Movies like The Wind Rises (2013)
The best movies like The Wind Rises (2013) are Millennium Actress (2002), In This Corner of the World (2016) and The Princess and the Pilot (2011). If The Wind Rises hooked you with its animation and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)8.1/10 from 2,079 votes
- NewestBLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseMillennium Actress (2002)Also in Japanese
Millennium Actress (2002)
Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIn This Corner of the World (2016)
Japan, 1943, during World War II. Young Suzu leaves her village near Hiroshima to marry and live with her in-laws in Kure, a military harbor. Her creativity to overcome deprivation quickly makes her indispensable at home. Inhabited by an ancestral wisdom, Suzu impregnates the simple gestures of everyday life with poetry and beauty. The many hardships, the loss of loved ones, the frequent air raids of the enemy, nothing alters her enthusiasm…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Princess and the Pilot (2011)
The war between the Levamme Empire and the Amatsukami Imperium has been raging for years. In the midst of this struggle, the prince of the Levamme Empire declares his love for Juana del Moral and vows to end the war in one year, as part of his marriage proposal. When the Amatsukami catch wind of this, they assault the del Moral residence, targeting Juana's life. As a last-ditch effort to bring the prince his bride, the San Maltilia Airforce employs a mercenary of mixed blood—a bestado—to fly Juana to the prince in secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this5 Centimeters per Second (2007)
Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
In a post-war alternative timeline, Japan is divided into the North, controlled by the Union, and the South, controlled by the United States. A mysterious high tower rises within the borders of the Union. Three high school students promise to cross the border with a self-built airplane and unravel the secret of the tower.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGiovanni's Island (2014)
In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOcean Waves (1993)
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuddha: The Great Departure (2011)
Prince Siddhartha is heir to the Shakya kingdom, which is constantly at war with the more powerful Kosala kingdom. His father tries to raise as him as a warrior leader and to shield him from the miseries of the world. Meeting the young outcast girl Migaila, Siddhartha experiences love for the first time but also witnesses the suffering that afflicts humankind. Meanwhile, in Kosala, Chapra rises through the military, despite his lowly origins, to become a hero and general of the army. A final showdown between the two kingdoms forces Siddhartha to re-evaluate the path he is following.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thismaboroshi (2023)
A factory explosion plunges a small town into a timeless freeze, leaving teenage Masamune and his pals to grapple with a quickly collapsing reality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarefoot Gen (1983)
A story about the effect of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
Plagued by a seemingly endless stream of haunting dreams, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming sense of anger and emptiness. Then, one fateful day, he meets the mysterious and beautiful Nagisa, and his world begins to change. While helping Nagisa revive the defunct Drama Club at their high school, Tomoya discovers that she has the same dreams. Their story starts beneath the cherry blossoms, but where will fate lead them?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEscaflowne: The Movie (2000)
Gaea is a mythical realm ruled by sword and sorcery and immersed in blood and violence. Thrust into a conflict she doesn't quite understand, Hitomi Kanzaki helps aid the young Prince Van as they embark upon a journey to fight the Black Dragon Clan. The battle over a legendary suit of dragon armor, Escaflowne, has begun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy and the Heron (2023)
While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlyboys (2006)
The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 animation & drama
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 & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & drama
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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024)
When apathetic gamer Nagi agrees to join his rich classmate Mikage in soccer, their partnership leads to the famous Blue Lock program — and to changes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she must confront her fate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCharlotte (2022)
The true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. Her first love applauds her talent, which emboldens her resolve. When anti-Semitic policies inspire violent mobs, she escapes to the safety of the South of France. There she begins to paint again, and finds new love. But her work is interrupted, this time by a family tragedy that reveals an even darker secret. Believing that only an extraordinary act will save her, she embarks on the monumental adventure of painting her life story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Saints and Soldiers (2003)
Five American soldiers fighting in Europe during World War II struggle to return to Allied territory after being separated from U.S. forces during the historic Malmedy Massacre.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmpire of the Sun (1987)
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
In 1429, a French teenager stood before her King with a message she claimed came from God; that she would defeat the world's greatest army and liberate her country from its political and religious turmoil. As she reclaims God's diminished kingdom, this courageous young woman has various amazing victories until her violent and untimely death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Night (2019)
A young couple's last hours together before a trip that will separate them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Elizabethtown (2005)
Drew Baylor is fired after causing his shoe company to lose hundreds of millions of dollars. To make matters worse, he's also dumped by his girlfriend. On the verge of ending it all, Drew gets a new lease on life when he returns to his family's small Kentucky hometown after his father dies. Along the way, he meets a flight attendant with whom he falls in love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCard Zero (2023)
Before disappearing in the Mojave Desert, Robbie Zagorac captured love, life and heartbreak in a video diary.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Guerrilla Girl (1953)
During World War II, Helmut Dantine specialized in playing villainous Nazis in Hollywood melodramas. He offers a compelling performance in a variation of these earlier roles in this suspense filled and politically loaded tale of intrigue. The story opens in German-occupied Athens during the darkest hours of the war. Civilians are not allowed on the streets after dark.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Doraemon: 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: Similar story and style · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoy Division (2006)
A teenage orphan fights against the Red Army at the end of WWII and in the aftermath is 'adopted' by a Commissar. Years later he is sent to London during the Cold war to work for the KGB, where he questions his life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like The Wind Rises and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Wind Rises?
The closest matches to The Wind Rises are Millennium Actress (2002), In This Corner of the World (2016) and The Princess and the Pilot (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Wind Rises?
Start with Millennium Actress (2002), the closest match to The Wind Rises.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Wind Rises?
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013), rated 8.1/10 by 2,079 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Wind Rises?
BLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Wind Rises?
Yes: Millennium Actress (2002), In This Corner of the World (2016) and The Princess and the Pilot (2011).
How are movies similar to The Wind Rises chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Wind Rises, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.