Movies like Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood (1969)
The best movies like Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood (1969) are How to Rob a Bank (2007), Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (2013). If Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood hooked you with its action and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTokyo Drifter (1966)7.1/10 from 221 votes
- NewestLondon Calling (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseThe Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (2013)Also in Japanese
How to Rob a Bank (2007)
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisCotton Comes to Harlem (1970)
Harlem's African-American population is being ripped off by the Rev. Deke O'Malley, who dishonestly claims that small donations will secure parcels of land in Africa. When New York City police officers Gravedigger Jones and Coffin Ed Johnson look into O'Malley's scam, they learn that the cash is being smuggled inside a bale of cotton. However, the police, O'Malley, and lots of others find themselves scrambling when the money goes missing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (2013)
Reiji Kikukawa, who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan to set him up as an undercover cop in the Yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccident Man: Hitman's Holiday (2022)
The Accident Man is back, and this time he must best the top assassins in the world to protect the ungrateful son of a mafia boss, save the life of his only friend and rekindle his relationship with his maniacal father figure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBulletproof 2 (2020)
Special Agent Jack Carter reluctantly assumes the identity of criminal Archie Moses to take down a powerful South African crime family. But when the real Moses is put in danger, he and Carter must work together to foil the scheme for good.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fable (2019)
The Fable is a legendary yakuza hitman equal to none—but his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonday (2000)
A simple funeral turns a man's world Topsy turvy. He wakes up in a posh hotel room, totally clueless about how he got there. Slowly, he recalls what happened a day before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSheroes (2023)
When four thick-as-thieves friends arrive in Thailand, they quickly find themselves in over their heads. Fighting to stay alive, they employ their unique set of skills and unleash their fierce loyalty in a heart-pumping battle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAccident Man (2018)
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShowdown in Little Tokyo (1991)
An American with a Japanese upbringing, Chris Kenner is a police officer assigned to the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles. Kenner is partnered with Johnny Murata, a Japanese-American who isn't in touch with his roots. Despite their differences, both men excel at martial arts, and utilize their formidable skills when they go up against Yoshida, a vicious yakuza drug dealer with ties to Kenner's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLondon Calling (2025)
After fleeing the UK from a job gone wrong, a down on his luck hitman is forced to babysit the son of his new crime boss and show him how to become a man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho Is Cletis Tout? (2001)
With a hitman’s gun aimed at him, Finch tells the story of how he broke out of jail, fell in love, and took the identity of a man wanted by the Mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisRyuzo and the Seven Henchmen (2015)
Ryuzo and his 7 former henchmen are all retired yakuza, but they now live as regular old men. One day, Ryuzo becomes the victim of a phishing fraud. He calls his 7 men together to reform their society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHostile Takeover (2025)
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces (2008)
In an alternate version of 1949 Japan in which World War II never happened, the Japanese capital of Teito is home to both an ultra rich upper class and the dirt poor masses. The city is thrown into a state of panic when a phantom thief called “The Kaijin (Fiend) with 20 Faces” (K-20 for short) begins to use his mysterious abilities to steal from the rich and give to the poor. One day a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is framed for K-20’s crimes and becomes determined to clear his name. He teams up with K-20’s next target, a wealthy duchess named Yoko Hashiba (Takako Matsu) and her detective fiancé (Toru Nakamura), to take K-20 down once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Paper Tigers (2020)
Three middle aged men polish their martial arts skills to avenge their fallen master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Days of American Crime (2020)
In the not-too-distant future, as a final response to crime and terrorism, the U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal that will make it impossible for anyone to knowingly break the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTokyo Drifter (1966)
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe System (2022)
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaxi 2 (2000)
A cabdriver and a cop race to Paris to rescue a love interest and the Japanese minister of defense from kidnappers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuard Dog (1997)
A tough and violent battle ensues between Hikaru Gotokuji, who's been assigned as the bodyguard for a popular young entertainer, and the ex-mercenary who is aggressively intent on assassination.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & action
Contract Killer (1998)
Financially troubled, a newbie hitman reluctantly takes the job of finding the plotted killer of a Japanese tycoon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead or Alive (1999)
Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoughneck From Asama (1958)
When Boss Juzo's Shinmachi Yakuza family struck fear into the hearts of his adversaries, Boss Shohei's Okabe Yakuza family with a merciless gang of raiders, Itaro of Asama was missing. With the courage of a lion he had gone off to face the enemy and settle the score all by himself. As a result he had to take the blame in place of Boss Shohei, and went off to adventures on his own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Big Shots Die at Dawn (1961)
Grown up son arrives home to learn his father, the newly elected mayor, has been assassinated. So he journeys down a path to find the assassin and gets involved with two opposing yakuza gangs.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & action
Gozu (2003)
Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWasabi (2001)
Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThanks for the Tears (1965)
A film about two men who join the fight against a gang selling weapons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Code Between Brothers: All New (1970)
When the boss of the Nakano Family decides to retire and makes a loyal follower the new boss instead of his own son, it causes strife in the family. Sides are taken and lines are drawn. Meanwhile, a rival family with a land dispute with the Nakano starts pulling strings behind the scenes...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood?
The closest matches to Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood are How to Rob a Bank (2007), Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) and The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood?
Start with How to Rob a Bank (2007), the closest match to Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood.
What is the highest-rated movie like Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood?
Tokyo Drifter (1966), rated 7.1/10 by 221 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood?
London Calling (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood?
Yes: The Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (2013), The Fable (2019) and Monday (2000).
How are movies similar to Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Yakuza Wanderer: Villainous Livelihood, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.