Movies like This Boy Caught a Merman (2012)
The best movies like This Boy Caught a Merman (2012) are Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos the Movie Part 1 (2023), Blush (2021) and The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2 (2009). If This Boy Caught a Merman hooked you with its fantasy and animation, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFirebreather (2010)7.4/10 from 244 votes
- NewestA Tooth Fairy Tale (2025)Released 2025
- In JapanesePretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos the Movie Part 1 (2023)Also in Japanese
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos the Movie Part 1 (2023)
The Sailor Guardians enjoy a brief moment of peace until Mamoru's Golden Crystal is stolen by Sailor Galaxia and the mysterious Sailor Starlights appear. One by one, Sailor Moon’s friends and loved ones are targeted by a formidable new enemy who threatens to destroy everything and rule over the cosmos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlush (2021)
When a horticulturalist-astronaut crashes onto a desolate planet, he encounters an ethereal visitor and discovers the joy of building a new life—realizing the universe has delivered something astonishing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2 (2009)
In February 1999, a string of murders has Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokutou on edge. These crimes share a disturbing resemblance to a similar set of homicides from 1995, when Shiki and Mikiya first met, and awaken a dark, murderous desire that has laid dormant within Shiki's soul ever since then.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMask Danshi wa Koishitakunai noni (2023)
When Saikawa rips off Keigo’s mask, he sparks unexpected feelings—and a deal: tutoring in exchange for learning to love what’s behind the mask.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Witcher: Sirens of the Deep (2025)
When human sailors are attacked by mysterious creatures of the deep, only one person can stop the war between land and sea: the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSasaki and Miyano: Graduation (2023)
As Sasaki prepares for his college entrance exams, Miyano tries to make the most of their limited time together while grappling with his own emotions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge (2013)
One day, Kurapika spots a child who looks very similar to his childhood friend, Pyro. However, when he catches up to him, the boy steals Kurapika's eyes with some kind of magical power. Gon, Leorio, and Killua promise to help find who took his eyes and get them back, but Killua is having his own problems when he is forced to face his past and whether he really is worthy to have Gon as a friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZog (2018)
Zog is a keen young dragon who wants to learn to fly, roar, and breathe fire, so he studies at the Dragon School. He is desperate to impress his teacher and win a golden star, but he is prone to accidents and he has to be helped by a kind young girl who patches up his bumps and bruises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK: Missing Kings (2014)
The "Academy Island Incident" in which four "kings" cross paths... Since then, Silver Clansmen Kuroh Yatogami and Neko have been searching for their master, Shiro. Without finding any clues to Shiro's whereabouts, the two became disheartened. However, one day, they see HOMRA members Rikio Kamamoto and Anna Kushina being chased by someone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrince Charming (2001)
After an extramarital indiscretion, a fairy-tale prince and his sidekick are turned into frogs for all eternity or until the prince can convince a maiden to kiss and then marry him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita and the Windmasters (2003)
After a typhoon hits Nobita's town, he and Doraemon discover a wind sprite who, with some help from Doraemon's 22nd-century tech, takes them and their friends to a fantastic world of wind and storm people. But the wind sprite, named Fuuko by Nobita, had brought them to her world for a reason, as her peoples' gods are battling, and Suneo might be a key player in their feud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInuyasha the Movie 4: Fire on the Mystic Island (2004)
The mysterious island of Houraijima has reappeared after 50 years, and with its reappearance has brought the attack of four gods, the Shitoushin, who have their eyes set on the powers that protect and sustain the island. Now it's up to Inuyasha and his friends, along with Sesshoumaru, to find a way to defeat the powerful Shitoushin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBleach the Movie: Memories of Nobody (2006)
In Karakura Town, unidentifiable spirits begin appearing en mases. While attempting to deal with these strange souls, Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki meet Senna, a mysterious shinigami who wipes out most of them. Senna refuses to answer any questions, so Ichigo is forced to follow her while Rukia tries to find out what's going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tale of the White Serpent (1958)
As a young boy, Xu-Xian is forced to free his pet, a small snake. Unbeknownst to him, the snake is actually a young snake goddess named Bai-Niang and she is in love with him. Many years later, when they are both adults, the princess is magically transformed into a human and sets out to find her love. But the local wizard believes her to be a vampire, and banishes Xu-Xian from the village in order to save him. Xu-Xian's pet pandas Panda and Mimi set out to save him and bring him, in the process becoming leaders of an animal gang.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrave Story (2006)
Jr. High School Student Wataru and his friends like playing in an abandond building and looking for ghosts. However it seems he is not the only one. Another mysterious student Mitsuru shows Wataru that there is a magical door to another world where one can go and get the Goddess of Fortune to grant one wish! When tragedy strikes Wataru's family he decides to open the door for himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVoices of a Distant Star (2002)
It is 2046 when a mysterious alien force begins their annihilation of the human race. Leaving behind the one person she loves, Mikako joins the interstellar battle as a pilot. And so - while Mikako risks her life to save mankind - Noboru waits. The two lovers, worlds apart, desperately strive to remain connected as the gap between them widens at a frightening pace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirebreather (2010)
It's not easy being a teen like Duncan. His mom wants him to pay more attention to his homework, while his dad - a 120-foot-tall monster known as a Kaiju - wants him to become the next King of All Monsters. When these worlds collide, Duncan must use his human wits and his Kaiju powers - including super strength, agility and the ability to breathe fire - to protect his family and friends from a giant monster rampage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDoraemon: Nobita and the Knights on Dinosaurs (1987)
Nobita tries to prove to Doraemon and his friends that dinosaurs are still alive, and, after finding an underground cave, discovers a hollow earth civilization of knights and saurian steeds that Suneo must be rescued from.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInuyasha the Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler (2003)
Inuyasha and his brother, Sesshomaru, each inherited a sword from their father after his death. However, their father had a third sword, named Sounga, that he sealed away. Seven hundreds years after his death, Sounga awakens and threatens mankind's very existence. How will the children of the Great Dog Demon stop this unimaginable power?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Tooth Fairy Tale (2025)
Van, the brave son of a tooth fairy leader, meets the goblins girl Gemma on his first mission. Despite the myths about ancient disputes between fairies and goblins, they share common values. When the greedy Spider Queen threatens both tribes, they must work together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKirepapa. (2008)
Chisato is a beautiful 35-year-old writer, who looks like 18, and the father of Riju, a cute 15-year-old boy. Chisato's hobby is to drive away all of Riju's friends because he thinks they want to corrupt his precious child, so he shows his good side to these boys while he poisons the cake he brings them with a smile; however, there is one guy, Shunsuke, who doesn't fall for the tricks. But is Shunsuke really aiming for Riju? Who is that mysterious writer Chisato loves so much? And why is Chisato convinced that Riju's friends want to take advantage of him?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & animation
Blood and Chocolate (2007)
A young teenage werewolf is torn between honoring her family's secret and her love for a man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn Between Heartbeats (TBA)
Guided by a queer deity, a closeted man is forced to confront his parents as he tries to regain his lost sense of identity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & romance
The Lovers on the Bridge (1991)
Set against Paris' oldest bridge, the Pont Neuf, while it was closed for repairs, this film is a love story between two young vagrants: Alex, a would be circus performer addicted to alcohol and sedatives and Michele, a painter driven to a life on the streets because of a failed relationship and an affliction which is slowly turning her blind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cure to Loneliness (2022)
Netty is feeling lost in life following the abrupt end of her relationship with Liam. Luckily, there's a quick fix found in pill marketed as "the cure to loneliness".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Love Bites (2025)
Just out of their teens, young men Liam and Anatole were in the throes of an exciting relationship- until they had fight, and Anatole disappeared. Liam can’t accept breakup. And, since his boyfriend doesn’t reply to his calls and text messages, Liam decides to follow him to a Halloween organized by one of Anatole’s friends to try find him. The wild night that ensues will test boys’ true feelings for each other, as well as force them to confront some hard inner truths once and for all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Little Gay Boy (2013)
A young gay boy, from his birth to his teenage years, in which he experiments his sexuality and his own boundaries, to the day he finally meets his father. In three acts: Act I — L'Annonciation or The Conception of a Little Gay Boy (2011); Act II — Little Gay Boy, ChrisT is Dead (2012); and Act III — Holy Thursday (The Last Supper) (2013).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Ellipsis (2018)
In the middle of a crowded city the paths of two strangers, a man and a woman, collide. This accidental, chance occurrence sets in motion a chain of events that sees the two strangers embark on a night of adventure and connection that challenges their separate lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Fights (2025)
Two intertwined timelines, past and present, tell the story of how and why Kathrine and Anders's relationship fell apart
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967)
Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like This Boy Caught a Merman?
The closest matches to This Boy Caught a Merman are Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos the Movie Part 1 (2023), Blush (2021) and The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2 (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after This Boy Caught a Merman?
Start with Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos the Movie Part 1 (2023), the closest match to This Boy Caught a Merman.
What is the highest-rated movie like This Boy Caught a Merman?
Firebreather (2010), rated 7.4/10 by 244 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like This Boy Caught a Merman?
A Tooth Fairy Tale (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like This Boy Caught a Merman?
Yes: Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Cosmos the Movie Part 1 (2023), The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2 (2009) and Mask Danshi wa Koishitakunai noni (2023).
How are movies similar to This Boy Caught a Merman chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside This Boy Caught a Merman, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.