10 Best Japanese Films on Netflix
When people think of Japanese film and TV, they think of anime, which is fair—anime is having an incredibly-deserved pop culture moment. But Godzilla Minus One’s much-deserved Oscar win reminded us all that there are incredible live-action Japanese films to check out, too.
Netflix has a very particular collection, for sure. But if Netflix is your streaming service of choice and you want to see what’s on there, you’ll find some absolute gems of Japanese cinema—both animated and live action, thrilling blockbusters and understated meditations.
10. Call Me Chihiro
Other than the big action films (more on those below), a lot of Japanese cinema is incredibly quiet and understated. Like Call Me Chihiro, a heartwarming and bittersweet film about a former sex worker who takes a job working at a bento box stand in a seaside town. Chihiro is bold and honest, which makes her a refreshing protagonist. The heart of the film is simply the heartfelt conversations she has with her customers—and how they help her struggle with loneliness.
9. Ruruoni Kenshin series
Western live-action adaptations of anime and manga are a relatively new phenomenon, but they’ve been making adaptations over in Japan for ages. Unfortunately, like with any live action adaptation of animation, they’re very hit and miss. The five films of Rurouni Kenshin series, though, is quite well-regarded as a solid, action-packed adaptation of a classic series. And they’ve got the live action One Piece‘s Mackenyu in them!
You’ve got a former assassins, sword fights aplenty, and depictions of Japan long ago—a solid set up for those unfamiliar with the series. Start with Rurouni Kenshin: Origins, finish (very counter-intuitively) with Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning.
8. Golden Kamuy
I was in Japan when the live action adaptation of Golden Kamuy came out earlier this year. And let me tell you, it was inescapable. Golden Kamuy is a classic adventure, a good old-fashioned treasure hunt set in the snowy northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. There’s another angle of that “old-fashioned” though: the treasure belongs to the Ainu, a native tribe from northern Japanese who were driven out of their land. Not to be a bummer, but … I think it’s good information to have in the back of your head.
Anyway, the film’s been praised for its thrilling action sequences and as a worthy adaptation of a generation-defining manga.
7. Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop
A boy named Cherry who will only express himself through haiku, and a girl named Smile who’s wildly self-conscious. Already, this take on the classic summer love story sounds interesting. Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop backs up the promise with all the heart that you’d hope for. But what really make it stands out is its shockingly gorgeous animation and stunning pastel coloring. This one feeds your eyes and your soul.
6. 37 Seconds
Not all Japanese media is based on manga, you know. Just a lot of Netflix’s notable library. 37 Seconds is a wonderful exception—a deeply touching, warm, and just very human film. 37 Seconds centers around a comic book artist with cerebral palsy. The film was widely praised upon its release for its nuanced, non-fetishizing portrayal of a character with a disability. See, it’s not so hard. Sometimes we can have nice things.
5. One Piece Film: Red
When I first walked into the theater to see One Piece Film: Red in 2022, I was not prepared for it to be an actual musical. But it is, and it’s glorious. The songs, sung by the incredible J-Pop singer Ado, are all bangers. This is apparently what happens when you set One Piece, the shonen series to end (read: outlast) all shonen series, at a music festival.
Red itself is infused with an undeniable sense of spectacle and fun. Some cameos will feel thrown in to newcomers, but at its core, it’s a damn good time for all.
4. The First Slam Dunk
Upon its original release in the 1990s, Slam Dunk became the reason basketball gaining any kind of popularity in Japan. This statement is not an exaggeration. Slam Dunk showed all the sports anime which followed it how to make sports truly thrilling in this medium, too.
2022’s pioneeringly-animated and stunning depiction of the manga’s final arc, The First Slam Dunk, is an incredibly fitting tribute to a series of that magnitude. It’s also an excellent entry point or stand-alone experience for those unfamiliar with Slam Dunk.
3. The End of Evangelion
The recommendation for The End of Evangelion comes with a major stipulation: you absolutely have to watch the series Neon Genesis Evangelion first. As the title suggests, the film is the ending of the show. But Neon Genesis Evangelion is one of the best pieces of animation ever made, and this ending film is iconic, constantly referenced in other pieces of media. It’s worth your time, and not just for the reference recognition cred you’ll get.
2. Suzume
Director Makoto Shinkai is very quickly on his way to becoming “the new Miyazaki.” Sure, all his movies are melancholic tales of teenage love in and around some kind of natural disaster. But goddammit, Shinkai does that splendidly. Shinkai’s films are some of the most beautiful animation in existence, and they always melt your heart.
Suzume is hard to describe without giving too much away. But suffice it to say that there’s a door, a cat, and an animated three-legged stool.
1. Godzilla Minus One
If you’re only going to have one Japanese Godzilla film on Netflix, it better be 2023’s Oscar-winning (!!!) film Godzilla Minus One. Minus One is pretty inarguably the best live action Japanese film of the decade. Godzilla returns to his roots as a terrifying force of destruction, a thinly veiled metaphor for the atomic bomb. But where Minus One really distinguishes itself is in the story of its human characters, grappling with the destruction of their lives and Tokyo itself after World War II.
As a bonus, Netflix also has the absolutely stunning black-and-white version, -1.0/C.
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