Movies like Bojô no kawa (1957)
The best movies like Bojô no kawa (1957) are The Colors Within (2024), Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) and The Liar and His Lover (2013). If Bojô no kawa hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYojimbo (1961)8.1/10 from 1,789 votes
- NewestThe Colors Within (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseThe Colors Within (2024)Also in Japanese
The Colors Within (2024)
Totsuko is a high school student with the ability to see the 'colors' of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the most beautiful color of all. Although she doesn't play an instrument, Totsuko forms a band with Kimi and Rui, a quiet music enthusiast they meet at a used bookstore in a far corner of town. As they practice at an old church on a remote island, music brings them together, forming friendships and stirring affections.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Liar and His Lover (2013)
Set within music field, this film depicts a love story between a 25-year-old sound engineer and 16-year-old high school student Riko, who posessess a gifted voice. 25-year-old sound engineer Aki is a member of popular band "Crude Play," but right after the band decides to make their major record debut Aki quits the band. But, Aki provides his music to Crude Play under the name of producer Soichiro. Aki begins to date Riko, whose father runs a fruit and vegetable shop. Riko doesn't know about Aki's background, but she likes to listen to him hum. Riko is in a band herself, with childhood friend Yuichi and Sota. One day she is scouted by producer Soichiro.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Teahouse of the August Moon (1957)
In post-WWII Japan, an American captain is brought in to help build a school, but the locals want a teahouse instead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGauche the Cellist (1982)
Gauche is a diligent but mediocre cellist who plays for a small town orchestra and the local cinema in the early 20th century. He struggles during rehearsals and is often berated by his conductor during preparations for an upcoming performance of Beethoven's Sixth Symphony. Over the course of four nights, Gauche is visited at his mill house home by talking animals as he is practicing.
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 thisCafé Lumière (2004)
In a distinctly contemporary Tokyo that looks backwards to the city’s disappearing past, Yoko is a writer investigating the life of a modernist composer of the 1930s. She is pregnant by a man she does not want to marry and has found a kindred spirit in a used bookstore owner who aids her research.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDepartures (2008)
Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSamurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCadillac Records (2008)
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Piano Forest (2007)
Shuhei Amamiya transfers to Moriwaki Elementary filled with hope and ambition. But it doesn't take long before he gets picked on by the class bullies, and gets involved in a dare to play the mysterious piano in the forest. Igniting his meeting with an equally enigmatic child, Kai Ichinose, who seems to be the only one capable getting sound out of the thought to be broken piano.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Giant (2023)
High school student Dai Miyamoto has his life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. Picking up a saxophone and leaving his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, Dai will find that the life of a professional musician isn’t for the faint of heart, as he must confront what it truly means to be great.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Live! The School Idol Movie (2015)
Although μ's, the defending champions of the school idol tournament, plans to dissolve their group after the graduation of their senior members, they receive news that leads them to holding a concert event! The 9 girls continue to learn and grow in this new and unfamiliar world. What is the last thing that these girls can do as school idols? With the clock ticking, what kind of meaning will the μ's members find in performing the most exciting live performance?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUzumaki (2000)
The inhabitants of a small Japanese town become increasingly obsessed with and tormented by spirals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTokyo Family (2013)
An elderly couple journey to Tokyo to visit their grown children, only to find them preoccupied and self-involved.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPerfect Days (2023)
Hirayama is content with his life as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo. Outside of his structured routine, he cherishes music on cassette tapes, books, and taking photos of trees. Through unexpected encounters, he reflects on finding beauty in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYojimbo (1961)
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSamurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school's followers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHer Love Boils Bathwater (2016)
After being diagnosed with a terminal illness, Futaba resolves to spend her remaining time reuniting her broken family, reopening the long-closed bathhouse, and helping her shy daughter Azumi learn to stand on her own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Bojô no kawa?
The closest matches to Bojô no kawa are The Colors Within (2024), Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) and The Liar and His Lover (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Bojô no kawa?
Start with The Colors Within (2024), the closest match to Bojô no kawa.
What is the highest-rated movie like Bojô no kawa?
Yojimbo (1961), rated 8.1/10 by 1,789 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Bojô no kawa?
The Colors Within (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Bojô no kawa?
Yes: The Colors Within (2024), Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954) and The Liar and His Lover (2013).
How are movies similar to Bojô no kawa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Bojô no kawa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.