Movies like Story of Lightning (1951)
The best movies like Story of Lightning (1951) are My Happy Marriage (2023), After the Storm (2016) and Ranma ½ (2011). If Story of Lightning hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedUgetsu (1953)8.0/10 from 676 votes
- NewestMy Happy Marriage (2023)Released 2023
- In JapaneseMy Happy Marriage (2023)Also in Japanese
My Happy Marriage (2023)
An unhappy young woman from an abusive family is married off to a fearsome and chilly army commander. But the two learn more about each other, love may have a chance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAfter the Storm (2016)
Ryota is an unpopular writer although he won a literary award 15 years ago. Now, Ryota works as a private detective. He is divorced from his ex-wife Kyoko and he has an 11-year-old son Shingo. His mother Yoshiko lives alone at her apartment. One day, Ryota, his ex-wife Kyoko, and son Shingo gather at Yoshiko's apartment. A typhoon passes and the family must stay there all night long.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRanma ½ (2011)
Akane is the youngest of three daughters for Soun Tendo. Her father Soun Tendo runs a dojo for martial arts. Akane hopes to carry on her father's dojo into the distant future. Meanwhile, Akane has been selected to marry Ranma, the son of her father's long time friend Genma. Akane and Ranma's relationship has developed into a love and hate relationship. Also, Ranma isn't your typical boy. While on a training journey Ranma fell into the Spring of the Drowned Girl and now changes into a women whenever cold water is splashed on him. Warm water will allow him to revert back to a male. Problems arise when Akane's father declares that the successor to their dojo must be a male. Now, Akane and Ranma (being a man only half of the time) must find a secret spring that can cure him of his curse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUgetsu (1953)
In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisOur Little Sister (2015)
After the death of their estranged father, 3 adult sisters invite their teenaged half-sister to live with them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable – Chapter 1 (2017)
Welcome to idyllic Morioh, whose ocean views and charming townscapes make it a breezy Japanese utopia. But a chain of grisly killings has cast a bloody pall of uncertainty over its residents, especially Josuke Higashikata, a high schooler with offbeat hair and even more eccentric abilities. Now, with his grandfather on Morioh’s homicide list, Josuke must resort to his surreal “Stand” powers if he ever hopes to heal his beloved family and town. Josuke may have a Stand-wielding relative at his side, but the killer has plenty of help too.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPokémon the Movie: The Power of Us (2018)
A young athlete whose running days might be behind her, a compulsive liar, a shy researcher, a bitter old woman, and a little girl with a big secret—the only thing they have in common is the annual Wind Festival in Fula City. The festival celebrates the Legendary Pokémon Lugia, who brings the wind that powers this seaside city. When a series of threats endangers not just the festival, but all the people and Pokémon of Fula City, it’ll take more than just Satoshi and Pikachu to save the day! Can everyone put aside their differences and work together—or will it all end in destruction?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBOYS OVER FLOWERS the movie (2008)
Four years have passed since that emotional marriage proposal at Tsukushi Makino's high-school prom, and Tsukasa Dōmyōji announced his engagement to Tsukushi to the entire world. At an engagement dinner between their families, Dōmyōji's mother, who has been strongly against their relationship before, presents Tsukushi a tiara, which is estimated to be worth roughly 10 billion yen, as a token of their engagement. But that night, the tiara is stolen by somebody! Then, Dōmyōji and Tsukushi travel around the globe to Las Vegas, Hong Kong, and even a deserted island to get the tiara back—the legendary tiara that has been believed to "bring eternal love." In the meantime, where and what are the "F4" fellows, who have just gone separate ways, doing now?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Made a Beautiful Bouquet (2021)
Two people meet each other after missing the last train home, leading to a beautiful relationship over five years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fable (2019)
The Fable is a legendary yakuza hitman equal to none—but his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood and Bones (2004)
In 1923, teenager Kim Shun-Pei moves from Cheju Island, in South Korea, to Osaka, in Japan. Along the years, he becomes a cruel, greedy and violent man and builds a factory of kamaboko, processed seafood products, in his poor Korean-Japanese community exploiting his employees.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat a Wonderful Family! (2016)
A husband and wife have been married for 50 years. For her birthday, the husband asks the wife what she wants for her birthday present. She replies that she wants a divorce. The wife's divorce announcement sends the entire family into chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Neighbors the Yamadas (1999)
The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRepast (1951)
In post-WWII Osaka, a middle-aged woman is forced to examine her dreary life and marriage when her husband's young and flirtatious cousin arrives for a brief stay to escape an arranged marriage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWotakoi: Love is Hard for Otaku (2020)
An effervescent musical about one of the most unlikely couples seen on screen: two Otaku intent on hiding their nerdiness from their colleagues!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShoplifters (2018)
In the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence begins to unravel. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and what makes a family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChikamatsu Monogatari (1954)
When the wife of a 17th-century Kyoto scrollmaker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves truly falling for one another.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Broken Mariko (2022)
Shiino one day finds out that her best friend Mariko has committed suicide. After snatching Mariko's urn from her abusive father, Shiino heads to Marigaoka Cape, a place Mariko always wanted to go.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Stranger by the Shore (2020)
Abandoned after coming out, Shun befriends Mio just before he has to move. Years later, Mio returns with a confession. How will Shun feel?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Story of Lightning?
The closest matches to Story of Lightning are My Happy Marriage (2023), After the Storm (2016) and Ranma ½ (2011). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Story of Lightning?
Start with My Happy Marriage (2023), the closest match to Story of Lightning.
What is the highest-rated movie like Story of Lightning?
Ugetsu (1953), rated 8.0/10 by 676 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Story of Lightning?
My Happy Marriage (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Story of Lightning?
Yes: My Happy Marriage (2023), After the Storm (2016) and Ranma ½ (2011).
How are movies similar to Story of Lightning chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Story of Lightning, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.