Movies like Shino Can't Say Her Name (2018)
The best movies like Shino Can't Say Her Name (2018) are The Colors Within (2024), All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) and Sound! Euphonium the Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New Day (2019). If Shino Can't Say Her Name hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLook Back (2024)8.2/10 from 718 votes
- NewestAi wa Tanken (Love is a Dagger) (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseThe Colors Within (2024)Also in Japanese
The Colors Within (2024)
Totsuko is a high school student with the ability to see the 'colors' of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the most beautiful color of all. Although she doesn't play an instrument, Totsuko forms a band with Kimi and Rui, a quiet music enthusiast they meet at a used bookstore in a far corner of town. As they practice at an old church on a remote island, music brings them together, forming friendships and stirring affections.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yūichi Hasumi and Shūsuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yūichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of pop star Lily Chou-Chou.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSound! Euphonium the Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New Day (2019)
The next piece begins! Kumiko is now in her second year at Kitauji High School, and with a new year comes new problems. As if making it to Nationals wasn't hard enough, Kumiko is tasked with mentoring the concert band's troublesome first years – each with their own distinct personality and problems to solve. With Kumiko busy juggling both the concert band and her new role as senpai, how does her relationship with Shuuichi fit into the picture?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLiz and the Blue Bird (2018)
In their last year of high school, two girls in the brass band club perform a song inspired by a fairy tale that parallels their friendship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBECK (2010)
Yukio is your average high school student who spends his days going to class and avoiding bullies. That is until he meets Ryusuke, a guitar prodigy. Together with Taira, Chiba, and Saku they form the rock band BECK. As their popularity increases so does the danger as Ryusuke's past catches up with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHappyend (2024)
In a near-future Japanese city bracing for a devastating earthquake, a group of teenage friends navigate personal struggles and fractured bonds amid rising tension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Spring (2001)
Soon after being named the new leader of his high school's gang system, Kujo grows bored with the violence and hatred that surround him. He wants desperately to abandon his post… but his once-enviable position of power has a strange way of making him feel powerless.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Kirishima Thing (2012)
A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOrange (2015)
A girl mysteriously receives advice from her future self and as a result her group of friends, along with a newly arrived, troubled classmate, learn how to be better friends and a better community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTyphoon Club (1985)
Offering a caustic immersion into the lives of disaffected junior high students on the cusp of adulthood, the film takes place over the 5-day period before, during, and after a ferocious, seemingly liberating typhoon, which six of the students endure while marooned in their school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Giant (2023)
High school student Dai Miyamoto has his life is turned upside down the day he discovers jazz. Picking up a saxophone and leaving his sleepy hometown for the bustling nightclubs of Tokyo, Dai will find that the life of a professional musician isn’t for the faint of heart, as he must confront what it truly means to be great.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSing a Bit of Harmony (2021)
Satomi is fine being alone until an AI named Shion joins her class with a song and a promise to make her happy. While Shion’s musical numbers and princess gowns don’t quite pass as human, her antics bring Satomi closer to four other classmates. Together, they make memories worth saving, but even our most precious data can be erased.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out (2023)
After a draining December, Sakuta is quickly nearing the end of his second year of high school. Since Mai is a third-year student, they don't have much time left together before graduation rolls around. Meanwhile, his sister, Kaede, is slowly but steadily venturing outdoors again. Just as she begins to find her footing, she announces her most ambitious goal yet—attending her brother's high school! Sakuta knows better than anyone how difficult this will be for Kaede, and he's ready to support her however he can. He's just not sure if that's what's best for her...or what she really wants...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid (2023)
Finally, the day of Mai's high school graduation has arrived. While Sakuta eagerly waits for his girlfriend, an elementary schooler who looks exactly like her appears before him. Suspicious, and for all the wrong reasons... Meanwhile, Sakuta and Kaede's father suddenly calls, saying that their mother wants to see her daughter. She was hospitalized because Kaede's condition had been too much for her to bear, so what could she possibly want now?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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 drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKids Return (1996)
Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world is a tough place.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMolly Maxwell (2013)
At Phoenix Progressive School, students take notes lying on parlor couches and are encouraged to explore their gifts through electives like break-dancing and graphic-novel writing. In the midst of all this liberal pedagogy and budding talent, Molly Maxwell feels unexceptional, until she falls for her attractive English teacher, Ben.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeen Spirit (2019)
A shy teenager living on the Isle of Wight dreams of pop stardom. With the help of an unlikely mentor, she enters a singing competition that will test her integrity, talent, and ambition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHaikyu!! The Movie: Battle of Concepts (2017)
A recap film depicting the match against Shiratorizawa Academy in the third season of the anime series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPlatonic 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
Ai wa Tanken (Love is a Dagger) (2025)
Amelia and Wes have had a falling out in Japan, a foreign land neither of them are accustomed to. While doing some soul-searching on her own, Amelia begins to notice that she's being stalked by a strange man. Wes pleads with her to come back for her own safety - but Amelia's about to find that sometimes the most familiar faces are the most misgiving.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tombstone of the Fireflies (2008)
Set during World War II, the film follows a young brother and sister as they attempt to survive the aftermath of the firebombing of Kobe City.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Reckless (1984)
Teenager Johnny Rourke is reckless. Born on the wrong side of the tracks, he breaks the law and girls' hearts with equal cool. Cheerleader Tracey Prescott is reckless too. She dumps her conventional life and boring boyfriend to follow Johnny wherever his dangerous path leads.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Wild Life (1984)
Eighties teen romp involving Bill and his new apartment, Jim and his rebellious antics, Tom and his crazy self, and Anita with her older man David.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRitual (2000)
A disillusioned filmmaker has an encounter with a young woman who has a ritual of repeating "Tomorrow is my birthday" everyday. He tries to communicate with her through his video camera.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhat's Up with Cinta? (2002)
A popular high school girl strains her relationship with her close-knit clique when she begins falling for a reclusive, lower-class schoolmate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Period (2024)
Yatora is the perfect high school student, with good grades and lots of friends. It's an effortless performance, and, ultimately… a dull one. But he wanders into the art room one day, and a lone painting captures his eye, awakening him to a kind of beauty he never knew. Compelled and consumed, he dives in headfirst—and he's about to learn how savage and unforgiving art can be!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
20 Duels of Young Shingo: Conclusion (1963)
While on his journey through the countryside of Japan, Shingo encounters many people whose lives have been affected by his actions. Though the many duels he fought were intended to bring justice to those who sought to do evil, he is faced with the knowledge that his victories have also caused suffering amont the family members of his victims-leading him to question his life's philosophy. This superb film is the final chapter in this part of Shingo's story. A fitting tribute to his quest to be the supreme swordsman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Kamui (2009)
A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shino Can't Say Her Name?
The closest matches to Shino Can't Say Her Name are The Colors Within (2024), All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) and Sound! Euphonium the Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New Day (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shino Can't Say Her Name?
Start with The Colors Within (2024), the closest match to Shino Can't Say Her Name.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shino Can't Say Her Name?
Look Back (2024), rated 8.2/10 by 718 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shino Can't Say Her Name?
Ai wa Tanken (Love is a Dagger) (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Shino Can't Say Her Name?
Yes: The Colors Within (2024), All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001) and Sound! Euphonium the Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New Day (2019).
How are movies similar to Shino Can't Say Her Name chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shino Can't Say Her Name, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.