die in the Country (1974) and Female Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972).
How are movies similar to What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside What If Shogun Ieyasu Tokugawa Was to Become the Prime Minister, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.