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Movies like Emperor of Upheaval (1993)

The best movies like Emperor of Upheaval (1993) are Beyond Outrage (2012), Bad City (2022) and A Family (2021). If Emperor of Upheaval hooked you with its crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Beyond Outrage (2012)

    As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now become a nationwide war in Outrage Beyond.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. Bad City (2022)

    Kensuke Sonomura directs the legendary Hitoshi Ozawa in this ultimate V-Cinema actioner. Kaiko City is plagued with poverty and crime. When a corrupt businessman decides to run for mayor and starts eliminating opponents from the rival mafia, a former police captain serving time for murder is secretly released and put in charge of a special task force to arrest him.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. A Family (2021)

    Taken in by the yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. Outrage (2010)

    When a tough yakuza gangster is betrayed by his bosses, it means all out war. Bodies pile up as he takes out everyone in his way to the top in a brutal quest for revenge.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Outrage Coda (2017)

    Five years after the all-out war between the Sanno and Hanabishi crime families, former yakuza boss Otomo works in South Korea for Mr. Chang, a noted fixer. When tensions rise between Chang and the Hanabishi, and Chang's life is endangered, Otomo returns to Japan to settle things once and for all.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Sailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981)

    A high-school girl inherits a declining yakuza organization, which seeks to repair its fortunes under her leadership.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. The Yakuza (1974)

    When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)

    In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2007)

    Former yakuza underling Kazuma Kiryū has recently been released from prison after a lengthy incarceration and is trying to piece his life together and distance himself from his yakuza past. Unfortunately, Kiryū's problems slowly escalate as he is pursued by a former associate, the baseball-bat-wielding psycho Gorō Majima, who has a grudge to settle with Kiryū.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Graveyard of Honor (1975)

    A self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the yakuza but quickly loses his self-control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Youth of the Beast (1963)

    When a mysterious stranger muscles into two rival yakuza gangs, Tokyo's underworld explodes with violence.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. Fireworks (1997)

    Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With those close to him suffering their own tribulations, Nishi's methods become increasingly extreme.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Female Yakuza Tale (1973)

    Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. Crows 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 · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Dead or Alive (1999)

    Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Gonin (1995)

    Five men plot to steal a large sum of money from the local yakuza, but everything does not go as planned and the men find themselves hunted down by contract killers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Branded to Kill (1967)

    After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)

    A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Tokyo Drifter (1966)

    After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. The Blood of Wolves (2018)

    Set in 1988 in Hiroshima, Japan, prior to the enactment of the anti-organized crime law. A rumor exists that Detective Shogo Ogami has ties with the yakuza. He is partnered with Detective Shuichi Hioka and they investigate a missing person case involving a financial company employee. Conflicts between opposing yakuza groups become more serious.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. Brother (2000)

    A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  22. The Bad Boss (1968)

    The first in what would become Toei's most successful, longest-running bosozoku film series. It lasted from 1968 till 1972 through sixteen films.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  23. 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 crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  24. Chocolate (2008)

    Zen, an autistic teenage girl with powerful martial arts skills, gets money to pay for her sick mother Zin's treatment by seeking out all the people who owe Zin money and making them pay.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  25. Shurika (TBA)

    A biracial Black Japanese woman, hidden from her Yakuza grandfather by her mother after he had her African American husband killed because of their taboo relationship, seeks her birth mother years later. However, she finds herself caught in a conflict between the ninja clan who raised her and the Japanese underworld.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  26. A Weapon in My Heart (1996)

    A detective and his partner track down a call girl with information about a drug cartel. After taking her into custody, they are attacked by cartel members. The detective and the woman manage to escape, but they are soon hounded by a professional hitman hired to eliminate them and recover the heroin stolen by the woman.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  27. Brutal Tales of Chivalry 6 (1969)

    This is the sixth film in the Brutal Tales of Chivalry series

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  28. Contemporary Tales of Chivalry: The Traitor Shall Die (1972)

    The ninth and final film in the Contemporary Tales of Chivalry series.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

  29. Tattoo (2002)

    Marc Schrader, a rookie cop caught red-handed with drugs in a police raid of an illegal rave, joins a homicide investigation conducted by Chief Inspector Minks. The victim is a naked young woman with the skin stripped off her back, killed as she staggered into traffic. As Schrader and Minks investigate the murder, the case is complicated by a finger found in the stomach of the victim. Forensic examination proves the finger belongs to Nobert Günzel, who was previously convicted of rape and assault. The police raid Günzel’s residence, and discover a blood-stained table with restraints and bits of human flesh in his basement. They also find video equipment and preserved, tattooed skin from the victim’s back. Soon, they found dead bodies buried in the garden. Günzel then goes missing.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  30. The Mole Song: Final (2021)

    Reiji's final mission is to prevent the smuggling of 600 billion yen of drugs. For his mission, he gets on luxury passenger ship and he faces his strongest enemy to date.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

Like Emperor of Upheaval and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Emperor of Upheaval?

The closest matches to Emperor of Upheaval are Beyond Outrage (2012), Bad City (2022) and A Family (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Emperor of Upheaval?

Start with Beyond Outrage (2012), the closest match to Emperor of Upheaval.

What is the highest-rated movie like Emperor of Upheaval?

Fireworks (1997), rated 7.7/10 by 826 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Emperor of Upheaval?

Bad City (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there Japanese movies like Emperor of Upheaval?

Yes: Beyond Outrage (2012), Bad City (2022) and A Family (2021).

How are movies similar to Emperor of Upheaval chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Emperor of Upheaval, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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