Movies like Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword (1961)
The best movies like Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword (1961) are Branded to Kill (1967), Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972) and Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972). If Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)8.0/10 from 19,724 votes
- NewestComing 2 America (2021)Released 2021
- In JapaneseBranded to Kill (1967)Also in Japanese
Branded to Kill (1967)
After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972)
Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza in order to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)
Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must eliminate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Drifter (1966)
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this13 Assassins (2010)
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972)
Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKill! (1968)
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this13 Assassins (1963)
A sadistic Daimyo (feudal lord) rapes a woman and murders both her and her husband, but even when one of his own vassals commits suicide to bring attention to the crime, the matter is quickly hushed up. Not only will there be no punishment, but because the Daimyo is the Shogun's younger brother, he will soon be appointed to a high political position from which he could wreak even more havoc. Convinced that the fate of the Shogunate hangs in the balance, a plot is hatched to assassinate the Daimyo. The two most brilliant strategic minds of their generation find themselves pitted against each other; one is tasked to defend a man he despises, and has a small army at his disposal. The other is given a suicide mission, and has 12 brave men. They are the 13 Assassins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Note: The Last Name (2006)
In the second installment of the Death Note film franchise, Light Yagami meets a second Kira and faithful follower Misa Amane and her Shinigami named Rem. Light attempts to defeat L along with Teru Mikami (a Kira follower) and Kiyomi Takada (another Kira follower) but in the end will Light win? or will a Shinigami named Ryuk make all the difference in Light's victory or his ultimate death?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi Challenged (1967)
Ichi is staying at an inn when a woman dies. Her dying wish is that Ichi take her son to his father, an artist living in a nearby town. After arriving in the town, Ichi finds out that the father has been forced by a local boss to create illegal pornography to pay off his gambling debts. Ichi makes it his mission to save the man and reunite the family, even though it brings him into conflict with a samurai he sort of befriended on his way to the town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisComing 2 America (2021)
Prince Akeem Joffer is set to become King of Zamunda when he discovers he has a son he never knew about in America – a street savvy Queens native named Lavelle. Honoring his royal father's dying wish to groom this son as the crown prince, Akeem and Semmi set off to America once again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfro Samurai: Resurrection (2009)
Afro Samurai avenged his father and found a life of peace. But the legendary master is forced back into the game by a beautiful and deadly woman from his past. The sparks of violence dropped along Afro’s bloody path now burn out of control – and nowhere are the flames of hatred more intense than in the eyes of Sio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThrone of Blood (1957)
Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu and Miki are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the first part of the spirit's prophecy comes true, Washizu's scheming wife, Asaji, presses him to speed up the rest of the spirit's prophecy by murdering his lord and usurping his place. Director Akira Kurosawa's resetting of William Shakespeare's "Macbeth" in feudal Japan is one of his most acclaimed films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAzumi 2: Death or Love (2005)
Young assassins Azumi and Nagara continue their mission to prevent a civil war. In their hunt for Masayuki Sanada, who is protected by both an army and a dangerous clan, they meet Ginkaku, a person who shows a remarking resemblance with former friend Nachi.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman: Soul of the Dragon (2021)
Bruce Wayne faces a deadly menace from his past, with the help of three former classmates: world-renowned martial artists Richard Dragon, Ben Turner and Lady Shiva.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGintama 2: Rules Are Made to Be Broken (2018)
The Yorozuya gang returns to protect the country's shogun when the Shinsengumi police force finds itself in a crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder (1987)
In this sequel, Scott Wylde, an American kickboxer, must go to Cambodia to rescue his Vietnamese girlfriend from Russian and Vietnamese troops.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword?
The closest matches to Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword are Branded to Kill (1967), Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972) and Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword?
Start with Branded to Kill (1967), the closest match to Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword.
What is the highest-rated movie like Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword?
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), rated 8.0/10 by 19,724 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword?
Coming 2 America (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword?
Yes: Branded to Kill (1967), Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972) and Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972).
How are movies similar to Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Yagyu Chronicles 2: The Secret Sword, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.