Top 250 Movies Like Ashita Koso

A story of yakuza lynching during the Edo, Taisho, and Showa periods.

On October 8th, 1983, the McPherson family gathered together to celebrate the 5th birthday of Michelle, the littlest member of their household. Everything was captured on VHS by Michael McPherson and his new camcorder — including the alien invasion.

A little girl who falls into a lake and is saved by a god who then takes her up to the clouds and shows her what the world was like before she was born and what the world would be like if she where never born. While in the clouds she meets her grandparents and a few other people she loved who have passed on.

Oh, My Nerves is a 1935 American short comedy film directed by Del Lord. Monty's nerves are shot, so he decides to go on a nice, relaxing trip to the country. Unfortunately, his brother-in-law Tom brings along the rest of the family. Comic chaos ensues. The film was nominated for an Academy Award at the 8th Academy Awards, held in March 1936, for Best Short Subject (Comedy).

Ginko's younger brother Tetsuro, a failed comedian, is the oddball of the family. Embarrassing, loud and plain inappropriate at times causes Ginko to disown him. The two reunite when she discovers Tetsuro is terminally ill. Tetsuro’s impending death marks the beginning of love and toleration.

Japanese architect Yoda is hired as groundskeeper for retired criminal Benson Burleigh.

A story of childhood life during wartime Japan. Takeshi, the intelligent son of a fisherman, is the schoolyard bully. When his cousin comes to stay with his family to avoid bombing raids, Takeshi at first treats him well, then begins bullying him too. Takeshi eventually loses his position of leadership.

When Seiya, Hyōga and Shun visit Saori (Athena) at the orphanage, they meet an employee called Eri. An orphan herself, Eri takes a liking to Hyōga and one night they sit outside watching the stars. They see a shooting star and Hyōga asks Eri to make a wish. After Hyōga leaves, however, Eri becomes powerfully attracted to the shooting star and wanders alone into the woods, where she finds a golden apple. She is then possessed by Eris, the Goddess of Discord, and kidnaps Athena, planning to use the golden apple to suck her energy out, fully reincarnate and take over the world. Eris leaves a message for the Bronze Saints, who set out for the goddess's temple which appears on the mountains. There, the heroes fight the five Ghost Saints: Maya of Sagitta, Orpheus of Lyra, Christ of the Southern Cross, Jan of Scutum (called by the Japanese name Tateza) and Jäger of Orion.

In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos. But when a renegade ex-soldier stumbles into their midst, lusts and loyalties clash, with tragic results. With Gate of Flesh, visionary director Seijun Suzuki delivers a whirlwind of social critique and pulp drama, shot through with brilliant colors and raw emotions.

Yokiro was the most successful Geisha house in Western Japan during the first half of the 20th century and remains open to this day. At its peak, it was home to over 200 geisha, however behind the fabulous facade, there were many battles - between family members, men and women, and with the Yakuza. Momokawa was sold to Yokiro at age 12, and despite being the top geisha, her many complicated relationships provide unending challenges throughout her glamorous but turbulent life.

A Japanese bullet train is threatened with a bomb that will explode automatically if the train slows below 80 km/h, unless a ransom is paid. Police race to find the bombers so the train crew can learn how to defuse the bomb.

Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension.

Lonely and love-struck, high-school student Hiroki pursues one girl but another one mysteriously appears in his life. Is she a figment of his lonely psyche, or real?

While vacationing in the Izu peninsula, a high school student Kawashima becomes intrigued by Kaoru, a pretty young dancer in a troupe of travelling performers, and he tags along with them on their journeys.

Takeshi Kitano plays a version of himself in which he's a struggling director cycling through a number of different genres in an effort to complete his latest project.

John Brandon, an American millionaire, has been married seven times but never found love. Then, when he is in Paris, Mona de Briac comes into his life. Mona comes from an noble family who is facing ruin.

Bennie travels to Buenos Aires to find his long-missing older brother, a once-promising writer who is now a remnant of his former self. Bennie's discovery of his brother's near-finished play might hold the answer to understanding their shared past and renewing their bond.

Young single mother Emiko (Saori Seto) uses factory worker Shinnosuke (Amane Okayama) for money. They met through an online dating website and Shinnosuke is completely in love with her. Meanwhile, Emiko's ex-husband is demanding money from her.

If You Were Young: Rage highlights the other side of post-war Japanese prosperity, focusing on the throngs of young people who missed out on the boom. We follow a group of young men that can't seem to get ahead, despite their willingness to try. Then one hits upon a plane - to work together to save for a dump truck and thus become independent contractors and be their own bosses at last. Ultimately life presents obstacles: jail for one, violence at the hands of the police for another and a girlfriend and subsequent children for the third. An early Kinji Fukasaku gem that imports the freewheeling style of the French New Wave and the hip detachment of American noir.

A war widow determined to clear the name of her disgraced husband, who was court-martialed for desertion and executed. Official records have been destroyed, and the ministry that distributes benefits continues to deny her a pension. Twenty-six years after the war, she seeks out four survivors of her husband's garrison. Each tells a dramatically different story about her husband's conduct, but she is determined to learn the truth.

Late-1960s suburban Canadian children work on building a rocket vessel, with the intention of delivering one or two neighborhood children to the moon, whilst dealing with social issues of the coming-of-age, orphan-hood and family veins.

A group of scientists try to stop a swarm of flesh-eating locusts that escape from a top secret government lab in the USA Midwest.

The 8th Plague is the story of a woman named Launa who is investigating the disappearance of her sister, Nikki. Nikki had gone camping in the mountain town of Halcyon Springs and never came back. Becoming more and more frustrated, Launa realizes that she must find her sister on her own with the help of Mason, a mysterious local man with a shadowed past.

[Period covered: 1616] On May 8th, 1615 the summer campaign of Osaka has reached the climax. This film takes place immediately following 'Ninja 4: Mist Saizo, Last of The Ninja'. Staying one step ahead of the Shogun’s forces, “Mist” Saizo tries to save the Sanada Clan, and avenge the death of his lord by assassinating the first Tokugawa Shogun. Following the first four films in this remarkable series, more previously unknown Ninja skills are shown to the world for the first time. The action heats up as Saizo single-handedly attacks the Shogun’s Palace!

When three Dominican men discover they have accidentally killed a miner after robbing a gold-mining camp, they soon learn they have a week to pay off the stolen money or face a deadly consequence. Beautifully made. Lyrical and poetic. Ultimately a story about family.

The kingdom that floats above in the sky, that uses free doodles as an energy source, “Rakuga Kingdom.” However, now in the face of a lack in energy, they are on the brink of ruin. In order to force the creation of doodles, the kingdom’s army begins its attack on Kasukabe on the surface! Meanwhile, as the drawings begin to move, the hero who is bestowed the hidden treasure of the kingdom, the “Miracle Crayon”—is none other than the “super happy-go-lucky 5-year-old,” Nohara Shinnosuke!! Together as the “Almost Four Heroes,” Shinnosuke and the drawn doodles try to take back Kasukabe! Amongst that, they discover the weakness of the doodles, where they dissolve upon contact with water! To make matters worse, a raincloud that looks to start pouring at any moment hovers above… What awaits their encounter with the doodles and the end of their adventure—will it be smiles, or tears!?

One day, a woman named Chiyome Hesogakure with a child named Chinzō visits the Nohara family and claims that she is the real mother of Shinnosuke and takes him away to a Ninja Village. In the Ninja Village, the Hesogakure family has been protecting "the earth's navel" by blocking it with a pure gold stopper using the "Mononoke technique" that has been passed down from generation. If it comes off, the earth will wither, the rotation will stop, and the "tomorrow" of the world will be lost! It is up to Shinnosuke to reveal the mystery of his birth and protect the future of the earth and the "tomorrow" of his family.

The Imperial Empire is attacked by an Alliance of rebels led by fanatical mystics. The ruler, Empress Nobu, the 8th generation of her family, wants to execute a bold plan to rescue a cyborg, Leah C6, trapped on the battle ravaged planet Endor. The Empress believes Leah C6 holds the secret to destroying the Alliance of Rebels before their insurgency can kill millions of citizens of the Empire. She recruits her heroic fleet commander, Lord General Luka Raan and asks him to gather a team from the Empire's elite soldiers, the Galactic Rangers. Raan assembles the team in the ruins of Endor which was attacked by depraved Rebels and outlaws led by, Kindo-Ker, a fanatical mystic in Dark Energy. The Galactic Rangers begin a desperate search to find and rescue Leah C6 before the Alliance Rebels can.

Several high-school friends spend their final summer together indulging in sex and leisure; their halcyon days are soon coming to an end.

Also known as "History of a Man’s Face" and "By a Man's Face Shall You Know Him" . Immigrant gangs terrorize a Japanese town with their threats, loud jazz, and tasteless fashion sense, and only the tough but suave Dr. Amamiya (Ando) can stop them, as long as he gets rid of his silly peace-loving ideals.

This Japanese action-adventure is set in the 17th century when all forms of swordplay were banned. One fighter, an excellent swordsman believes the law is unfair. His brother keeps his opinions about the law to himself. The swordsman vents his frustration by cutting off the thumbs of an enemy. The fighter is then banished. To live, he becomes a thief. To restore the family's lost honor, the other brother is forced to challenge the fighter to a duel.

Toei’s 10th anniversary film, featuring an all-star cast from the golden movie era of the 1960s. A famous story of the 47 loyal samurai. When Lord Asano is unjustly executed, his loyal retainers strike back for revenge.

Three women, deceived by a man, make full use of their feminine weapons, replete with daring and unbridled seduction strategies.

As an orphan, Naoto Date was scouted by mysterious organization Tiger's Cave. The group trains young men to become villainous wrestlers and collects half of their earnings. Naoto Date goes through a harsh training regime and eventually graduates from Tiger's Cave. He hopes other orphans will not have to go through the difficult life he has. Naoto Date then makes his debut as the villain Tiger Mask. With his earnings, he also begins to donate his earnings to an orphanage where he grew up. When Naoto Date hears of the orphanage's desperate financial situation, he donates all of his earnings, including the portion that is supposed to go to Tiger Cave. Tiger Cave now considers Naoto Date a traitor and they send assassins to get ride of Tiger Mask.

The son of a prominent member of a fishing community returns home after a stint with the yakuza to find his father has died under orders of a local gang leader. He sets out to avenge his father, keeping his plans secret from his mother who is cold to him since his perceived abandonment of the family. This wonderful, if little-seen, Fulasaku gem deals with family, community and what it means to do right by both.

Nonaka Tetsugoro, a substitute for the Aoi group, held a flower party to celebrate the complete recovery of his boss. However, three rival bosses, trying to steal the Aoi's territory, made take-over plans in the shadows. The second in the two part Daimon series movies.

A chance meeting between two traveling gamblers leads to a case of mistaken identity when the farmers transporting gold to the governor think they are about to be robbed as the two gamblers face off against each other swords in hand.

"Kin no Tori" is an adaptation of the homonymous fairy tale "The Golden Bird" by Brothers Grimm. A golden apple is stolen from the King's garden. The King orders his three sons to guard the apples in turn and to find out who is the thief. When the youngest son, Hans, presents a feather that he got from the golden bird that stole the apple the king sends his three sons to bring this bird to him and so Hans' journey begins.

A genius sushi chef travels to New York to battle it out with the local competition there.

After an old man is attacked by a bear in the snowy mountains of northern Japan, he vows to hunt down the marauder.

Counselor Mito and his companions departed from Mito to see Kikutaro, a young lord of the shogun family, who became the new lord of Shirataka castle with an income of three hundred thousand koku. As they approach Shirataka's domain, a disturbing adventure begins. Soon, the advisor Mito and his companions reveal a conspiracy whose purpose was to capture the Shirataka castle and engage in a battle with the villains.

Jiromaru (Kinnosuke Nakamura) investigates the dark "Ghost Ship" in search of his father. Meanwhile, Princess Yuki (Yumiko Hasegawa) and Chacha (Eiko Maruyama) are kidnapped by pirates, so after dedicating himself to rescuing them for the second time, he decides to accept his grandfather's challenge to become a navigator, just like his deceased father.

Mike is a penguin soldier who returns home after being injured during combat. Estranged from his family and friends, he leaves his hometown and starts to roam adrift through the country.

The drama is based on the life of the Manchu princess Kawashima Yoshiko, who served as a spy for the Kwantung Army and as a military leader for Manchukuo. The former actress/singer Ri Kouran (also known as Yamaguchi Yoshiko), on the other hand, was a Japanese woman born in China, where she initially built her career as an actress. Although the two were of different generations, they were said to be closely linked at one point.

Yuko is sent to the coastal regions to be raised away from the rest of her sophisticated family where she finds out from her ill grandmother that she is not who she thought she was.

This is the story of Nat Banks, an 8th generation Virginian gentleman farmer living in the past, who loses his family farm, Greenwood, to a pair of land speculators from Washington, D.C. When the predatory couple manipulates a "legal" real estate transaction that turns into a hostile possession of the manor house, he temporarily loses his mind, leaving his family but not the farm. Instead he hides out in a cave on Goose Creek, waging guerilla warfare against expansionism and the destruction of historic property with the help of his family, friends, and neighbors...

Travel into Japan's nuttiest apartment house and meet its volatile inhabitants: Kyoko, the beautiful and mysterious new apartment manager; Yusaku, the exam-addled college student; Mrs. Ichinose, the drunken gossip; Kentaro, her bratty son; Akemi, the boozy bar hostess; and the mooching and peeping Mr. Yotsuya.

When Chizuru joins as a teacher at Umega High School, she hears an amateur orchestra perform. Reminiscing her old days of playing the violin, she decides to enroll in one.

A clumsy but cheerful fisheries student struggles to find her place at a research institute renowned for its tuna cultivation. The work isn't easy.

The man has a monotonous job punching tickets for the Japanese railway. One night, while walking home, he saves Jun from getting raped by two hoodlums. A few days later, he sneaks into her house but gets discovered. Later, as he watches his son subdue an insect with a chemical, the man gets an idea to subdue women while they're sleeping so he won't be discovered sneaking into their home. His new hobby spirals out of control as his confidence grows.

After World War II, when Okinawa was under control of the United States, the local yakuza prospered. But when Okinawa is returned to Japan, the mainland yakuza tries to take over; the local yakuza tries to compete. Now sides are drawn among the local yakuza guys who used to be best friends since their childhood, and brother fights brother. It results in the biggest yakuza war in Okinawa.

A man and a little girl meet in a bicycle parking in Tokyo. The little girl says she wants to watch the sea, and their travel begins. The man does not intend to be a kidnapper – he asks the girl to phone her mother and tell her she's with him. During their trip they meet various people, but they always must continue on, lest the man be arrested.

An NHK documentary about the talented actresses who have portrayed the beautiful, intelligent and resourceful heroines of the long running series. Features interviews with Kumi Mizuno, Keiko Mari, Yumiko Shaku, and Megumi Odaka. Also featured are never before seen 8mm home movies shot by producer Tomoyuki Tanaka on the sets of classic Toho films.

A Japanese TV documentary, NHK Tokushu Tezuka Osamu: Sosaku no Himitsu (Secrets of Creation.), was originally released as a book-mounted DVD, with cooperation from Tezuka Productions. Screened in Japan in 1986, it was filmed as Tezuka prepared for the Hiroshima International Animation Festival in 1985. It shows him working in his private studio and with his team, and gives glimpses of his wife, colleagues and old friends.

“In Search of Unreturned Soldiers was about former soldiers of the Japanese army who chose not to return to Japan after the war. I found several of them who had remained in Thailand. Two years later, I invited one of them to make his first return visit to Japan and documented it in Outlaw-Matsu Returns Home. During the filming, my subject Fujita asked me to buy him a cleaver so that he could kill his ‘vicious brother.’ I was shocked, and asked him to wait a day so that I could plan how to film the scene. By the next morning, to my relief, Fujita had calmed down and changed his mind about killing his brother. But I couldn’t have had a sharper insight into the ethical questions provoked by this kind of documentary filmmaking.” —Shôhei Imamura

NHK TV special about the making of the Japanese animated film "From Up on Poppy Hill" (コクリコ坂から)

Hisako loses her home in Tokyo to Allied bombing. With her husband fighting somewhere in Asia, she and her two children evacuate to a suburb of Kobe, where they share a house with Hisako's cousin, Kyoko. Kobe is bombed and Kyoko is killed. Hisako is forced to take care of Kyoko's two children in addition to her own, but there is not enough food for everyone.

A young man living on growing tomatoes in a greenhouse in a residential area. Tomato cultivation is as doomed as his personal life where he tries to keep alive his romance with the eccentric Kaede and parents selected fiancee Ayako.

A community is shocked when the bodies of an elderly man and the manager of a home-visit nursing centre are found. The passing of 42 elderly patients is connected to Shiba, a caretaker recognised for his affection and dedication.

Two boys, whose parents ply their trade by the mouth of a muddy river in Osaka, become close friends.

On 8th February 2000 at Feltham Young Offenders Institute, Robert Stewart, a known violent racist was placed in a cell with Zahid Mubarek, eventually leading to Mubarek's murder 6 weeks later.

The Kitao family is coping with the loss of the eldest daughter, Chizuko, who was killed in a freak accident the year prior. When the other daughter Mika is suddenly in a dangerous situation, Chizuko returns as a ghost to save her; reunited with her sister, Mika begins spending time with Chizuko again.

45-year-old Rui Nakamura is a highly successful publisher. During the course of work, she encounters a 28-year-old married man named Kou Suzuki who aggressively pursues her. Unexpectedly, Rui Nakamura starts to fall in love with the younger married man Set 5 years after the ending of the NHK drama series “Second Virgin,” Rui Nakamura is transferred to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia while still taking care of Marie Suzuki.

Four sisters with no consanguinity are living together since childhood. When facing misfortune and grievances in lives, they give support and encouragement to each other, even sacrifice oneself to help others.

In 1948, the Trouths are facing no income and the hottest summer on record. When their estranged son inexplicably returns, the apartment is full again - but is it big enough for the gambling, trauma, and substantial life insurance policy that comes in his wake?

An aging geisha, whose angry teenage son is ashamed of her profession, works alongside a young geisha, resentful of her family for forcing her into a life of ignominy.

27-year-old Hatsumi Takimoto is a former teacher and now waitress. She holds a secret. Three years after her boyfriend died, she receives a letter from him. After meeting a former student, Hatsumi Takimoto confesses about her past.

With a meth-addict for a mother and a non-existent father, Amber doesn't have much in this world, except for one thing... her music.

In the Edo period of Japan, a samurai’s life belonged to his lord. On the battlefield or in the home, a loyal samurai must always obey his lord’s commands. This is the tragic story of one such loyal samurai, whose love for his family forced him to make the ultimate choice of disobeying the wishes of his lord.

Masako, a five-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Chiba, gets a tiny scratch on her finger while playing with mud in a marsh. After that, she suffered all kinds of horrible spasms including biting her tongue. The doctor checks on her for hours on end and arrive at the conclusion that she has tetanus. It seems like the devil has come to dwell in the little girl's body. Her parents have to to bear the sufferings of their child and face the fear that they might also be the victims of tetanus. The once peaceful family has changed completely and the three have been cast into a bottomless hell.

Set during the Meiji Restoration period of Edo era Japan, Naoyuki belongs to the 8th generation of the Inoyama family, a wealthy family known for finance & accounting. He is also a gifted mathematician and uses the abacus with extreme skills. Naoyuki works under the declining Kaga domain. Because of this, Naoyuki and his wife Koma suffer hardships as their stature and wealth dissipates.

Set in the late 1950s, when geisha culture was threatened by moral crusades, it tells the story of Omocha (Miyamoto Maki), a young girl who sees the geisha life as a way to lift her poverty-stricken family from their hand-to-mouth existence. Through her eyes, we see the protocols and complex financial relationships which dictate the running of the geisha house. Fukasaku's film is a work of great delicacy with moments of hypnotic beauty, and his tender direction, often touched with a sense of wonder, fills the screen with lovingly constructed scenes. At its heart is the poignant situation of the women who must sacrifice their normal relationships to live an ambiguous life in which they are a key part of society while being kept, for the most part, on its periphery, like perpetual mistresses.

Atsuko and Akira are a husband and wife duo with a daughter and a son. Atsuko is in charge of the retirement finances. She saves from money given to her by her husband and also earns money herself by working part-time. She stretches every yen by leading a frugal life. yet, expenses come up. These include their daughter's upcoming wedding and the funeral expenses of the husband's father. Then, and at exactly the worst time, the couple finds itself unemployed.

Bright samurai movie innovatively adapted from a classic story. A traveling masterless samurai is asked by a daughter of an established samurai family to pretend they are a married couple, and gets involved in the troubles of the samurai clan.

An auto repairman's daughter questions him about what happened to her aunt during the war, but the father remains reticent. Finally the man opens up, and the girl is able to piece together her aunt's tragic story.

Three IJN flyers Mikami (Susumu Fujita), Kawakami (Masayuki Mori) and Murakami (Akitake Kono) are good friends, and they are all renowned for their torpedo techniques. Mikami is posted as a staff officer at a base on an island in the Pacific. Kawakami and Murakami later joins him as the base squardron is reinforced. The enemy task force approaches the island and all three of them attack the fleet, killing themselves in the process.

The film is set in Karafuto after the radio broadcast of the Imperial Rescript on the Termination of the War. On August 15, 1945, Soviet forces invaded Karafuto. On August 20, the postal telegraph office in Maoka suspended operations and nine of the twelve telephone operators committed suicide by taking potassium cyanide while the city was being invaded.

In June 1945 Yamauchi Fusako goes alone to Manchuria where her husband, Setsuo, a second lieutenant of the Kwantung Army, is based. At that time, 200,000 Japanese had settled in Manchuria, a Japanese occupied territory, as settler communities. Fujita Hideo’s family worked hard to clear the wilderness, but the Soviets are lying in wait for an invasion of Manchuria from the North. Fusako is safely reunited with her husband at the headquarters of the Kwantung Army’s Fifth Training Squadron in Manchuria’s Dahushan. Setsuo also takes good care of his beloved wife, but his position is an instructor to the young soldiers who will eventually carry out suicide attacks. He wonders if he should have summoned her and speaks of these mixed feelings to his commanding officer, Michiba Kazuo, a first lieutenant. Michiba is concerned about Setsuo’s attempts to cherish his wife before the coming showdown on homeland. Fusako learns about life in Manchuria from Michiba’s wife, Etsu.

Second film of the Mardock Scramble series. Balot and a severely injured Oeufcoque seem to be at the mercy of an obsessed Boiled. Dr. Easter comes to the rescue and the group escapes to "Paradise" where many secrets of Mardock lie and where Balot will need to come to a decision herself about what she will and can do.

Framed by his enemies, Manbe finds himself imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit. His only hope lies with his daughter Yuki who takes it upon herself to clear his name.

Two TV directors want to film people visiting a suicide forest.

Akio's sister, Neri has separated from her boyfriend. They lived in Kamakura. She moves in with her brother. Her ex-boyfriend's sister, Eiko comes to see Neri. She wonders if the separation occurred due to her because the three of them used to live together. Eiko's brother has disappeared in the meantime.

Adiantum Blue is about a pianist with a terminal illness, who wishes to spend her last happy days with her lover in Nice.

Koji Wakamatsu adapted the Kouhei Tsuka's play of the same name into a human comedy about the members of a traveling acting troupe.

Two love stories set in Shibuya, Tokyo.

The Nine saga comes to a close with the third installment

A police detective tries to investigate the mystery of a victim who was shot in the head, but no bullet was found.

A young, mentally retarded boy is wrongfully accused of murder, but his family lacks the means to hire an attorney to defend him. The boy’s sister, Kiriko, pleads with an accomplished attorney named Otsuka to defend her brother pro bono. But because of Otsuka’s busy schedule and other priorities, he refuses to take the case. Lacking a proper defense, Kiriko’s brother is eventually convicted of murder, and dies in prison. From that point on, Kiriko is determined to take revenge against Otuska.

A story of the everyday life of a couple living together, ordinary but full of warmth and love. Starring Miura and Yamaguchi's first movie since making public of their romance--their real-life story on the screen.

The first theatrical release, titled Bonobono, opened in theaters on 1993-11-13. The film has since been broadcast on domestic television in Japan, including on broadcast satellite channels such as NHK BS-2. The film has been released on VHS and DVD in Japan, including in a "no cut" edition.

A filmmaker continues his quest to uncover the truth behind a series of unsolved murders from years ago. This is the 8th installment of "The Blackwell Ghost" series.