Movies like Happy-Go-Lucky Days (2020)
The best movies like Happy-Go-Lucky Days (2020) are Given (2020), Ocean Waves (1993) and Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007). If Happy-Go-Lucky Days hooked you with its animation and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedYour Name. (2016)8.5/10 from 13,195 votes
- NewestThree Goodbyes (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseGiven (2020)Also in Japanese
Given (2020)
Haruki secretly had feelings for Akihiko for years, but Akihiko was still in a relationship with his roommate, the violinist Ugetsu Murata. Haruki, Akihiko, and Ugetsu's love clashes and starts to move forward.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOcean Waves (1993)
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
Plagued by a seemingly endless stream of haunting dreams, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming sense of anger and emptiness. Then, one fateful day, he meets the mysterious and beautiful Nagisa, and his world begins to change. While helping Nagisa revive the defunct Drama Club at their high school, Tomoya discovers that she has the same dreams. Their story starts beneath the cherry blossoms, but where will fate lead them?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFruits Basket -prelude- (2022)
Kyoko, who couldn't believe anything in the world and lived a desolate life, meets Katsuya Honda, who has been assigned as an educational trainee. She is at the mercy of Katsuya, who is rude and has a strong habit, and she is gradually attracted to her. However, she is disowned by her parents in the wake of an incident with her bad fellow. It's a punishment that I've been doing as much as I like. Katsuya appears in front of Kyoko who thinks so...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJosee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)
With dreams of diving abroad, Tsuneo gets a job assisting Josee, an artist whose imagination takes her far beyond her wheelchair. But when the tide turns against them, they push each other to places they never thought possible, and inspire a love fit for a storybook.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOver the Sky (2020)
Mio has long hidden her feelings for her childhood friend Arata. After an argument leaves their relationship uncertain, she sets out to reconcile with him but awakens in a mysterious version of Ikebukuro following an accident. Guided by unusual new companions, Mio searches for a way home while confronting the feelings and memories she has avoided.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this5 Centimeters per Second (2007)
Three moments in Takaki's life: his relationship with Akari and their forced separation; his friendship with Kanae, who is secretly in love with him; the demands and disappointments of adulthood, an unhappy life in a cold city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisViolet Evergarden: Recollections (2021)
An emotionally scarred former child soldier becomes a letter writer in this condensed recap of the moving, gorgeously animated award-winning series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisYour Name. (2016)
High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Anthem of the Heart (2015)
A young girl had her voice magically taken away so that she would never hurt people with it, but her outlook changes when she encounters music and friendship. Will Naruse be able to convey the anthem of her heart?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKase-san and Morning Glories (2018)
Yamada may be shy and rather clumsy, but the flower gardens at her school have always brought her happiness. Suddenly, a different sort of beauty catches her eye—the vivacious track star, Kase-san. Although the two girls don't seem to have much in common, they soon start a romance where each must learn an important lesson in tending their budding relationship. Can the two girls, so different from each other, learn how to make their first love blossom?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & animation
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisBlue Spring Ride (2014)
In middle school, Futaba Yoshioka was madly in love with Tanaka Kou but he moves away with his mother. She is reunited with him later in life but he is not the same person anymore.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHer Blue Sky (2019)
High school student Aoi Aioi lives with her elder sister, Akane, after a tragic accident took their parents away 13 years ago. Because Akane has since been taking care of her single-handedly, Aoi wants to move to Tokyo after her graduation to relieve her sister's burden and pursue a musical career, inspired by Akane's ex-boyfriend Shinnosuke "Shinno" Kanamuro. Shinno was part of a band until he left for Tokyo to become a professional guitarist after the sisters' parents passed away, and he was never to be seen again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOkko's Inn (2018)
12-year-old Oriko Seki, who lost her parents in a car accident, ended up living in her grandmother's Onsen Ryokan "Haru no Ya." With the ghost "Uribou" cohabitating with her and all the other odds, she ended up training to be a young female innkeeper. At first, she didn't like the training, but gradually felt her admiration for her title and began to train seriously. Thus, the growth of the young warrior Oriko begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie Part 2 (2021)
While under the care of the Outer Sailor Guardians, Hotaru begins to age rapidly. Then, the time comes for all the Sailor Guardians to reunite!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisSay 'I Love You' (2014)
Mei Tachibana is a high school student. Due to a traumatic incident when she was a kid, Mei has been unable to make friends or have boyfriends. By mistake, Mei then injures the most popular male student named Yamato Kurosawa. Somehow, Yamato Kurosawa likes Mei Tachibana and tells everyone unilaterally that Mei is his friend. One day, Yamato Kurosawa saves Mei Tachibana from a stalker by kissing her. From that kiss, their love story begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBLUE LOCK THE MOVIE -EPISODE NAGI- (2024)
When apathetic gamer Nagi agrees to join his rich classmate Mikage in soccer, their partnership leads to the famous Blue Lock program — and to changes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDate A Bullet: Nightmare or Queen (2020)
Second part of the "Date A Bullet" films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both animation & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTouch 5: Cross Road (2001)
Trying to find his own game of baseball, and not that of his brothers, Tatsuya moves to America and pitches for a poor, struggling minor league baseball team called the Emeralds. Meanwhile, Minami is still in Japan, trying to find her own path after quitting gymnastics. Inspired by a photograph of her final performance, she becomes the photographers assistant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation & romance
Three Goodbyes (2025)
After what seemed like an insignificant argument, Marta and Antonio separate. He, a promising chef, takes refuge in his kitchen; she, in her silence, begins to feel something more than sadness: she has lost her appetite… and not only because of heartbreak. When she discovers that there is a health problem behind it, everything takes an unexpected turn: food tastes better, music reaches her like never before, and desire awakens her will to live without fear.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJust a Question of Love (2000)
After his gay cousin dies from hepatitis, young Laurent, who lives with his best friend Carole, falls in love with Cedric, a plant scientist. He's afraid to inform his conservative parents that he is gay.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGayby (2012)
Jenn and Matt are best friends from college who are now in their thirties. Single by choice, Jenn spends her days teaching hot yoga and running errands for her boss. Matt suffers from comic-book writer's block and can't get over his ex-boyfriend. They decide to fulfill a promise to have a child together... the old fashioned way. Can they navigate the serious and unexpected snags they hit as they attempt to get their careers and dating lives back on track in preparation for parenthood?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Grande école (2004)
Paul and Agnes have been going out for quite a while and Agnes is shocked to learn that he'd rather live with two roommates on campus than move in with her. As soon as he meets one of his roommates, Louis-Anault, Paul's behavior changes - he is attracted to Louis without realizing so himself. Agnes, on the other hand, gets quite jealous and offers a bet: Whoever gets to have Louis-Anault first, wins... If she does, Paul will no longer explore his homosexual desires, if he does - she'll walk away. Meanwhile, Paul meets Mecir, a young Arab worker, who shows him there's more to life than elite colleges...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Feels (2017)
A lesbian bachelorette weekend goes awry when one of the brides admits she's never had an orgasm.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Story of Heidi (1979)
Heidi is five years old when her aunt Dete, who has raised Heidi since her parents' deaths four years earlier, takes the orphaned Heidi to live with her formidable grandfather in the Swiss Alps. The American feature-length adaptation of Heidi (1974), the Japanese anime series produced by Zuiyo Eizo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Girl at My Door (2014)
Sent from Seoul to serve in a remote coastal village, a policewoman gets involved in the life of a mysterious teenage girl who is abused by both her father and her grandmother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrayon Shinchan the Movie: Invasion!! Alien Shiriri (2017)
When the mysterious Shiriri turns his parents into children, Shin-chan must trek across Japan to help return them to adult form.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisButch Jamie (2008)
The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Like Happy-Go-Lucky Days and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Happy-Go-Lucky Days?
The closest matches to Happy-Go-Lucky Days are Given (2020), Ocean Waves (1993) and Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Happy-Go-Lucky Days?
Start with Given (2020), the closest match to Happy-Go-Lucky Days.
What is the highest-rated movie like Happy-Go-Lucky Days?
Your Name. (2016), rated 8.5/10 by 13,195 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Happy-Go-Lucky Days?
Three Goodbyes (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Happy-Go-Lucky Days?
Yes: Given (2020), Ocean Waves (1993) and Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007).
How are movies similar to Happy-Go-Lucky Days chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Happy-Go-Lucky Days, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.