Best movies like Dream Maker

This story is about a boy who loves music from the bottom of his heart and who fights hard for success throughout his youth and through his encounters with life's characters.

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Dream Maker Starring Issa Hentona, Takako Uehara, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Kenji Harada, and more. If you liked Dream Maker then you may also like: When the Last Sword Is Drawn, One Chance, Black Rain, Yowamushi Pedal: Up the Road, Gamera 2: Attack of Legion and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

movie

Masato is a bad boy, but very in love with music. He meets a girl, Miki, who has serious diseases but is optimistic toward life. They start to work together in a CD shop and catch every chance to show their talents. Under the efforts of Masato, his company at last becomes an entertainment giant in Japan.

selected filters: Sort: Default

You may filter the list of movies on this page for a more refined, personalized selection of movies.

Still not sure what to watch click the recommend buttun below to get a movie recommendation selected from all the movies on this list

Know any good movies to watch like Dream Maker 1999. With a similar plot or stoyline. Suggest it.

When the Last Sword Is Drawn

Kanichiro Yoshimura is a Samurai and Family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the the low pay he receives from his small town clan, he is forced by the love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.

One Chance

This film follows the remarkable and inspirational true story of Paul Potts, a shy, bullied shop assistant by day and an amateur opera singer by night.

Black Rain

Shigematsu Shizuma lives with his senile mother, his wife Shigeko, and his niece Yasuko in a village near Fukuyama. He, his wife, his niece and his close friends in the village were present at the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. The Shizumas look for prospective husbands for Yasuko, but find that the families withdraw on finding out she was at Hiroshima.

Yowamushi Pedal: Up the Road

Sakamichi Onoda is a high school student. He is an otaku, who loves animation and he is also a loner. Although he isn't good in sports, he decides to enroll in the bicycle racing club. Unexpectedly, he finds that he has a talent for bicycle racing. For the first time, he has a friend. Sakamichi Onoda exceeds his limits and finds pleasure in the sport of bicycle racing.

Gamera 2: Attack of Legion

A strange meteor lands in Japan and unleashes hundreds of insect-like "Legion" creatures bent on colonizing the Earth. When the military fails to control the situation, Gamera shows up to deal with the ever-evolving space adversary. However the battle may result in Gamera losing his bond with both Asagi and humanity.

Bad Company

It is 1980. Sadatomo is at a secondary school in a small town. His parents barely take any notice of him. The strict teacher Kobayashi has hung up a 'humanity index' in the classroom, divided into the categories 'delinquents', 'scum' and 'people'. In each category he has hung name-cards of pupils. One day Kobayashi finds out that Sadatomo and his friends have stolen some things from a shop for fun. Their fathers are informed and as punishment, the children have to write a 'self-critical' essay of no less than thirty pages. For the first time, Sadatomo is beaten by his father. Shocked, he writes a piece entitled 'I am an onion', in which the teacher thinks he can detect a first sign of humanity. That is the start of a confusing situation in which it gets hard to distinguish lies, truth, justified self-criticism and opportunist wheeler dealing, even for the boys.

Sweet Bean

The master of a dorayaki pastry store hires a 76-year-old woman whose talents attract customers from all over. But she's hiding a troubling secret. Life's joys are found in the little details, and no matter what may be weighing you down, everyone loves a good pastry.

That Midnight Kiss

Opera singer Prudence Budell, overhears truck driver Johnny Donnetti singing opera, and persuades her opera company to give him a chance in her new opera. They fall in love, but on meeting his colleague Mary while visiting Johnny's work, Prudence becomes convinced Johnny is in love with her.

A Stitch of Life

Ichie is the owner of a dressmaking shop. Her grandmother started the shop and now Ichie runs the business. Her clothes are made with an old sewing machine and are very popular. Following her grandmother’s will, Ichie only makes clothes for individuals and turns down offers to turn her clothing into a brand.

My SO Has Got Depression

Mikio is a married man and works hard for the company where he is employed. Then one day Mikio is diagnosed with depression. Mikio's wife is Haruko. They have been married for 5 years. Haruko draws comics for work, but they do not sell well. She mainly relied on Mikio for support. Meanwhile, Haruko did not notice any changes in her husband. She begins to blame herself for not noticing any signs. Mikio's depression derived from his work. His company has been pressing him to quit the company. After Mikio quits his job his condition improves, but the dynamics of their relationship changes.

Inugami

Akira, a teacher from Tokyo, has just arrived in a small rural town to begin his new job. Soon after arriving, he meets, and begins to fall for, Miki, a papermaker and part of a large and unusual family. When he learns of an ancient legend that the family carries the curse of the Inugami, or Dog God, he brushes it off as silly superstition. After a series of mysterious deaths, however, the townspeople begin to grow restless, and Akira must confront the truth about Miki and her family.

Shimajiro to Ururu no Heroland

Hero Land is a world where you can meet the heroes and heroines you have been waiting for, created by the inventor girl "Ururu". Shimajiro and his friends were overexcited, but a bad robot appeared there and Hero Land was in big danger. Can Shimajiro and his friends work together to help?

Lady Ninja Kasumi 6: Yukimura Assasination

The story revolves around a man named Takuma who works under the legendary samurai Sanada Yukimura teaching a secret technique called “Kakure Musou”. However, Sanada won't allow Takuma to actually fight for him because he's hampered by a painful disease of the eyes. It's the worst kind of humiliation for a warrior like Takuma. A woman, played by Asami (Sukeban Boy, The Machine Girl), eventually makes a special medicine that helps him recover from his affliction. Meanwhile, Kasumi is sent to investigate a bandit who intends to assassinate Sanada. As the threat of assassination draws closer the shocking truth is exposed and Kasumi is forced to face off against an unlikely betrayer.

The Private Police

After the war, Kijima (Bunta Sugawara) returns to Tokyo where he meets Ôba (Noboru Andô), an Ex-Kamikaze pilot, and the two ruffians gather hooligans to join their group. In Ginza, the Togawa gang have taken over Sakurada's territory. After several fights Kijima and Ôba gain control of the territory by chasing out the notorious Togawa Group in the name of Sakurada. But Kijima is arrested for assaulting an American soldier. A few years pass. Kijima has served his prison term and the sears of war have been erased from Ginza. Ôba is now president of a company specializing in collection of bad debts, cheque frauds and everything that means money. People call their organization the “Private Police,” and Kijima begins to work for Ôba. Now the Takegami gang waits a chance to seize the Ginza territory.

Sonic Soldier Borgman: Last Battle

It has been three years since the end of the series. Ryo works for NASA as an engineer on a large rocket project. Anise, fellow Borgman and lover, has been reduced to flipping burgers in a restaurant. So naturally, when she gets a letter offering her a professional job in a big, Japanese, high-tech project, she jumps at the chance. Ryo, however, is as indecisive as ever and so she leaves for Japan without him. Chuck Sweager, the third Borgman, is a police officer, as is his girlfriend Miki...

Sentimental Mobsters

A young man who followed his father's wishes and became a travel actor causes a big commotion with his fellow members of the Gurentai group during their travel destination! Innocent to cute girls and reckless to bad guys! Exciting entertainment!

Abunai Deka

When a doctor is found dead and the company's exclusive data on a cancer drug is missing, detective Takayama and Oshita are called to the Nakamitsu pharmaceutical laboratory. However, a bungled attempt to catch the murderer leave Takayama and Oshita reassigned to the lackluster task of patrolling public bathrooms to keep them out of trouble.

A Chance to Die

Burned by the desire to avenge her dead boyfriend, a Japanese woman learns to shoot a gun, and goes after the local Mafia in Taiwan. Mizuno Miki excels in her role as the grieving and estranged, then vengeful and cold-blooded foreigner.

The American Mall

The executive producers of High School Musical keep the good times rolling with this upbeat musical comedy set in the one place every American teenager's home away from home - the local shopping mall. Ally (Nina Dobrev) is an optimistic adolescent singer/songwriter whose hard working mother owns the mall music shop frequented by every teen in town. When Ally shares her music with Joey (Rob Mayes), a janitor in the mall who harbors rock star ambitions, she is thrilled to find someone who can truly relate to her songs as well as her heart. Trouble looms on the horizon, however, in the form of the mall owner's spoiled rotten daughter Madison (Autumn Reeser). Madison is the kind of girl who's used to getting whatever she wants, and what she wants now could prove disastrous for both Ally's ambitions, and her mother's popular music store.

KochiKame - The Movie: Save the Kachidoki Bridge!

Police Officer Kankichi Ryotsu (Shingo Katori) is back at the Kameari Park Polic Box. Kankichi Ryotsu usually means to do well, but more often than not he ends up causing all kinds of trouble. Like on his way to work he away when he is asked to pay up by a shop owner or cheats an elementary school student. Ryotsu's co-workers Reiko Catherine Akimoto (Karina) and Keiichi Nagakawa (Mokomichi Hayami) have had about all they can take from Kankichi and his boss Ohara (Masato Ibu) is constantly berating him.

Even if This Love Disappears from the World Tonight

Toru Kamiya performs a false confession of love to stop his classmates' bullying. The story begins when Maori Hino, a girl in his class (whom Toru has made the false confession to) gives him three strange conditions for going out with him: "Not to talk to her until after school", "To keep communication brief", and "Not to fall in love with each other". Gradually, the promise of "Not to fall in love" falls apart, and Toru finally cannot hold back his feelings and confesses his love to Maori. However, Maori confesses to him that she has anterograde amnesia, which causes her to lose her memory in a day. Her memories and experiences are reset every day, and she writes down the day's events in a diary and wakes up early in the morning to review them in order to keep her memory alive. Toru is devoted to bringing her as many happy days as possible.

Aristocrats

Hanako Haibara was born and raised in the city of Tokyo. After she gets dumped by her boyfriend, while in her late 20's, she goes on blind dates to find a man to marry. Miki Tokioka was born in a province. She studied very hard and entered a prestigious university in Tokyo. She experienced difficult financial times, but she now works at an IT company. Due to a man, Hanako Haibara and Miki Tokioka meet each other.

Bounce Ko Gals

Filmed somewhat in documentary style, it follows three girls over the span of one day and night in the Shibuya district of Tokyo. Jonko runs a group of high school girls involved in paid dating, Raku is a street dancer, and Togo was brought up in the US and back in Japan for one year wants to escape to New York. Their contact with the world of talent scouts and yakuza places them in danger.

7 Days of Himawari & Her Puppies

Set within an animal shelter, where if the owner of an animal doesn't claim their pet in 7 days, the animal is put to sleep. Himawari, is a female dog and a mother. She tries to desperately save her baby dogs.

The Catch

A young man tries to overcome the hostility of his girlfriend's father, a tuna fisherman, by getting the father to teach him the trade's secrets.

Radiation House

Iori Igarashi works as a radiographer at a general hospital. He has been depressed, because An Amakasu, whom he loves, has decided to travel abroad to Washington Medical University to learn more as radiologist. The members of Radiation House encourages Iori. One day, An learns that her father is in serious condition. Her father was the only practicing doctor at a small clinic on a remote island. When An arrives, her father tells her to be a doctor who sees patients as a person and not a disease before he passed away. An decides to stay on the island because of a patient that her father cared about. A massive typhoon soon hits the island and a landslide then occurs. An unknown infectious disease spreads afterwards on the island. Iori knows that An is struggling on the remote island and he makes a decision for An and the residents of the island.

1 Litre of Tears

15-year-old Aya Kito was an ordinary girl, the daughter of a family who works at a tofu shop, and a soon-to-be high schooler. However, odd things have been happening to Aya lately. She has been falling down often and walks strange. Her mother, Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor. How will Aya react when told about her disease? And how will Aya live from now on?

Scoutman

Young lovers Mari and Atsushi elope to the Big City that is Tokyo, unfortunately when they run out of money, both need to make some harsh choices. Mari stumbles upon selling ‘Party Tickets’ (for Swingers parties to be exact…), before being drawn into the sex industry to make ends meet. Meanwhile, Atsushi becomes a ‘Scout Man’ – effectively a recruitment agent for the sex industry (i.e. procuring young women for nude modelling, porn movies etc.). The consequences of their respective decisions will ultimately take it’s toll on their young lives.

Fair, then Partly Piggy

Noriyasu seems like an average third-grader, but his life goes haywire after he catches his mother reading his private daily journal. In an effort to astonish her, he begins writing outlandish lies about a giant snake in the bathroom, cooking pencils for dinner, and a rain of pigs, but Noriyasu is the one who's shocked when his writings play out in reality and everyone else treats the events as normal. Things become even more chaotic when he takes several stabs at being a newspaperman, producing “fake news” that become the talk of the town and one resulting in an apocalyptic porcine holiday.

Walking Man

Atomu (Shuhei Nomura) was raised by his mother in a poor environment. He is now a young adult, but he stutters and has timid personality. To support himself, Atomu works part-time for a used junk collecting company. Atomu finds inspiration in rap music and his life changes.

Wake Up, Girls! - Seven Idols

Green Leaves Entertainment is a tiny production company on the verge of going out of business in Sendai, Japan. The agency once managed the careers of magicians, photo idols, fortune-tellers, and other entertainers, but its last remaining client finally quit. Faced with having absolutely no one to represent, agency president Tange thinks up a plan to produce an idol group, forming the seven-girl group known as the "Wake Up, Girls".

Samurai Rock

Masami is a guitarist who dreams of his band “Rhythm Head” winning the Grand Prix at the Japan Music Carnival. History, and the warlords of 16th century feudal Japan are the very last thing on his mind. But when Rhythm Head are performing in Nagoya, a mysterious lightning strike causes not only a power blackout, but also a “time slip”, in which two of Japan’s preeminent samurai-era figures, Nobunaga Oda and Hideyoshi Toyotomi are transported to present day Japan. To Rhythm Head’s manager, the duo are the perfect vehicle for the band to transition to an idol group, increase their chances of becoming famous, winning accolades and taking away the Japan Music Carnival top prize. Could this be the beginning of a new type of music, courtesy of a brand new band Samurai Rock?

Fireworks, Ferris Wheels and Love

Morihara was left a widower 8 years ago when his wife passed away. He attends his first mixer party under the guidance of his daughter. There he meets Fumika and starts conversation. Morihara is too shy to show his love since he is much older than Fumika. On learning that Fumika goes to England to study about English Tea, Morihara rushes to the airport but his effort is in vain. He takes out his dead wife's photo and consults her: "I love Fumika, what should I do?"

July 7th, Sunny Day

Hinata Mochizuki (Arisa Mizuki) is a superstar in the pop music scene, and Kenta Yamabe (Masato Hagiwara) is a very ordinary office worker. One day, the two meet, and then fell in love. However, due to the influence of various external factors, the relationship between the two does not go smoothly.

Hero Interview

Kasumi Sawaki (Honami Suzuki) works for a top-ranked newspaper publishing company as a capable economic reporter. Speaking six languages fluently, she vigorously performs research and interviews. Her fiance, Ishii (Shingo Tsurumi) is an elite in the same company. Although her work and love seem to go very well, she is suddenly relegated to the minor Sports Department which is full of strange colleagues.

More related lists

Sort results by:

X close
Default
Clear filters
...