Movies like Mari’s Story (2023)
The best movies like Mari’s Story (2023) are Teasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie (2022), Rent-a-Cat (2012) and She and Her Cat: Everything Flows (2016). If Mari’s Story hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Mari’s Story
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJosee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)8.2/10 from 646 votes
- NewestLove Is in the Air (2023)Released 2023
- In JapaneseTeasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie (2022)Also in Japanese
Teasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie (2022)
Takagi and Nishikata’s final summer in junior high is about to begin, and it’s already off to a heartwarming start! When the pair find an abandoned kitten, they decide to work together and take care of Hana, their adorable new companion until they can locate its missing mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRent-a-Cat (2012)
A young woman who rents out cats to lonely old folks finds her life turned upside down when a young man from her past shows back up in her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShe and Her Cat: Everything Flows (2016)
This simple, charming series follows a young woman as she job hunts and experiences various changes in her life, all while her cat Daru remains the supportive constant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPsychic Kusuo (2017)
Born a powerful psychic, high schooler Kusuo Saiki craves the simple life. But the weirdos in his class make it difficult to conceal his abilities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: Fast Asleep! The Great Assault on the Dreaming World (2016)
One night, the Nohara family were enjoying a pleasant dream, when suddenly a big fish appeared in their dreams and ate them. The next morning, Hiroshi read in the newspaper that everybody in another town had the same nightmare as him, but it seemed to have ended. But Hiroshi also heard the same dream from Misae, Shinnosuke, Himawari and even Shiro. They were surprised and thought if the same thing is happening in Kasukabe too. In kindergarten, on telling others about his nightmare, Shinnosuke was surprised to know that everybody too had the same dream. Then a mysterious girl named Saki was transferred to Futaba Kindergarten and joined Shinnosuke's class. Everyone in the class, including the rather inactive Bo-chan, were all excited and happy on seeing her. But Saki had a cold attitude and didn't get along well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJosee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)
With dreams of diving abroad, Tsuneo gets a job assisting Josee, an artist whose imagination takes her far beyond her wheelchair. But when the tide turns against them, they push each other to places they never thought possible, and inspire a love fit for a storybook.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLuck (2022)
Suddenly finding herself in the never-before-seen Land of Luck, the unluckiest person in the world must unite with the magical creatures there to turn her luck around.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTamako Love Story (2014)
Devoted to her family’s rice-cake–making business and the high school baton club, Tamako is a little slow when it comes to love. She’s oblivious to her childhood friend Mochizo’s affections, even though all their friends know. With graduation closing in and Mochizo leaving for Tokyo, will Tamako realise her feelings and tell him in time?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRudolf the Black Cat (2016)
Rudolf, a black stray cat, is suddenly separated from his beloved master. He unexpectedly wakes up in a long-distance truck that takes him to metropolis Tokyo. There, he meets Ippai-attena, a big boss cat feared by everyone in town. Unable to return home, Rudolf starts a life as a stray with Ippai-attena, but Ippai-attena isn't all that he seems to be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths (2005)
Fifteen years ago in a barren stretch of the Pacific, a cruise ship collided with an iceberg and was lost at sea. More than a decade later, Hideto Yashiro—a ship engineer—died in a fatal car accident. The unlikely connection between these events only comes to light on the luxury liner St. Aphrodite during her maiden voyage. Aboard it on a much needed vacation, Kogorou Mouri, his daughter Ran, Conan Edogawa, and the Detective Boys enjoy a trip provided by Sonoko Suzuki's family. But their fun is soon cut short when a game of hide-and-seek leads to Sonoko's disappearance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStill the Water (2014)
On the Japanese island of Amami, despite lacking parental guidance, Kaito and his girlfriend Kyoko try to find their place in the world. While Kaito suffers from the absence of his father, who moved to Tokyo after his birth, Kyoko must come to grips with her mother’s terminal illness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPompo the Cinephile (2021)
Operating out of the movie capital "Nyallywood," Pompo has been shooting one B-grade entertainment flick after another that anyone would enjoy. One day, Pompo's "movie buff" assistant Gene spots a new script written by Pompo and is moved by its exquisite story. In a fit of passion, he proclaims, "I want to see this as a finished work in theaters as soon as possible!" However, Pompo tells him, "So you shoot this film." Thus, Gene takes on his first directing gig. Meanwhile, Natalie, an ordinary girl who just arrived in town with movie actress dreams, has been discovered by Pompo...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel (2005)
Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura are executing their mission of delivering a lost pet to a certain village. However, right in the midst of things, troops led by the mysterious knight, Temujin, attack them. In the violent battle, the three become separated. Temujin challenges Naruto to a fight and at the end of the fierce battle, both fall together from a high cliff...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove Is in the Air (2023)
A fiercely independent pilot fighting to keep her family business afloat starts to fall for the man sent by corporate to ground her operation forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each other than they previously thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Whisker Away (2020)
A peculiar girl transforms into a cat to catch her crush's attention. But before she realizes it, the line between human and animal starts to blur.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisJoy Ride (2023)
When Audrey's business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo, her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat, her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye, Lolo's eccentric cousin. Their no-holds-barred, epic experience becomes a journey of bonding, friendship, belonging, and wild debauchery that reveals the universal truth of what it means to know and love who you are.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last: Naruto the Movie (2014)
Two years after the events of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the moon that Hagoromo Otsutsuki created long ago to seal away the Gedo Statue begins to descend towards the world, threatening to become a meteor that would destroy everything on impact. Amidst this crisis, a direct descendant of Kaguya Otsutsuki named Toneri Otsutsuki attempts to kidnap Hinata Hyuga but ends up abducting her younger sister Hanabi. Naruto and his allies now mount a rescue mission before finding themselves embroiled in a final battle to decide the fate of everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Hawaii (1961)
Just discharged GI Chad Gates returns to Hawaii, where he becomes a tour guide, defying his mother's wishes for him to join the family business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure (2007)
The Isle of Koumi, a beautiful island in the Pacific Ocean. On the island, people pass an old legend down from generation to generation that there was the Seabed Palace, an ancient ruin at the bottom of the sea, where the treasure of female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Reed was left. When Conan and his friends visit Koumi while on vacation, they meet some suspicious treasure hunters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Mari’s Story?
The closest matches to Mari’s Story are Teasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie (2022), Rent-a-Cat (2012) and She and Her Cat: Everything Flows (2016). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Mari’s Story?
Start with Teasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie (2022), the closest match to Mari’s Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like Mari’s Story?
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020), rated 8.2/10 by 646 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Mari’s Story?
Love Is in the Air (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Mari’s Story?
Yes: Teasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie (2022), Rent-a-Cat (2012) and She and Her Cat: Everything Flows (2016).
How are movies similar to Mari’s Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Mari’s Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















