Movies like The World of Kanako (2014)
The best movies like The World of Kanako (2014) are Righteous Kill (2008), Hell Dogs (2022) and Kiss the Girls (1997). If The World of Kanako hooked you with its mystery and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedShoplifters (2018)7.8/10 from 2,413 votes
- NewestDisremember (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseHell Dogs (2022)Also in Japanese
Righteous Kill (2008)
Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisHell Dogs (2022)
Bent on revenge, a traumatized ex-police officer must infiltrate a yakuza organization by befriending one of the group's most unhinged members.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKiss the Girls (1997)
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharacter (2021)
A kind man aspires to become a manga writer, but villains and evil deeds do not come easily to him, for he has little experience or natural inclination for them. Things take a surprise turn when he comes across a family who were described as idealized that are no more. He uses the real-life situation for his work.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOutrage Coda (2017)
Five years after the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a noted fixer. When tensions rise between Chang and the Hanabishi, and Chang's life is endangered, Otomo returns to Japan to settle things once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Yakuza (1974)
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrother (2000)
A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this6 Bullets (2012)
An ex-mercenary known for finding missing children is hired by a mixed martial arts fighter whose daughter has been kidnapped.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Blood of Wolves (2018)
Set in 1988 in Hiroshima, Japan, prior to the enactment of the anti-organized crime law. A rumor exists that Detective Shogo Ogami has ties with the yakuza. He is partnered with Detective Shuichi Hioka and they investigate a missing person case involving a financial company employee. Conflicts between opposing yakuza groups become more serious.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShoplifters (2018)
In the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence begins to unravel. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and what makes a family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZero Woman: Red Handcuffs (1974)
Agent Zero is a cop that uses her own methods for dealing with criminals. After she unlawfully kills a rapist in a violent fashion, she is sent to prison and stripped of her badge. But very soon after, a rich politician's daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless gang. Agent Zero is let out of prison with the mission of going undercover to find the politician's daughter and return her safely. Using her deadly red handcuffs, she disposes of the criminals one by one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Clovehitch Killer (2018)
A picture-perfect family is torn apart after Tyler finds a cache of disturbing images in his father's possession. He begins to suspect that the man he trusts most in the world may be responsible for the murder of 13 women ten years prior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInside Man (2023)
Based on true events. A disgraced police detective seeking redemption goes undercover to expose a violent crime syndicate. But as he sinks deeper into the mob, the price for absolution may be higher than he can afford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
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 crime & mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12 Rounds (2009)
When New Orleans Police Detective Danny Fisher stops a brilliant thief from getting away with a multimillion-dollar heist, the thief's girlfriend is accidentally killed. After escaping from prison, the criminal mastermind enacts his revenge, taunting Danny with 12 rounds of near-impossible puzzles and tasks that he must somehow complete to save the life of the woman he loves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisDestroyer (2018)
When Erin Bell was a young cop, she was given an undercover assignment that ended badly and destroyed her life. Years later, she must face her demons in order to make peace with her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisViolent Cop (1989)
A detective breaks all rules of ethical conduct while investigating a colleague’s involvement in drug pushing and yakuza activities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOutrage (2010)
When a tough yakuza gangster is betrayed by his bosses, it means all out war. Bodies pile up as he takes out everyone in his way to the top in a brutal quest for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ritual Killer (2023)
Unable to process the death of his daughter, Detective Boyd embarks on a hunt for a serial killer who murders according to a brutal tribal ritual: Muti. The only person who can help Boyd is Professor Mackles, an anthropologist who hides an unspeakable secret. The line between sanity and madness thins as Boyd goes deeper into the killer’s world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Clearing (2004)
When affluent executive Wayne Hayes is kidnapped by a disgruntled employee and held for ransom in a forest, Wayne’s wife is forced to reckon with the FBI agents as they negotiate with the kidnapper.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisDesperate Measures (1998)
San Francisco police officer Frank Connor is in a frantic search for a compatible bone marrow donor for his gravely ill son. There's only one catch the potential donor is convicted multiple murderer Peter McCabe who sees a trip to the hospital as the perfect opportunity to get what he wants most: freedom. With McCabe's escape, the entire hospital becomes a battleground and Connor must pursue and, ironically, protect the deadly fugitive who is his son's only hope for survival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBully (2001)
A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Dragon (2002)
Former FBI Agent Will Graham, who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDisremember (2025)
An ex-military alcoholic begins experiencing unexplained blackouts, and the more he tries to stop them, the worse they get, until he realises they are being triggered by a trauma his mind is fighting to forget.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & mystery
Freeway (1996)
Following the arrest of her mother, Ramona, young Vanessa Lutz decides to go in search of her estranged grandmother. On the way, she is given a ride by school counselor Bob Wolverton. During the journey, Lutz begins to realize that Bob is the notorious I-5 Killer and manages to escape by shooting him several times. Wounded but still very much alive, Bob pursues Lutz across the state in this modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDays of Wrath 2 (2019)
A film about a group of rowdy teenagers who get a taste of their own medicine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
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 thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMagnum Force (1973)
"Dirty" Harry Callahan is a San Francisco Police Inspector on the trail of a group of rogue cops who have taken justice into their own hands. When shady characters are murdered one after another in grisly fashion, only Dirty Harry can stop them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIf Only (2024)
On a rainy afternoon, Martha discovers an old Polaroid in her bedroom. She then spends the whole afternoon conversing with someone deeply familiar and significant from her past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Like The World of Kanako and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The World of Kanako?
The closest matches to The World of Kanako are Righteous Kill (2008), Hell Dogs (2022) and Kiss the Girls (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The World of Kanako?
Start with Righteous Kill (2008), the closest match to The World of Kanako.
What is the highest-rated movie like The World of Kanako?
Shoplifters (2018), rated 7.8/10 by 2,413 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The World of Kanako?
Disremember (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The World of Kanako?
Yes: Hell Dogs (2022), Character (2021) and Outrage Coda (2017).
How are movies similar to The World of Kanako chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The World of Kanako, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.