Movies like Locomotive Teacher (1997)
The best movies like Locomotive Teacher (1997) are The Deer King (2021), Inu-Oh (2022) and To Every You I've Loved Before (2022). If Locomotive Teacher hooked you with its animation, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPaprika (2006)7.8/10 from 3,062 votes
- NewestMy Grandfather Is a Nihonjin (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseThe Deer King (2021)Also in Japanese
The Deer King (2021)
Following a brutal war, former soldier Van toils in a mine controlled by the ruling empire. One day, his solitary existence is upended when a pack of wild dogs carrying a deadly and incurable disease attack, leaving only Van and a young girl named Yuna as survivors. Finally free, the pair seek out a simple existence in the countryside but are pursued by nefarious forces. Intent on protecting Yuna at all costs, Van must uncover the true cause of the plague ravaging the kingdom—and its possible cure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInu-Oh (2022)
A cursed dancer and a blind musician — both ostracized by society — become business partners and inseparable friends as their larger-than-life concerts propel them to stardom in 14th century Japan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Every You I've Loved Before (2022)
While struggling to make friends after his parents’ divorce, Koyomi Takasaki meets Kazune Takigawa, but apparently, they already have. Kazune reveals that she’s from World Line 85, an alternate universe in which she and Koyomi are lovers. But in a reality where moving between dimensions is natural, could Koyomi be the one from another world?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl from the Other Side (2023)
Once upon a time, in a far, faraway place, there were two lands. The world was divided into an inner land and an outer land. People feared the outer land, inhabited by eerie beings, the carriers of curse. One day, on the border to the inner land inhabited by humans, one such being finds a girl on heaps of abandoned dead bodies. The girl says her name is Shiva and shows affection to the "being" who found her, calling him "Teacher." This is a story of two people—one human, one inhuman—who linger in the hazy twilight that separates night from day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOrigin: Spirits of the Past (2006)
It is 300 years into the future. Earth's environment had been devastated by mankind's own foolish plans and humankind is beleaguered by the sentient forests which they have awoken. The world balance is tipped when a young boy named Agito stumbles across a machine that glowed in a strange blue hue inside a forbidden sanctuary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPaprika (2006)
Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from merging the dream and waking worlds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
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 animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStand by Me Doraemon (2014)
Sewashi and Doraemon find themselves way back in time and meet Nobita. It is up to Doraemon to take care of Nobita or else he will not return to the present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisModest Heroes (2018)
Two tiny, aquatic humanoids search for their missing father, a boy battles a lethal allergy to eggs, and an invisible salaryman tries to become a hero.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPenguin Highway (2018)
A fourth-grader investigates the mysterious reason behind the sudden appearance of penguins in his village, which is somehow related to a power from a young woman working at a dental clinic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo Me, the One Who Loved You (2022)
Koyomi Hidaka and Shiori Sato meet at his father’s research center and begin to fall in love, but so do their parents, who eventually marry. To avoid becoming stepsiblings, they decide to run away to a parallel universe. Traveling between dimensions is common in their world, but not without repercussions. Does a universe exist for the young couple, and what will it cost them to find it?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKensuke's Kingdom (2024)
A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita and the Knights on Dinosaurs (1987)
Nobita tries to prove to Doraemon and his friends that dinosaurs are still alive, and, after finding an underground cave, discovers a hollow earth civilization of knights and saurian steeds that Suneo must be rescued from.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Piece: Heart of Gold (2016)
A girl named Olga is pursued by both the World Government and a man named Mad Treasure, as she is the only one who knows the location of the Pure Gold, a substance that can buy the entire world. Olga ends up sailing with the Straw Hat Pirates, and they journey to find the Pure Gold on the lost island of Alchemi, which is located inside the stomach of a large angler fish named Bonbori.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita and the Legend of the Sun King (2000)
Doraemon and its friends open a hole in the time and they're travel to the Country of Mayana, a lost Mayan civilization in the jungle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi (2017)
Doraemon and Nobita discover a mysterious golden ring far beneath the ice in Antarctica, leading them to uncover an ancient, ruined city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wind Rises (2013)
A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBuddha 2: The Endless Journey (2014)
2500 years ago, in India, Siddhartha was born as a prince of the Shakya clan, but he gives up his position as a prince to see the world. He meets a strange boy named Assaji, who can predict the future, a monk with only one eye and Depa. Siddhartha continues traveling. Siddhartha is overwhelmed by the sufferings he witnesses around him. Meanwhile, Prince Ruri of Kosara begins his attack on the Shakya clan. Second Buddha movie from Tezuka Productions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStand by Me Doraemon 2 (2020)
Nobita travels to the future to show his beloved grandma his bride, but adult Nobita has fled his own wedding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita's Treasure Island (2018)
Upon hearing about the story of Treasure Island, Nobita dreams of discovering and exploring his own treasure island, despite the fact all of the Earth has been mapped already.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFoxes of Chironup (1987)
Foxes Ken and Chin become the proud parents of cubs, Koro and Kan, who enjoy a carefree life on the northern Japanese island of Chironup. They befriend a fisherman and his wife but are forced to run for their lives when soldiers on a military exercise decide to take home some fox pelts as souvenirs. A sweet little film that obliquely symbolizes the plight of Japan's aboriginal Ainu people and the northern islands that have been contested with Russia since they were occupied by Stalin's soldiers in 1945.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Vampire Hunter D (1985)
In a far-future time ruled by the supernatural, a young girl requests the help of a vampire hunter to kill the vampire who has bitten her and thus prevent her from becoming a vampire herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Cauldron (1985)
Taran is an assistant pigkeeper with boyish dreams of becoming a great warrior. However, he has to put the daydreaming aside when his charge, an oracular pig named Hen Wen, is kidnapped by an evil lord known as the Horned King. The villain hopes Hen will show him the way to The Black Cauldron, which has the power to create a giant army of unstoppable soldiers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCinderella (1950)
Cinderella has faith her dreams of a better life will come true. With help from her loyal mice friends and a wave of her Fairy Godmother's wand, Cinderella's rags are magically turned into a glorious gown and off she goes to the Royal Ball. But when the clock strikes midnight, the spell is broken, leaving a single glass slipper... the only key to the ultimate fairy-tale ending!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImpy's Island (2006)
On a magical tropical island, a fun-loving group of misfit animals and people discover a baby dinosaur frozen since prehistoric times. When a king from a faraway country vows to capture the loveable baby dino for his private collection, all the inhabitants must join together to save their new friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Grandfather Is a Nihonjin (2025)
Noboru is a 10-year-old boy in search of his cultural identity. He turns to his grandfather Hideo, to find out more about his family. Despite always avoiding his past, his grandfather agrees to tell his story. As Noboru delves into his family history, he discovers he has an uncle he’s never heard about.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
The Brothers Gruff Go to Splash World (2023)
When The Billy Goats Gruff go on a chaotic adventure to Splash World instead of the dull meadow, the irate troll under the bridge has other ideas and sets out to capture the brothers at any cost.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
The Legend of Manxmouse (1979)
A ceramic figure of a blue mouse with long ears, stubby legs, and no tail suddenly comes to life. He is a “Manxmouse” as known in the legend. Since he is new to this world, his fearless curiosity leads him to meet a frog couple, an aviator hawk, a stray tiger, and a girl. Although he learns about his ultimate fate-to be eaten by a “Manxcat”-he decides to face this cat and challenge his destiny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
The Flight of Dragons (1982)
The realm of magic is being threatened by the realm of logic, so the green wizard, Carolinus, decides to shield it for all time. Ommadon, the evil red wizard, stands in his way. Carolinus then calls for a quest that is to be led by a man named Peter Dickinson, who is the first man of both the realms of science and magic. It is Peter's job to defeat Ommadon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Christmas Carol (1989)
Here's one Christmas Carol that's not a lot of humbug. It's the classic story of Ebinezer Scrooge, that miserable miser of old. Laugh along as Scrooge's penny pinching ways are miraculously and hilariously transformed by some pretty nifty Christmas spirits. Join Bob Cratchet, Tiny Tim and, of course, Scrooge in this heartwarming and humorous retelling of an all time Christmas classic. It's past, present and future fun for all!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Like Locomotive Teacher and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Locomotive Teacher?
The closest matches to Locomotive Teacher are The Deer King (2021), Inu-Oh (2022) and To Every You I've Loved Before (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Locomotive Teacher?
Start with The Deer King (2021), the closest match to Locomotive Teacher.
What is the highest-rated movie like Locomotive Teacher?
Paprika (2006), rated 7.8/10 by 3,062 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Locomotive Teacher?
My Grandfather Is a Nihonjin (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Locomotive Teacher?
Yes: The Deer King (2021), Inu-Oh (2022) and To Every You I've Loved Before (2022).
How are movies similar to Locomotive Teacher chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Locomotive Teacher, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.