Japanese Movie reviews from Reddit

Summary

We analyzed 124 Reddit reviews across 13 subreddits and 22 posts to rank the best Japanese Movie brands recommended by redditors, including communities like r/JapanTravelTips, r/kungfucinema, r/JapaneseMovies, r/horror, r/movies. Top-rated brands include Takeshi Kitano (4.5/5), 13 Assassins (5.0/5), Departures (5.0/5).

Stats

Reviews124

Subreddits13

Posts22

Brands91

Products46

Top communities

r/JapanTravelTips33 r/kungfucinema27 r/JapaneseMovies14 r/horror14 r/movies13

124 reviews from

and

By Brand

By Product

Takeshi Kitano

4.5

(4)

"Kitano's 'Outrage' trilogy is excellent."

"Sonatine, Hana-Bi, Outrage, Boiling Point, anything by Takeshi Kitano."

"Sonantine"

"I would also recommend Brother."

13 Assassins

5.0

(3)

""13 Assassins" is incredible! A subversive riff on The Seven Samurai. Good story, memorable characters, and a long, epic final showdown."

"13 Assassins"

"Trilogy"

Departures

5.0

(3)

"Departures (2008) - its a tearjerker"

"Other slice of life movies."

"I really liked it."

Ghost in the Shell

4.3

(3)

"If you're looking for something animated."

"Some of the anime that's still popular to this day is Ghost in The Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Akira."

"Ghost in the Shell the 1995 film is a good starter"

Kuro Obi

4.0

(3)

"Kuro Obi aka 'Black Belt' is a must watch, the 2 stars are both national sparing/kata champions, so watch you're seeing is real authentic karate"

"Japanese are known for their samurai films that is the films you should look into beyond that it is looking at Karate films like Black Belt"

"Black Belt (aka Kuro-Obi)"

Shoplifters

5.0

(2)

"Hirokazu Koreeda's films: * Shoplifters * Nobody Knows * Like Father, Like Son * Still Walking"

"These are some good ones that come to mind"

Uzumasa Limelight

5.0

(2)

"Yakuza and the Family"

"Trilogy"

Audition

5.0

(2)

"These are some good ones that come to mind"

"Great."

Hirokazu Kore-eda

5.0

(2)

"I was really intrigued by the premise of Shoplifters"

"I liked most of them."

#10

Midnight Diner

5.0

(2)

"+1 to Midnight Diner. Just make sure to watch “Midnight Diner” before “Midnight Diner:Tokyo Stories”."

"Not movie but Midnight Diner series on Netflix."

#11

Perfect Days

5.0

(2)

"Perfect Days sets you in the right mood. It shoes Tokyo beautifully."

"Perfect Days"

#12

We Made a Beautiful Bouquet

5.0

(2)

"We Made A Beautiful Bouquet"

"We Made a Beautiful Bouquet（花束みたいな恋をした）, Wandering moon (流浪の月）, 100 Yen Love (100円の恋）"

#13

Hiroshi Koreeda

5.0

(2)

"Some of my favorites are After Life, Nobody Knows, Monster, Maboroshi."

"My personal favorite of his is Still Walking."

#14

Ringu

4.5

(2)

"The BEST ones that I watched are:"

"Ringu/Hausu for quintessential J-horror"

#15

Akira

4.5

(2)

"If you're looking for something animated."

"Some of the anime that's still popular to this day is Ghost in The Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Akira."

#16

Neon Genesis Evangelion

4.5

(2)

"If you're looking for something animated."

"Some of the anime that's still popular to this day is Ghost in The Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Akira."

#17

Zatoichi

4.5

(2)

"Zatōichi (2004) Great dance sequence at the end as well."

"I like both the Lone Wolf series and Zatoichi movies"

#18

Lady Snowblood

4.0

(2)

"Lady Snowblood"

"Lady Snowblood (1973)"

#19

Danger Dolls

4.0

(2)

"Loved Danger Dolls. That was pretty awesome for a cheesy movie. Loved it lots."

"Danger Dolls"

#20

Blade of the Immortal

4.0

(2)

"Blade of the Immortal"

"Blade of the Immortal."

#21

Tokyo Vice

4.0

(2)

"For lighter fare, try Tokyo Vice, which is about an American journalist investigating the yakuza in Japan."

"There's 2 seasons of Tokyo Vice available on Max and Prime. It's a crime tv show based on a western journalist working in Japan."

#22

Meatball Machine

4.0

(2)

"Check out Meatball Machine (2005) & Meatball Machine: Kodoku (2017)"

"By extension you should check out the original 1999 Meatball Machine and Meaball Machine: Kodoku (2017) as well as the short film Meatball Machine: Reject Of Death (2007)"

#23

The Street Fighter

4.0

(2)

"The Street Fighter 1-3 (1974) Staring Sonny Chibia. These are fun movies."

"The Street Fighter franchise."

#24

Ju-On

4.0

(2)

"Ju-On: The Curse (2000) I find was superior to Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) in many ways, but Ju-On: The Grudge 2 (2003) is my fave film in the series"

"Didn’t recommend Ju-On: The Curse (2000)? also didn’t recommend Meatball Machine (2005) or Violator (2018)? damn…"

#25

J-Horror Theater

4.0

(2)

"Reincarnation (2005) is apart of the J-Horror Theater series"

"Premonition (2004) is apart of the J-Horror Theater series"

#26

Ryu Hamaguchi

4.0

(2)

"Also recommend Ryu Hamaguchi's movies Drive My Car or Evil Doesn't Exist, but those a bit more on the heavy side."

#27

Takashi Miike

4.0

(2)

"Audition"

"How about a Takashi Miike Horror Film Fest? Audition (1999), Ichi The Killer (2001), The Happiness of the Katakuris (2021)"

#28

Shohei Imamura

5.0

(1)

"Shohei Imamura - The Ballad of Narayama, Vengeance Is Mine"

#29

Juzo Itami

5.0

(1)

"Tampopo by Juzo Itami, 1985. A movie about ramen with a very young Ken Watanabe."

#30

Yoji Yamada

5.0

(1)

"Yoji Yamada - Love and Honour, The Hidden Blade, The Twilight Samurai"

#31

Sion Sono

5.0

(1)

"Sion Sono - Love Exposure, Cold Fish"

#32

Hirokazu Kore Eda

5.0

(1)

"Every movie of Hirokazu Kore Eda. Like Father, Like Son, Shoplifters, Nobody Knows"

#33

Kurosawa and Kobayashi

5.0

(1)

"Easy recs if you want to go with classics are Kurosawa and Kobayashi: Kagemusha, Ran, Ikiru, Harakiri, and The Human Condition are some of my faves that are easy to recommend."

#34

Tetsuya Nakashima

5.0

(1)

"Tetsuya Nakashima - Confessions, Memories of Matsuko"

#35

Ryuichi Sakamoto

5.0

(1)

"Also highly recommend the Ryuichi Sakamoto documentary: Coda"

#36

Seven Samurai

5.0

(1)

"Seven Samurai"

#37

The Makanai

5.0

(1)

"The Makanai- It’s a beautifully shot, feel good series about life in a Maiko house in Kyoto."

#38

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

5.0

(1)

"Jiro Dreams of Sushi- incredible documentary on the surface about sushi but really about so much more."

#39

Way of the Househusband

5.0

(1)

"Way of the househusband - anime. Hillarious series about a former yakuza enforcer now equally intense about domestic life."

#40

Koreeda

5.0

(1)

"ALL from Koreeda. Love his movies"

#41

Konya Sekai Kara Kono Koi ga Kietemo

5.0

(1)

"U can check these recommendations"

#42

Kenji Mizoguchi

5.0

(1)

"I recommend Mizoguchi's masterpieces...Ugetsu, Samsho the baliff, crucified lovers."

#43

Fumiya Takahashi

5.0

(1)

"I'd loved his performance in both Captivated by You & Fermat's Cuisine, definitely gonna check it out!"

#44

Happiness of the Katakuris

5.0

(1)

"It's a hilarious dark comedy musical."

#45

Himizu

5.0

(1)

"Himizu Harmonium Love Life (2022) All About Lily Chou Chou 1 Litre of Tears Egoist Be With You Heavenly Forest"

#46

Air Doll

5.0

(1)

"Love the poem scene."

#47

Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald

5.0

(1)

"Best Japanese comedy ever"

#48

Perfect World

5.0

(1)

"Perfect World, Little Forest: Summer and Autumn, Shoplifters, Love Letter, Rent a Cat, and Monster"

#49

Drive My Car

5.0

(1)

"Drive my car."

#50

Vengeance is Mine

5.0

(1)

"My favorite Japanese film oat is Vengeance is Mine (1979). I highly recommend it"

#51

Any Ryusuke Hamaguchi film

5.0

(1)

"Any Ryusuke hamaguchi film"

#52

Haru

5.0

(1)

"[Haru] makes a great companion to All About Lily Chou-Chou."

#53

Swallowtail Butterfly

5.0

(1)

"Swallowtail Butterfly is the greatest B movie from any country if you ask me."

#54

Battle Without Honor and Humanity

5.0

(1)

"If you like Yakuza movies Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Without Honor and Humanity (Yakuza Papers) 5 movie set is a must watch."

#55

The Blood of Wolves

5.0

(1)

"Funuke Show Some Love, You Losers!"

#56

Cold Fish

5.0

(1)

"These are some good ones that come to mind"

#57

Love Exposure

5.0

(1)

"These are some good ones that come to mind"

#58

Sonatine

5.0

(1)

"These are some good ones that come to mind"

#59

Fireworks

5.0

(1)

"These are some good ones that come to mind"

#60

Our Little Sister

5.0

(1)

"I liked most of them."

#61

Samurai Versus Ninja

4.0

(1)

"Samurai versus ninja on YouTube has so many great old Japanese TV shows. That’s where I watch the Zatoichi and Samaria Cat TV series."

#62

Kiyoshi Sasabe

4.0

(1)

"Tokyo Sonata"

#63

Takashi Nomura

4.0

(1)

"Tokyo Drifter"

#64

Shinya Tsukamoto

4.0

(1)

"The Eel"

#65

Naoko Ogigami

4.0

(1)

"Megane"

#66

Shunji Iwai

4.0

(1)

"Love Letter"

#67

Ryota Nakano

4.0

(1)

"Her Love Boils Bathwater"

#68

Masters of Horror

4.0

(1)

"Miike's Episode 13 of Masters of Horror (initially banned on Showtime in the US). "Imprint" (2006)"

#69

Sonny Chiba

4.0

(1)

"You should also look into the early movies of Sonny Chiba, Etsuko Shihomi & Hiroyuki Sanada early 70s & 80s karate & ninja movie"

#70

Jôji Iida

4.0

(1)

"Check out Another Heaven (2000) by Jôji Iida, director of Ring (1998)’s sequel, Spiral (1998)."

#71

Yoshihiro Nishimura

4.0

(1)

"Have you heard of its predecessor/precursor called Anatomia Extinction (1995)? Both films are by Yoshihiro Nishimura"

#72

Netflix

4.0

(1)

"There’s the dystopian/thriller/horror series Alice In Borderland (2020) on Netflix"

#73

Violator

4.0

(1)

"Violator (2018) is another film you should see. Japanese horror film btw"

#74

Tokyo Gore Police

4.0

(1)

"Eini Shiina starred in the successor to the horror film Anatomia Extinction (1995), that being Tokyo Gore Police (2008)."

#75

Shogun Assassin

4.0

(1)

"Shogun Assassin (1980)"

#76

Fighter in the Wind

4.0

(1)

"Fighter in the Wind is a must watch, it's a Korean masterpiece set in Japan, about the inventor of Kyokushin Karate, and most of the movie is in Japanese too"

#77

47 Ronin

4.0

(1)

"47 Ronin"

#78

Sanshiro Sugata

4.0

(1)

"Sanshiro Sugata"

#79

13 Steps of Maki

4.0

(1)

"Watch 13 steps of maki. Etsuko is a great martial artist"

#80

The Grudge and Ring Series

4.0

(1)

"No one’s mentioned The Grudge? (Japanese ones) The series grew stagnant, but the first two straight to video movies and the first theatrical one are good. The first Ring movie is a classic. Ring 0 is underrated."

#81

Samurai Gourmet

4.0

(1)

"Samurai Gourmet on Netflix"

#82

AARO

4.0

(1)

"AARO- supernatural crime drama involving Shinto gods."

#83

Pachinko

4.0

(1)

"Pachinko TV series"

#84

Shogun

4.0

(1)

"Shogun mini series both the old and new one are good"

#85

Memoirs of a Geisha

4.0

(1)

"Memories of Geisha"

#86

1 Percent Warrior

3.0

(1)

"1 percent warrior"

#87

Reborn

3.0

(1)

"Reborn"

#88

Crazy Samurai 400 vs 1

3.0

(1)

"Crazy samurai 400 vs 1"

#89

Salvage Mice

3.0

(1)

"Salvage Mice"

#90

Shogun's Ninja

3.0

(1)

"Shogun's Ninja"

#91

Blue Spring

3.0

(1)

"Blue Spring is free on YouTube maybe too violent for a plane ride?"

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