Popular from Japan
Drive My Car
(ドライブ・マイ・カー)
A car ride across Japan leads to an unlikely connection between a widowed stage director and his introverted young driver.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2021
- Director Ryusuke Hamaguchi
- Cast Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Masaki Okada, Reika Kirishima, Park Yu-rim, Jin Dae-yeon
- Genre Drama
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
One Piece
(ワンピース)
A pirate boy and crew set out to find a mysterious treasure that will allow him to become the pirate king.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1999
- Creator
- Cast Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi, Hiroaki Hirata, Yuriko Yamaguchi
- Genre Action & Adventure, Comedy, Animation
- Available on Amazon Video, Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Pluto TV, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Netflix basic with Ads, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Your Name.
(君の名は。)
High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Director Makoto Shinkai
- Cast Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Masami Nagasawa, Etsuko Ichihara, Ryou Narita, Aoi Yuki
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Apple TV
Attack on Titan
(進撃の巨人)
When the human race is hunted nearly to extinction by giant monsters, a small group of humans fight back.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2013
- Creator
- Cast Yūki Kaji, Marina Inoue, Yui Ishikawa, Hiroshi Kamiya, Saki Fujita, Yoshimasa Hosoya
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, War & Politics
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Dragon Ball Z
(ドラゴンボールZ)
Goku, trained in martial arts, joins the search for a wish-granting dragon.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1989
- Creator Akira Toriyama
- Cast Masako Nozawa, Ryou Horikawa, Toshio Furukawa, Mayumi Tanaka, Hiromi Tsuru, Naoki Tatsuta
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Monster
(怪物)
When a single mother notices her young son Minato is behaving strangely, she confronts his teacher to discover why.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2023
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Sakura Ando, Eita Nagayama, Hinata Hiiragi, Mitsuki Takahata, Akihiro Kakuta, Shidô Nakamura
- Genre Drama
- Available on MUBI, MUBI Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Plex, FlixFling
Suzume
(すずめの戸締まり)
When a small town girl named Suzume discovers a supernatural door, she must team up with a boy named Souta to prevent ruin from befalling Japan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2022
- Director Makoto Shinkai
- Cast Nanoka Hara, Hokuto Matsumura, Eri Fukatsu, Shota Sometani, Sairi Ito, Kotone Hanase
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Drama, Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Netflix basic with Ads, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Dragon Ball
(ドラゴンボール)
A young orphan teams up with a girl to seek out the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1986
- Creator Akira Toriyama
- Cast Masako Nozawa, Mayumi Tanaka, Hiromi Tsuru, Tōru Furuya, Naoki Tatsuta, Naoko Watanabe
- Genre Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Animation, Action & Adventure
- Available on Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Spirited Away
(千と千尋の神隠し)
A ten-year-old girl must save her parents from hostile spirits.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2001
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Bunta Sugawara, Yumi Tamai, Ryunosuke Kamiki
- Genre Animation, Family, Fantasy
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Plex
Shin Godzilla
(シン・ゴジラ)
A god incarnate. A city doomed.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Director Hideaki Anno
- Cast Hiroki Hasegawa, Yutaka Takenouchi, Satomi Ishihara, Kengo Kora, Satoru Matsuo, Mikako Ichikawa
- Genre Action, Science Fiction
- Available on No streaming locations found.
Solo Leveling
(俺だけレベルアップな件)
A weak monster hunter awakens new powers within himself as he strives to grow in strength
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2024
- Creator
- Cast
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Ninja Kamui
After his family is brutally murdered, a former ninja seeks bloody vengeance on the clan that trained and then betrayed him.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United States • 2024
- Creator
- Cast Kenjiro Tsuda, Atsushi Ono, Yuuki Wakai
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Max Amazon Channel, Max
Ran
(乱)
The Greatest Shakespeare Film
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, France • 1985
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû, Mieko Harada, Yoshiko Miyazaki
- Genre Action, Drama, History
- Available on Kanopy
Perfect Days
The film follows the daily life of Hirayama, who works as a toilet cleaner in Tokyo.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Germany • 2023
- Director Wim Wenders
- Cast Koji Yakusho, Arisa Nakano, Aoi Yamada, Tokio Emoto, Yumi Asou, Sayuri Ishikawa
- Genre Drama
- Available on Hulu, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Delicious in Dungeon
(ダンジョン飯)
Adventurers become expert gastronomes as they turn dangerous monsters into delicious dishes.
- Japan • 2024
- Creator
- Cast
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
New from Japan
Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It
(理系が恋に落ちたので証明してみた。)
Can love be defined with a formula?
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2020
- Creator Masatsugu Asahi
- Cast Yuuma Uchida
- Genre Animation, Comedy
- Available on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
PLUTO
When the world's seven most advanced robots and their human allies are murdered one by one, Inspector Gesicht soon discovers that he's also in danger.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- • 2023
- Creator Toshio Kawaguchi
- Cast Shinshu Fuji, Yoko Hikasa, Minori Suzuki
- Genre Animation, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Weakest Beast
(獣になれない私たち)
Two complete strangers become instantly drawn to each other during a chance meeting.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2018
- Creator Nobuo Mizuta
- Cast Yui Aragaki, Ryuhei Matsuda, Tanaka Kei, Haru Kuroki, Rinko Kikuchi, Misako Tanaka
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
I'm Standing on a Million Lives
(100万の命の上に俺は立っている)
A lone-wolf middle schooler is transported to a dangerous, game-like world with his two classmates.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2020
- Creator Kumiko Habara
- Cast Yūto Uemura
- Genre Animation, Drama, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Attack on Titan
(進撃の巨人)
When the human race is hunted nearly to extinction by giant monsters, a small group of humans fight back.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2013
- Creator
- Cast Yūki Kaji, Marina Inoue, Yui Ishikawa, Hiroshi Kamiya, Saki Fujita, Yoshimasa Hosoya
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, War & Politics
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Dororo
(どろろ)
A disabled warrior and the young orphan who accompanies him battle demons to reclaim what has been stolen.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Creator Kazuhiro Furuhashi
- Cast Rio Suzuki, Hiroki Suzuki, Mutsumi Sasaki, Naoya Uchida, Akio Otsuka, Shouya Chiba
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation
- Available on Amazon Video, Amazon Prime Video, Shudder Amazon Channel, HiDive, AMC+, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC Plus Apple TV Channel , Shudder Apple TV Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
A Silent Voice: The Movie
(映画 聲の形
)
A high-school boy seeks forgiveness from the deaf girl he bullied in elementary school.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Director Naoko Yamada
- Cast Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yuki, Kensho Ono, Yuki Kaneko, Yui Ishikawa
- Genre Animation, Drama, Romance
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Bluefin
An enlightening story about the most fearless fish of all: Tuna.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, Japan • 2017
- Director John Hopkins
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, VUDU Free, Freevee, Kanopy, Plex Channel
The Boy and the Heron
(君たちはどう生きるか)
With the help of a mysterious grey heron, Mahito ventures into a mystical world to find his dead mother.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2023
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Drama
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Telescope Recommends
Harmonium
(淵に立つ)
There's something off-key in this household...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, France • 2016
- Director Kōji Fukada
- Cast Tadanobu Asano, Mariko Tsutsui, Takahiro Miura, Kanji Furutachi, Momone Shinokawa
- Genre Thriller
- Available on Film Movement Plus, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train
(劇場版「鬼滅の刃」無限列車編)
Tanjiro joins one of the most powerful swordsmen in the Demon Slayer Corps to take down a monster.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2020
- Director Haruo Sotozaki
- Cast Natsuki Hanae, Akari Kito, Hiro Shimono, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Satoshi Hino, Takahiro Sakurai
- Genre Action, Adventure, Animation, Fantasy
- Available on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Sansho the Bailiff
(山椒大夫)
A family is tragically separated after the patriarch is sent into exile.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1954
- Director Kenji Mizoguchi
- Cast Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyōko Kagawa, Eitarō Shindō, Akitake Kôno, Masao Shimizu
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Plex, Plex Channel
The World
(世界)
Employees experience alienation at a Beijing theme park filled with recreations of famous monuments.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- China, Japan, France • 2004
- Director Jia Zhangke
- Cast Zhao Tao, Cheng Taishen, Jue Jing, Jiang Zhongwei, Yi-qun Wang, Wang Hongwei
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
The Secret World of Arrietty
(借りぐらしのアリエッティ)
Do not be seen by humans. That's been the law of children of the underfloor.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2010
- Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi
- Cast Mirai Shida, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Tomokazu Miura, Keiko Takeshita, Kirin Kiki, Shinobu Ōtake
- Genre Fantasy, Animation, Family
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube
Kiki's Delivery Service
(魔女の宅急便)
A young witch goes on fantastic adventures as she runs her own delivery service.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1989
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi, Keiko Toda, Mieko Nobusawa, Kôichi Miura
- Genre Animation, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Family
- Available on Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
Fires on the Plain
(野火)
A tubercular private in the Japanese army struggles to survive in the twilight of the Second World War.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Kon Ichikawa
- Cast Eiji Funakoshi, Osamu Takizawa, Mickey Curtis, Mantarō Ushio, Kyū Sazanka, Yoshihiro Hamaguchi
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Criterion Channel, Kanopy, Darkroom
Godzilla
(ゴジラ)
A 164-foot-tall monster near Odo Island in Japan goes on a rampage that threatens the entire world.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1954
- Director Ishirō Honda
- Cast Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Fuyuki Murakami, Sachio Sakai
- Genre Horror, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Crackle, The Roku Channel, Plex Channel
Nope
Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United States, Japan • 2022
- Director Jordan Peele
- Cast Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Michael Wincott, Steven Yeun, Wrenn Schmidt
- Genre Horror, Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Available on Starz, Starz Roku Premium Channel, Starz Amazon Channel, Starz Apple TV Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
Japanese Series
Ninja Kamui
After his family is brutally murdered, a former ninja seeks bloody vengeance on the clan that trained and then betrayed him.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United States • 2024
- Creator
- Cast Kenjiro Tsuda, Atsushi Ono, Yuuki Wakai
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Max Amazon Channel, Max
I'm Standing on a Million Lives
(100万の命の上に俺は立っている)
A lone-wolf middle schooler is transported to a dangerous, game-like world with his two classmates.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2020
- Creator Kumiko Habara
- Cast Yūto Uemura
- Genre Animation, Drama, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Children of the Whales
(クジラの子らは砂上に歌う)
On an isolated island surrounded by oceans of sand, a young archivist stumbles upon an outsider for the first time.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2017
- Creator
- Cast Natsuki Hanae
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Sailor Moon Super S
(美少女戦士セーラームーン)
A young girl is given the ability to transform into her magical alter ego, the titular Sailor Moon, in this beloved classic.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1994
- Creator
- Cast Kotono Mitsuishi, Aya Hisakawa, Michie Tomizawa, Emi Shinohara, Rica Fukami, Tōru Furuya
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Tubi TV, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hulu, Pluto TV, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Freevee
Attack on Titan
(進撃の巨人)
When the human race is hunted nearly to extinction by giant monsters, a small group of humans fight back.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2013
- Creator
- Cast Yūki Kaji, Marina Inoue, Yui Ishikawa, Hiroshi Kamiya, Saki Fujita, Yoshimasa Hosoya
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, War & Politics
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(攻殻機動隊 STAND ALONE COMPLEX)
An elite task force investigate a number of cases connected to an dangerous hacker and terrorist.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2002
- Creator Kenji Kamiyama
- Cast Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Osamu Saka, Taimei Suzuki, Takashi Onozuka
- Genre Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Hoopla, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand, Plex, Plex Channel
Neon Genesis Evangelion
(新世紀エヴァンゲリオン)
Humanity must fend off a monstrous attack using bio-mechanical weapons called Evangelions.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1995
- Creator
- Cast Megumi Ogata, Kotono Mitsuishi, Megumi Hayashibara, Yuko Miyamura, Yuriko Yamaguchi, Fumihiko Tachiki
- Genre Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Animation, Drama
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Netflix, Microsoft Store, Netflix basic with Ads
Digimon Tamers
(デジモンテイマーズ)
When their Digimon card game characters suddenly come to life, a group of 12-year-olds begin to defend Shinjuku against wild Digimon.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Mexico, Spain • 2001
- Creator Yukio Kaizawa
- Cast Masako Nozawa, Yuka Imai, Makoto Tsumura, Mayumi Yamaguchi, Fumiko Orikasa, Aoi Tada
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Hulu, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Digimon Frontier
(デジモンフロンティア)
Five teens gain the ability to transform into ancient Digimon warriors.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Mexico, Spain • 2002
- Creator Yukio Kaizawa
- Cast Junko Takeuchi, Hiroshi Kamiya, Masato Amada, Kumiko Watanabe, Sawa Ishige
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy
- Available on Hulu, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Dragon Ball
(ドラゴンボール)
A young orphan teams up with a girl to seek out the seven wish-granting Dragon Balls.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1986
- Creator Akira Toriyama
- Cast Masako Nozawa, Mayumi Tanaka, Hiromi Tsuru, Tōru Furuya, Naoki Tatsuta, Naoko Watanabe
- Genre Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Animation, Action & Adventure
- Available on Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Dragon Ball Z
(ドラゴンボールZ)
Goku, trained in martial arts, joins the search for a wish-granting dragon.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1989
- Creator Akira Toriyama
- Cast Masako Nozawa, Ryou Horikawa, Toshio Furukawa, Mayumi Tanaka, Hiromi Tsuru, Naoki Tatsuta
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Mononoke
(モノノ怪)
A mysterious master of the occult known as the "Medicine Man" journeys through feudal Japan hunting evil spirits.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2007
- Creator
- Cast Takahiro Sakurai, Daisuke Namikawa, Daisuke Sakaguchi, Eiji Takemoto, Aiko Hibi, Fumiko Orikasa
- Genre Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Netflix, Crunchyroll, Netflix basic with Ads
Future Boy Conan
(未来少年コナン)
A young boy isolated from the rest of the world agrees to help a girl save her family from the evil government.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1978
- Creator Hayao Miyazaki, Alexander Key
- Cast Noriko Ohara, Hideyuki Tanaka, Masatō Ibu, Kazuyo Aoki, Ichirō Nagai
- Genre Animation, Action & Adventure, Family, Kids, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
Sherlock Hound
(名探偵ホームズ)
A loose retelling of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes" where all the characters are animals.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Italy • 1984
- Creator Hayao Miyazaki, Kyosuke Mikuriya
- Cast Taichirō Hirokawa, Chikao Ohtsuka, Yôko Asagami, Kousei Tomita, Shozo Iizuka, Hiroshi Masuoka
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Mystery
- Available on Amazon Video, Hulu, The Roku Channel, Retrocrush, Freevee
Yu Yu Hakusho
(幽☆遊☆白書)
When 14-year-old Yusuke dies before he’s supposed to, he is resurrected and becomes a Spirit Detective.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1992
- Creator
- Cast Nozomu Sasaki, Shigeru Chiba, Megumi Ogata
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Netflix, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Netflix basic with Ads, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel
Classics from Japan
Yojimbo
(用心棒)
A ronin comes to a town divided between two gangs and decides to play them off each other to his advantage.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1961
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Daisuke Katō, Seizaburō Kawazu
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video
Floating Clouds
(浮雲)
Returning to Japan following WWII, Yukiko hopes to continue an affair started during wartime, but realizes the man won’t divorce his wife.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1955
- Director Mikio Naruse
- Cast Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Mariko Okada, Isao Yamagata, Chieko Nakakita, Daisuke Katō
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
Odd Obsession
(鍵)
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Kon Ichikawa
- Cast Machiko Kyō, Ganjiro Nakamura, Junko Kano, Tatsuya Nakadai, Saburo Date, Jun Hamamura
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
There Was a Father
(父ありき)
Widower and father Shuhei Horikawa grapples with raising his son amidst financial strife and personal failings of honor.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1942
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chishū Ryū, Shûji Sano, Haruhiko Tsuda, Shin Saburi, Takeshi Sakamoto, Mitsuko Mito
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
Scandal
(醜聞)
A celebrity photograph sparks a court case as a tabloid magazine spins a scandalous story about a painter and a famous singer.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1950
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Toshirō Mifune, Yoshiko Yamaguchi, Yôko Katsuragi, Noriko Sengoku, Eitarō Ozawa, Takashi Shimura
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel
High and Low
(天国と地獄)
A wealthy executive becomes the victim of an extortion plot after his chauffeur’s son is kidnapped.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1963
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Toshirō Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Kyōko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi, Isao Kimura, Kenjirō Ishiyama
- Genre Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video
The Rickshaw Man
(無法松の一生)
A poor but optimistic rickshaw driver becomes a surrogate father to the young son of a widow.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1958
- Director Hiroshi Inagaki
- Cast Toshiro Mifune, Hideko Takamine, Hiroshi Akutagawa, Chōko Iida, Chishū Ryū, Haruo Tanaka
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Ikiru
(生きる)
Mr. Watanabe tries to find a meaningful human connection after he is diagnosed with terminal cancer.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1952
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Takashi Shimura, Haruo Tanaka, Nobuo Kaneko, Bokuzen Hidari, Miki Odagiri, Shinichi Himori
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy
Good Morning
(お早よう)
Two young boys stop speaking in protest when their parents refuse to buy a television set.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishū Ryū, Kuniko Miyake, Haruko Sugimura, Kôji Shitara
- Genre Comedy, Family, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel
Floating Weeds
(浮草)
Members of a traveling theater troupe meddle in the personal life of the troupe's leader.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Ganjiro Nakamura, Machiko Kyō, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Ayako Wakao, Haruko Sugimura, Chishū Ryū
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel, Darkroom
The Ballad of Narayama
(楢山節考)
In a remote mountain village, a family struggles with a policy in which 70-year-olds are carried up a mountain to die.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1958
- Director Keisuke Kinoshita
- Cast Kinuyo Tanaka, Teiji Takahashi, Yūko Mochizuki, Seiji Miyaguchi, Yūnosuke Itō, Ken Mitsuda
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
A Page of Madness
(狂った一頁)
A man working as a janitor in the mental asylum where his wife is being kept finds his own sanity slipping away.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1926
- Director Teinosuke Kinugasa
- Cast Masuo Inoue, Ayako Iijima, Yoshie Nakagawa, Eiko Minami, Misao Seki, Minoru Takase
- Genre Drama, Horror
- Available on Amazon Video, Darkroom
Drunken Angel
(酔いどれ天使)
A doctor and a gangster make the most unlikely of friendships.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1948
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Takashi Shimura, Toshirō Mifune, Reizaburô Yamamoto, Michiyo Kogure, Chieko Nakakita, Noriko Sengoku
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
Funeral Parade of Roses
(薔薇の葬列)
The trials and tribulations of Eddie and other drag queens in Japan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1969
- Director Toshio Matsumoto
- Cast Pîtâ, Osamu Ogasawara, Yoshio Tsuchiya, Emiko Azuma, Yoshihiro Katô, Koichi Nakamura
- Genre Drama
- Available on Night Flight Plus, Metrograph, Kanopy
Early Spring
(早春)
A young salary man and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he has an extramarital affair.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1956
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chikage Awashima, Takako Fujino, Ryô Ikebe, Daisuke Katô, Keiko Kishi, Kuniko Miyake
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel
Directors: Yasujiro Ozu
Tokyo Story
(東京物語)
Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, journey to visit their adult children in Tokyo.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1953
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chishū Ryū, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura, Sō Yamamura, Kuniko Miyake
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
Good Morning
(お早よう)
Two young boys stop speaking in protest when their parents refuse to buy a television set.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishū Ryū, Kuniko Miyake, Haruko Sugimura, Kôji Shitara
- Genre Comedy, Family, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel
Dragnet Girl
(非常線の女)
In this silent gangster film, a career criminal is drawn to a sweet, strait-laced girl much to the ire of his longtime moll.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1933
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Kinuyo Tanaka, Joji Oka, Sumiko Mizukubo, Kōji Mitsui, Yumeko Aizome, Chishū Ryū
- Genre Crime, Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Plex, Plex Channel
The Only Son
(一人息子)
A poor factory worker finds even her son's college degree doesn't make a difference in Depression era Japan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1936
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chôko Iida, Shinichi Himori, Masao Hayama, Yoshiko Tsubouchi, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Chishū Ryū
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
There Was a Father
(父ありき)
Widower and father Shuhei Horikawa grapples with raising his son amidst financial strife and personal failings of honor.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1942
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chishū Ryū, Shûji Sano, Haruhiko Tsuda, Shin Saburi, Takeshi Sakamoto, Mitsuko Mito
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
I Was Born, But...
(大人の見る繪本 生れてはみたけれど)
In moving to a new town, two young brothers come of age when faced with new social and class struggles.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1932
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Tomio Aoki, Tatsuo Saitô, Mitsuko Yoshikawa, Hideo Sugawara, Takeshi Sakamoto, Teruyo Hayami
- Genre Comedy, Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Early Summer
(麦秋)
28-year-old Noriko's parents pressure her to marry in postwar Japan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1951
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Setsuko Hara, Chishū Ryū, Chikage Awashima, Kuniko Miyake, Ichirô Sugai, Chieko Higashiyama
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV
The End of Summer
(小早川家の秋)
The Kohayakawa family is thrown into distress when childlike father Manbei takes up with his old mistress.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1961
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Ganjiro Nakamura, Setsuko Hara, Yôko Tsukasa, Michiyo Aratama, Keiju Kobayashi, Masahiko Shimazu
- Genre Drama
- Available on Kanopy, Criterion Channel
Late Spring
(晩春)
Widower Shukichi feels obligated to marry off his only daughter.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1949
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chishū Ryū, Setsuko Hara, Yumeji Tsukioka, Haruko Sugimura, Hohi Aoki, Jun Usami
- Genre Drama
- Available on Fandor, Fandor Amazon Channel, Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel
An Autumn Afternoon
(秋刀魚の味)
An aging widower arranges a marriage for his only daughter.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1962
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Chishū Ryū, Shima Iwashita, Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada, Teruo Yoshida, Noriko Maki
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, Plex, Plex Channel
Floating Weeds
(浮草)
Members of a traveling theater troupe meddle in the personal life of the troupe's leader.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1959
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Ganjiro Nakamura, Machiko Kyō, Hiroshi Kawaguchi, Ayako Wakao, Haruko Sugimura, Chishū Ryū
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Max, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel, Darkroom