Movies like The King of Minami: License for Cruelty (2000)
The best movies like The King of Minami: License for Cruelty (2000) are Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966), Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965) and New Tale of Zatoichi (1963). If The King of Minami: License for Cruelty hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)7.4/10 from 203 votes
- NewestGintama: The Very Final (2021)Released 2021
- In JapaneseZatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966)Also in Japanese
Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966)
Zatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)
Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with dice is turning.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi the Outlaw (1967)
When a local gambling house kidnaps some peasants because they failed to pay their debts, a rival gambling house pays their debts and sets them free.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi's Flashing Sword (1964)
Blind masseur Zatoichi is nursed back to health by a young woman after he is shot by a gang member. Zatoichi, who had come to the village to repay a debt, now feels further indebted. He commits himself to use his amazing sword skills to help the young woman's father, whose river-crossing service is under attack by the same gang responsible for Zatoichi's wounds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisObsession (1976)
A wealthy New Orleans businessman becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles his late wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)
Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must eliminate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLupin the Third vs. Detective Conan: The Movie (2013)
Conan Edogawa sets out to apprehend Lupin the Third, the suspect of stealing a jewel called Cherry Sapphire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Conan: Sunflowers of Inferno (2015)
Conan tries to track down Kaito Kid, who supposedly steals a replica of one of Van Gogh's Sunflowers paintings during an auction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCase Closed: The Fourteenth Target (1998)
Ran’s secret past revealed! Ten years ago, something happened between her mom and dad. Now, plagued by nightmares, Ran is starting to remember… Meanwhile, a murderous card dealer breaks out of jail to seek revenge. His target: Ran’s father. Can Conan stop him in time and save his girlfriend’s family?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKaiji: The Ultimate Gambler (2009)
Kaiji Ito moves to Japan after graduating from high school. Unable to find a job and frustrated with society at large, Kaiji spends his days gambling, vandalizing cars, and drinking booze. Two years later and his life is no better. A debt collector named Endo arrives to collect money owed. The debt collector offers two choices to Kaiji: spend 10 years paying off his loan or board a gambling boat for one night to repay his debt & possibly make a boat load of money. Could the debt collector Endo actually be setting up Kaiji? One way or another, for Kaiji it's going to be the night of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRanma 1/2 the Movie 2: Nihao My Concubine (1992)
With the Tendos, the Saotomes, Ryoga, Shampoo and Ukyo misinterpreting Tatewake Kuno's invitation to his two loves, Akane and 'The Pig Tailed Girl', to try his new yacht, a whole new episode of chaos begins in the already unstable lives of the Saotome/Tendo clan. A mysterious shadow kidnaps first Akane's sister Kasumi, then continues on until all the girls disappear. All except everyone's favorite hydrotranssexual.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIn the Realm of the Senses (1976)
A passionate telling of the story of Sada Abe, a woman whose affair with her master led to an obsessive and ultimately destructive sexual relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Conan: The Disappearance of Conan Edogawa - The Worst Two Days in History (2015)
Conan Edogawa comes to a bathhouse with Ran Mouri and Ai Haibara. There, he sees suspicious men in the dressing room of the men's bath. However, Conan falls down in the bathhouse and loses consciousness. The two suspicious men, Tatsu and Kondo, take him away in a car. The two belong to the underworld and seem to be working at someone's request. Meanwhile, a woman named Kanae visits the Mouri Detective Agency to request an investigation into her husband's affair. She shows them a picture, and the husband in the picture is one of the culprits who kidnapped Conan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGintama: The Very Final (2021)
The countdown to destruction has begun! Gintoki and the others set out to fulfill the wishes of their teacher Shoyo and thwart Utsuro's plans. Shinpachi, Kagura, the Shinsengumi, members of the Kabuki District, and even former enemies will join their fight. As Utsuro's power grows, Takasugi fights for his very life. Will Gintoki be able to put an end to all this?!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
The famous Pink Panther jewel has once again been stolen and Inspector Clouseau is called in to catch the thief. The Inspector is convinced that 'The Phantom' has returned and utilises all of his resources – himself and his Asian manservant – to reveal the identity of 'The Phantom'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTravels with My Aunt (1972)
At his mother's funeral, stuffy bank clerk Henry Pulling meets his Aunt Augusta, an elderly eccentric with more-than-shady dealings who pulls him along on a whirlwind adventure as she attempts to rescue an old lover.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFight, Zatoichi, Fight (1964)
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman returning home with her baby. When gangsters mistake her for Zatoichi and kill her, Zatoichi determines to escort the baby to its father. He gains the reluctant help of a young pick pocket and together they travel to find the baby's father. But they do not reckon on the father's reaction to their arrival, nor on their own growing feelings for the child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like The King of Minami: License for Cruelty and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The King of Minami: License for Cruelty?
The closest matches to The King of Minami: License for Cruelty are Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966), Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965) and New Tale of Zatoichi (1963). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The King of Minami: License for Cruelty?
Start with Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966), the closest match to The King of Minami: License for Cruelty.
What is the highest-rated movie like The King of Minami: License for Cruelty?
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972), rated 7.4/10 by 203 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The King of Minami: License for Cruelty?
Gintama: The Very Final (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The King of Minami: License for Cruelty?
Yes: Zatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966), Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965) and New Tale of Zatoichi (1963).
How are movies similar to The King of Minami: License for Cruelty chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The King of Minami: License for Cruelty, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















