Movies like JOKER: Marginal City (1992)
The best movies like JOKER: Marginal City (1992) are Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005), Patlabor: The Movie (1989) and Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014). If JOKER: Marginal City hooked you with its mystery and animation, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedTerminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)8.2/10 from 15,187 votes
- NewestGIRLS BAND CRY The Movie: Hey, Our Future (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005)Also in Japanese
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005)
The year is 2030 and six years have passed since a criminal known only as "The Laughing Man" swept through top medical nanotechnology firms committing acts of cyber-terrorism, kidnapping, and espionage leaving no known suspects. New information is revealed, as Section 9 enters the hunt for a suspect capable of unfathomable actions in this compilation of Stand Alone Complex content.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPatlabor: The Movie (1989)
A mysterious suicide and a series of unmanned robot run-aways sparks off a Police investigation into the suspicious software on-board thousands of industrial robots around Tokyo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014)
The upcoming installment's story takes place amidst signs of postwar reconstruction in the winter of 2028. Tensions are rising in New Port City as demonstrations are held concerning the interests of foreign cartels. This leads to a shooting incident involving riot police. It all started with a cyberbrain infection released by the terrorist "Fire Starter." An independent offensive unit led by Makoto Kusanagi entrusts the suppression of the situation to their ghosts and aims for their own justice. Below the surface of the incident, lies the "tin girl" Emma and the "scarecrow man" Burinda Junior. As Kusanagi deals with the incident, she draws near to what those two ghosts were seeking.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle Angel (1993)
In his travels as a bounty hunter, Hunter–Warrior and cyborg healer Ido one day discovers and repairs the remnants of a cyborg whom he names Gally. Though possessing the body of a young woman, Gally now embodies Ido's most sophisticated and lethal cybernetic skills. The preternaturally strong, amnesiac Gally begins to forge a life for herself in a world where every day is a struggle for survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMardock Scramble: The Second Combustion (2011)
Rescued by Doctor Easter from a deadly assault on their headquarters by Dimsdale Boiled, Rune Balot finds temporary shelter in "Paradise," a high-tech laboratory where the Scramble 09 protocol originated. While the severely injured Oeufcoque regenerates in a healing vat, Rune struggles to find the answers within herself that will let her equally injured psyche find some measure of peace. But as the search for clues to the location of Shell's hidden memories continues, Boiled finds them again, and Rune and the Doctor decide it's time to carry the war to the enemy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: SAC_2045 Sustainable War (2021)
In the year 2045, after an economic disaster known as the Synchronized Global Default, rapid developments in AI propelled the world to enter a state of "Sustainable War". However, the public is not aware of the threat that AI has towards the human race. A compilation film with newly added footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like this009 Re:Cyborg (2012)
009 Re:Cyborg follows a group of nine cyborgs, each of them created by a shadowy organization for use as weapons against humanity. The group turns on their creators to protect the population instead, using the powers given them to fight their creators.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGalaxy Express 999: The Movie (1979)
In the future, one can achieve immortality by obtaining a mechanized body. Orphaned, young Tetsuro hitches a ride on the space train Galaxy Express 999 in the hope of obtaining a cyborg body to avenge his mother's death. Along the way, he meets Maetel, who is the spitting image of his dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 2: Ghost Whispers (2013)
Freed of her responsibilities with the 501 Organization, Motoko Kusanagi must now learn how to take orders from Aramaki. Someone hacks the Logicomas, and Batou enlists the help of former army intelligence officer Ishikawa and former air artillery expert Borma. Kusanagi also seeks to enlist ace sniper Saito and undercover cop Paz into the new Public Security Section 9.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhost in the Shell 2.0 (2008)
In the year 2029, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAppleseed: Ex Machina (2007)
As members of ESWAT, the elite forces serving Olympus, Deunan and Briaereos are deployed anywhere trouble strikes. Olympus finds itself under a stealth attack - cyborg terrorism, deadly nanotech zealots, and rioting citizens are just some of the threats that Deunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society (2007)
The story takes place in the year 2034, two years after the events in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C. 2nd GIG. Female cyborg Major Motoko Kusanagi has left Public Security Section 9, an elite counter-terrorist and anti-crime unit specializing in cyber-warfare, which has expanded to a team of 20 field operatives with Togusa acting as the field lead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd GIG - Individual Eleven (2006)
The year is 2030, and an influx of refuges have effortlessly transformed themselves into a terrorist organization known as the "Individual Eleven." With a sadistic intent of mass destruction, will they triumph in victory or discover the gloomy pitfalls of defeat?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCyber City Oedo 808 (1990)
In the city of Oedo 2808a.d., three Cyber criminals are given two choices, to either rot in jail or to join a special force of the Cyber Police to get possibly one more chance at freedom ever again. For each criminal apprehended, and for each successful mission done, the state will agree to reduce their sentences. Lead by Hasegawa, the new recruits: Sengoku, Gogul, and Benton will bring some hard justice to Oedo and possibly taste freedom again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell (1995)
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAppleseed (1988)
In the futuristic city of Olympus, built on the ashes of the third world war, a police officer and her cyborg partner fight terrorism.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPatlabor WXIII the Movie (2002)
Set in the year 2000, when the level of Labor accidents begin to escalate around Tokyo Bay, police detectives Kusumi and Hata are assigned to investigate. What they discover leads to a series of government cover-ups, conspiracy concerning a new biological weapon entitled WXIII-Wasted Thirteen and a tragic, personal connection to Hata. The only hope to stop this threat is to cooperate with the military and lead WXIII into a showdown with the Labors of Special Vehicle Division 2.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGhost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
Cyborg detective Batou is assigned to investigate a series of murders committed by gynoids—doll-like cyborgs, which all malfunctioned, killed, then self-destructed afterwards. The brains of the gynoids initialize in order to protect their manufacturer's software, but in one gynoid, which Batou himself neutralized, one file remains: a voice speaking the phrase "Help me."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhost in the Shell: Arise - Border 1: Ghost Pain (2013)
The story is set in 2027, one year after the end of the fourth non-nuclear war. New Port City is still reeling from the war's aftermath when it suffers a bombing caused by a self-propelled mine. Then, a military member implicated in arms-dealing bribes is gunned down. During the investigation, Public Security Section's Daisuke Aramaki encounters Motoko Kusanagi, the cyborg, wizard-level hacker assigned to the military's 501st Secret Unit. Batou, a man with the "eye that does not sleep," suspects that Kusanagi is the one behind the bombing. The Niihama Prefectural Police detective Togusa is pursuing his own dual cases of the shooting death and a prostitute's murder. Motoko herself is being watched by the 501st Secret Unit's head Kurutsu and cyborg agents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMazinger Z: Infinity (2017)
When the evil Dr. Hell attacks the Earth, the mighty giant mecha Mazinger Z is formed to stop him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCode Geass: Rozé of the Recapture - Act 1 (2024)
A recap of Code Geass: Rozé of the Recapture episodes 1–3, with new footage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & science fiction
Violet Evergarden: Recollections (2021)
An emotionally scarred former child soldier becomes a letter writer in this condensed recap of the moving, gorgeously animated award-winning series.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKamen Rider Black: Terror! Demon Mansion at Devil's Pass (1988)
The city of Yūbari in the Hokkaido prefecture has become a ghost town following the presence of Shadow Moon and his minions of Gorgom. Makino, a scientist working on Gorgom's top-secret robot experiment, escapes from the evil organization and returns to Tokyo, only to find out that his wife and daughter have been abducted. As Kamen Rider Black, Kotaro travels to Yubari to save Makino's family and liberate the town from Shadow Moon's evil grasp.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Terminator Salvation (2009)
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInu-Oh (2022)
A cursed dancer and a blind musician — both ostracized by society — become business partners and inseparable friends as their larger-than-life concerts propel them to stardom in 14th century Japan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGIRLS BAND CRY The Movie: Youth Rhapsody (2025)
After she drops out of school and moves to Tokyo by herself, Nina Iseri meets Momoka Kawaragi, the vocalist of her favourite band, and discovers the allure of music. Together with Subaru Awa, who always hides her true intentions, Tomo Ebizuka, who was ignored by her parents, and Rupa who has no relatives, Nina starts the rock band Togenashi Togeari. The five girls who all have their own worries confront the absurdities of the world and search for their place to belong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
GIRLS BAND CRY The Movie: Hey, Our Future (2025)
After forming the band Togenashi Togeari, Nina confronts her issues at the hometown she escaped from. Momoka also confronts Diamond Dust, the band that she left. Their overcoming of the past inspires the others to do the same, and aim to become pro musicians, but they are unable to adapt to the demands of society and decide to continue as an indie band.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Lupin the 3rd: Goemon's Blood Spray (2017)
A yakuza boss hires Goemon Ishikawa, a modern day samurai, to protect him aboard his cruise ship casino. Everything goes sideways when the famous thief, Lupin the Third, tries to rob the vessel. Lupin's being hunted by a powerful and mysterious man: the so called “Ghost of Bermuda.” With Goemon's employer dead in the ensuing chaos, his honor is at stake, and the only way to preserve it is with blood. But this opponent is like no other, and to make things right, Goemon may need to sharpen not only his sword, but himself as well!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like JOKER: Marginal City?
The closest matches to JOKER: Marginal City are Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005), Patlabor: The Movie (1989) and Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after JOKER: Marginal City?
Start with Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005), the closest match to JOKER: Marginal City.
What is the highest-rated movie like JOKER: Marginal City?
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), rated 8.2/10 by 15,187 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like JOKER: Marginal City?
GIRLS BAND CRY The Movie: Hey, Our Future (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like JOKER: Marginal City?
Yes: Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - The Laughing Man (2005), Patlabor: The Movie (1989) and Ghost in the Shell: Arise - Border 4: Ghost Stands Alone (2014).
How are movies similar to JOKER: Marginal City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside JOKER: Marginal City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.