Movies like Osaka People (1985)
The best movies like Osaka People (1985) are Taboo (1999), My Brother the Devil (2012) and A Month in the Country (1987). If Osaka People hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBeast (2026)7.5/10 from 227 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseTaboo (1999)Also in Japanese
Taboo (1999)
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a handsome young samurai named Sozaburo Kano. The school's stern master can choose to intervene, or to let Kano decide his own path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Brother the Devil (2012)
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Month in the Country (1987)
A destitute WWI veteran is hired to help carry out restoration work on a medieval mural in a rural Yorkshire church. While living in the quiet village, he forms a close friendship with an archaeologist and begins to come to terms with his trauma.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNaked as We Came (2013)
After an unexpected phone call, Laura and her brother Elliot rush to their family’s country estate to find their mother, Lilly, gravely ill and living with a handsome young stranger named Ted. Estranged for some time, their mother’s condition sets Laura and Elliot on a path to realizing where their own lives have gone wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisIntentions of Murder (1964)
The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Fist (1995)
A businessman, Tsuda, runs into a childhood friend, Kojima, on the subway. Kojima is working as a semiprofessional boxer. Tsuda soon begins to suspect that Kojima might be having an affair with his fiancée Hizuru. After an altercation, Tsuda begins training rigorously himself, leading to an extremely bloody, violent confrontation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKisses (2008)
Two kids, Dylan and Kylie, run away from home on Christmas Day and spend a night of magic and terror on the streets of inner-city Dublin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHands of Stone (2016)
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHelen (2009)
On the outside, Helen has it all – a loving family and a successful career – but when her suppressed mental illness resurfaces, the world crumbles around her. Crippled by depression, Helen finds solace through her friendship with Mathilda, a kindred spirit struggling with bipolar disorder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCome Sunday (2018)
Evangelist Carlton Pearson is ostracized by his church for preaching that there is no Hell.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Yakuza Tale (1973)
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTokyo Decadence (1992)
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPimp (2018)
An urban love story set on the hard streets of the Bronx. A struggling female pimp, named Wednesday, grows up learning the game from her dad. Once he's gone she's left to look out for her prostitute mother and girlfriend Nikki.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo (2012)
Fourteen years after Third Impact, Shinji Ikari awakens to a world he does not remember. He hasn't aged. Much of Earth is laid in ruins, NERV has been dismantled, and people who he once protected have turned against him. Befriending the enigmatic Kaworu Nagisa, Shinji continues the fight against the angels and realizes the fighting is far from over, even when it could be against his former allies. The characters' struggles continue amidst the battles against the angels and each other, spiraling down to what could inevitably be the end of the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Day and a Night (2020)
While serving life in prison, a young man looks back at the people, the circumstances and the system that set him on the path toward his crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSakuran (2006)
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCall Boy (2018)
Ryo Morinaka is a university student and works part-time at a bar. He is bored with his daily life and exists in a state of torpor. One day, his friend Shinya Tajima brings the owner of a host bar over to the place where Ryo Morinaka works. Shizuka Mido is the owner of the host bar. Soon, Ryo Morinaka begins to work for Shizuka Mido at the members only host bar. He feels embarrassment initially, but he fulfills the desires of women and develops a sense of purpose.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eel (1997)
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPainful Bliss: Final Twist (1977)
A young executive has a really bad night after an encounter with a crazed bisexual wannabe yakuza and his horny girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
My Favorite Wife is Addicted to Sex (1997)
Hinako, a married woman, feels unsatisfied with her married life with her husband, Takashi, so she suddenly declares a domestic separation and indulges in an affair with Shima, her senior from high school. Meanwhile, Hinako was confused when Yuri, whom she met at her favorite snack bar, asked her out.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Married Woman Boutique: Women Indulging in Scandalous Love Affair (2002)
Kimie steps into a boutique each day to support her household in place of her husband, who is unable to work due to heart disease—while her own spirit aches with longing. She surrenders willingly to the irresistible pull of Tsukuda, the dashing apparel‐maker’s salesman whose whispered promises slip between her legs like silk. Kenji, burning to reclaim his former glory, watches his world unravel when he discovers the affair that simmered beneath Kimie’s restraint. And as the truth of Kimie’s glowing secret—her pregnancy—dawns on him, his reproaches choke in his throat, meeting instead a startling, fervent embrace from the woman he thought he knew…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Demeking (1998)
When he is hit by a car on the street, the young man Daikoku foresees the monster Demking appearing at the end of the century. In preparation for the coming confrontation with the Demeking, he organizes a modern-day Seven Lucky Gods composed entirely of antisocial people. This is a utopian epic that, despite the ridiculousness of the story, is the most powerful depiction of the motifs seen in the first two films, which attempt to play on the sense of apocalypse through unrealistic imagination, while staying within a tenuous sense of reality.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Gigolo: A Docu-Drama (1982)
Kabukicho, Shinjuku, the number one entertainment district in Japan. There are professional gigolos who make this sleepless city their base and get what they want, from money and women to desire. They are the "gigolo" gang led by the charismatic Naoki Fushimi. Akira, Yuki, and Ryoma are aiming to become full-fledged gigolos. Akira has a girlfriend named Mariko who is a model for vinyl magazines. But that's not enough for a gigolo. For a gigolo, having sex for free is meaningless. Yuki finds a soapland girl named Misa, and Ryoma finds a woman named Yoko, and they spend a sensual night together. Meanwhile, Akira is taken by Mariko to help with a vinyl magazine shoot. Akira is getting increasingly impatient with his life, which can hardly be called gigolo...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Tutor Touching (2018)
Seiji (Yasuyuki Sakurai), who dropped out of high school, was aiming for high school graduation and university entrance exams, thanks in part to his private tutor Chieko (Sumire Nagai). Chieko is an active female college student, and Seiji's age and home environment are close, so her mother, Fumie (Handa Sasa), pours her excessive interference into her son. It made me hate. One day, Fumie discovers that her classmate Midori (Miu Kiritani), who likes Seiji, is about to have her first experience with Seiji, and she is furious. She even ripped the two apart with her insane protests to Midori's parents. A few days later, Seiji, who has cut off his relationship, promises to meet Midori in the park at night, but Fumie quietly follows Seiji, who has left home...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Coming Out, Our Declaration as a Couple (1993)
A suspicious man named Yoshioka, who claims to be a friend of Takashi's late father, offers a car as payment for two university students acting in a private adult video. The two friends Takashi and Shogo desperately want a car to make their campus life more meaningful, so they reluctantly agree to appear in a gay adult video together. They somehow manage to get through the humiliating filming and get the promised car. Takashi thinks he'll never do it again, but at that moment something he doesn't realize is beginning to sprout inside him. The next day, Takashi is called by Yoshioka to visit his office. Yoshioka's sponsor, a man who calls himself Hayami, appears before Takashi. Hayami asks Takashi to appear in another gay adult video, and if he refuses, he will copy Yoshioka's tape and distribute it everywhere. Takashi succumbs to the blackmail threats, but during the filming of the video, Shogo looks for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Rose Youth (1992)
Takeo is a university student struggling to pay off his loans and lives a tight life while working part-time as a male escort. For him, sex is just about money or pleasure. After picking up a female university student, Takeo catches a sexually transmitted disease and his debts and medical expenses pile up, putting him in a desperate situation. Then another man called Shinji comes up with a brilliant idea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Crazy as Hell (1992)
Takeshi, an up-and-coming fashion designer, is being courted by his manager Ichiro, but somehow manages to escape. He didn't hate Ichiro, but there was something about him that made him want to avoid him..
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Two People Like This (1998)
Junnosuke and Kazuhiko are a couple who live with each other. However, one day Kazuhiko gets drunk and sleeps with a female employee of the company and she gets pregnant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Osaka People and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Osaka People?
The closest matches to Osaka People are Taboo (1999), My Brother the Devil (2012) and A Month in the Country (1987). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Osaka People?
Start with Taboo (1999), the closest match to Osaka People.
What is the highest-rated movie like Osaka People?
Beast (2026), rated 7.5/10 by 227 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Osaka People?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Osaka People?
Yes: Taboo (1999), Intentions of Murder (1964) and Tokyo Fist (1995).
How are movies similar to Osaka People chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Osaka People, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.