Movies like The Lights of Asakusa (1937)
The best movies like The Lights of Asakusa (1937) are Tokyo Family (2013), Sakuran (2006) and Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973). If The Lights of Asakusa hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTokyo Godfathers (2003)7.9/10 from 1,597 votes
- NewestStardom Nighter in Korakuen 2026 Apr.2 (2026)Released 2026
- 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 thisSakuran (2006)
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
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 thisSalomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisHarmonium (2016)
Toshio hires Yasaka to work in his workshop. But then this old acquaintance, who has just been released from prison, begins to meddle in Toshio's family life.
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 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 thisTaboo (1999)
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.
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 thisGate of Flesh (1964)
In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 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 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 thisLey Lines (1999)
The story follows a trio of Japanese youths of Chinese descent who escape their semi-rural upbringing and relocate to Shinjuku, Tokyo, where they befriend a troubled Shanghai prostitute and fall foul of a local crime syndicate. Like many of Miike's works, the film examines the underbelly of respectable Japanese society and the problems of assimilation faced by non-ethnically Japanese people in Japan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsakusa Kid (2021)
Before he hit it big, Takeshi Kitano got his start apprenticing with comedy legend Fukami of Asakusa. But as his star rises, his mentor's declines.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEl Chicano (2019)
A pair of twin brothers from East L.A. choose to live their lives differently and end up on opposite sides of the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of fencing. To prove his valor and skill, he walks deliberately into ambushes set up by the school's followers.
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 thisLalapipo (2009)
Adapted from a sex-stuffed cult novel, LALAPIPO (a play on the phrase “A Lot of People”) follows divergent seedy strands of sexual and narrative spaghetti through the sticky Tokyo night. There’s a chubby freelance writer who’s so obsessed with masturbating to the sound of his upstairs neighbors going at it that he forgets to deal with his own love life and when he finally does have sex he is immediately filled with self-loathing. The upstairs neighbor’s story then splits off like an amoeba: she’s an office lady seduced by a “talent scout” who is falling down the sex industry ladder, moving from hostess, to massage girl, to private karaoke attendant. The talent scout’s story then splits off and runs in its own direction, revealing the sorry state of this young pimp’s soul. From there, the movie takes more and more time to consider the lives of more and more characters until the entire Japanese sex industry is filled with the wailing of lost souls.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
TJPW Grand Princess '24 (2024)
Grand Princess '24 was a professional wrestling event promoted by Tokyo Joshi Pro-Wrestling (TJPW), held on March 31, 2024 at Ryōgoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. In the main event, Miyu Yamashita defended the Princess of Princess Championship against Miu Watanabe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
DDT Change Age 2026 ~Extraordinary Zenkai Power~ (2026)
Change Age 2026 ~Extraordinary Zenkai Power~ was a professional wrestling event promoted by DDT Pro-Wrestling, held on April 5, 2026 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. It featured a retirement ceremony for long-time star and former KO-D Openweight Champion Kazusada Higuchi, and the remaining members of his Harimao stable competed together one last time in the main event.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stardom Cinderella Tournament 2023 ~Finals~ (2023)
Cinderella Tournament 2023 ~Finals~ was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom, held on April 15, 2023, at Yoyogi National Stadium No.2 Gymnasium in Tokyo, Japan. It primarily involved the semi-final and final matches for company's annual single-elimination tournament, as well as other featured matches.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stardom Nighter in Korakuen 2026 Apr. (2026)
Stardom Nighter in Korakuen 2026 Apr. was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom, held on April 8, 2026 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stardom in Korakuen 2026 Apr. (2026)
Stardom in Korakuen 2026 Apr. was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom, held on April 11, 2026 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stardom Nighter in Korakuen 2026 Apr.2 (2026)
Stardom Nighter in Korakuen 2026 Apr.2 was a professional wrestling event promoted by World Wonder Ring Stardom, held on April 23, 2026 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. It featured Saki Kashima's last advertised match before her retirement, teaming with God's Eye stablemate Syuri against AZM and the returning Momo Watanabe. The show also served as the final build for All Star Grand Queendom 2026 - in the main event, H.A.T.E.'s Saya Kamitani and Konami faced their separate championship challengers for Yokohama Arena, Sayaka Kurara and Hanan, in a tag team match.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (2023)
A lost cat, a giant talkative frog and a tsunami help a bank employee without ambition, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant to save Tokyo from an earthquake and find a meaning to their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIzo (2004)
Izo is an assassin in the service of a Tosa lord and Imperial supporter. After killing dozens of the Shogun's men, Izo is captured and crucified. Instead of being extinguished, his rage propels him through the space-time continuum to present-day Tokyo. Here Izo transforms himself into a new, improved killing machine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Lights of Asakusa?
The closest matches to The Lights of Asakusa are Tokyo Family (2013), Sakuran (2006) and Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Lights of Asakusa?
Start with Tokyo Family (2013), the closest match to The Lights of Asakusa.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Lights of Asakusa?
Tokyo Godfathers (2003), rated 7.9/10 by 1,597 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Lights of Asakusa?
Stardom Nighter in Korakuen 2026 Apr.2 (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Lights of Asakusa?
Yes: Tokyo Family (2013), Sakuran (2006) and Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973).
How are movies similar to The Lights of Asakusa chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Lights of Asakusa, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.