Movies like Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (2021)
The best movies like Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (2021) are Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014), Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021) and Blade of the Immortal (2017). If Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning hooked you with its action and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedChainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc (2025)8.5/10 from 1,291 votes
- NewestChainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseRurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)Also in Japanese
Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)
Kenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left for dead. He survived, and is now in Kyoto, plotting with his gathered warriors to overthrow the new government. Against Kaoru's wishes, Kenshin reluctantly agrees to go to Kyoto and help keep his country from falling back into civil war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlade of the Immortal (2017)
Manji, a highly skilled samurai, becomes cursed with immortality after a legendary battle. Haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, Manji knows that only fighting evil will regain his soul. He promises to help a young girl named Rin avenge her parents, who were killed by a group of master swordsmen led by ruthless warrior Anotsu. The mission will change Manji in ways he could never imagine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like this13 Assassins (2010)
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country into a war-torn future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi (2003)
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tale of Zatoichi Continues (1962)
Returning to the village where a year before he had killed Hirate, a much-admired opponent, Zatoichi encounters another swordsman and former rival in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends (2014)
Shishio sets sail in his ironclad ship to bring down the government. In order to stop him, Kenshin trains with his old master to learn his final technique.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove and Honor (2006)
A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Twilight Samurai (2002)
Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Hidden Blade (2004)
Set in 19th Century Japan a young samurai who finds himself in love with a farm girl leaves his home to begin a new life. He has to take stock of his new life when he is put to the test and ordered to kill a traitor who just happens to be his dearest friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc (2025)
In a world where devils are born from humanity’s fears, Denji has only ever dreamed of living a simple life, eating good food, finding happiness, and experiencing the warmth of being loved. Then, one rainy afternoon, fate leads him to Reze, a mysterious girl working at a small café. With her disarming smile, playful charm, and unexpected kindness, she offers Denji something he has rarely known—a glimpse of an ordinary life beyond bloodshed and chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIt Feels So Good (2019)
When it rains it pours. Kenji divorced his wife, lost his job and his old squeeze Naoko is getting married back home in the north of Japan, specifically in Akita. He returns there in order to attend her wedding. Naoko surprises him by proposing that they have sex again. The one night stand is the new beginning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSamurai Marathon (2019)
When feudal lord Itakura Katsuakira decides to prepare his samurai troops for the onslaught of modernization by having them compete in a marathon, his independent-minded daughter Yuki secretly joins the race.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKilling (2018)
In mid-19th century Edo period, a masterless rōnin named Mokunoshin Tsuzuki resides in a peaceful village among those he helps. However, as the prevalent peace and tranquility are sure to be replaced by war and conflict across the land, the swordsman feels restlessness creeping upon him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLady Snowblood (1973)
A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSister Street Fighter (1974)
Li Mansei is a martial-arts champion turned undercover agent. When he is captured by a drug lord, his sister Li Koryu turns to his former martial-arts school, including the powerful Sonny Kawasaka, for help in the inevitable battle royale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShogun Assassin (1980)
A Shogun who grew paranoid as he became senile sent his ninjas to kill his samurai. They failed but did kill the samurai’s wife. The samurai swore to avenge the death of his wife and roams the countryside with his toddler son in search of vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Sword and Nine Rings, Part Two (1961)
Lee Kap-lan, whose parents are slaughtered by the underling of the Qing court, Yan Sheung-kong, is rescued from the carnage by Leopard-faced Magic Nun. Nun imparts martial artistry to Lee, who will kill the old enmity when she grows into womanhood. Yan and his half-brother Luk Sun are assigned to capture the survivor. Fong-ping comes under the attack of an assassin dispatched by Sun when Butterfly comes to his help. Recruited to the Yan den, Ying Tin-lung summons the knights-errant of the martial world to the court. Lee infiltrates the congregation and has her eyes fixed upon Sun and strikes him with the Soul-snatching Tai Chi Dart which has mistakenly wounded Fong-ping. Butterfly puts Lee into a drug-induced coma to obtain the antidote to treat Fong-ping. Ying seizes the chance to capture the women. Fong-ping sustains another injury to rescue the hostages. Nun arrives in time and seizes the Lee family heirloom. Lee avenges her parents' death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)
Determined to prove its superiority, a bio-engineered Pokémon called Mewtwo lures Ash, Pikachu and others into a Pokémon match like none before.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMoby Dick (1956)
In 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service aboard the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New Bedford. The ship is under the command of Captain Ahab, a strict disciplinarian who exhorts his men to find Moby Dick, the great white whale. Ahab lost his leg to that creature and is desperate for revenge. As the crew soon learns, he will stop at nothing to gain satisfaction.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNot in Textbooks 5 (2019)
A school romantic comedy about the cohabitation life of a popular high school girl in a class and a Japanese language teacher who is swayed by her in the fifth in the series "Not in Textbooks!". Aya Shirakaba, a high school girl who attends Otome High School, and homeroom teacher Arihiko Tairaku lived together at the command of the leader of Yakuza, the father of Aya. One weekend, Tairaku invites a longing colleague, Yayoi Satsuki, to date, which was also Aya's birthday. Aya learns that Tairaku is going to date May. Ayaka Morikawa, who plays Aya Shirakaba, and Ryouma Baba, who plays Arihiko Tairaku, continue to star in the series, while Moemi Katayama and Anna Hongo have played the role of May, who is now gravure idol Natsuki Sena.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Man on Fire (2004)
Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaked Weapon (2002)
A mysterious woman, known as Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls and transports them to a remote island to train them as the most deadly assassins. CIA operative Jack Chen follows the case for 6 years with no leads, but when a series of assassinations begin to occur, Jack suspects that Madame M is back in business.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKickboxer (1989)
If your enemy refuses to be humbled... Destroy him. Accompanied by his brother Kurt, American kickboxing champion Eric Sloane, arrives in Thailand to defeat the Eastern warriors at their own sport. His opponent: ruthless fighter and Thai champion, Tong Po. Tong not only defeats Eric, he paralyzes him for life. Crazed with anger, Kurt vows revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSettle the Score (1989)
Katherine Whately, a tough, young Chicago cop, comes home to her small town to settle her teenage rape. She is welcomed by her brother but shunned by her father. Josh, the town doctor, is her only ally in her quest for the truth. Together Katherine and Josh find the bloody trail of a serial murderer and shatter the lie that is two decades old.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Contract Killer (1998)
Financially troubled, a newbie hitman reluctantly takes the job of finding the plotted killer of a Japanese tycoon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSamurai Fiction (1998)
A warrior-in-training and his bumbling friends go in pursuit of a stolen sword.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning?
The closest matches to Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning are Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014), Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021) and Blade of the Immortal (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning?
Start with Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014), the closest match to Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning.
What is the highest-rated movie like Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning?
Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc (2025), rated 8.5/10 by 1,291 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning?
Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning?
Yes: Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014), Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021) and Blade of the Immortal (2017).
How are movies similar to Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.