deep into the world of Japanese's
by WanderingOnion | created - 2 weeks ago | updated - 2 weeks ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Sky of Love (2007)
120 min | Drama, Romance
Mika is a fresh high school student who starts texting a mysterious boy. She is shocked when he reveals who he is - Hiro, a delinquent attending her school. What she doesn't know is that Hiro isn't as bad as he seems.
Director: Natsuki Imai | Stars: Yui Aragaki, Haruma Miura, Yûko Asano, Yôsuke Asari
Votes: 3,765
2. Shoplifters (2018)
R | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
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: 86,541 | Gross: $3.31M
3. Nobody Knows (2004)
PG-13 | 141 min | Drama
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: 31,444 | Gross: $0.68M
4. All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
Unrated | 146 min | Crime, Drama, Music
The problematic lives of teenager students for whom the singer Lily Chou-Chou's dreamy music is the only way to escape an alienating, violent and insensitive society.
Director: Shunji Iwai | Stars: Hayato Ichihara, Shûgo Oshinari, Ayumi Ito, Takao Osawa
Votes: 11,201 | Gross: $0.02M
5. Departures (2008)
PG-13 | 130 min | Drama
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: 55,009 | Gross: $1.50M
6. 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: 42,095
7. Still Walking (2008)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
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: 18,645 | Gross: $0.16M
8. Shoplifters (2018)
R | 121 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
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: 86,541 | Gross: $3.31M
9. Little DJ: Chiisana koi no monogatari (2007)
128 min | Drama, Romance
Taro is a 12 year old boy who loves baseball and radio, where his favorite program is 'Music Express'. His illness keeps him in a hospital but one day he gets the opportunity to take over ... See full summary »
Director: Koto Nagata | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mayuko Fukuda, Yoshio Harada, Ryôko Hirosue
Votes: 167
10. 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: 11,017
11. 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
12. We Were There: First Love (2012)
123 min | Drama, Romance
It chronicles the love relationship between a boy called Motoharu Yano and a girl called Nanami Takahashi, starting from their teenage years and continuing during their early twenties.
Director: Takahiro Miki | Stars: Tôma Ikuta, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Sôsuke Takaoka, Yuika Motokariya
Votes: 701
13. We Were There: True Love (2012)
121 min | Drama, Romance
Nanami and Yano were in-love. But because of unavoidable circumstances, they cannot commit to their plans and promises. They can decided whether they want to live life as it is, or find a way back to each other's arms.
Director: Takahiro Miki | Stars: Tôma Ikuta, Yuriko Yoshitaka, Narumi Akizuki, Yumi Asô
Votes: 545
14. Threads - Our Tapestry of Love (2020)
130 min | Romance
Ren Takahashi and Aoi Sonoda are both children of the 1980s having been born in 1989. They met in 2002 and got to know love and lust at that young age through each other. As it so often ... See full summary »
Directors: Takahisa Zeze, Ivaylo Brusowski | Stars: Masaki Suda, Nana Komatsu, Fumika Baba, Mitsuko Baishô
Votes: 588
15. Mûnraito jerîfisshu (2004)
113 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Seiji has to look after his brother Michio who has Xeroderma Pigmentosum, a desire that is fatal if exposed to sunlight. Also, Michio, is equal to that of a child. Seiji is forced to join ... See full summary »
Director: Kosuke Tsurumi | Stars: Kansai Eto, Tatsuya Fujiwara, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Kumi Imura
Votes: 71
16. Threads of Our Hearts (2010 TV Movie)
68 min | Drama, Family, Music
"Kokoro no Ito" tells the story of a deaf woman (Matsuyuki) who has raised her son (Kamiki) with hopes of him becoming a top-class pianist. The son is burdened by her high expectations, but then he learns about her past.
Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Shôta Sometani, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Renji Ishibashi
Votes: 25
17. Drowning Love (2016)
111 min | Drama, Romance
Natsume - a teen fashion model from Tokyo - feels empty after having moved into a country town with her family. One day, she meets Koh, heir of Shinto priest family and finds herself falling under the spell of a selfish yet handsome boy.
Director: Yûki Yamato | Stars: Nazuki Amano, Mickey Curtis, Masami Horiuchi, Miwako Ichikawa
Votes: 1,365
18. The Last 10 Years (2022)
124 min | Drama, Romance
Twenty-year-old Matsuri Takabayashi learns that she only has ten years to live due to an incurable disease. She decides to not dwell on her life and not to fall in love, but she meets Kazuto Manabe at a school reunion.
Director: Michihito Fujii | Stars: Nana Komatsu, Kentarô Sakaguchi, Yuki Yamada, Nao Honda
Votes: 1,374
19. Your Eyes Tell (2020)
123 min | Drama, Romance
A tragic accident lead to Akari's blindness, but she clings to life and the smaller pleasures it can still afford her. Akari has also lost her family. She meets Rui a former kick boxer, ... See full summary »
Director: Takahiro Miki | Stars: Yuriko Yoshitaka, Ryûsei Yokohama, Kyôsuke Yabe, Jun Fubuki
Votes: 1,751
20. Kikujiro (1999)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, Comedy
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: 22,185 | Gross: $0.20M
21. Kamikaze Girls (2004)
102 min | Comedy
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: 8,094
22. Little Forest: Winter/Spring (2015)
120 min | Drama
Ichiko lived in a big city, but goes back to her small hometown Komori, located on a mountain in the Tohoku region. She is self-sufficient. Ichiko gains energy living among nature and eating foods she makes from seasonal ingredients.
Director: Jun'ichi Mori | Stars: Ai Hashimoto, Mayu Matsuoka, Yôichi Nukumizu, Karen Kirishima
Votes: 2,895
23. Little Forest: Summer/Autumn (2014)
111 min | Drama
Ichiko lived in a big city, but goes back to her small hometown Komori, located on a mountain in the Tohoku region. She is self-sufficient. Ichiko gains energy living among nature and eating foods she makes from seasonal ingredients.
Director: Jun'ichi Mori | Stars: Ai Hashimoto, Mayu Matsuoka, Yôichi Nukumizu, Karen Kirishima
Votes: 3,475
24. Monster (2023)
PG-13 | 127 min | Drama, Thriller
A mother demands answers from her son's teacher when her son begins acting strangely.
Director: Kore-eda Hirokazu | Stars: Sakura Andô, Eita Nagayama, Soya Kurokawa, Hinata Hiiragi
Votes: 21,482
25. Threads of Our Hearts (2010 TV Movie)
68 min | Drama, Family, Music
"Kokoro no Ito" tells the story of a deaf woman (Matsuyuki) who has raised her son (Kamiki) with hopes of him becoming a top-class pianist. The son is burdened by her high expectations, but then he learns about her past.
Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Shôta Sometani, Yasuko Matsuyuki, Renji Ishibashi
Votes: 25
26. From Me to You (2010)
128 min | Drama, Romance
A girl that resemble "Sadako" of the movie Ring is being feared by her classmates. She is avoided by everyone.While everyone is avoiding her, the popular boy Shota Kazehaya befriends her, and their love begins to grow.
Director: Naoto Kumazawa | Stars: Mikako Tabe, Haruma Miura, Misako Renbutsu, Haru Aoyama
Votes: 2,945
27. We Made a Beautiful Bouquet (2021)
124 min | Drama, Romance
A love story spanning 5 years between a man and a woman. A 22-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman both miss the last train at Meidaimae Station in Tokyo and meet there. Their relationship develops romantically.
Director: Nobuhiro Doi | Stars: Masaki Suda, Kasumi Arimura, Kaya Kiyohara, Kanata Hosoda
Votes: 3,546
28. Ima, ai ni yukimasu (2004)
119 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A young woman returns from the dead to her guilt-ridden husband and son, but she cannot remember them.
Director: Nobuhiro Doi | Stars: Yûko Takeuchi, Shidô Nakamura, Akashi Takei, Karen Miyama
Votes: 5,023
29. Perfect Days (2023)
PG | 124 min | Drama
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: 38,460
30. Mother (2020)
126 min | Drama, Thriller
Akiko (Masami Nagasawa) is a single mother and her son is Shuhei (Sho Gunji). Akiko casually has sex with other men, including Ryo (Sadao Abe). Akiko is the only person whom Shuhei can rely on. One day, Shuhei makes a shocking decision.
Director: Tatsushi Ômori | Stars: Masami Nagasawa, Sadao Abe, Halo Asada, Sho Gunji
Votes: 3,395
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