Movies like 12 Months of KAI (2021)
The best movies like 12 Months of KAI (2021) are Roujin Z (1991), Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020) and When Marnie Was There (2014). If 12 Months of KAI hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJosee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)8.2/10 from 646 votes
- NewestThe Door into Summer (2021)Released 2021
- In JapaneseRoujin Z (1991)Also in Japanese
Roujin Z (1991)
Mr. Takazawa, an elderly invalid who is cared for at his home by Haruko, a young nursing student, is chosen by the Japanese Ministry of Public Welfare to test the Z-001, a computerized hospital bed with robotic features that allegedly displays more efficiency and skills than any human nurse, but Haruko mistrusts a machine unable to consider human feelings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWhen Marnie Was There (2014)
Upon being sent to live with relatives in the countryside due to an illness, an emotionally distant adolescent girl becomes obsessed with an abandoned mansion and infatuated with a girl who lives there - a girl who may or may not be real.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisUrusei Yatsura: Only You (1983)
Six-year-old Ataru steps on Elle's shadow during an impromptu game of shadow-tag; in Elle's culture, this is viewed as a marriage proposal. Eleven years later, Elle returns to Earth in order to marry Ataru — by which time not only had he forgotten the events of his childhood, but he was also going out with Lum. The rest of the plot focuses on Lum's attempts to prevent the marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Door into Summer (2021)
A pioneering roboticist awakens in 2025 after decades in cryosleep. To change the past and reunite with his adopted sister, he seeks a way back to 1995.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWelcome to the Space Show (2010)
Five children save the life of a dog-like alien while at a self-run summer camp. He attempts to reward them by taking them to an alien colony on the Moon. Events take a turn for the worse when his report on that attack that injured him causes passage from the Moon to the Earth to be banned, and children are stranded in space. The children need to find a way back home before camp ends and their parents discover that they are missing. They also have to avoid the poachers that injured their alien friend, and now seem to be stalking them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaytime Shooting Star (2017)
Fifteen-year-old country girl Suzume Yosano has to move to Tokyo to live with her uncle due to her father's transfer. She bumps into a mysterious man who ends up taking her to her uncle's place after she gets lost. Turns out, Suzume will be seeing him a lot more often once she starts school because... he's her homeroom teacher?!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHal (2013)
Kurumi’s heart was broken by the sudden death of her boyfriend in a tragic airplane accident. By melding futuristic technology with the binary equivalent of human emotion, a brilliant scientist created an ultra-lifelike robotic surrogate to take Hal’s place – and lure Kurumi from her shroud of solitude.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUrusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer (1984)
As the perpetually lecherous Ataru and his friends prepare for a carnival at Tomobiki High School, they gradually realize the days are literally repeating themselves. Any effort to break the pattern dumps them back where they started.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPoliceman and Me (2017)
Kako, a 16-year-old high school girl, goes to a mixer pretending to be 22. While there, she meets Kouta who at first has a very intimidating aura. But once he saves her from an awkward situation, she wants to know more about him as does he. That is until he finds out she isn't 22. The next day Kako runs into him again, but this time he's working as a police officer. Kako still wants to get closer to Kouta, but he isn't interested or is he?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPsychic School Wars (2012)
It's a new school year at the local Junior High School i Kamakura. The school year starts off with a new transfer student Ryoichi Kyogoku who joins the 8th grade class. He has been ordered to join the school, and use his special gift of telepathy and take over their school. This boy who happens to be handsome, and be a charismatic person, gains popularity, and using his powers takes over the entire school, except for Seki. This begins a war to regain their freedom for their school and themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAssassination Classroom: Graduation (2016)
A mysterious creature destroys part of the moon and then warns that if it is not destroyed before March of the following year, Earth will be next. It also demands to become the homeroom teacher of Class E, a third-year class at Kunugigaoka High School. As the deadline for the assassination and the date of the end of the world approach, the students discover their true abilities and Koro-sensei's shocking identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisProject A-Ko (1986)
Earth. The not too distant future. A city is miraculously reborn just sixteen years after being completely destroyed by a giant meteor. At the prestigious Graviton High School for Girls, two new students are introduced. A-ko and her ditzy sidekick, C-ko.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeaven's Lost Property Final – The Movie: Eternally My Master (2014)
Ikaros is an Angeloid and falls out of the sky. Tomoki Sakurai is a boy who believes the most important thing is to live a peaceful life. The two live tougher. Tomoki Sakurai has never seen Ikaros smile. Tomoki Sakurai sees Nymph and Astraea laugh after they got free from the master’s rule. He hopes Ikaros can laugh like an ordinary girl. This movie wraps up the story of Tomoki Sakurai and his relationship with the Angeloid from the sky, Ikaros.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisI've Always Liked You (2016)
Love is blooming at Sakuragaoka High School. Natsuki Enomoto has finally mustered the courage to confess to her childhood friend, Yuu Setoguchi. However, in the final moments of her confession, an embarrassed Natsuki passes it off as a "practice confession." Oblivious to her true feelings and struggling with his own, Yuu promises to support Natsuki in her quest for love. While Natsuki deals with her failed confession, fellow classmate Koyuki Ayase struggles with his own feelings for Natsuki. Despite his timidness, he is determined to win over her heart. This movie follows Natsuki as she dreams of one day ending her practices and genuinely confessing to Yuu. Meanwhile, close friends also find themselves entangled in their own webs of unrequited love and unspoken affections.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHello World (2019)
A shy high schooler in Kyoto meets a man claiming to be his future self, who tells him he’s hacked into the past to save their first love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSteins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu (2013)
One year after the events of the anime, Rintarou begins to feel the repercussions of extensive time travel, and eventually completely fades from reality. Kurisu, being the only companion to remember him, now must find a way to bring him back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAir Doll (2009)
A life-size, inflatable sex doll suddenly comes to life one day. Without her owner knowing, she goes for a walk around town and falls in love with Junichi. She starts to date Junichi and gets a job at the same store where he works. Everything seems to be going perfectly for her until something unexpected happens.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Note: Light Up the NEW World (2016)
10 years has passed since the confrontation between Kira and L. Again, Shinigami sends death notes to the ground and due to this, the world soon falls into chaos. Tsukuru is a member of the Death Note special task force team with 6 other investigators including Matsuda who experienced the Kira case of 10 years ago. Mass murders caused by the death note takes place on Wall Street in the U.S., Shibuya in Japan and other places. World famous private investigator Ryuzaki, who is the rightful successor of L, also investigates the mass murders. They discover that 6 death notes exists in the world. A computer virus called Kira spreads in the world. A message in the Kira virus says to turn in 6 death notes. A person who has 6 death notes overwhelm the world. The confrontation begins between the person who wants Kira’s revival and the people who want to stop it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAfter the Rain (2018)
Akira Tachibana is a soft-spoken high school student who used to be a part of the track and field club. Working part-time at a restaurant, she finds herself inexplicably falling in love with her manager, a divorced 45-year-old man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 12 Months of KAI?
The closest matches to 12 Months of KAI are Roujin Z (1991), Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020) and When Marnie Was There (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 12 Months of KAI?
Start with Roujin Z (1991), the closest match to 12 Months of KAI.
What is the highest-rated movie like 12 Months of KAI?
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020), rated 8.2/10 by 646 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 12 Months of KAI?
The Door into Summer (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like 12 Months of KAI?
Yes: Roujin Z (1991), Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020) and When Marnie Was There (2014).
How are movies similar to 12 Months of KAI chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 12 Months of KAI, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.