Movies like Happy Ending Story (1991)
The best movies like Happy Ending Story (1991) are Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010), The Primevals (2023) and Strawberry Mansion (2021). If Happy Ending Story hooked you with its science fiction and fantasy, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedRegular Show: The Movie (2015)7.9/10 from 455 votes
- NewestCode 8 Part II (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseTime Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010)Also in Japanese
Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010)
Akari Yoshiyama is graduating high school soon and is expected to lead new life after she passes the university entrance exam, while her mother is working as a pharmacologist. However, her mother has a car accident and the situation is totally changed. She decides to go to 1972 to fulfill her mother's wish.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Primevals (2023)
Deep in the Himalayas, a group of sherpas kills a gigantic humanoid creature. Convinced that it is the legendary Yeti, Dr. Claire Collier organizes an expedition with her former student Matt Connor and hunter Rondo Montana, among others, to search for more specimens. But what awaits them is something that none of them could have imagined. A colorful fusion of real image and stop-motion that is reminiscent of fantastic films from the 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStrawberry Mansion (2021)
In the not-too-distant future, an all-seeing surveillance state conducts “dream audits” to collect taxes on the unconscious lives of the populace. Mild-mannered government agent James Preble travels to a remote farmhouse to audit the dreams of Arabella “Bella” Isadora, an eccentric, aging artist. Entering Bella’s vast VHS archive, which contains a lifetime of dreams, Preble stumbles upon a secret that offers him a chance at love—and hope for escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Note: L Change the WorLd (2008)
"The human whose name is written in the Death Note shall die." After making the hardest decision ever, another serious case confronts L. There are only 23 days left and without his best partner Watari, L has to solve the case all by himself for the very first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSummer Time Machine Blues (2005)
The members of a sci-fi club accidentally spill Coke on the remote controller of an air-conditioner during summer and suddenly a time machine appears in their sweating bath-like clubroom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Door into Summer (2021)
A pioneering roboticist awakens in 2025 after decades in cryosleep. To change the past and reunite with his adopted sister, he seeks a way back to 1995.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParasyte: Part 2 (2015)
Humanity is under attack by human-mimicking flesh-eating alien parasites. One parasite bonds with his young high school student host, and he convinces the parasite to help him stop the others.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMen in Black 3 (2012)
Agents J and K are back...in time. J has seen some inexplicable things in his 15 years with the Men in Black, but nothing, not even aliens, perplexes him as much as his wry, reticent partner. But when K's life and the fate of the planet are put at stake, Agent J will have to travel back in time to put things right. J discovers that there are secrets to the universe that K never told him - secrets that will reveal themselves as he teams up with the young Agent K to save his partner, the agency, and the future of humankind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl Who Leapt Through Time (1983)
Kazuko Yoshiyama is a third-year junior-high-school student. One day, while cleaning the lab, she smells lavender and faints. From then on, she has the power to travel through time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers - To Live and Die in Starlight (2002)
After being punished for retreat from combat, Ranger David Martel is given command of the Liandra, a haunted 20-year old Minbari fighting ship. He's escorting ambassadors to a secret archaeological site, the oldest city on record and a clue to a dangerous ancient race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRelax, I'm from the Future (2023)
Casper is a time traveller who arrives in the 2020s in an attempt to prevent a major future catastrophe. He meets Holly, a queer black woman he befriends and draws into his plan by giving her his knowledge of the future so that she can make quick money. However, they unwittingly alter the future themselves with their actions, until Doris, another time traveller, arrives to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisCode 8 Part II (2024)
In a world where superpowered people are heavily policed by robots, an ex-con teams up with a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTimescape (1992)
Before they can complete renovations on their new country inn, a widowed father and his young daughter are visited by a strange group of tourists. He soon makes a chilling discovery: they are disaster junkies from the future who visit the past to witness history's greatest catastrophes—and his small town is their next stop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturner (2002)
A young woman from the future forces a local gunman to help her stop an impending alien invasion which will wipe out the human race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRegular Show: The Movie (2015)
After a high school lab experiment goes horribly wrong, Mordecai and Rigby must go back in time to battle an evil volleyball coach in order to save the universe — and their friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAttack on Titan II: End of the World (2015)
Eren Yeager leaves to restore a break in the wall destroyed by a Titan. He comes under attack by the Titans and is cornered. Shikishima comes to his aid. The titans never stops attacking. Eren is now injured and tries to protect Armin, but is swallowed by a titan. A Titan with black hair appears and begins to expel the other titans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020)
A cafe owner discovers that the TV in his cafe suddenly shows images from the future, but only two minutes into the future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Adam Project (2022)
After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed teams up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrequencies (2013)
The story of the forbidden relationship between a 'low born' boy and a 'high born' girl in an alternate reality where every person's relationships and life worth are determined by their innate 'frequencies'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Happy Ending Story?
The closest matches to Happy Ending Story are Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010), The Primevals (2023) and Strawberry Mansion (2021). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Happy Ending Story?
Start with Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010), the closest match to Happy Ending Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like Happy Ending Story?
Regular Show: The Movie (2015), rated 7.9/10 by 455 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Happy Ending Story?
Code 8 Part II (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Happy Ending Story?
Yes: Time Traveller: The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2010), Death Note: L Change the WorLd (2008) and Summer Time Machine Blues (2005).
How are movies similar to Happy Ending Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Happy Ending Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















