Movies like Free and Easy 16 (2005)
The best movies like Free and Easy 16 (2005) are The Yellow Handkerchief (1977), Kikujiro (1999) and The Fable (2019). If Free and Easy 16 hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedIn This Corner of the World (2016)7.9/10 from 664 votes
- NewestDetective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseThe Yellow Handkerchief (1977)Also in Japanese
The Yellow Handkerchief (1977)
A convict, newly released from prison for murder, joins two strangers on a road trip through Hokkaido to visit his ex-wife, whom he hasn't seen in four years, knowing that if she puts a yellow handkerchief on the window, it would mean that she wants him back at home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKikujiro (1999)
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical journey of laughter and tears with a wide array of surprises and unique characters along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fable (2019)
The Fable is a legendary yakuza hitman equal to none—but his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1999)
In dreamlike mountain scenery, Toshiko makes a daring escape from her sexually warped Uncle Sonezaki. Fortunately, she met Samehada as she runs for her life, which is also escaping from some slayers. What follows is a wild chase that leads the audience into a comically violent world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRevenge of the Ninja (1983)
A peaceful ex-ninja's life shatters when his son's kidnapping forces him back into violence amid an American-Japanese criminal drug war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn This Corner of the World (2016)
Japan, 1943, during World War II. Young Suzu leaves her village near Hiroshima to marry and live with her in-laws in Kure, a military harbor. Her creativity to overcome deprivation quickly makes her indispensable at home. Inhabited by an ancestral wisdom, Suzu impregnates the simple gestures of everyday life with poetry and beauty. The many hardships, the loss of loved ones, the frequent air raids of the enemy, nothing alters her enthusiasm…
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDetective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram (2024)
A message has arrived from Kid the Phantom Thief, that he will steal a Japanese sword belonging to wealthy Onoe Family in Hakodate, Hokkaido. Conan and Heiji Hattori, who happened to be in Hakodate, are on the case to capture Kid. Coincidentally the family lawyer of Onoe is found murdered in the warehouse district, apparently slaughtered by a Japanese sword. The suspect is an investor/arms dealer who is said to be after Onoe family’s hidden treasure. In the North among cherry blossoms, the exciting hunt for treasure begins!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdrift in Tokyo (2007)
A thug offers to pay a law student's gambling debt if the student will accompany him on a trip across Tokyo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragon Ball: Sleeping Princess in Devil's Castle (1987)
Goku and Kuririn are given an assignment by Kame-Sen'nin: "Retrieve the sleeping princess from Lucifer and I will take you as my students." But the mission proves to be more perilous than originally thought.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsako I & II (2018)
Asako lives in Osaka. She falls in love with Baku, a free-spirit. One day, Baku suddenly disappears. Two years later, Asako now lives in Tokyo and meets Ryohei. He looks just like Baku, but has a completely different personality.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOcean Waves (1993)
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: The Secret Treasure of Buri Buri Kingdom (1994)
The Noharas win a vacation to the Kingdom of Buri Buri -- but the whole thing was just a clever ploy by an evil organization to kidnap Shin-chan!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisTeen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo (2006)
After a battle with a high-tech villain named, Saiko-Tek, the Teen Titans travel to the city of Tokyo where they find themselves embroiled in a conflict with an ancient enemy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisTokyo Revengers (2021)
An unemployed man learns that his ex-girlfriend was murdered. He suddenly finds himself travelling through time to his middle school years and has chance to change the future and save the girl. He aims to rise to the top of the most brutal delinquent gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island (1956)
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKamikaze Girls (2004)
Momoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrows Zero (2007)
The students of Suzuran High compete for the King of School title. An ex-graduate yakuza is sent to kill the son of a criminal group, but he can't make himself do it as he reminds him of his youth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Free and Easy 16?
The closest matches to Free and Easy 16 are The Yellow Handkerchief (1977), Kikujiro (1999) and The Fable (2019). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Free and Easy 16?
Start with The Yellow Handkerchief (1977), the closest match to Free and Easy 16.
What is the highest-rated movie like Free and Easy 16?
In This Corner of the World (2016), rated 7.9/10 by 664 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Free and Easy 16?
Detective Conan: The Million-Dollar Pentagram (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Free and Easy 16?
Yes: The Yellow Handkerchief (1977), Kikujiro (1999) and The Fable (2019).
How are movies similar to Free and Easy 16 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Free and Easy 16, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.