Movies like Ryuji, the Gun Slinger (1960)
The best movies like Ryuji, the Gun Slinger (1960) are The Fable (2019), Graveyard of Honor (1975) and Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973). If Ryuji, the Gun Slinger hooked you with its action and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAdaptation. (2002)7.3/10 from 2,950 votes
- NewestExorcism Chronicles: The Beginning (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseThe Fable (2019)Also in Japanese
The 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 · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGraveyard 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 & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJigen Daisuke (2023)
Feeling unhappy with his gun, Jigen is looking for the world’s best gunsmith. He finally finds out that Chiharu, who runs a watch shop, is the person he’s been seeking. Then, Jigen meets Oto, who comes to Chiharu’s shop looking for a gun. Jigen finds out about Oto's secrets and the mysterious organization that’s after her. After Oto is kidnapped, Jigen gets into a desperate battle to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAccident Man: Hitman's Holiday (2022)
The Accident Man is back, and this time he must best the top assassins in the world to protect the ungrateful son of a mafia boss, save the life of his only friend and rekindle his relationship with his maniacal father figure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSailor 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 action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Last Days of American Crime (2020)
In the not-too-distant future, as a final response to crime and terrorism, the U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal that will make it impossible for anyone to knowingly break the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale 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 action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fable: The Killer Who Doesn't Kill (2021)
Akira is the legendary killer known as the Fable. Following the order of his boss and due to being overworked, he lives peacefully with his partner, Yoko, as ordinary siblings. Akira still works part-time at design company Octopus with CEO Takoda and employee Misaki. CEO Takoda and Misaki are unaware of Akira's background as an assassin. Meanwhile, Utsubo is a representative for an NPO. But, Utsubo works with contract killer Suzuki to set people up for extortion purposes. They target someone at design company Octopus.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBranded 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 & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo 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 & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrying Freeman (1995)
A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe City of Lost Souls (2000)
Brazilian-Japanese gangster Mario rescues his Chinese girlfriend Kei as she's about to be deported from Japan. Desperate to escape, he hides in Tokyo's booming Japanese-Portuguese community and seeks passage from the country from a Russian mobster. To meet his price, they hold up a bigtime drug deal between the Chinese Mafia and the local Yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMr. Long (2017)
Long is a Taiwanese killer known for his sword skills. After Long fails a Tokyo mission, he moves to a small town where no one knows about him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRainy Dog (1997)
A Japanese assassin stranded in Taiwan must take work from a local crime boss to make ends meet when suddenly a woman from his past delivers a son to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKill! (1968)
A pair of down-on-their-luck swordsmen arrive in a dusty, windblown town, where they become involved in a local clan dispute. One, previously a farmer, longs to become a noble samurai. The other, a former samurai haunted by his past, prefers living anonymously with gangsters. But when both men discover the wrongdoings of the nefarious clan leader, they side with a band of rebels who are under siege at a remote mountain cabin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisX-Cross (2007)
Recovering from a failed love affair Shiyori heads to the country, in the company of best friend and bad girl Aiko. Having taken a long soak in the hot spring they retire to their respective cabins. They soon discover that the tranquil village is the home of a cult with a fetish for cutting off female legs. Trying to escape they are split up and keep in touch via their mobile phones. Multiple points of view and time frames keeps the viewer on their toes trying to discern the grisly fate of these "lost" girls.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder the Open Sky (2021)
Mikami, an ex-yakuza of middle age with most of his life in prison, gets released after serving 13 years of sentence for murder. Hoping to find his long lost mother, from whom he was separated as a child, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director Tsunoda. Meanwhile, he struggles to get a proper job and fit into society. His impulsive, adamant nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction in his relationship with Tsunoda and those who want to help him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPatriot Games (1992)
When CIA Analyst Jack Ryan interferes with an IRA assassination, a renegade faction targets Jack and his family as revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdaptation. (2002)
Charlie Kaufman is a confused L.A. screenwriter overwhelmed by feelings of inadequacy, sexual frustration, self-loathing, and by the screenwriting ambitions of his freeloading twin brother Donald. While struggling to adapt "The Orchid Thief," by Susan Orlean, Kaufman's life spins from pathetic to bizarre. The lives of Kaufman and Orlean's book become strangely intertwined as each one's search for passion collides with the other's.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Name of the Law (1932)
The story is about a drug ring and the finally successful efforts of the Paris police to break it up. A young detective goes into a den in Paris' Chinatown, following a clue, and that is the last seen of him until his body is found floating in the Seine several days later. The only clue is a woman's glove. The dead man's friends on the force vow to avenge him, and receive information leading them to suspect one Sandra, a beautiful foreigner, played by the stunning Marcelle Chantal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Záhady aneb S Karlem Čapkem v soudní síni (1960)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Battle Royale (2000)
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExorcism Chronicles: The Beginning (2025)
When a demonic uprising threatens to end the world as they know it, a monk and an excommunicated priest join forces to protect a powerful young boy and the next generation of magic. As dark forces close in, the unlikely trio must confront their inner demons.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSherlock Holmes in the 20th Century (1987)
This film version was released before the premiere of the full two-part television version (The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson: The Twentieth Century Approaches). In this version the entire plot of the story Bruce-Partington Drawings was deleted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnder Capricorn (1949)
A British ex-convict in colonial Australia and his fragile wife, haunted by the past crime that binds them, struggle to rebuild their lives when a young newcomer stirs long-buried passions and secrets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Cell (1978)
A man is wrongfully imprisoned for five years. Once out, he hears about his wife's supposed adventures outside of their marriage and becomes increasingly jealous.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ryuji, the Gun Slinger?
The closest matches to Ryuji, the Gun Slinger are The Fable (2019), Graveyard of Honor (1975) and Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ryuji, the Gun Slinger?
Start with The Fable (2019), the closest match to Ryuji, the Gun Slinger.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ryuji, the Gun Slinger?
Adaptation. (2002), rated 7.3/10 by 2,950 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ryuji, the Gun Slinger?
Exorcism Chronicles: The Beginning (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Ryuji, the Gun Slinger?
Yes: The Fable (2019), Graveyard of Honor (1975) and Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973).
How are movies similar to Ryuji, the Gun Slinger chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ryuji, the Gun Slinger, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.