Movies like In This Corner of the World (2016)
The best movies like In This Corner of the World (2016) are Barefoot Gen (1983), Ethel & Ernest (2016) and Giovanni's Island (2014). If In This Corner of the World hooked you with its animation and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)8.2/10 from 242 votes
- NewestLook Back (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseBarefoot Gen (1983)Also in Japanese
Barefoot Gen (1983)
A story about the effect of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEthel & Ernest (2016)
This hand drawn animated film, based on the award winning graphic novel by Raymond Briggs, is an intimate and affectionate depiction of the life and times of his parents, two ordinary Londoners living through extraordinary events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGiovanni's Island (2014)
In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarefoot Gen 2 (1986)
Three years after the Hiroshima bombing, a teenager helps a group of orphans to survive and find their new life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)
Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhen the Wind Blows (1986)
With the help of government-issued pamphlets, an elderly British couple build a shelter and prepare for an impending nuclear attack, unaware that times and the nature of war have changed from their romantic memories of World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBuddha: The Great Departure (2011)
Prince Siddhartha is heir to the Shakya kingdom, which is constantly at war with the more powerful Kosala kingdom. His father tries to raise as him as a warrior leader and to shield him from the miseries of the world. Meeting the young outcast girl Migaila, Siddhartha experiences love for the first time but also witnesses the suffering that afflicts humankind. Meanwhile, in Kosala, Chapra rises through the military, despite his lowly origins, to become a hero and general of the army. A final showdown between the two kingdoms forces Siddhartha to re-evaluate the path he is following.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)
After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labour chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts and moves with his newlywed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Breadwinner (2017)
A headstrong young girl in Afghanistan, ruled by the Taliban, disguises herself as a boy in order to provide for her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmperor (2012)
As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Boy and the Heron (2023)
While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrom 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKensuke's Kingdom (2024)
A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard. After washing up on a remote island, terrified, they struggle to survive and adjust to life alone, One day, Michael discovers he is not alone when he is confronted by a mysterious Japanese man who has lived there secretly since World War II, angry that Michael has arrived. However, as dangerous invaders threaten their fragile island paradise, Michael and the old man, Kensuke, join forces to save their secret world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSword of the Stranger (2007)
Pursued by formidable Chinese assassins, young Kotaro and his dog run into No Name, a mysterious stranger who gets pulled into the chase. The unlikely companions form a bond over saving the dog from a poison attack, but chaos erupts when the assassins find Kotaro, and No Name must face his past before a horrible fate is met again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLook Back (2024)
Popular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a competitive fervor in Fujino. What starts as jealousy transforms when Fujino realizes their shared passion for drawing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisanohana: The Flower We Saw That Day - The Movie (2013)
A year has passed since Menma's ghostly return to the Super Peace Busters. Although the time they spent together during that summer was short, the five members reminisce about what happened as they each write a letter to their lost friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKabaneri of the Iron Fortress: Life That Burns (2017)
In the midst of an industrial revolution, the people of Hinomoto fight hordes of undead creatures, known as Kabane, using powerful armored trains. (Compilation film of the second half of the original TV series.)
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFist of the North Star: The Legend of Yuria (2007)
Second part of the new Fist of the North Star movie pentalogy presenting the story from Yuria's perspective, spanning from her childhood, including the day she first met Kenshiro.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPokémon: Mewtwo Returns (2001)
The Team Rocket leader, Giovanni, has found Mewtwo in a remote area of the Johto region. As Giovanni tries to re-capture Mewtwo, Ash and his friends are kidnapped by Domino, a new Team Rocket member, while trying to rescue Pikachu from Jessie and James. The Clone Pokemon are also captured and are then used as bait for Mewtwo. The situation then becomes a battle between the wills of Mewtwo and Giovanni; and Mewtwo also tries to discover if it and the clones have a purpose in life, even though they are products of science.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTomorrow's Joe The Movie (1980)
An abridged remake of the first Ashita no Joe TV series, released in 1980 to provide back-story for the second TV series to new fans who were not familiar with the first TV series or the manga.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
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: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Age of Heroes (2011)
The true story of the formation of Ian Fleming's 30 Commando unit, a precursor for the elite forces in the U.K.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisUnico in the Island of Magic (1983)
A young unicorn named Unico must fight an evil magician and save everyone who's trapped under his spell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & drama
Platonic Sex (2001)
When Aoi is gang-raped by her classmates and kicked out of her home by her own parents she sees no reason to continue living. Before she commits suicide, however, she receives an email on her cellphone from a man named Toshi addressed to a girl named Ai. The message simply thanks the girl for being alive, but this specific message has an effect on Aoi and she decides to keep on living. Without many options, Aoi resorts to everything from paid dating to porn to earn money and meets a lot of less than reputable characters. Throughout it all though she looks toward Toshi as her hope for happiness and the two form a relationship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Moldiver (1993)
A naïve young girl accidentally modifies her brother's secret superhero uniform and becomes the unwilling superheroine Moldiver.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Blonde (2022)
From her volatile childhood as Norma Jeane, through her rise to stardom and romantic entanglements, this reimagined fictional portrait of Hollywood legend Marilyn Monroe blurs the lines of fact and fiction to explore the widening split between her public and private selves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLocomotive Teacher (2004)
Seigo Yoshioka (Kenji Sakaguchi) is a teacher that became mute after a kendo accident. He feels lost after the accident and eventually decides to teach again on a small island where his mother was born. The children there on the island quickly name him "Kikansha Sensei" (Teacher Locomotive) after learning he is mute. The parents on the island are mostly hostile to Seigo Yoshioka, believing he is incapable of teaching their children. But with Seigo Yoshioka's determination and kindness, a strong bond develops between the students and the mute teacher, which then changes the parents' opinions of Seigo Yoshioka. Suddenly, tragedy then strikes ...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Barber's Sorrow (2002)
A S&M comedy about a masochist barber.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Health for the Americas: Cleanliness Brings Health (1945)
The comparison of two rural families to demonstrate the need for proper hygiene and the consequences of its neglect.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like In This Corner of the World?
The closest matches to In This Corner of the World are Barefoot Gen (1983), Ethel & Ernest (2016) and Giovanni's Island (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after In This Corner of the World?
Start with Barefoot Gen (1983), the closest match to In This Corner of the World.
What is the highest-rated movie like In This Corner of the World?
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959), rated 8.2/10 by 242 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like In This Corner of the World?
Look Back (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like In This Corner of the World?
Yes: Barefoot Gen (1983), Giovanni's Island (2014) and Barefoot Gen 2 (1986).
How are movies similar to In This Corner of the World chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside In This Corner of the World, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.