Movies like Tezuka's Barbara (2020)
The best movies like Tezuka's Barbara (2020) are Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2022), The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008) and Mythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014). If Tezuka's Barbara hooked you with its mystery and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDeath Note (2006)7.1/10 from 846 votes
- NewestJUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseThe Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008)Also in Japanese
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2022)
A young woman with psychokinetic powers breaks out of a Louisiana asylum and makes her way to New Orleans, where she falls into the city’s netherworld of misfits and miscreants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008)
Tomoe Enjou is attacked by bullies from his old school and saved by Shiki Ryougi. He asks her to hide him at her place and admits that he killed someone. Several days later, there are still no broadcasts about the murder as if it didn't happen... and when the victims are found, they're alive and unharmed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014)
Stuck in a life of indentured servitude, Marek dreams of becoming a wizard. When she meets the beautiful priestess Teela in need of help, she offers her assistance and provides a motley troupe. Together they go in search of Teela's sister, who was kidnapped by a wild ogre.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies like thisX (1996)
It's the year of destiny, and 15 year old Kamui Shiro, a powerful psychic, has returned to Toyko after a 6 year absence, having left when he was very young. He wants to be with his childhood friends, Fuma (his best friend) and Kotori, Fuma's little sister (and Kamui's possible girlfriend). He wants to protect them from all dangers, but destiny and fate are haunting Kamui and pulling in himself and his beloved childhood friends. It is his destiny and his sole decision to decide the fate of the world, no matter if he wants the role or not. Now it is a matter of if he will join the side of the Seven Seals and become the Dragon of Heaven to save mankind or join the Seven Angels and become the Dragon of Earth to destroy all civilization so the earth can heal itself from man's destruction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWitch Hunt (2021)
In a modern America where witches are real and witchcraft is illegal, a sheltered teenager must face her own demons and prejudices as she helps two young witches avoid law enforcement and cross the southern border to asylum in Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSky High (2003)
A serial-murderer is on the loose who just so happens to also be removing the hearts of his victims and taking them with him. His victims however, are not merely random humans as thought by the police. They are in fact, the past and present guardians of the gateway of the afterlife.On the day he is to be married, Detective Kanzaki, who happens to be on the case, discovers that his fiancé Mina has been murdered with her heart also missing. He also learns that the killers are Kudo, a geneticist, and his evil secretary Rei. The two are trying to obtain six hearts from the guardians so that they may call forth a horde of demons from the Gate of Rage and have their every desire granted. Only problem is, once they open the gate the entire world will be covered in darkness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNinja III: The Domination (1984)
An aerobics instructor becomes a ruthless assassin after being possessed by a slain ninja's spirit, leading to a showdown with a martial arts expert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNightbreed (1990)
A troubled young man is drawn to a mythical place called Midian where a variety of friendly monsters are hiding from humanity. Meanwhile, a sadistic serial killer is looking for a patsy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDr. Strange (1978)
A psychiatrist becomes the new Sorcerer Supreme of the Earth in order to battle an evil Sorceress from the past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCinderella's Curse (2024)
Desperate Cinderella summons her fairy godmother from an ancient flesh-bound book, seeking revenge on her evil stepmother and stepsisters who abuse and torment her daily.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
SnoozefestMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragonheart: Vengeance (2021)
Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inhabitant (2022)
Like any other teenage girl, Tara is just surviving high school — yet her father and mother seem strangely distant. Amidst a nearby spree of gruesome ax murders, Tara has sightings of terrifying entities, forcing her to question her own sanity and shocking ancestry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
SnoozefestMovies 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 fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEvil of Dracula (1974)
Professor Shiraki arrives at an isolated girls' boarding school to take a new position. Upon arrival, he learns the principal's wife died in a car accident and is being kept in the cellar, according to local tradition. The principal startles Shiraki by asking him to become his successor, but Shiraki soon discovers that the principal has much darker motives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both mystery
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Voyage of the Demeter (2023)
The crew of the merchant ship Demeter attempts to survive the ocean voyage from Carpathia to London as they are stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUrotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989)
Legend has it that the human race is not the only dominant civilization living on Earth. Two other races exist in this world: the Makai (a demon race) and the Jujinkai (a half-man, half-beast race). Once every 3,000 years, a supreme being known as the Choujin (Overfiend) will emerge and bring balance to all three realms on Earth. In present-day Japan, after 300 years of endless searching, a Jujinkai named Amano Jyaku has discovered the presence of the Choujin inside high school slacker Tatsuo Nagumo. But now, Amano, along with his sister Megumi and their sidekick Kuroko, must protect Nagumo and his new girlfriend Akemi Ito from the Makai, who believe that Nagumo is not the Choujin, but an evil entity bent on destroying all living beings on Earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Harvest (2023)
In a small Midwestern town, a deadly annual ritual unfolds when the mythical nightmare, Sawtooth Jack, rises from the cornfields and challenges the town’s teenage boys in a bloody battle of survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Knight's War (2025)
A fearless knight braves a deadly realm to save the Chosen One’s soul. Facing witches, demons, and brutal foes, he discovers her return could ignite chaos and doom humanity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution (2025)
A veil abruptly descends over the busy Shibuya area amid the bustling Halloween crowds, trapping countless civilians inside. Satoru Gojo, the strongest jujutsu sorcerer, steps into the chaos. But lying in wait are curse users and spirits scheming to seal him away. Yuji Itadori, accompanied by his classmates and other top-tier jujutsu sorcerers, enters the fray in an unprecedented clash of curses — the Shibuya Incident. In the aftermath, ten colonies across Japan are transformed into dens of curses in a plan orchestrated by Noritoshi Kamo. As the deadly Culling Game starts, Special Grade sorcerer Yuta Okkotsu is assigned to carry out Yuji's execution for his perceived crimes. A compilation movie of Shibuya Incident including the first two episodes of the Culling Games arc.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Note (2006)
Light Yagami finds the "Death Note," a notebook with the power to kill, and decides to create a Utopia by killing the world's criminals, and soon the world's greatest detective, "L," is hired to find the mysterious murderer. An all out battle between the two greatest minds on earth begins and the winner will control the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath Note: The Last Name (2006)
In the second installment of the Death Note film franchise, Light Yagami meets a second Kira and faithful follower Misa Amane and her Shinigami named Rem. Light attempts to defeat L along with Teru Mikami (a Kira follower) and Kiyomi Takada (another Kira follower) but in the end will Light win? or will a Shinigami named Ryuk make all the difference in Light's victory or his ultimate death?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy & mystery
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUzumaki (2000)
The inhabitants of a small Japanese town become increasingly obsessed with and tormented by spirals.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnights of the Zodiac (2023)
When a headstrong street orphan, Seiya, in search of his abducted sister unwittingly taps into hidden powers, he discovers he might be the only person alive who can protect a reincarnated goddess, sent to watch over humanity. Can he let his past go and embrace his destiny to become a Knight of the Zodiac?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMonsters 103 Mercies Dragon Damnation (2024)
A samurai's path leads him to a young waitress whose hometown was destroyed by a dragon. He doesn't want any trouble — but it finds them anyway.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThermae Romae II (2014)
In ancient Rome, bathhouse architect Lucius (Hiroshi Abe) becomes famous with designing the original "thermae" (bathhouse). He receives an order to build a thermae in the colosseum to help gladiators recover from their wounds, but faces difficulties. Thus, Lucius travels again to modern day Japan through the time slip. He meets Manami (Aya Ueto) again, who is now a reporter for a magazine which covers bathroom. With the help of the flat face Japanese tribe, Lucius again designs a new thermae. Meanwhile, Emperor Hadrian (Masachika Ichimura) wants to keep the peace with the thermae, but the Senate wants to extend the land by using force. Emperor Hadrian and the Senate now have a confrontation and Rome becomes divided.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Friends Games: The Movie (2017)
This is a continuation of Friends Games. Now the group of friends realises they have fallen into this game and they are in the second set of game, Kageguchi Sugoroku. Will Katagiri Yuichi find out who led them into this deceptive game between money and friends?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both mystery
Fairy King (1988)
Jack has moved to Hokkaido to get treatment for an illness, but he's lonely and unhappy. One night a man on a horse rides through his window to help him. For a reason he doesn't understand, Jack instantly knows the man's name and feels they've met somewhere before. The man, Cu Chulainn, tells Jack to open the moonlight shadow window, which leads him to Nymphidia, the world of Midsummer Night's Dream, whose inhabitants are waiting for a new Fairy King.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya: Licht Nameless Girl (2021)
The world is dying, no longer able to support life. The Ainsworth family can use the Holy Grail to save humanity, but the price of salvation is sacrifice of the magical girl Miyu — but Miyu’s brother, Shirou, won’t let them have her without a fight. Now it’s up to Illya to step in and find a solution that will save not only Miyu, but the entire world for impending doom. But when the price for the world's salvation is the life of a single, innocent girl, what will Illya choose?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
Dragonball Evolution (2009)
On his 18th birthday, Goku receives a mystical Dragonball as a gift from his grandfather. There are only six others like it in the whole world, and legend has it that whoever possesses all seven will be granted one perfect wish. When the arrival of a dark force triggers a tragedy, Goku and his companions are propelled into an epic quest to collect the seven Dragonballs and save the Earth from destruction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both fantasy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Tezuka's Barbara?
The closest matches to Tezuka's Barbara are Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2022), The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008) and Mythica: A Quest for Heroes (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Tezuka's Barbara?
Start with Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (2022), the closest match to Tezuka's Barbara.
What is the highest-rated movie like Tezuka's Barbara?
Death Note (2006), rated 7.1/10 by 846 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Tezuka's Barbara?
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Tezuka's Barbara?
Yes: The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008), X (1996) and Sky High (2003).
How are movies similar to Tezuka's Barbara chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Tezuka's Barbara, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.