Movies like Always - Sunset on Third Street (2005)
The best movies like Always - Sunset on Third Street (2005) are Midnight Diner 2 (2016), Hula Girls (2006) and The Taste of Tea (2004). If Always - Sunset on Third Street hooked you with its comedy and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHigh and Low (1963)8.4/10 from 1,238 votes
- NewestLonely Castle in the Mirror (2022)Released 2022
- In JapaneseMidnight Diner 2 (2016)Also in Japanese
Midnight Diner 2 (2016)
The Master's late-night diner welcomes a woman troubled by funeral fans, an elderly scam victim, and a noodle delivery man struggling with love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHula Girls (2006)
Young women in a small Japanese town look to revive their home's declining fortunes by building a Hawaiian village tourist attraction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Taste of Tea (2004)
A spell of time in the life of the five-piece Haruno family in rural Tochigi Prefecture. Yoshiko is not an ordinary housewife, instead working on an animated film project. Uncle Ayano, a successful music producer, is looking to get his head together after living in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Sachiko is concerned with why she seems to be followed by a giant version of herself. As the lazy days pass by, each member of the family is followed in a series of episodic vignettes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMadadayo (1993)
In postwar Tokyo, beloved writer-professor Hyakken Uchida retires and is buoyed through hardship by the fierce devotion of his former students, who honor him each year with a raucous “Not yet!” birthday toast. Told in warm, gently comic vignettes, Kurosawa’s farewell celebrates aging, friendship, and the sustaining ritual of teacher and pupils refusing to say goodbye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEquinox Flower (1958)
Wataru's outwardly liberal views on marriage are severely tested when his daughter declares her love for a coworker and is adamant to live her own way, instead of agreeing to an arranged marriage. Outwitted by his female relatives, Hirayama stubbornly refuses to admit defeat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWood Job! (2014)
After failing his university entrance exam, Yuki Hirano sets his eyes on the role of a forestry trainee. Setting off for training he doubts his decision many times, but eventually after passing the training course, he is sent to Kamusari Village for a year of work experience - where he becomes assimilated with the beauty of nature and the warm-hearted people of the village.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & comedy
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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHouse of Bamboo (1955)
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh and Low (1963)
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLonely Castle in the Mirror (2022)
Shy outcast Kokoro has been avoiding school for weeks when she discovers a portal in her bedroom mirror. She reaches through and finds herself transported to an enchanting castle where she is joined by six other students. When a girl in a wolf mask explains that they have been invited to play a game, the teens must work together to uncover the mysterious connection that unites them. However, anyone who breaks the rules will be eaten by a wolf.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Story (1953)
The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGolden Slumber (2010)
When easy-going Aoyagi meets an old friend for a fishing trip, he ends up drugged, framed for the Prime Minister's assassination, and on the run from corrupt cops. It's only the beginning of what quickly becomes the worst, weirdest day of his life. But he'll get by with a little help from his friends, who include a famous pop diva, a rockabilly deliveryman, a crippled old gangster, and the world's most cheerful serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRanma 1/2 the Movie 2: Nihao My Concubine (1992)
With the Tendos, the Saotomes, Ryoga, Shampoo and Ukyo misinterpreting Tatewake Kuno's invitation to his two loves, Akane and 'The Pig Tailed Girl', to try his new yacht, a whole new episode of chaos begins in the already unstable lives of the Saotome/Tendo clan. A mysterious shadow kidnaps first Akane's sister Kasumi, then continues on until all the girls disappear. All except everyone's favorite hydrotranssexual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Miracles of the Namiya General Store (2017)
In 2012, Atsuya and his 2 childhood friends do something bad and run into an old general store. They decide to stay there until the morning. Late into the night, Atsuya sees a letter in the mailbox. The letter is addressed to the Namiya General Store and the letter was written by someone to consult about worries. Incredibly, the letter was written 32 years ago. The mailbox is somehow connected to the year 1980. Atsuya and his friends decide to write a reply and place their letter in the mailbox.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMai Mai Miracle (2009)
Inspired by her grandfather's stories, young Shinko embarks on wild flights of fancy about the history of the little town she lives in. But dreams can't fend off the realities of growing up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnder the Open Sky (2021)
Mikami, an ex-yakuza of middle age with most of his life in prison, gets released after serving 13 years of sentence for murder. Hoping to find his long lost mother, from whom he was separated as a child, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director Tsunoda. Meanwhile, he struggles to get a proper job and fit into society. His impulsive, adamant nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction in his relationship with Tsunoda and those who want to help him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAn Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Widower Shuhei Hirayama's caretaker is his 24-year-old daughter, Michiko. Gradually, he comes to realize that Michiko should not be obliged to look after him for the rest of his life, so he arranges a marriage for her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGintama: The Final Chapter - Be Forever Yorozuya (2013)
What would have happened if the Shiroyasha never existed? Edo is thrown to chaos by a mysterious cause. Sakata Gintoki, now lives in a world where the future has changed, without him. What has happened to the Yorozuya? Gintoki, who is now a ghost of the past, must once again carry the burden in order to save his friends. He must finish the biggest job ever, which may be the final job of Yorozuya.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHachiko (1987)
The tragic, true story about Hachikō, an Akita dog who was loyal to his master, Professor Ueno, even after Ueno's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBleach the Movie: Fade to Black (2008)
A strange disturbance in the World of the Living sends Ichigo and Kon to the Soul Society, where the Seireitei has been devastated by an explosion of reishi and Rukia is missing. Stranger still, none of the Soul Reapers remember Ichigo, and they think he’s the one responsible for the destruction. Now on the run, Ichigo is forced into a lonely battle in order to find Rukia and stop the real culprits!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaria Watches Over Us (2010)
Yumi Fukuzawa is an ordinary first year student at Lillian Girls' Academy. By chance Yumi meets second year student Sachiko Ogasawara, who is a candidate to become a Red Rose. Sachiko later offers her rosary to Yumi Fukuzawa which signifies she will become an older sister to Yumi. Meanwhile, Yumi, who already looks up to popular Sachiko, is perplexed why she is picked. A festival named "Cinderella" then approaches, which is run by the Yamayuri Council. Conflicts between the older and younger sisters soon begins ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
The Quiet Man (1952)
An American man returns to the village of his birth in Ireland, where he finds love and conflict.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle Royale (2000)
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWill You Marry My Wife? (2016)
Shuji Mimura works as a broadcast writer. He learns that he doesn't have much time left to live. He decides to concentrate on the future of his beloved family. Shuji Mimura's final plan is to find the best man to marry his wife Ayako.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Black Rain (1989)
Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and as they try to track him down, they get deeper and deeper into the Japanese Mafia scene and they have to learn that they can only win by playing the game—the Japanese way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHail, Caesar! (2016)
When a Hollywood star mysteriously disappears in the middle of filming, the studio sends their fixer to get him back.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisI'm Not There (2007)
Six actors portray six personas of music legend Bob Dylan in scenes depicting various stages of his life, chronicling his rise from unknown folksinger to international icon and revealing how Dylan constantly reinvented himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArmani: The King of Fashion (TBA)
Follows the personal and professional evolution of Giorgio Armani, who passed away in September 2025, aged 91, and is widely regarded to be among the most influential designers in 20th and 21st-century fashion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Life in Suitcases: A History of Tulse Luper (2005)
A comic study of 20th-century history, reconstructing the life of writer, creator and professional prisoner Tulse Luper. Born in 1911 Newport and last heard of in 1989, Luper’s life is pieced together from the evidence found in 92 suitcases scattered across the globe. A Life in Suitcases condenses the six-hour trilogy into a single two-hour feature, and in doing so, accentuates the project as a filmic essay in multiple narratives, listings, sidebars, footnotes, commentaries and anecdotes; a project for an Information Age ready to understand that there never is a phenomenon called History, there can only be Historians, gatekeepers to vested interests.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stardom Tokyo Dream Cinderella 2021 Special Edition (2021)
Tokyo Dream Cinderella 2021 Special Edition was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom, held on June 12, 2021 at Ota City General Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. Due to the then-ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this show was pushed back several weeks from its original date, and included the also-rescheduled semi-final and final matches for the 2021 edition of the company's long-running Cinderella Tournament. In the main event, Syuri challenged Utami Hayashishita for the World of Stardom Championship, a match that would become legendary for the promotion, particularly in the United States.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Always - Sunset on Third Street?
The closest matches to Always - Sunset on Third Street are Midnight Diner 2 (2016), Hula Girls (2006) and The Taste of Tea (2004). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Always - Sunset on Third Street?
Start with Midnight Diner 2 (2016), the closest match to Always - Sunset on Third Street.
What is the highest-rated movie like Always - Sunset on Third Street?
High and Low (1963), rated 8.4/10 by 1,238 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Always - Sunset on Third Street?
Lonely Castle in the Mirror (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Always - Sunset on Third Street?
Yes: Midnight Diner 2 (2016), Hula Girls (2006) and The Taste of Tea (2004).
How are movies similar to Always - Sunset on Third Street chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Always - Sunset on Third Street, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.