Popular from Japan
Beyblade: Metal Saga
(メタルファイト ベイブレード)
When the evil Dark Nebula group threatens Earth, it's up to Ginga and his friends to stop them.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, Mexico, Spain • 2009
- Creator Takafumi Adachi
- Cast Nobuhiko Okamoto
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Amazon Prime Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, fuboTV, Crunchyroll, Pluto TV, Peacock, Peacock Premium, VIX , FILMRISE, Plex, Freevee
Jujutsu Kaisen
(呪術廻戦)
To free himself of a curse, Yuji must learn to wield curses himself.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2020
- Creator
- Cast Junya Enoki, Yuma Uchida, Asami Seto, Yuichi Nakamura
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll
Heavenly Delusion
(天国大魔境)
- Japan • 2023
- Creator
- Cast Gen Sato, Sayaka Senbongi, Hibiku Yamamura, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Misato Fukuen, Shunsuke Takeuchi
- Genre Animation, Mystery, Action & Adventure, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Hulu
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 Vudu, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll
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 DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Vudu, YouTube, Pluto TV, Apple TV
Akira
(アキラ)
Neo-Tokyo is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1988
- Director Takashi Nakamura
- Cast Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshou Genda, Hiroshi Ohtake, Kōichi Kitamura
- Genre Science Fiction, Animation
- Available on Hulu, Funimation Now, Vudu
I Wish
(奇跡)
A little bit of magic and a little bit of love.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2011
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Koki Maeda, Oshiro Maeda, Nene Otsuka, Joe Odagiri, Ryôga Hayashi, Hoshinosuke Yoshinaga
- Genre Drama
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Kanopy, YouTube, FlixFling, Apple TV
Memories
(MEMORIES)
An anime trilogy of sci-fi and the supernatural.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1995
- Director Koji Morimoto, Katsuhiro Otomo, Tensai Okamura
- Cast Shigeru Chiba, Hisao Egawa
- Genre Animation, Fantasy, Science Fiction
- Available on Amazon Video, Kanopy, Tubi TV, Amazon Prime Video
Komi Can't Communicate
(古見さんは、コミュ症です。)
A girl with an anxiety disorder sets out to make 100 friends at her new school, getting help from a boy.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2021
- Creator
- Cast Aoi Koga, Gakuto Kajiwara, Rie Murakawa, Rina Hidaka, Yukiyo Fujii, Sarah Emi Bridcutt
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
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 Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, AMC on Demand, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV
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, Vudu, Amazon Video, Netflix, Microsoft Store, Netflix basic with Ads
More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers
(夫婦以上、恋人未満。)
Two complete opposites partnered for their school's "marriage training" must play the perfect couple to get switched to their crushes.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2022
- Creator
- Cast Seiichiro Yamashita, Saori Onishi, Saki Miyashita, Toshiki Masuda, Sho Nogami, Minami Takahashi
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Drama
- Available on Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
37 Seconds
(37セカンズ)
A manga artist suffering from cerebral palsy embarks on a journey of sexual and personal self-discovery.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Hikari
- Cast Mei Kayama, Misuzu Kanno, Shunsuke Daitoh, Makiko Watanabe, Yoshihiko Kumashino, Minori Hagiwara
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix basic with Ads, Netflix
Drifting Home
(雨を告げる漂流団地)
A group of elementary schoolers are trapped in an abandoned apartment building adrift at sea and must figure out how to get home.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2022
- Director Hiroyasu Ishida
- Cast Mutsumi Tamura, Asami Seto, Ayumu Murase, Daiki Yamashita, Yumiko Kobayashi, Inori Minase
- Genre Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Mystery
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
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 Microsoft Store, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
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
37 Seconds
(37セカンズ)
A manga artist suffering from cerebral palsy embarks on a journey of sexual and personal self-discovery.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Hikari
- Cast Mei Kayama, Misuzu Kanno, Shunsuke Daitoh, Makiko Watanabe, Yoshihiko Kumashino, Minori Hagiwara
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix basic with Ads, Netflix
We Are Little Zombies
(WE ARE LITTLE ZOMBIES)
Their parents are dead. They should be sad, but they can’t cry. So they form a kick-ass rock band.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Makoto Nagahisa
- Cast Keita Ninomiya, Satoshi Mizuno, Mondo Okumura, Sena Nakajima, Kuranosuke Sasaki, Youki Kudoh
- Genre Drama, Music
- Available on Microsoft Store, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, OVID, Night Flight Plus, Kanopy, Peacock Premium, YouTube, Apple TV, Peacock, MUBI Amazon Channel, MUBI
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
Sadako
(貞子)
A social media influenced reboot of the 1998 J-Horror classic, "Ring."
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Hideo Nakata
- Cast Elaiza Ikeda, Takashi Tsukamoto, Hiroya Shimizu, Himeka Himejima, Renn Kiriyama
- Genre Horror
- Available on Tubi TV
Kingdom
(キングダム)
In ancient China, a young boy dreams of becoming the greatest general of the Qin Kingdom.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Shinsuke Sato
- Cast Kento Yamazaki, Ryo Yoshizawa, Masami Nagasawa, Kanna Hashimoto, Kanata Hongo
- Genre Action, Drama, History, War
- Available on Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, Netflix basic with Ads, Vudu, Netflix
Shin Kamen Rider
(シン・仮面ライダー)
SHOCKER, a sinister organization that transforms humans into synthetic animal hybrids, threatens to conquer humanity.
- Japan • 2023
- Director Hideaki Anno
- Cast Sosuke Ikematsu, Minami Hamabe, Tasuku Emoto, Shinya Tsukamoto, Toru Tezuka, Suzuki Matsuo
- Genre Action, Science Fiction
- Available on Amazon Prime Video
Of Love & Law
(愛と法)
A documentary following Fumi and Kazu, who run the first law firm in Japan set up by an openly gay couple.
- ✭ ✭
- Japan, United Kingdom, France • 2017
- Director Hikaru Toda
- Cast
- Genre Documentary
- Available on OVID
Pornographer
(ポルノグラファー)
After causing a bicycle accident involving a novelist, a university student pays him back by helping to transcribe an obscene story he is writing.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2018
- Creator Koichiro Miki
- Cast Terunosuke Takezai
- Genre Comedy
- Available on Rakuten Viki
Weathering with You
(天気の子)
Hodaka runs away from home to rainy Tokyo and meets a young girl with a mysterious and magical power.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2019
- Director Makoto Shinkai
- Cast Kotaro Daigo, Nana Mori, Tsubasa Honda, Sakura Kiryu, Sei Hiraizumi, Yūki Kaji
- Genre Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
- Available on Microsoft Store, Hoopla, Vudu, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Japanese Series
Mob Psycho 100
(モブサイコ100)
A boy with strong ESP powers tries to live a normal life until a tragic event forces new circumstances.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Creator
- Cast Setsuo Ito, Takahiro Sakurai, Miyu Irino, Akio Otsuka
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy
- Available on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll
Welcome to the N.H.K.
(NHKにようこそ!)
Attempting to escape the NEET lifestyle wrought onto him by a sinister conspiracy, college dropout Satou Tatsuhiro attempts to reintegrate himself into society.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2006
- Creator Tatsuhiko Takimoto
- Cast Sanae Kobayashi, Yui Makino, Risa Hayamizu, Daisuke Sakaguchi, Yutaka Koizumi, Yoku Shioya
- Genre Animation, Drama, Comedy, Romance
- Available on Amazon Video, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll
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, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand
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, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll, Adult Swim, Spectrum On Demand
Revolutionary Girl Utena
(少女革命ウテナ)
A student who strives to be a prince fights to protect the Rose Bride.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1997
- Creator Kunihiko Ikuhara, Yoji Enokido
- Cast Yuri Shiratori
- Genre Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll
Dragon Ball Super
(ドラゴンボール超（スーパー）)
When the god of destruction sets his sights on Earth, Goku and the gang have a tall task ahead.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2015
- Creator
- Cast Masako Nozawa, Ryou Horikawa, Hiromi Tsuru, Koichi Yamadera, Takeshi Kusao, Eiko Yamada
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Hulu, Microsoft Store, Funimation Now, Crunchyroll
Sailor Moon Crystal
(美少女戦士セーラームーンクリスタル)
A teenage girl gains the ability to transform into a powerful guardian to battle the forces of evil.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2014
- Creator Munehisa Sakai
- Cast Ryou Hirohashi, Shizuka Itou, Kenji Nojima, Rina Satou, Ami Koshimizu
- Genre Animation, Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Pluto TV, Netflix basic with Ads
Hellsing Ultimate
(ヘルシング アルティメット)
When policewoman Seras Victoria is cut down in the line of duty, she's offered a second chance by being reborn as vampire Alucard's blood-sucking servant. Together, they protect the British Empire from ghouls and demons as part of the Hellsing Organization.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2006
- Creator
- Cast Jouji Nakata, Fumiko Orikasa, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Nobuo Tobita
- Genre Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
- Available on Apple TV, Hulu
Tenkai Knights
(テンカイナイト)
A group of teens become interdimensional knights protecting two different realms.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, Japan • 2013
- Creator
- Cast
- Genre Action & Adventure, Animation, Family
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel
More Than a Married Couple, But Not Lovers
(夫婦以上、恋人未満。)
Two complete opposites partnered for their school's "marriage training" must play the perfect couple to get switched to their crushes.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2022
- Creator
- Cast Seiichiro Yamashita, Saori Onishi, Saki Miyashita, Toshiki Masuda, Sho Nogami, Minami Takahashi
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Drama
- Available on Amazon Video, Microsoft Store
Kiznaiver
(キズナイーバー)
Six teenagers are forced into an experiment enabling them to experience each others' pain as if it was their own.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2016
- Creator
- Cast Yūki Kaji
- Genre Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Animation, Drama
- Available on Crunchyroll
Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai
(青春ブタ野郎はバニーガール先輩の夢を見ない)
A young man must help a teenage actress with her invisibility problem.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2018
- Creator
- Cast Yurika Kubo
- Genre Animation, Comedy, Mystery
- Available on Netflix, Hulu, Funimation Now, Netflix basic with Ads
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, Vudu, Amazon Video, Netflix, Microsoft Store, 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, Vudu, Amazon Video
Tokyo Trial
In the wake of World War II, 11 Allied judges weigh the fates of Japanese war criminals in an international trial.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Canada, Japan, Netherlands • 2016
- Creator
- Cast Tim Ahern
- Genre Drama
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
Telescope Recommends
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, Vudu, Amazon Video
Tokyo Olympiad
(東京オリンピック)
This definitive portrait of the Olympics includes an epic pole-vaulting match between West Germany and America, and a marathon through Tokyo's streets.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1965
- Director Kon Ichikawa
- Cast Abebe Bikila, Ahmed Issa, Yoshinori Sakai, Joe Frazier, Emperor Hirohito of Japan
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Google Play Movies, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
The Crying Game
Play it at your own risk
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom, Japan, United States • 1992
- Director Neil Jordan
- Cast Stephen Rea, Jaye Davidson, Miranda Richardson, Forest Whitaker, Adrian Dunbar, Jim Broadbent
- Genre Romance, Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, , AMC on Demand, Vudu, Spectrum On Demand, YouTube, Showtime Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
(風の谷のナウシカ)
A young girl's love called forth miracles.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United States • 1984
- Director Hayao Miyazaki
- Cast Sumi Shimamoto, Ichirō Nagai, Gorō Naya, Yōji Matsuda, Yoshiko Sakakibara, Iemasa Kayumi
- Genre Adventure, Animation, Fantasy
- Available on Microsoft Store, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
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, Amazon Video, Apple TV
Kwaidan
(怪談)
Bizarre, unearthly, terrifying— a nation's legend, an author's imagination, a director's creation manifest in the superlative— Kwaidan
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1964
- Director Masaki Kobayashi
- Cast Michiyo Aratama, Misako Watanabe, Rentarou Mikuni, Kenjiro Ishiyama, Ranko Akagi, Fumie Kitahara
- Genre Drama, Fantasy, Horror
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Zatoichi
(座頭市)
His sword made him a hero...his courage made him a legend.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2003
- Director Takeshi Kitano
- Cast Takeshi Kitano, Tadanobu Asano, Michiyo Ookusu, Gadarukanaru Taka, Daigorō Tachibana, Yûko Daike
- Genre Adventure, Drama, Action
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, , Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV, Paramount Plus Apple TV Channel
One Cut of the Dead
(カメラを止めるな！)
Real zombies attack a director and his film crew who are shooting a low-budget zombie film in an abandoned building.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2017
- Director Shinichiro Ueda
- Cast Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Kazuaki Nagaya, Harumi Shuhama, Mao, Hiroshi Ichihara
- Genre Comedy, Horror
- Available on Microsoft Store, Shudder, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, AMC+ Amazon Channel, YouTube, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, AMC+, Apple TV
Harakiri
(切腹)
The world has never understood why the Japanese prefer death to dishonor. This winner of Prix Special du Jury at Cannes 1963 provides the answer!
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1962
- Director Masaki Kobayashi
- Cast Tatsuya Nakadai, Rentarou Mikuni, Shima Iwashita, Akira Ishihama, Yoshio Inaba
- Genre Action, Drama, History
- Available on Criterion Channel, Amazon Video, Apple TV
Wife of a Spy
(スパイの妻)
When Satoko probes into her husband's recent strange behavior, she discovers he stumbled upon a horrifying national secret
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2020
- Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- Cast Yu Aoi, Issey Takahashi, Masahiro Higashide, Ryota Bando, Yuri Tsunematsu, Minosuke
- Genre Drama, War
- Available on Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Cohen Media Amazon Channel, Kino Now, Kanopy, Metrograph, MZ Choice Amazon Channel, YouTube, Apple TV
Sonatine
A disenchanted Yakuza member is sent to Okinawa by his boss to quell a gang war, but realizes he has been set up.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1993
- Director Takeshi Kitano
- Cast Takeshi Kitano, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura, Susumu Terajima, Ren Osugi
- Genre Action, Crime, Thriller
- Available on , Apple TV, Vudu, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, YouTube
Double Suicide
(心中天網島)
Jihei's schemes to buy a courtesan's freedom yield ruinous consequences for his business, family life, and reputation.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1969
- Director Masahiro Shinoda
- Cast Kichiemon Nakamura, Shima Iwashita, Hōsei Komatsu, Yûsuke Takita, Kamatari Fujiwara, Yoshi Katō
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel
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, Max Amazon Channel
Antonio Gaudí
(アントニー・ガウディー)
In this documentary, filmmaker Hiroshi Teshigahara profiles Spanish architect Antonio Gaudi.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1984
- Director Hiroshi Teshigahara
- Cast Isidro Puig Boada, Seiji Miyaguchi
- Genre Documentary
- Available on Criterion Channel, Amazon Video
Nobody Knows
(誰も知らない)
After being abandoned by their mother, 12-year-old Akira must figure out how to keep his three siblings alive.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2004
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Yuya Yagira, Ayu Kitaura, Hiei Kimura, Momoko Shimizu, Hanae Kan, You
- Genre Drama
- Available on DIRECTV, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Tubi TV, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Apple TV
Tokyo Twilight
(東京暮色)
Two sisters discover the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1957
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishū Ryū, Isuzu Yamada, Teiji Takahashi, Masami Taura
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Tubi TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
The Ballad of Narayama
(楢山節考)
Only Time Could Change the Cruelty of Tradition… Only Their Love Could Survive It…
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1983
- Director Shōhei Imamura
- Cast Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Aki Takejo, Shoichi Ozawa, Fujio Tokita
- Genre Drama
- Available on MUBI Amazon Channel, ARROW, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube
Hiroshima Mon Amour
(Hiroshima mon amour)
The story of a young French actress and her affair with a Japanese man while on assignment in Hiroshima.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, Japan • 1959
- Director Alain Resnais
- Cast Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud, Bernard Fresson
- Genre Drama, History, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV
Still Walking
(歩いても 歩いても)
Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei and Toshiko welcome their surviving children home for a family reunion.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 2008
- Director Hirokazu Kore-eda
- Cast Hiroshi Abe, Kirin Kiki, Yui Natsukawa, Yoshio Harada, You, Kazuya Takahashi
- Genre Drama, Family
- Available on DIRECTV, Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, AMC+ Amazon Channel, Tubi TV, YouTube, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Apple TV
Classic Films from Japan
Immortal Love
(永遠の人)
While her fiancée is away fighting, a woman is raped by a landowner's son and forced into marriage.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1961
- Director Keisuke Kinoshita
- Cast Hideko Takamine, Keiji Sada, Tatsuya Nakadai, Nobuko Otowa, Akira Ishihama, Masakazu Tamura
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion 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, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, Tubi TV, YouTube, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Tokyo Twilight
(東京暮色)
Two sisters discover the existence of their long-lost mother, but the younger cannot take the truth of being abandoned as a child.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1957
- Director Yasujirō Ozu
- Cast Setsuko Hara, Ineko Arima, Chishū Ryū, Isuzu Yamada, Teiji Takahashi, Masami Taura
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Tubi TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Stray Dog
(野良犬)
During a sweltering summer, a rookie detective searches Tokyo’s streets for his stolen Colt pistol.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1949
- Director Akira Kurosawa
- Cast Toshirō Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji, Eiko Miyoshi, Noriko Sengoku, Noriko Honma
- Genre Crime, Drama, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Crackle, Plex, Tubi TV
The Naked Island
(裸の島)
The only inhabitants of a small island in the Seto Inland Sea struggle to get by.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1960
- Director Kaneto Shindō
- Cast Nobuko Otowa, Taiji Tonoyama, Shinji Tanaka, Masanori Horimoto
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, YouTube, Apple TV
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
Street of Shame
(赤線地帯)
The daily personal dramas of five women employed as sex workers in Tokyo’s Yoshiwara district.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1956
- Director Kenji Mizoguchi
- Cast Machiko Kyō, Aiko Mimasu, Ayako Wakao, Michiyo Kogure, Kumeko Urabe, Yasuko Kawakami
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs
(女が階段を上る時)
A middle-aged bar hostess, constantly in debt, is faced with numerous social constraints and challenges.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1960
- Director Mikio Naruse
- Cast Hideko Takamine, Masayuki Mori, Reiko Dan, Tatsuya Nakadai, Daisuke Katō, Ganjirô Nakamura II
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion 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, Amazon Video, Apple TV, Max, Max Amazon Channel
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
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, Kanopy, Max, Max Amazon Channel
Woman in the Dunes
(砂の女)
An entomologist suffers extreme psychological and sexual torture after being taken captive by the residents of a poor seaside village.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1964
- Director Hiroshi Teshigahara
- Cast Eiji Okada, Kyôko Kishida, Ginzô Sekiguchi, Kôji Mitsui, Sen Yano
- Genre Drama, Thriller
- Available on Criterion Channel, Amazon Video, Apple TV
A Man Vanishes
(人間蒸発)
This riveting documentary chronicles the missing-person’s case of Tadashi, a Japanese businessman who has vanished into thin air.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1967
- Director Shōhei Imamura
- Cast Yoshie Hayakawa, Shōhei Imamura, Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
- Genre Documentary, Drama
- Available on realeyz, OVID, Apple TV
Yearning
(乱れる)
After a bombing raid destroys the family store, Reiko rebuilds and runs the shop out of love stopped short by destruction.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1964
- Director Mikio Naruse
- Cast Hideko Takamine, Yûzô Kayama, Mitsuko Kusabue, Mie Hama, Aiko Mimasu, Yû Fujiki
- Genre Drama
- Available on Criterion Channel
Beyond Studio Ghibli: Part I
Memories
(MEMORIES)
An anime trilogy of sci-fi and the supernatural.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1995
- Director Koji Morimoto, Katsuhiro Otomo, Tensai Okamura
- Cast Shigeru Chiba, Hisao Egawa
- Genre Animation, Fantasy, Science Fiction
- Available on Amazon Video, Kanopy, Tubi TV, Amazon Prime Video
Vampire Hunter D
(バンパイアハンターD)
A young girl requests the help of a vampire hunter to kill the vampire who has bitten her and thus prevent her from becoming a vampire herself.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1985
- Director Toyoo Ashida
- Cast Kaneto Shiozawa, Michie Tomizawa, Seizō Katō, Ichirō Nagai, Kazuyuki Sogabe, Kan Tokumaru
- Genre Animation, Fantasy, Horror
- Available on Amazon Video
Perfect Blue
(パーフェクトブルー)
A retired pop singer starts to lose her hold on reality when she is stalked by an obsessive fan.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1997
- Director Satoshi Kon
- Cast Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ōkura, Yōsuke Akimoto, Yoku Shioya
- Genre Animation, Thriller
- Available on DIRECTV, Microsoft Store, Shudder, Redbox, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, Vudu, AMC+ Amazon Channel, YouTube, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, Shudder Amazon Channel, AMC+, Apple TV
Ghost in the Shell
(Kôkaku Kidôtai)
A group of cybernetically enhanced cops are called into a stop a biohacking threat.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan, United Kingdom • 1995
- Director Mamoru Oshii
- Cast Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Iemasa Kayumi, Kouichi Yamadera, Yutaka Nakano, Tesshou Genda
- Genre Action, Animation, Science Fiction
- Available on Amazon Prime Video, Criterion Channel, Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, YouTube, Redbox, DIRECTV, AMC on Demand, Tubi TV, Freevee
Akira
(アキラ)
Neo-Tokyo is about to E.X.P.L.O.D.E.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1988
- Director Takashi Nakamura
- Cast Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshou Genda, Hiroshi Ohtake, Kōichi Kitamura
- Genre Science Fiction, Animation
- Available on Hulu, Funimation Now, Vudu
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
(人狼 JIN-ROH)
Trouble follows after officer Kazuki befriends the sister of a young girl he failed to stop from detonating a bomb.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1999
- Director Hiroyuki Okiura
- Cast Yoshikatsu Fujiki, Sumi Mutou, Hiroyuki Kinosha, Eri Sendai, Kenji Nakagawa, Kohsei Hirota
- Genre Animation, Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
- Available on Tubi TV, Crunchyroll
Robot Carnival
(ロボット・カーニバル)
An anthology of nine robot themed shorts from some of Japan's most well known artists and directors.
- ✭ ✭ ✭
- Japan • 1987
- Director Koji Morimoto, Katsuhiro Otomo, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Yasuomi Umetsu, Atsuko Fukushima, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Takashi Nakamura, Manabu Oohashi, Hidetoshi Omori
- Cast Kumiko Takizawa, Katsue Miwa, Chisa Yokoyama, Koji Moritsugu, Keiko Hanagata, Aya Murata
- Genre Animation, Science Fiction
- Available on Freevee, Amazon Video, Vudu, Retrocrush, VUDU Free, Peacock Premium, Tubi TV, Viewster Amazon Channel, The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Peacock, Crunchyroll, fuboTV