Movies like Children of Nagasaki (1983)
The best movies like Children of Nagasaki (1983) are Tokyo Family (2013), House of Bamboo (1955) and Sympathy for the Underdog (1971). If Children of Nagasaki hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCharm City Kings (2020)7.8/10 from 508 votes
- NewestWhispers from the Core (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseTokyo Family (2013)Also in Japanese
Tokyo 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 · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHouse of Bamboo (1955)
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSympathy for the Underdog (1971)
A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Visit (1964)
Carla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays out the red carpet expecting big things from Carla, only to learn that her sole purpose is to see Serge Miller killed...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharm City Kings (2020)
Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRainy Dog (1997)
A Japanese assassin stranded in Taiwan must take work from a local crime boss to make ends meet when suddenly a woman from his past delivers a son to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHungry Hearts (2015)
The relationship of a couple who meet by chance in New York City is put to the test when they encounter a life or death circumstance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIntentions of Murder (1964)
The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
The story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Ballad of Narayama (1983)
In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Rain (1989)
Shigematsu Shizuma, who lives with his family in a village near Fukuyama, was in Hiroshima with his wife and niece just after the devastating atomic bombing, a tragedy that cruelly took the lives of thousands of people and forever marked the harsh existence of the survivors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outsider (2018)
A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Yakuza Tale (1973)
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNinja (2009)
A westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Prisoner Scorpion: Jailhouse 41 (1972)
After being used and betrayed by the detective she had fallen in love with, young Matsu is sent to a female prison full of sadistic guards and disobedient prisoners.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOn Summer Sand (2025)
In parched Nagasaki, grieving Koura drifts after losing his son. When his sister leaves her daughter in his care, an unexpected life together begins.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Pale View of Hills (2025)
Dual timelines explore a Japanese widow's memories spanning post-war Nagasaki in 1950s and England during 1980s Cold War era, unraveling secrets that intertwine her past and present experiences across borders.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Milk White (2004)
Takayuki is an elementary school teacher in Tokyo. He is seized with Behçet's syndrome, and will gradually lose his sight. He resigns from his job and leaves his girlfriend, Yoko (Yuriko Ishida) to return to his hometown, Nagasaki, where his mother lives. Takayuki spends his days strolling around Nagasaki, to imprint familiar scenes on his memory. Yoko visits him and insists on staying. Takayuki has major concerns for her future, and his own life. He drives her away, for her own good. After days of affliction, the two reunite. The story leads to an emotive conclusion, the end of his spiritual journey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Whispers from the Core (2025)
Under the charred veil of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Chernobyl, survivors bear treachery's shroud, hunting redemption through a generational silence that shrieks with ghosts of the forgotten.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rhapsody in August (1991)
An elderly Nagasaki hibakusha spends a summer caring for her four grandchildren, whose curiosity about the 1945 bombing stirs buried memories and moral questions. When an American nephew from Hawaii visits, the family confronts grief, guilt, and the possibility of reconciliation across generations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash (2025)
Nagasaki, 1945. Three nursing students, Tanaka Sumi, Ohno Atsuko, and Iwanaga Misao, return home when school is closed due to air raids, and spend some peaceful time with family and friends. However, at 11:02 AM on August 9th, the atomic bomb is dropped, and their daily lives are instantly shattered. The city is reduced to ruins, and despite their inexperience, the nursing students rush to provide medical care to the injured. Faced with the cruel reality that more lives must be buried than can be saved, the women continue to question the value and meaning of life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Showdown at Nagasaki (1969)
When Keiji Takama returns to Nagasaki, he finds many changes. The rights of the entertainment field that had been held by his family have been taken over by the Matsui Group, a new gangster setup. So he becomes head of the Takama Group to regain lost territory. With the cooperation of all the Bosses from Tokyo to Nagasaki, who had known his father, Keiji recovers the rights to put on shows at the City Hall. As he had feared, however, Matsui begins to interfere with his plans. Keiji's men are furious, but he knows better than to take up the cudgels with Matsui at this important time. Whatever Matsui does, Keiji goes one better. Frustrated and bitter, Matsui calls in the help of Koiwa, a killer. Now, having tried his best to oust Keiji but finding that he is made of sterner stuff than he had counted on, he decides to have Koiwa do away with him for good.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
A Story of Yonosuke (2013)
The year is 1987 and Japan is just reaching the peak of its economic success. Eighteen-year old Yonosuke Yokomichi arrives in Tokyo from Nagasaki. Ordinary in every way possible, he lives in a suburb far from the excitement of the big city and commutes to a university in the center of Tokyo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNagasaki: Memories of My Son (2015)
Nobuko works in Nagasaki, Japan as a midwife. Her son died 3 years earlier from the atomic bomb. On August 9, 1948, her son appears in front of her again. Since that time, Koji appears in front of her and they reminiscence about pleasant times. These happy, but bizarre moments seem eternal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Children of Nagasaki?
The closest matches to Children of Nagasaki are Tokyo Family (2013), House of Bamboo (1955) and Sympathy for the Underdog (1971). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Children of Nagasaki?
Start with Tokyo Family (2013), the closest match to Children of Nagasaki.
What is the highest-rated movie like Children of Nagasaki?
Charm City Kings (2020), rated 7.8/10 by 508 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Children of Nagasaki?
Whispers from the Core (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Children of Nagasaki?
Yes: Tokyo Family (2013), Sympathy for the Underdog (1971) and Rainy Dog (1997).
How are movies similar to Children of Nagasaki chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Children of Nagasaki, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.