Movies like Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars! (1998)
The best movies like Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars! (1998) are Gladiator Underground (2025), Showdown (1993) and Hounds of War (2024). If Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars! hooked you with its action, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBeast (2026)7.5/10 from 228 votes
- NewestLion Fist (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseK-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces (2008)Also in Japanese
Gladiator Underground (2025)
Two brothers compete in the world's deadliest underground fighting tournament, where they must decide whether to play by the rules or to cast their honor aside and team up to bring down the dark syndicate running the tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShowdown (1993)
Ken has just moved from Kansas with his mother. He talks to a girl named Julie, not knowing that her boyfriend Tom is very possessive of her. Tom is learning karate from Lee, a sensei whose brother was killed by a rookie cop named Billy. Billy has since then become the janitor of the school that Ken, Julie and Tom go to. When Ken gets beaten up by Tom for talking to Julie again, Billy helps Ken by teaching him how to defend himself, which eventually leads to a battle between student vs. student, and sensei vs. sensei.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounds of War (2024)
After a mission goes wrong, only one of a group of mercenaries is left alive to avenge his fallen brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShootfighter: Fight to the Death (1993)
Nick and Ruben are hoodwinked into a "shootfighter" (no-holds-barred, to the death) martial arts match by the evil Mr. Lee, who has a grudge against world shootfighter champ(and teacher of Nick and Ruben) Shingo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Marine 5: Battleground (2017)
While working as an EMT back stateside Jake Carter after responding to a distress call, finds himself caught up protecting a person of interest from a biker gang ruthlessly hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Paper Tigers (2020)
Three middle aged men polish their martial arts skills to avenge their fallen master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hit List (2011)
A disgruntled man creates a hit list with a stranger during a drunken night out and must then race to try to save those he marked for extermination as the bodies begin to pile up and all fingers point to him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLet's Get Harry (1986)
Harry Burck has been kidnapped by South American terrorists, and when the US Government refuses to intervene, Harry's friends decide to take matters into their own hands!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous (2021)
A reformed sociopath heads to a remote island after the death of his brother. Soon after his arrival, the island falls under siege from a deadly gang of mercenaries, and when he discovers their role in his brother’s demise, he sets out on a relentless quest for vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLion Fist (2026)
Martial arts fighter Joe goes to prison for four years and takes his wife's blame for a drug bust. After his release, he learns that his son needs expensive surgery because of a life-threatening tumor. Joe's only chance to save him: a brutal all-styles tournament with a $100,000 prize.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisK-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces (2008)
In an alternate version of 1949 Japan in which World War II never happened, the Japanese capital of Teito is home to both an ultra rich upper class and the dirt poor masses. The city is thrown into a state of panic when a phantom thief called “The Kaijin (Fiend) with 20 Faces” (K-20 for short) begins to use his mysterious abilities to steal from the rich and give to the poor. One day a circus acrobat named Heikichi Endo (Takeshi Kaneshiro) is framed for K-20’s crimes and becomes determined to clear his name. He teams up with K-20’s next target, a wealthy duchess named Yoko Hashiba (Takako Matsu) and her detective fiancé (Toru Nakamura), to take K-20 down once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFatal Fury 2: The New Battle (1993)
Terry is fighting abroad when a boy named Tony, who wants to be Terry's student, follows him despite his mother and Terry's wishes. When Terry Bogard is defeated by a foe more powerful than he's ever seen before, Terry falls into depression and turns to the bottle. While his friends go after this new foe, Tony must restore Terry's faith... and once he realizes that only he can defeat this ruthless fiend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPoint Blank (2019)
A nurse is forced to spring a wounded murder suspect from the hospital when the man’s brother kidnaps his pregnant wife and wants to make a trade.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnuckle Girl (2023)
Following the story of Ran, who confronts a mysterious organization by participating in a no-rules deathmatch after discovering her missing younger sister Yuzuki is involved in a crime. With danger at every corner, Ran must trade in her boxing gloves for brass knuckles. Will she save her sister?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHostile Takeover (2025)
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiller Bean Forever (2008)
When things go bad in Beantown, top assassin Killer Bean is called to clean-up the mess. Detective Cromwell finds himself in the middle between Killer Bean and mob boss Cappuccino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars! and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars!?
The closest matches to Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars! are Gladiator Underground (2025), Showdown (1993) and Hounds of War (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars!?
Start with Gladiator Underground (2025), the closest match to Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars!.
What is the highest-rated movie like Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars!?
Beast (2026), rated 7.5/10 by 228 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars!?
Lion Fist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars!?
Yes: K-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces (2008), Fatal Fury 2: The New Battle (1993) and Sister Street Fighter (1974).
How are movies similar to Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars! chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Heisei Zankeiden: The Lion Roars!, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.