Movies like Drifting Home (2022)
The best movies like Drifting Home (2022) are Child of Kamiari Month (2021), Okko's Inn (2018) and Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021). If Drifting Home hooked you with its animation and fantasy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHotarubi no Mori e (2011)8.3/10 from 1,266 votes
- NewestMy Oni Girl (2024)Released 2024
- In JapaneseChild of Kamiari Month (2021)Also in Japanese
Child of Kamiari Month (2021)
A year after losing her mother, a young girl learns that she must journey across Japan to the annual gathering of gods in the sacred land of Izumo.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021)
Brash single mother Nikuko is well-known for her bold spirit, much to the embarrassment of Kikuko, her pensive yet imaginative daughter. In contrast to her mother, Kikuko wants nothing more than to fit in as she navigates the everyday social dramas of middle school. Life in the harbor is peaceful until a shocking revelation from the past threatens to uproot the pair's tender relationship.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNatsume's Book of Friends: The Waking Rock and the Strange Visitor (2021)
The film will be made up of two stories: "Ishi Okoshi" and "Ayashiki Raihousha." In "Ishi Okoshi," Natsume meets a small youkai called Mitsumi in a forest. Mitsumi is entrusted to wake up the divine youkai "Iwatetsu" from its deep slumber. Mitsumi weighs on Natsume's mind, so he sets out to help Mitsumi with his task. In "Ayashiki Raihousha," a mysterious visitor appears in front of Tanuma. Nearly every day, the visitor visits Tanuma, talks to him a little, and then leaves. Natsume, who knows the visitor is a youkai, worries for Tanuma, but Tanuma enjoys these exchanges with the youkai. The youkai means no harm, but Tanuma's health slowly starts to deteriorate.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
My Oni Girl (2024)
A shy teenage boy's inability to say no is tested when a headstrong girl drags him on a mystical journey amid summer snow to find her missing mom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChildren of the Sea (2019)
Ruka is a young girl whose parents are separated and whose father works in an aquarium. When two boys, Umi and Sora, who were raised in the sea by dugongs, are brought to the aquarium, Ruka feels drawn to them and begins to realize that she has the same sort of supernatural connection to the ocean that they do. Umi and Sora's special power seems to be connected to strange events that have been occurring more and more frequently, such as the appearance of sea creatures far from their home territory and the disappearance of aquarium animals around the world. However, the exact nature of the boys' power and of the abnormal events is unknown, and Ruka gets drawn into investigating the mystery that surrounds her new friends.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe House of the Lost on the Cape (2021)
A strange old woman allows a teenage runaway and a young orphan to stay in an abandoned house that overlooks the sea. However, when a menacing entity threatens their new home, they must band together and face their fears to save it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Hotarubi no Mori e (2011)
One hot summer day a little girl gets lost in an enchanted forest of the mountain god where spirits reside. A young boy appears before her, but she cannot touch him for fear of making him disappear. And so a wondrous adventure awaits...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMushi-Shi: The Next Chapter - Drops of Bells (2015)
On a warm summer day, a boy heard the sound of bells ringing, as if in celebration, in the mountain near his home. Several years later in that same mountain, the mushishi Ginko stumbles upon a young girl in a mountain with branches and leaves growing out of her body. He later realises that she is the lord of that mountain but finds it strange that a human like her was chosen as the lord. He meets her older brother who has continued to search for her ever since she disappeared while accompanying him on a stormy day. The story is about Ginko’s peculiar journey amidst the occult to unravel the mystery behind the enigmatic girl called Kaya and the mountain that has become her home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLu Over the Wall (2017)
In a small fishing village, a gloomy middle school student named Kai meets a mermaid named Lu.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChildren Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
The film centers on Asuna, a young girl who spends her solitary days listening to the mysterious music emanating from the crystal radio she received from her late father as a memento. One day while walking home she is attacked by a fearsome monster and saved by a mysterious boy named Shun. However, Shun disappears and Asuna embarks on a journey of adventure to the land of Agartha with her teacher Mr. Morisaki to meet a Shun again. Through her journey she comes to know the cruelty and beauty of the world, as well as loss.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Letter to Momo (2012)
A shy 11-year-old's life takes a strange turn when she discovers three hungry goblins living in the attic of her new house. She misses her old life. She misses her father so very much. Until she makes some new ghoulish friends.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both fantasy & animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYo-kai Watch: Friends Forever (2018)
The film tells the story of interweaving friendships between three children and yo-kai. The film is set in 1960s Tokyo, in Sakura Motomachi. A boy named Shin lives a poor but happy life. When his mother — his only family member — dies, Shin's unhappiness hits rock bottom. That is when another boy named Itsuki saves Shin. Itsuki has also lost his older sister. Shin, Itsuki, and a young girl named Tae who can see yo-kai all become friends. Shin's guardian spirit Suu-san, a "Nekomata" cat, and other new yo-kai join their group, and this group is able to regain what it means to have a precious family. This new family must now face a mysterious incident, and a shocking reality awaits them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Penguin Highway (2018)
A fourth-grader investigates the mysterious reason behind the sudden appearance of penguins in his village, which is somehow related to a power from a young woman working at a dental clinic.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTamayura: Graduation Photo Part 1 - Kizashi (2015)
As Fu and her friends begin their third and final year of high school, the photography club gets two new members; freshman Takumi Shindou and sophomore Suzune Maekawa. Thinking about what to do after graduation, Fu decides she wants to pursue a career combining photography and travelling. Afterwards, Fu's family tell Fu about the time she took a picture of her father and first learned about "tamayura" from him. Later, as Chihiro and Tomo pay a visit for the Bamboo Festival, announcing that they plan to study abroad after graduation, Fu is shocked to learn that Riho is planning to leave town. During the festival the next day, as the girls get to see Kanae as part of Sayomi's explorer's club, Fu is approached by Riho, who explains she is going to Tokyo to open a gallery with her friend. Thankful for everything Riho has done for her, Fu promises the carry on her torch in pusuit of a career in photography.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Sorairo Utility (2021)
Three high schoolers, Minami, Ayaka, and Haruka, head out for a sunny day of relaxation at the golf course. Beginner Minami slowly gains confidence on the grass as she learns and laughs with the help and encouragement of her more experienced senpai.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
When 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: Fans watch both · both animation
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRide Your Wave (2019)
Hinako is a surf-loving college student who has just moved to a small seaside town. When a sudden fire breaks out at her apartment building, she is rescued by Minato, a handsome firefighter, and the two soon fall in love.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both animation
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnoHana: The Flower We Saw That Day (2015)
Friends grow apart after a tragic accident claims one of their number. Years later, the dead girl appears to them to ask for their help in crossing over to the afterlife.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both adventure & fantasy
Fireworks (2017)
Moshimo, Japan. The annual fireworks festival is about to take place and a group of schoolboys, arguing over whether they are round or flat when viewed from different angles, set out to find it out.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAria the Crepuscolo (2021)
The season is fall and the city of Neo-Venezia is covered in fallen leaves. Something is bothering Anya, who works at Orange Planet. Her senior colleagues Alice and Athena haven't seen each other due to their busy schedules, which is making Athena feel sad. But for some reason, Alice seems to be avoiding her altogether. With her friends Ai and Azusa's help, Anya tries to find a definitive way for Alice and Athena to get together. But during this time, Anya learns of a situation that only she can see because of where she stands.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Goodbye, Don Glees! (2022)
Teen misfits Roma, Toto, and Drop call themselves the “Don Glees,” an informal name for their backyard adventures. One day, when the trio gets blamed for a nearby forest fire, they set off into the woods to prove their innocence. As disaster strikes their expedition, tensions flare between the friends as they realize that growing up has taken them on wildly different paths in life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnimal Crossing: The Movie (2006)
Ai, a self-reliant girl who moves to Animal Village and works at Nook's Cranny, gradually becomes part of the community with guidance from its residents and embarks on a quest to plant pine trees for a Winter Festival miracle after finding a message in a bottle.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuzume (2022)
Suzume, 17, lost her mother as a little girl. On her way to school, she meets a mysterious young man. But her curiosity unleashes a calamity that endangers the entire population of Japan, and so Suzume embarks on a journey to set things right.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisComet in Moominland (1992)
Moomintroll, Sniff and Little My set out to stop a comet approaching the Moominvalley. Along the way they meet Snufkin, the beautiful Snorkmaiden, Snork and Hemulen, who join them in their quest.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPoupelle of Chimney Town (2020)
The story is about a young boy named Lubicchi and a trashman named Poupelle who meet on a Halloween night in a city that is full of tall chimneys. The chimneys pour out black smoke and the true sky cannot be seen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack★Rock Shooter (2010)
The story of two girls bound in friendship, as well as Black Rock Star's struggle unfolding in another world. But when the two worlds come together... what will happen?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisR.O.D - Read or Die (2001)
A young female agent with a powerful psionic power over paper must stop a plot for world destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & adventure
The Girl from the Other Side (2019)
Touch not the Outsiders, lest ye become an Outsider. But when two creatures belonging to opposite kinds - a lost little girl from the Inside and a demonic beast-looking Outsider - initiate an impossible coexistence on the same side of the forest, their bond seems to transcend their incompatible natures and the unnamed curse that has divided the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both animation & fantasy
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Drifting Home?
The closest matches to Drifting Home are Child of Kamiari Month (2021), Okko's Inn (2018) and Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Drifting Home?
People who watched Drifting Home most often go on to Child of Kamiari Month (2021), Okko's Inn (2018) and Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021).
What is the highest-rated movie like Drifting Home?
Hotarubi no Mori e (2011), rated 8.3/10 by 1,266 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Drifting Home?
My Oni Girl (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Drifting Home?
Yes: Child of Kamiari Month (2021), Okko's Inn (2018) and Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko (2021).
How are movies similar to Drifting Home chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Drifting Home, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.