Movies like Toritate no kagayaki (1981)
The best movies like Toritate no kagayaki (1981) are Sakuran (2006), Crayon Shinchan the Movie: My Moving Story! Cactus Attack! (2015) and Reincarnation (2005). If Toritate no kagayaki hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedOne Piece: Dead End Adventure (2003)7.0/10 from 226 votes
- NewestCall Me Dad (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseSakuran (2006)Also in Japanese
Sakuran (2006)
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: My Moving Story! Cactus Attack! (2015)
The Noharas must survive a hoard of man-eating killer cacti after Shin-chan's father relocates the family to Mexico for work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReincarnation (2005)
A Japanese actress begins having strange visions and experiences after landing a role in a horror film about a real-life murder spree that took place over forty years ago.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK: Missing Kings (2014)
The "Academy Island Incident" in which four "kings" cross paths... Since then, Silver Clansmen Kuroh Yatogami and Neko have been searching for their master, Shiro. Without finding any clues to Shiro's whereabouts, the two became disheartened. However, one day, they see HOMRA members Rikio Kamamoto and Anna Kushina being chased by someone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKaiju No. 8: Mission Recon (2025)
In a Kaiju-filled Japan, Kafka Hibino works in monster disposal. After reuniting with his childhood friend Mina Ashiro, a rising star in the anti-Kaiju Defense Force, he decides to pursue his abandoned dream of joining the Force, when he suddenly transforms into the powerful "Kaiju No. 8." An action-packed recap of the first season of Kaiju No. 8 and a new original episode, Hoshina's Day Off.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIntentions of Murder (1964)
The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisImprint (2006)
An American journalist travels through 19th-century Japan to find the prostitute he fell in love with but instead learns of the physical and existential horror that befell her after he left.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPokémon the Movie: Genesect and the Legend Awakened (2013)
A group of five Genesect have invaded the big city and pose a threat to the supply of electricity, which attracts the attention of the legendary Pokémon Mewtwo. Satoshi, Pikachu and his friends must come to the rescue when the powerful leader, a red Genesect, faces Mewtwo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGintama: The Movie (2010)
Odd Jobs Gin has taken on a lot of odd work in the past, and when you're a Jack of All Trades agency based in a feudal Japan that's been conquered and colonized by aliens, the term "Odd Jobs" means REALLY ODD jobs. But when some more than slightly suspicious secrets from the shadows of Gintoki Sakata's somewhat shady former samurai past and a new pair of odd jobs collide, the action is bound to get so wild and demented that only a feature film will do it justice!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Decadence (1992)
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYo-kai Watch: The Movie - The Great Adventure of the Flying Whale & the Double World, Meow! (2016)
A giant whale appears and flies above Sakura New Town. With the whale’s sound of crying, some changes occur to Kenta Amano and Yokai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPokémon: Destiny Deoxys (2004)
Deoxys, a Pokémon from outer space, terrorizes the high-tech city Ash Ketchum and his friends are visiting.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita and the Windmasters (2003)
After a typhoon hits Nobita's town, he and Doraemon discover a wind sprite who, with some help from Doraemon's 22nd-century tech, takes them and their friends to a fantastic world of wind and storm people. But the wind sprite, named Fuuko by Nobita, had brought them to her world for a reason, as her peoples' gods are battling, and Suneo might be a key player in their feud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Piece: Chopper's Kingdom in the Strange Animal Island (2002)
As the Straw Hat Pirates sail through the Grand Line, a sudden eruption of geysers beneath the Going Merry sends the crew flying over a nearby island. In the chaos, Chopper falls overboard and becomes separated from his friends. While Luffy and the others land on the far side of the island, Chopper finds himself hailed as the new king by the local animals. However, danger looms as a group of human “horn hunters” arrives. Their leader, Count Butler, is a violin-playing man who consumes horns to gain strength, and he seeks to devour the island’s greatest treasure to inherit immense power. Can Luffy and the crew stop Count Butler’s scheme and save the island? And will they be able to show Momambi that not all pirates are the villains he believes them to be?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: Dangerous Honeymoon -The Lost Daddy- (2019)
Hiroshi and Misae have never been to a honeymoon trip to a foreign country. One day, Misae discovered an inexpensive and family-friendly holiday package to Australia and the Nohara family decided to make it their first honeymoon vacation. Hiroshi gets kidnapped upon arrival to Australia, leaving Shinnosuke, Misae and others on a dangerous journey. It turns out that Hiroshi is the key to a secret treasure. The remaining members of the Nohara Family must rescue Hiroshi, while a mysterious masked man and treasure hunters from all over the world are after him. The struggle is among three different groups in this action-filled treasure hunting adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMetal Skin Panic MADOX-01 (1987)
Ace female test pilot Kusomoto Elle humiliates macho tank driver Lt. Kilgore in the first demonstration of the advanced personal battle tank, the MADOX. Kilgore vows revenge, and gets his chance when the army rather carelessly loses the prototype in Tokyo. The MADOX is found by engineering student Sujimoto Kouji, who doesn't take the time to completely read the manual and ends up zooming around Tokyo trapped in a machine he doesn't quite know how to operate. Guess who gets the job of stopping the now mobile missing MADOX? Poor Kouji. If he's late for his date, it's over between him and his girlfriend. His current attire redefines the term "over-dressed." And to top it all off, Kilgore wants to make him late- as in "the late Kouji!"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Piece: Dead End Adventure (2003)
Desperate for cash, the Straw Hat Pirates enter a secret race between pirate crews known as the Dead End Competition. There, they must battle against powerful people, including the bounty hunter who wants to kill Gasparde and a climatic battle with Marine-turned-pirate Captain Gasparde.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBLAME! (2017)
In the distant technological future, civilization has reached its ultimate Net-based form. An "infection" in the past caused the automated systems to spiral out of order, resulting in a multi-leveled city structure that replicates itself infinitely in all directions. Now humanity has lost access to the city's controls, and is hunted down and purged by the defense system known as the Safeguard. In a tiny corner of the city, a little enclave known as the Electro-Fishers is facing eventual extinction, trapped between the threat of the Safeguard and dwindling food supplies. A girl named Zuru goes on a journey to find food for her village, only to inadvertently cause doom when an observation tower senses her and summons a Safeguard pack to eliminate the threat. With her companions dead and all escape routes blocked, the only thing that can save her now is the sudden arrival of Killy the Wanderer, on his quest for the Net Terminal Genes, the key to restoring order to the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFatal Fury: The Motion Picture (1994)
The Armor of Mars -- a suit of armor consisting of six pieces. If anyone from the bloodline of the ancient warrior Godimus were to find all six pieces for himself, he would receive power equal to the level of a god. The Curse of Godimus, however, also dictates that this same person would lose all sense of himself and become an insane killing machine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPokémon the Movie: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages (2015)
Ash, Pikachu, and their friends come to a desert city by the sea. Here they meet the Mythical Pokémon Hoopa, which has the ability to summon things—including people and Pokémon—through its magic rings. After a scary incident, they learn of a story about a brave hero who stopped the rampage of a terrifying Pokémon long ago. Now, the threat that has been bottled up for years is in danger of breaking loose again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe King of Minami: Ginjiro Manda (1992)
When the recession hits, Osaka-based loan shark Ginjiro Manda decides to help out small business owners in trouble, but finds himself face-to-face with the yakuza who come to collect debts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Madame Bovary (1991)
In 19th-century France, doctor's wife Emma Bovary seeks to escape her dull provincial life through various extramarital affairs and extravagant spending, leading to tragic consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDie Senkrechtstarter (1989)
In the not too distant future, in the year 1999: In Germany, payment may only be made by credit card, which leads to many people purchasing things they cannot pay for. A nasty debt collector from the almighty central bank sends out employees to take back unpaid goods from customers by force. A girl who calls herself Egon is also forced to work for this evil person. In the process, she meets nice Mike, with whom she falls in love. Soon Mike and his friend, the aging playboy Löffler, are in a turbulent adventure to free Egon from the clutches of the bank villain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Confessions of a Shopaholic (2009)
In the glamorous world of New York City, Rebecca Bloomwood is a fun-loving girl who is really good at shopping – a little too good, perhaps. She dreams of working for her favorite fashion magazine, but can't quite get her foot in the door – until ironically, she snags a job as an advice columnist for a financial magazine published by the same company.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Me Dad (2025)
Little Intan was used as collateral for a debt by her mother, who was forced to become a migrant worker and leave her behind. But from that moment, her life took a turn. Dedi, the debt collector — a stranger who initially just came to collect — ended up becoming an important figure in Intan’s life. Together with Tatang, they grew into an unusual kind of “family.”
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Kaka Boss (2024)
A ruthless debt collector decides that he wants to be a singer. But can he pull off a major career change — and impress his teen daughter?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Coin Locker Girl (2015)
Il-young tries to get away from her adoptive mother because she does not want to get involved in her mother's criminal activities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA River Called Titas (1973)
An in-depth look at the lives and struggles of a fishing community living by the River Titas in Bangladesh after the Partition of India in 1947.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Forgive Us Our Debts (2018)
Threatened by creditors, a newly unemployed man agrees to work for a debt collector, but soon discovers his deal with the devil has unexpected costs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Arm-Chair (1912)
Peggy Wilson has recently become an orphan and a ward of the Waston family. She’s also inherited the late Robert Wilson’s vast fortune, which puts her very much in Mr. Waston’s favor. He would like his son, Frank, to marry Peggy, but Peggy “is not his style” and “her money is no inducement”.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Toritate no kagayaki?
The closest matches to Toritate no kagayaki are Sakuran (2006), Crayon Shinchan the Movie: My Moving Story! Cactus Attack! (2015) and Reincarnation (2005). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Toritate no kagayaki?
Start with Sakuran (2006), the closest match to Toritate no kagayaki.
What is the highest-rated movie like Toritate no kagayaki?
One Piece: Dead End Adventure (2003), rated 7.0/10 by 226 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Toritate no kagayaki?
Call Me Dad (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Toritate no kagayaki?
Yes: Sakuran (2006), Crayon Shinchan the Movie: My Moving Story! Cactus Attack! (2015) and Reincarnation (2005).
How are movies similar to Toritate no kagayaki chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Toritate no kagayaki, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.