Movies like My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
The best movies like My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) are Chie the Brat (1981), Eternal Family (1997) and From Up on Poppy Hill (2011). If My Neighbors the Yamadas hooked you with its animation and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWolf Children (2012)8.2/10 from 2,575 votes
- NewestSenpai Is an Otokonoko Movie: Sunshine After the Rain (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseChie the Brat (1981)Also in Japanese
Chie the Brat (1981)
Chie Takemoto is a dependable girl who struggles to help her troublesome father run a small tavern in Osaka. Unbeknown to her dad, she occasionally visits her mother who left him not too long ago. She plans on trying to reunite them, but not until her father gets a job.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEternal Family (1997)
Six men and women who are completely underground to one another have been given false memories and are living together as a family in a capsule hall. They know nothing about the outside world, and that they are broadcasted as a real-life soap opera in the imaginary community of Champon City.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
From 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: Fans watch both · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnly Yesterday (1991)
In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhisper of the Heart (1995)
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKinmoza the Movie: Thank You!! (2021)
Time flies when you're having fun, and it seems like only yesterday that Shinobu Omiya was nervously waiting for her friend Alice Cartelet to arrive from England to study at Shinobu's school in Japan. Now, in their third and final year, Alice, Shinobu, Aya, and Yoko have truly become the best of friends and even Karen, Honoka, and Kana are part of the gang as well. But since it's their last year, that means their time will be split between preparing for the big senior trip to Nara and Kyoto, and trying to make plans for whatever is to come next in their lives… and in Shinobu's case, that may mean something so amazing that she'd never even dared to dream it! Hop on the tour bus for one last wonderful adventure!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
Maison Ikkoku: The Final Chapter (1988)
Yagami comes to Maison Ikkoku, not knowing of Godai's and Kyoko's wedding, stating that she is now an adult, which she is, not knowing how to tell her, they panic, but she finds out in the end, and is heart broken.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
Miss Hokusai (2015)
A daughter is constantly overshadowed by her famous father, but she is determined to make her own mark in the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlways: Sunset on Third Street '64 (2012)
As the Tokyo Olympics usher in a wave of rapid modernisation, the residents of Third Street face new beginnings as Mutsuko becomes involved with a seemingly perfect young doctor who may not be all he appears, while Chagawa struggles with his stalled writing career and what it truly means to be a father to the boy he has raised as his own.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Senpai Is an Otokonoko Movie: Sunshine After the Rain (2025)
During spring break, Saki visits her father and has a close encounter with a whale. / Makoto confronts a former classmate. Meanwhile, Saki must make a difficult decision. / Saki is upset after spending the day at her mother's house. Makoto, meanwhile, decides to take a step forward. / After much thought, Saki finally makes a decision.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
Always - Sunset on Third Street (2005)
In 1958 postwar Tokyo, the residents of a humble Third Street neighbourhood struggle, dream, and grow together as rapid modernisation transforms their lives beneath the shadow of the newly rising Tokyo Tower.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
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: Fans watch both · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHaikara-san: Here Comes Miss Modern Part 1 (2017)
During the Taisho era of 1918, 17-year-old Benio Hanamura thrives on bucking tradition. As a boisterous and quarrelsome tomboy, Miss Hanamura leads a life of kendo and tree-climbing adventure with her best friends Tamaki and Ranmaru. Benio determines to find love on her own, though her family has other plans. Benio will encounter tests of love, independence, and friendship during wartime.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
Doraemon: The Record of Nobita, Spaceblazer (1981)
Lopple and Chammy, two runaway aliens, recruit Doraemon and Nobita to help save their planet from destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Night on the Galactic Railroad (1985)
Lonely and awkward, Giovanni struggles with his sick mother, absent father, and an afterschool job that isolates him from his peers. But on the night of the Festival of Stars, he is magically transported onto a celestial train with his only friend, Campanella. Together, they embark on an extraordinary journey through the galaxy, encountering mysterious characters and grappling with life's deepest questions.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHetalia: Axis Powers: Paint It, White! (2010)
The Pictorians have arrived from deep in space. They also have dangly glow-balls on their heads, which is kinda cool, but still. The freaky aliens are using use their crazy rainbow-beam-thingy to paint everything on Earth the same color: white! See, now the title of the movie makes more sense, right? Anyway, if the Pictorians are to be stopped, the Allied guys and the Axis boys - plus some new characters, too - must set aside their differences, unite against their common foe, and hopefully get together for a sweaty workout to make sure they're super-ready to save the world!
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cat Returns (2002)
Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it's no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhen Marnie Was There (2014)
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPanda! Go Panda! (1972)
Cheerful Mimiko’s small family grows when she adopts a talking baby panda and his full-grown papa. Despite Mimiko's best efforts, the appearance of Panny and Papa Bear disrupts the quiet pace of life in town, prompting zookeepers to reclaim the escaped bear pair.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLupin the Third: The Pursuit of Harimao's Treasure (1995)
The infamous bandit Harimao hid a treasure, and to retrieve it, Lupin and the gang must gather three lost statues. When the Nazi-like group Neo-Himmel make a run for the goods, Lupin reluctantly partners with the aging "double-O" MI-6 agent Sir Archer and his granddaughter Diana to gather the statues first. Can this unorthodox team bond well enough to see this mission through?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBakuman (2015)
Moritaka Mashiro doesn't want to follow in the path of his uncle who worked as a manga artist, but ultimately died because of exhaustion. Moritaka Mashiro figures he will graduate from school and work at an office. Things change though when falls in love with a girl at school. The girl, who hopes to become a voice actress, tells Moritaka they can marry, but only after they both achieve their dreams. Moritaka then teams up with fellow classmate Akito Takagi to publish their first manga.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMillennium 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: Fans watch both · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWolf Children (2012)
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident, a woman must find a way to raise the son and daughter that she had with him. However, their inheritance of their father's traits prove to be a challenge for her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPanda! Go Panda!: Rainy Day Circus (1973)
Mimiko, Papa Panda, and Panny make friends with a baby tiger from the circus — just in time for a flash flood to throw the whole town into chaos.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTotto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window (2023)
This engaging series of childhood recollections tells of an unconventional school in Tokyo during World War II that combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. The school had old railroad cars for classrooms and was run by an extraordinary man – its founder and headmaster, Sōsaku Kobayashi – who deeply valued children's independence, and who was a firm believer in freedom of expression and activity.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaint☆Young Men (2013)
Jesus Christ and Gautama Buddha, the founders of Christianity and Buddhism, are living together as roommates in a Tokyo apartment while taking a vacation on Earth. The comedy often involves jokes about Christianity, Buddhism, and all things related, as well as the main characters' attempts to hide their identities and understand modern society in Japan.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wonderful World of Puss 'n Boots (1969)
His goal is to help the weak and defenseless, but his saving a mouse makes him the most wanted in all the land. On the run from incessant, dim-witted mice, Perro befriends a young miller's boy, Pierre; together, they decide to seek fame and fortune. When they cross paths with the lovely Princess Rosa, Perro determines to get Pierre hitched to Her Royal Highness.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both family & comedy
Ringing Bell (1978)
Chirin is an innocent though adventurous young lamb whose carefree life on the farm comes to an abrupt end when a wolf murders his mother. Confused and angry, Chirin pursues the wolf into the mountains, seeking revenge. The laws of nature are brutal, however, and hatred alone won't be enough to avenge the loss of his mother. Only the strong survive in the wild, and obtaining that strength may change Chirin forever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & family
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHappiness Is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown (2011)
Linus is pushed to his limits when he learns Grandma is coming to visit and plans on ridding him of his childish security blanket.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like My Neighbors the Yamadas?
The closest matches to My Neighbors the Yamadas are Chie the Brat (1981), Eternal Family (1997) and From Up on Poppy Hill (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after My Neighbors the Yamadas?
People who watched My Neighbors the Yamadas most often go on to Chie the Brat (1981), Eternal Family (1997) and From Up on Poppy Hill (2011).
What is the highest-rated movie like My Neighbors the Yamadas?
Wolf Children (2012), rated 8.2/10 by 2,575 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like My Neighbors the Yamadas?
Senpai Is an Otokonoko Movie: Sunshine After the Rain (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like My Neighbors the Yamadas?
Yes: Chie the Brat (1981), Eternal Family (1997) and From Up on Poppy Hill (2011).
How are movies similar to My Neighbors the Yamadas chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside My Neighbors the Yamadas, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.