Movies like Pretending Not to See (2012)
The best movies like Pretending Not to See (2012) are Death Billiards (2013), Look Back (2024) and Summer Ghost (2021). If Pretending Not to See hooked you with its drama and animation, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSpirited Away (2001)8.5/10 from 19,210 votes
- Newest100 METERS (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseDeath Billiards (2013)Also in Japanese
Death Billiards (2013)
Death Billiards is one of the four anime works that each received 38 million yen (about US$480,000) from the "2012 Young Animator Training Project." Just like in 2010 and 2011, the animation labor group received 214.5 million yen (US$2.65 million) from the Japanese government's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and it distributed most of those funds to studios who train young animators on-the-job. An old and a young man find themselves in a mysterious bar where they have to play a game of billiard. The bet: their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLook Back (2024)
Popular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a competitive fervor in Fujino. What starts as jealousy transforms when Fujino realizes their shared passion for drawing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisSummer Ghost (2021)
An urban legend says that lighting fireworks at an abandoned airfield will beckon the "summer ghost," a spirit that can answer any question. Three teenagers, Tomoya, Aoi, and Ryo, each have their own reason to show up one day. When a ghost named Ayane appears, she reveals she is only visible to those "who are about to touch their death." Compelled by the ghost and her message, Tomoya begins regularly visiting the airfield to uncover the true purpose of her visits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisColorful (2010)
Upon reaching the train station to death, a dejected soul is informed that he is lucky and will have another chance at life. He is placed in the body of a 14-year-old boy named Kobayashi Makoto, who has just committed suicide. Watched over by a neutral spirit named Purapura, the soul must figure out what his greatest sin and mistake in his former life was, before his time limit in Makoto's body runs out. He also has a number of other lesser duties he must complete, such as understanding what led Makoto to commit suicide in the first place and learning how to enjoy his second chance at life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLa Maison en Petits Cubes (2008)
La Maison en Petits Cubes tells the story of a grandfather's memories as he adds more blocks to his house to stem the flooding waters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this100 METERS (2025)
A gifted runner trains a determined but unskilled classmate, unaware he's creating a rival who will challenge him on the track for years to come.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisHaikyu!! The Movie: Battle of Concepts (2017)
A recap film depicting the match against Shiratorizawa Academy in the third season of the anime series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Boy and the Beast (2015)
Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his spirit guide. That encounter leads them to many adventures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisRevival of Evangelion (1998)
Revival of Evangelion is a re-edit of the Neon Genesis Evangelion films , released in 1998. It consists of Evangelion: Death (which was essentially a clip show that summarized the entire regular series) and The End of Evangelion , re-edited together to make a version that tells the entire story of Evangelion. It is considered to be the final form of the Evangelion films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Karate Kid (1984)
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaruto OVA 9: Chunin Exam on Fire! and Naruto vs. Konohamaru! (2011)
Naruto faces off against his old pupil Konohamaru in a tournament during the chuunin entrance exams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonster High: Friday Night Frights (2012)
After Monster High’s roller skating team is defeated at the Skulltimate Roller Maze tournament, the ghouls team up to face an all-boys league, with the hope of winning back the school crest and restoring school spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMonster (2023)
After an outburst at school involving her son, a concerned single mother demands answers, triggering a sequence of deepening suspicion and turmoil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMezzo Forte (2000)
The target of hitgirl Mikura is a wealthy baseball team owner, but he turns out to be a powerful underworld boss. Mikura and her team are beset by countless heavily armed bodyguards and the boss' vicious daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPersona3 THE MOVIE #1 Spring of Birth (2013)
In the spring, male student Makoto Yuki transfers to Gekkoukan High School. However, as he heads to his new dormitory, listening to the music on his headphones, he is stopped. More precisely, time has stopped, and the people who were around him turn into coffins. Makoto learns that this period of time hidden between the minute of midnight is called the Dark Hour, a time when monsters called Shadows appear. Suddenly made the leader of his fellow classmates Yukari and Junpei by his upperclassmen Mitsuru and Akihiko, Makoto must learn empathy, his connection to his comrades, and the meaning of death. With the power of his Evoker aimed at his head he awakens a Persona and fights against the Shadows threatening to attack his world from the mysterious tower of Tartarus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKids Return (1996)
Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBubble (2022)
In an abandoned Tokyo overrun by bubbles and gravitational abnormalities, one gifted young man has a fateful meeting with a mysterious girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoggie March (1963)
It tells the story of Rock, a puppy whose mother is killed by a tiger and a fox. To fulfill his revenge, will achieve together a large number of animals. An animated collaboration between Osamu Tezuka and Toei Animation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Touch 5: Cross Road (2001)
Trying to find his own game of baseball, and not that of his brothers, Tatsuya moves to America and pitches for a poor, struggling minor league baseball team called the Emeralds. Meanwhile, Minami is still in Japan, trying to find her own path after quitting gymnastics. Inspired by a photograph of her final performance, she becomes the photographers assistant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
I Fall in Love With You Through a Robot (TBA)
Set in the year 2060, it follows a love story as Tokyo's third Olympics draws near. Takeru Oosawa, who works for the AI Robot Technology Research Lab, is chosen as a member of the national secret project using humanoid robots. With the help of childhood friend and co-worker Youichirou Amano and his sister Saki, Takeru tries his best to reach his objectives. However, the situation changes when Saki's office receives a warning note for terrorism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Scarface (1983)
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlackbird (1988)
A story about friendship between two boys coming from different social backgrounds, but with the equally bitter family experiences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Despondent over a painful estrangement from his daughter, trainer Frankie Dunn isn't prepared for boxer Maggie Fitzgerald to enter his life. But Maggie's determined to go pro and to convince Dunn and his cohort to help her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAmerican History X (1998)
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStand by Me (1986)
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUndersea Super Train: Marine Express (1979)
The plot of Marine Express can be described in two parts. The first part focuses on the people boarding the train and the problems they encounter on it. The second part takes place after the train has stopped at its half-way point, an island that used to be home to an ancient civilization millennia ago and has its fair share of secrets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Spirited Away (2001)
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Pretending Not to See?
The closest matches to Pretending Not to See are Death Billiards (2013), Look Back (2024) and Summer Ghost (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Pretending Not to See?
Start with Death Billiards (2013), the closest match to Pretending Not to See.
What is the highest-rated movie like Pretending Not to See?
Spirited Away (2001), rated 8.5/10 by 19,210 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Pretending Not to See?
100 METERS (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Pretending Not to See?
Yes: Death Billiards (2013), Look Back (2024) and Summer Ghost (2021).
How are movies similar to Pretending Not to See chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Pretending Not to See, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.