Japanese Modern

by baratasena | created - 09 Jun 2022 | updated - 1 month ago | Public
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1. Like Father, Like Son (2013)

Not Rated | 121 min | Drama

73 Metascore

Ryota is a successful workaholic businessman. When he learns that his biological son was switched with another boy after birth, he faces the difficult decision to choose his true son or the boy he and his wife have raised as their own.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Masaharu Fukuyama, Machiko Ono, Yôko Maki, Lily Franky

Votes: 28,151 | Gross: $0.28M

2. Drive My Car (2021)

Unrated | 179 min | Drama

91 Metascore

A renowned stage actor and director learns to cope with a big personal loss when he receives an offer to direct a production of Uncle Vanya in Hiroshima.

Director: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi | Stars: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Tôko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Masaki Okada

Votes: 65,831

3. Love Exposure (2008)

Unrated | 237 min | Action, Comedy, Drama

78 Metascore

A bizarre love triangle forms between a young Catholic upskirt photographer, a misandric girl and a manipulative cultist.

Director: Sion Sono | Stars: Takahiro Nishijima, Hikari Mitsushima, Sakura Andô, Yutaka Shimizu

Votes: 15,915

4. Shoplifters (2018)

R | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

93 Metascore

On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders are united by loyalty, a penchant for petty theft and playful grifting. When the young son is arrested, secrets are exposed that upend their tenuous, below-the-radar existence.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Lily Franky, Sakura Andô, Kirin Kiki, Mayu Matsuoka

Votes: 86,478 | Gross: $3.31M

5. Sweet Bean (2015)

Not Rated | 113 min | Drama

60 Metascore

Burdened with a heavy and ever-increasing debt, a dorayaki baker hires a kind ageing woman, after tasting her delicious surprise. Little by little, she unravels her beautiful inner world. Could she be holding the secret to his success?

Director: Naomi Kawase | Stars: Kirin Kiki, Masatoshi Nagase, Kyara Uchida, Miki Mizuno

Votes: 12,725 | Gross: $0.12M

6. After the Storm (2016)

Not Rated | 118 min | Comedy, Drama

84 Metascore

After the death of his father, a private detective struggles to find child support money and reconnect with his son and ex-wife.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Yôko Maki, Satomi Kobayashi, Lily Franky

Votes: 12,760 | Gross: $0.27M

7. Still Walking (2008)

Not Rated | 115 min | Drama

89 Metascore

A family gathers together for a commemorative ritual whose nature only gradually becomes clear.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Hiroshi Abe, Yui Natsukawa, You, Kazuya Takahashi

Votes: 18,625 | Gross: $0.16M

8. Maborosi (1995)

Not Rated | 110 min | Drama

92 Metascore

A young woman's husband apparently commits suicide without warning or reason, leaving behind his wife and infant.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Makiko Esumi, Takashi Naitô, Tadanobu Asano, Gohki Kashiyama

Votes: 7,330

9. Love Letter (1995)

PG | 117 min | Drama, Romance

When exchanging letters two women discover new things about a man they knew.

Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Miho Nakayama, Etsushi Toyokawa, Bunjaku Han, Katsuyuki Shinohara

Votes: 11,006

10. My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday (2016)

111 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

On the way to his university in Kyoto, a 20 y.o. man falls in love with a woman on the train. He tells her. They start dating. She has a supernatural secret.

Director: Takahiro Miki | Stars: Sôta Fukushi, Nana Komatsu, Masahiro Higashide, Yuki Yamada

Votes: 5,268

11. The 8-Year Engagement (2017)

119 min | Drama, Romance

Hisashi and Mai are set to have their wedding ceremony in three months. Unfortunately, Mai falls ill and lapses into a coma.

Director: Takahisa Zeze | Stars: Takeru Satoh, Tao Tsuchiya, Tetta Sugimoto, Hiroko Yakushimaru

Votes: 1,103

12. One Cut of the Dead (2017)

Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror

86 Metascore

Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility, when they are attacked by real zombies.

Director: Shin'ichirô Ueda | Stars: Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Harumi Shuhama, Kazuaki Nagaya

Votes: 29,747

13. Tampopo (1985)

Not Rated | 114 min | Comedy

87 Metascore

A truck driver stops at a small family-run noodle shop and decides to help its fledgling business. The story is intertwined with various vignettes about the relationship of love and food.

Director: Jûzô Itami | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Koji Yakusho

Votes: 22,576 | Gross: $0.22M

14. Spirited Away (2001)

PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

96 Metascore

During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi

Votes: 849,833 | Gross: $10.06M

15. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Not Rated | 89 min | Animation, Drama, War

94 Metascore

A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.

Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara

Votes: 310,598

16. Your Name. (2016)

PG | 106 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

81 Metascore

Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.

Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Ryo Narita, Aoi Yûki

Votes: 320,565 | Gross: $5.02M

17. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

PG | 119 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

82 Metascore

When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashûin, Akihiro Miwa

Votes: 449,639 | Gross: $4.71M

18. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (2018)

Not Rated | 109 min | Animation, Drama, Family

A high school student discovers one of his classmates, Sakura Yamauchi, is suffering from a terminal illness. This secret brings the two together, as she lives out her final moments.

Directors: Jun'ichi Fujise, Tomoyuki Itamura, Masaharu Tomoda, Shin'ichirô Ushijima, Daisuke Yoshida, Fumihiro Yoshimura | Stars: Mahiro Takasugi, Lynn, Yukiyo Fujii, Yuma Uchida

Votes: 24,271 | Gross: $0.28M

19. Castle in the Sky (1986)

PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

78 Metascore

A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui, Minori Terada

Votes: 182,430

20. Akira (1988)

R | 124 min | Animation, Action, Drama

68 Metascore

A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.

Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshô Genda

Votes: 205,314 | Gross: $0.55M

21. Isle of Dogs (2018)

PG-13 | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

82 Metascore

Set in Japan, Isle of Dogs follows a boy's odyssey in search of his lost dog.

Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Bryan Cranston, Koyu Rankin, Edward Norton, Bob Balaban

Votes: 190,917 | Gross: $32.02M

22. When Marnie Was There (2014)

PG | 103 min | Animation, Drama, Family

72 Metascore

Anna, a shy 12-year-old girl, is sent to spend time with her aunt and uncle who live in the countryside, where she meets Marnie. The two become best friends. But Anna gradually discovers that Marnie is not quite who she appears to be.

Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi | Stars: Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Nanako Matsushima, Susumu Terajima

Votes: 47,948 | Gross: $0.77M

23. Ponyo (2008)

G | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

86 Metascore

A five-year-old boy develops a relationship with Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become a human after falling in love with him.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson, Tomoko Yamaguchi

Votes: 163,580 | Gross: $15.09M

24. 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

TV-PG | 63 min | Animation, Drama, Family

Told in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.

Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura, Ayaka Onoue

Votes: 63,794

25. From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)

PG | 91 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama

71 Metascore

A group of Yokohama teens look to save their school's clubhouse from the wrecking ball in preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.

Director: Gorô Miyazaki | Stars: Sarah Bolger, Chris Noth, Anton Yelchin, Christina Hendricks

Votes: 52,042 | Gross: $1.00M

26. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)

Not Rated | 115 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama

72 Metascore

Escaping war, an immortal girl blessed with Eternal Youth finds a lone surviving infant and decides to raise him as her son.

Directors: Masakazu Hashimoto, Jong Heo, Tadashi Hiramatsu, Tatsuyuki Nagai, Mari Okada, Toshiya Shinohara | Stars: Manaka Iwami, Miyu Irino, Yôko Hikasa, Hiroaki Hirata

Votes: 8,403

27. A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016)

Not Rated | 130 min | Animation, Drama

78 Metascore

A young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.

Directors: Taichi Ishidate, Naoko Yamada | Stars: Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yûki, Kenshô Ono

Votes: 101,362

28. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family

86 Metascore

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi

Votes: 380,431 | Gross: $1.11M

29. Porco Rosso (1992)

PG | 94 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

83 Metascore

In 1930s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot is cursed to look like an anthropomorphic pig.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Shûichirô Moriyama, Tokiko Katô, Bunshi Katsura VI, Tsunehiko Kamijô

Votes: 102,159

30. The Boy and the Beast (2015)

PG-13 | 119 min | Animation, Action, Adventure

65 Metascore

When a young orphaned boy living on the streets of Shibuya stumbles upon a fantastic world of beasts, he's taken in by a gruff warrior beast looking for an apprentice.

Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Aoi Miyazaki, Shôta Sometani, Suzu Hirose

Votes: 26,942 | Gross: $0.45M

31. Ocean Waves (1993 TV Movie)

PG-13 | 76 min | Animation, Drama, Romance

73 Metascore

As a young man returns home after his first year away at college he recalls his senior year of high school and the iron-willed, big city girl that turned his world upside down.

Director: Tomomi Mochizuki | Stars: Nobuo Tobita, Toshihiko Seki, Yoko Sakamoto, Yuri Amano

Votes: 20,430

32. Princess Mononoke (1997)

PG-13 | 134 min | Animation, Action, Adventure

76 Metascore

On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Billy Crudup

Votes: 433,892 | Gross: $2.38M

33. Wolf Children (2012)

PG | 117 min | Animation, Drama, Family

71 Metascore

After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident while hunting for food for their children, a young woman must find ways to raise the werewolf son and daughter that she had with him while keeping their trait hidden from society.

Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, Haru Kuroki, Yukito Nishii

Votes: 49,509

34. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)

PG | 137 min | Animation, Drama, Family

89 Metascore

Kaguya is a beautiful young woman coveted by five nobles. To try to avoid marrying a stranger she doesn't love, she sends her suitors on seemingly impossible tasks. But she will have to face her fate and punishment for her choices.

Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, James Marsden

Votes: 54,038 | Gross: $1.51M

35. Whisper of the Heart (1995)

G | 111 min | Animation, Drama, Family

75 Metascore

A love story between a girl who loves reading books, and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she chooses.

Director: Yoshifumi Kondô | Stars: Yoko Honna, Issei Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana, Shigeru Muroi

Votes: 72,676

36. Ghost in the Shell (1995)

TV-MA | 83 min | Animation, Action, Crime

76 Metascore

A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.

Directors: Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera

Votes: 156,948 | Gross: $0.52M

37. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

G | 103 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy

85 Metascore

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi

Votes: 165,615

38. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

PG-13 | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

75 Metascore

On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

Directors: Shôgo Furuya, Satoshi Kon | Stars: Tôru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Shôzô Îzuka

Votes: 46,775 | Gross: $0.13M

39. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

TV-PG | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

66 Metascore

A high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.

Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida, Mitsutaka Itakura, Ayami Kakiuchi

Votes: 70,884

40. The Wind Rises (2013)

PG-13 | 126 min | Animation, Biography, Drama

83 Metascore

Jiro Horikoshi studies assiduously to fulfill his aim of becoming an aeronautical engineer. As WWII begins, fighter aircraft designed by him end up getting used by the Japanese Empire against its foes.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Miori Takimoto, Masahiko Nishimura

Votes: 98,829 | Gross: $5.21M

41. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

G | 94 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama

80 Metascore

The Clock family are four-inch-tall people who live anonymously in another family's residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their teenage daughter Arrietty is discovered.

Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi | Stars: Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, Mirai Shida

Votes: 104,434 | Gross: $19.20M

42. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)

102 min | Animation, Action, Adventure

72 Metascore

A dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yasuo Yamada, Eiko Masuyama, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue

Votes: 33,581

43. Weathering with You (2019)

PG-13 | 112 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

72 Metascore

Set during a period of exceptionally rainy weather, high-school boy Hodaka Morishima runs away from his troubled rural home to Tokyo and befriends an orphan girl who can manipulate the weather.

Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Kotaro Daigo, Nana Mori, Tsubasa Honda, Sakura Kiryu

Votes: 55,655 | Gross: $7.80M

44. The Garden of Words (2013)

TV-14 | 46 min | Animation, Drama, Romance

On a rainy morning in Tokyo, 15-year-old Takao, an aspiring shoemaker, decides to skip class to sketch designs in a beautiful garden. This is where he meets Yukari, a beautiful yet mysterious woman. They strike an unlikely friendship.

Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Miyu Irino, Kana Hanazawa, Fumi Hirano, Gou Maeda

Votes: 52,618

45. Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll (2019)

90 min | Animation, Drama, Family

Violet Evergarden, a former soldier returned from war, comes to teach at a women's academy and changes a young girl's life.

Director: Haruka Fujita | Stars: Yui Ishikawa, Minako Kotobuki, Aoi Yûki, Takehito Koyasu

Votes: 6,532

46. Summer Wars (2009)

PG | 114 min | Animation, Action, Adventure

63 Metascore

A student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother's 90th birthday.

Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Nanami Sakuraba, Mitsuki Tanimura, Takahiro Yokokawa

Votes: 31,787 | Gross: $0.08M

47. The Anthem of the Heart (2015)

119 min | Animation, Drama, Family

A young girl had her voice magically taken away so that she would never hurt people with it, but her outlook changes when she encounters music and friendship.

Director: Tatsuyuki Nagai | Stars: Inori Minase, Kôki Uchiyama, Sora Amamiya, Yoshimasa Hosoya

Votes: 6,346

48. Patema Inverted (2013)

Not Rated | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama

66 Metascore

A young girl, from a civilization that resides in deep underground tunnels, finds herself trapped in an inverted world and teams up with a resident to escape and return home.

Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura | Stars: Yukiyo Fujii, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Shintarô Ôhata, Shin'ya Fukumatsu

Votes: 10,216

49. Belle (2021)

PG | 121 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama

83 Metascore

Suzu is a shy high school student living in a rural village. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. But when she enters "U", a massive virtual world, she escapes into her online persona as Belle, a globally-beloved singer.

Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Kaho Nakamura, Ryo Narita, Shôta Sometani, Tina Tamashiro

Votes: 17,139

50. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi

86 Metascore

Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya

Votes: 182,605 | Gross: $0.50M

51. Perfect Blue (1997)

R | 81 min | Animation, Crime, Drama

67 Metascore

A pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.

Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura

Votes: 95,616 | Gross: $0.78M

52. To the Forest of Firefly Lights (2011)

45 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

Hotaru is rescued by a spirit when she gets lost in a forest as a child. The two become friends, despite the spirit revealing that he will disappear if he is ever touched by a human.

Director: Takahiro Ômori | Stars: Kôki Uchiyama, Ayane Sakura, Shinpachi Tsuji, Izumi Sawada

Votes: 21,711

53. Millennium Actress (2001)

PG | 87 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

70 Metascore

A TV interviewer and his cameraman meet a former actress and travel through her memories and career.

Directors: Satoshi Kon, Kô Matsuo | Stars: Miyoko Shôji, Shôzô Îzuka, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa

Votes: 32,084 | Gross: $0.19M

54. Paprika (2006)

R | 90 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

81 Metascore

When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.

Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Megumi Hayashibara, Tôru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Tôru Furuya

Votes: 96,959 | Gross: $0.88M

55. Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)

TV-14 | 116 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama

A coming of age story involving young love and a mysterious music, coming from a crystal radio left as a memento by an absent father, that leads a young heroine deep into a hidden world.

Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Hisako Kanemoto, Miyu Irino, Kazuhiko Inoue, Junko Takeuchi

Votes: 17,016

56. Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2020)

TV-PG | 87 min | Animation, Drama, Music

A meeting and romance starts between two people with communication issues - a boy who wears headphones and uses haiku poems, and a girl who wears a mask and only does online videos.

Director: Kyohei Ishiguro | Stars: Somegorô Ichikawa, Hana Sugisaki, Megumi Han, Natsuki Hanae

Votes: 5,464

57. A Whisker Away (2020)

TV-PG | 104 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama

Miyo Sasaki is in love with her classmate Kento Hinode and tries repeatedly to get Kento's attention by transforming into a cat, but at some point, the boundary between herself and the cat becomes ambiguous.

Directors: Jun'ichi Satô, Tomotaka Shibayama | Stars: Mirai Shida, Natsuki Hanae, Johnny Yong Bosch, Bob Buchholz

Votes: 13,892

58. Hello World (2019)

97 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama

A man travels in time from the year 2027 to relive his school years and to correct a bad decision.

Director: Tomohiko Itô | Stars: Haruka Fukuhara, Minami Hamabe, Takumi Kitamura, Minako Kotobuki

Votes: 4,024

59. Children of the Sea (2019)

Not Rated | 111 min | Animation, Adventure, Fantasy

74 Metascore

A young girl is drawn into a mystery involving sealife around the world, in which two mysterious boys are somehow involved.

Director: Ayumu Watanabe | Stars: Mana Ashida, Hiiro Ishibashi, Seishû Uragami, Win Morisaki

Votes: 3,691

60. Audition (1999)

R | 115 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery

70 Metascore

A widower takes an offer to screen girls at a special audition, arranged for him by a friend to find him a new wife. The one he fancies is not who she appears to be after all.

Director: Takashi Miike | Stars: Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Tetsu Sawaki, Jun Kunimura

Votes: 89,272

61. Ringu (1998)

Not Rated | 96 min | Horror, Mystery

A reporter and her ex-husband investigate a cursed video tape that is rumored to kill the viewer seven days after watching it.

Director: Hideo Nakata | Stars: Nanako Matsushima, Miki Nakatani, Yûko Takeuchi, Hitomi Satô

Votes: 77,518

62. Cure (1997)

Not Rated | 111 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery

70 Metascore

A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Masato Hagiwara, Koji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa

Votes: 23,079 | Gross: $0.09M

63. Female Prisoner #701: Scorpion (1972)

Not Rated | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

After being used and betrayed by the detective she had fallen in love with, young Matsu is sent to a female prison full of sadistic guards and disobedient prisoners.

Director: Shun'ya Itô | Stars: Meiko Kaji, Rie Yokoyama, Yayoi Watanabe, Yôko Mihara

Votes: 4,873

64. Confessions (2010)

Not Rated | 106 min | Drama, Thriller

A psychological thriller of a grieving mother turned cold-blooded avenger with a twisty master plan to pay back those who were responsible for her daughter's death.

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Takako Matsu, Yoshino Kimura, Masaki Okada, Yukito Nishii

Votes: 42,077

65. Battle Royale (2000)

Not Rated | 114 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

81 Metascore

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

Director: Kinji Fukasaku | Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Aki Maeda, Tarô Yamamoto, Chiaki Kuriyama

Votes: 194,483

66. Lonely Heart (1985)

112 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance

Lonely and love-struck, high-school student Hiroki pursues one girl but another one mysteriously appears in his life. Is she a figment of his lonely psyche, or real? An intricate triangle ... See full summary »

Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Yasuko Tomita, Toshinori Omi, Yumiko Fujita, Nenji Kobayashi

Votes: 388

67. I Wish (2011)

PG | 128 min | Drama

80 Metascore

Twelve-year-old Koichi, who has been separated from his brother Ryunosuke due to his parents' divorce, hears a rumor that the new bullet trains will precipitate a wish-granting miracle when they pass each other at top speed.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Kôki Maeda, Oshiro Maeda, Ryôga Hayashi, Seinosuke Nagayoshi

Votes: 7,941 | Gross: $0.15M

68. Nobody Knows (2004)

PG-13 | 141 min | Drama

88 Metascore

In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Yûya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu

Votes: 31,417 | Gross: $0.68M

69. Departures (2008)

PG-13 | 130 min | Drama

68 Metascore

Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo learns that his orchestra is disbanding. He moves back to his hometown with his wife, where he answers an ad for what Daigo thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary.

Director: Yôjirô Takita | Stars: Masahiro Motoki, Ryôko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki

Votes: 54,992 | Gross: $1.50M

70. April Story (1998)

67 min | Drama, Romance

In spring, a young girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo.

Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Takako Matsu, Seiichi Tanabe, Kazuhiko Kato, Kaori Fujii

Votes: 4,088

71. Tokyo Sonata (2008)

PG-13 | 120 min | Drama

80 Metascore

An ordinary Japanese family slowly disintegrates after its patriarch loses his job at a prominent company.

Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa | Stars: Teruyuki Kagawa, Kyôko Koizumi, Yû Koyanagi, Kai Inowaki

Votes: 11,816 | Gross: $0.28M

72. His Motorbike, Her Island (1986)

90 min | Drama, Romance

After a failed romance, a temperamental young biker meets a carefree rural girl while riding through her island hometown and gets her obsessed about riding a motorcycle.

Director: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi | Stars: Kiwako Harada, Noriko Watanabe, Riki Takeuchi, Ryôichi Takayanagi

Votes: 682

73. Hana and Alice (2004)

135 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

When two best friends develop a crush on the same boy, they develop a plan to trick him into dating them.

Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Anne Suzuki, Yû Aoi, Tomohiro Kaku, Sei Hiraizumi

Votes: 4,911

74. Swing Girls (2004)

105 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

A tale of delinquent and lazy school girls. In their efforts to cut remedial summer math class, they end up vitiating and replacing the schools brass band.

Director: Shinobu Yaguchi | Stars: Juri Ueno, Yûta Hiraoka, Shihori Kanjiya, Yuika Motokariya

Votes: 4,683

75. Crying Out Love in the Center of the World (2004)

138 min | Drama, Romance

While searching for his fiancee Ritsuko, Sakutarou rediscovers through flashbacks the void deep within him caused by the events from his high school days.

Director: Isao Yukisada | Stars: Takao Osawa, Kô Shibasaki, Masami Nagasawa, Mirai Moriyama

Votes: 3,896

76. Kaitô Ruby (1988)

96 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance

Toru Hayashi lives alone with his mother. Young salaryman whose life is staggeringly banal, he is what we can call a man stuck, until a pretty young woman moves into the apartment upstairs.... See full summary »

Director: Makoto Wada | Stars: Kyôko Koizumi, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kumi Mizuno, Masumi Okada

Votes: 114

77. Kamikaze Girls (2004)

102 min | Comedy

56 Metascore

Momoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town.

Director: Tetsuya Nakashima | Stars: Kyôko Fukada, Anna Tsuchiya, Hiroyuki Miyasako, Sadao Abe

Votes: 8,091

78. One Million Yen Girl (2008)

121 min | Drama

A 21-year-old girl is released from prison, only to deal with the neighborhood gossip about her and family conflicts. She decides to save one million yen, move to where no one knows her and keep repeating the process.

Director: Yuki Tanada | Stars: Yû Aoi, Mirai Moriyama, Pierre Taki, Terunosuke Takezai

Votes: 1,712

79. Kikujiro (1999)

PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, Comedy

44 Metascore

A young, naive boy sets out alone on the road to find his wayward mother. Soon he finds an unlikely protector in a crotchety man and the two have a series of unexpected adventures along the way.

Director: Takeshi Kitano | Stars: Takeshi Kitano, Yusuke Sekiguchi, Kayoko Kishimoto, The Great Gidayû

Votes: 22,173 | Gross: $0.20M

80. Haru (1996)

118 min | Drama, Romance

A young Tokyo businessman joins an online movie forum and develops a special bond with one of its members through back and forth e-mails.

Director: Yoshimitsu Morita | Stars: Eri Fukatsu, Seiyô Uchino, Sei Hiraizumi, Noriko Kojima

Votes: 575

81. The Hidden Blade (2004)

R | 132 min | Drama, History, Romance

76 Metascore

A 19th Century samurai, held in low esteem due to an action by his late father, must resolve his history with a maid and with his close friend.

Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Masatoshi Nagase, Takako Matsu, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Yukiyoshi Ozawa

Votes: 7,202 | Gross: $0.04M

82. Love and Honor (2006)

PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, History, Romance

A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.

Director: Yôji Yamada | Stars: Takuya Kimura, Rei Dan, Mitsugorô Bandô, Takashi Sasano

Votes: 4,284 | Gross: $0.02M

83. Our Little Sister (2015)

PG | 127 min | Drama, Family

75 Metascore

Three sisters who live in their grandmother's home invite their thirteen-year-old half sister, whom they have just met, to join them.

Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Haruka Ayase, Masami Nagasawa, Kaho, Suzu Hirose

Votes: 16,901 | Gross: $0.46M

84. A Gentle Breeze in the Village (2007)

121 min | Drama

When eighth grade cool guy Hiromi transfers from Tokyo to a small elementary/middle school with only six kids enrolled, wholesome and honest Soyo becomes enthralled with his sophisticated world.

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita | Stars: Kaho, Masaki Okada, Elisa Yanagi, Shôko Fujimura

Votes: 1,507

85. Forget Me Not (2015)

94 min | Drama, Romance

A high school student falls in love, but must document their time together to prevent forgetting. What will happen next?

Director: Kei Horie | Stars: Nijirô Murakami, Akari Hayami, Chiharu, Mickey Curtis

Votes: 608

86. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)

Not Rated | 67 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

A businessman accidentally kills The Metal Fetishist, who gets his revenge by slowly turning the man into a grotesque hybrid of flesh and rusty metal.

Director: Shin'ya Tsukamoto | Stars: Tomorô Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, Nobu Kanaoka, Shin'ya Tsukamoto

Votes: 25,939

87. Midnight Diner (2014)

119 min | Comedy, Drama

A cook opens a restaurant that only serves from midnight till dawn. One day, he discovers an obituary urn. Follow the stories of his regulars tangled around this urn.

Director: Joji Matsuoka | Stars: Kaoru Kobayashi, Saki Takaoka, Tokio Emoto, Mikako Tabe

Votes: 2,516

88. Perfect Days (2023)

PG | 124 min | Drama

80 Metascore

Hirayama cleans public toilets in Tokyo, lives his life in simplicity and daily tranquility. Some encounters also lead him to reflect on himself.

Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Koji Yakusho, Tokio Emoto, Arisa Nakano, Miyako Tanaka

Votes: 37,216



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