(Photo by Walt Disney Pictures, Magnolia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Certified Fresh Japanese Movies
Japan rose to almost immediate cinematic prominence with the one-two punch of Yasujiro Ozu’s 1953 Tokyo Story and Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Seven Samurai, part of a creatively fertile post-war period that saw similar artistic strides in Italy, France, and Sweden. Ozu’s deeply human drama and Kurosawa’s action-genre big bang are both Certified Fresh, meaning they’ve maintained a 75% after at least 40 critics reviews. That’s the only Ozu movie on our guide to Japanese Certified Fresh films (though plenty of his movies are currently 100%, they don’t meet the minimum reviews threshold), while Kurosawa appears five more times with Rashomon, Ikiru, Throne of Blood, Yojimbo, and Ran.
Others director featured in our guide to Certified Fresh films produced in Japan include Hirokazu Kore-eda (Shoplifters), genre icon Takeshi Kitano (Zatoichi), Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno (Shin Godzilla), the impossibly prolific Takashi Miike (Audition, 13 Assassins), and Yojiro Takita, whose Departures took home the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award in 2008, a first for Japan.
Anime has been one of Japan’s greatest entertainment exports, with Hayao Miyazaki’s films (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke) at the forefront. Other prominent animation directors include Isao Takahata (Grave of the Fireflies, The Tale of Princess Kaguya), Makoto Shinkai (Your Name, Weathering With You), Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue), and Mamoru Hosada (Mirai).
Read on for our guide to Certified Fresh Japanese movies! And let us know your favorite films from Japan (Certified Fresh or not!) in the comments. —Alex Vo
#64
Adjusted Score: 75940%
Critics Consensus: Norwegian Wood is a poetic adaptation of the Haruki Murakami novel that uses rapturous visuals to draw viewers in its exploration of young love and lasting death.
Synopsis: Toru thinks back to the '60s when he grew close to Naoko after his friend Kizuki killed himself....
[More]
#63
Adjusted Score: 76877%
Critics Consensus: Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai adds an atypically restrained entry to the Takashi Miike filmography that loses little impact in favoring human drama over action.
Synopsis: A samurai (Ebizô Ichikawa) asks permission to commit ritual suicide in the courtyard of a prominent feudal lord and hears...
[More]
#62
Adjusted Score: 81960%
Critics Consensus: A whimsically engaging sex comedy.
Synopsis: Brimming with magical realism, sensuality, and humor, the final film by revered filmmaker Shohei Imamura is "an enlightening, even liberating,...
[More]
#61
Adjusted Score: 87239%
Critics Consensus: Perfect Blue is overstylized, but its core mystery is always compelling, as are the visual theatrics.
Synopsis: A mysterious figure stalks a pop star when she becomes an actor on a television show....
[More]
#60
Adjusted Score: 83035%
Critics Consensus: Outrage packs enough violent impact to satisfy - even if fans of writer-director Takeshi Kitano will find themselves familiar with many of its ingredients.
Synopsis: After his men go too far in their confrontation with a rival gang, a yakuza henchman (Beat Takeshi) gets caught...
[More]
#59
Adjusted Score: 83848%
Critics Consensus: If slow and predictable, Departures is a quiet, life affirming story.
Synopsis: Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) learns that his orchestra is disbanding. Daigo and his wife...
[More]
#58
Adjusted Score: 86354%
Critics Consensus: Dragon Ball Super: Broly may seem like colorful chaos to newcomers, but for longtime fans, it represents this long-running franchise near its action-packed apogee.
Synopsis: Goku and Vegeta encounter Broly, a Saiyan warrior....
[More]
#57
Adjusted Score: 86687%
Critics Consensus: An audacious, unsettling Japanese horror film from director Takashi Miike, Audition entertains as both a grisly shocker and a psychological drama.
Synopsis: This disturbing Japanese thriller follows Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a widower who decides to start dating again. Aided by a film-producer...
[More]
#56
Adjusted Score: 87156%
Critics Consensus: Sweet Bean's deliberate pace demands patience, but the satisfying simplicity of its story -- and Kirin Kiki's absorbing performance -- yield an array of riches well worth the wait.
Synopsis: A baker's (Masatoshi Nagase) business takes off when he hires an eccentric 76-year-old woman (Kirin Kiki) who specializes in making...
[More]
#55
Adjusted Score: 90294%
Critics Consensus: Following its own brand of logic, Paprika is an eye-opening mind trip that is difficult to follow but never fails to dazzle.
Synopsis: Dr. Atsuko Chiba works as a scientist by day and, under the code name "Paprika," is a dream detective at...
[More]
#54
Adjusted Score: 88794%
Critics Consensus: A remarkable technical achievement, Metropolis' eye-popping visuals more than compensate for its relatively routine story.
Synopsis: Visually stunning Japanese anime interpretation of Fritz Lang's classic film, also based on Osamu Tezuka's outstanding 1945 illustrations. A Japanese...
[More]
#53
Adjusted Score: 88902%
Critics Consensus: Godzilla Resurgence offers a refreshingly low-fi -- and altogether entertaining -- return to the monster's classic creature-feature roots.
Synopsis: A mysterious monster emerges from Tokyo Bay and wreaks havoc upon Japan....
[More]
#52
Adjusted Score: 89887%
Critics Consensus: Gentle and nostalgic, From Up on Poppy Hill is one of Studio Ghibli's sweeter efforts -- and if it doesn't push the boundaries of the genre, it remains as engagingly lovely as Ghibli fans have come to expect.
Synopsis: Yokohama teens try to save their school's clubhouse from being demolished....
[More]
#51
Adjusted Score: 91776%
Critics Consensus: Blade of the Immortal highlights Takashi Miike's flair for balletic violence, making up what it lacks in strict originality with rich characterizations and kinetic thrills.
Synopsis: Cursed with immortality, a highly skilled samurai in feudal Japan promises to help a young woman avenge the death of...
[More]
#50
Adjusted Score: 90892%
Critics Consensus: The Third Murder makes satisfying work of its weighty themes, even if it doesn't quite stand with writer-director Hirokazu Koreeda's best efforts.
Synopsis: Well-known attorney Shigemori takes on the defense of murder-robbery suspect Misumi, who served jail time for another murder 30 years...
[More]
#49
Adjusted Score: 90236%
Critics Consensus: Sensitively written, smartly directed, and powerfully performed, Like Father, Like Son uses familiar-seeming elements to tell a thought-provoking story.
Synopsis: Ryota learns that his biological son was switched at birth with the boy he has raised, and he must make...
[More]
#48
Adjusted Score: 90964%
Critics Consensus: Colorful, rich with action and wonderfully choreographed, Takeshi Kitano takes on the classic samurai character with his own brand of cinematic flair.
Synopsis: Blind traveler Zatoichi (Beat Takeshi) is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games....
[More]
#47
Adjusted Score: 94012%
Critics Consensus: Exquisitely illustrated by master animator Miyazaki, Howl's Moving Castle will delight children with its fantastical story and touch the hearts and minds of older viewers as well.
Synopsis: Sophie (Emily Mortimer) has an uneventful life at her late father's hat shop, but all that changes when she befriends...
[More]
#46
Adjusted Score: 91301%
Critics Consensus: Battle Royale is a controversial and violent parable of adolescence, heightening teenage melodrama with life-or-death stakes.
Synopsis: 42 9th graders are sent to a deserted island. They are given a map, food, and various weapons. An explosive...
[More]
#45
Adjusted Score: 91402%
Critics Consensus: A finely calibrated WWII-era thriller, Wife of a Spy delicately balances the weight of national loyalty against our moral obligations to our fellow human beings.
Synopsis: The year is 1940 in Kobe, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II. Local merchant and amateur...
[More]
#44
Adjusted Score: 90630%
Critics Consensus: The Boy and the Beast combines familiar parts to create a gripping, beautifully animated adventure with inventive storytelling to match its visual appeal.
Synopsis: Kyuta slips into an alternate universe where he is raised by a bear-man, Kumatetsu. Kyuta is eventually thrust into an...
[More]
#43
Adjusted Score: 96302%
Critics Consensus: The Wind Rises is a fittingly bittersweet swan song for director Hayao Miyazaki.
Synopsis: A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M...
[More]
#42
Adjusted Score: 93363%
Critics Consensus: Mary and the Witch's Flower honors its creator's Studio Ghibli roots with a gentle, beautifully animated story whose simplicity is rounded out by its entrancing visuals.
Synopsis: Young Mary follows a mysterious cat into the nearby forest and discovers an old broomstick and the strange Fly-by-Night flower,...
[More]
#41
Adjusted Score: 93183%
Critics Consensus: My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising sends fans of the saga on an exhilarating adventure that ends the series on a beautifully animated high note.
Synopsis: Deku and the rest of Class 1-A must save a group of islanders from a villain with an unfathomable quirk....
[More]
#40
Adjusted Score: 93943%
Critics Consensus: Belladonna of Sadness has more than enough brilliant visual artistry to keep audiences enraptured even as the film's narrative reach slightly exceeds its grasp.
Synopsis: A peasant woman is banished from her village and makes a deal with the devil to gain magical powers....
[More]
#39
Adjusted Score: 95430%
Critics Consensus: Akira is strikingly bloody and violent, but its phenomenal animation and sheer kinetic energy helped set the standard for modern anime.
Synopsis: In 1988 the Japanese government drops an atomic bomb on Tokyo after ESP experiments on children go awry. In 2019,...
[More]
#38
Adjusted Score: 93943%
Critics Consensus: The simplicity and colorful warmth of Mirai's animation is underscored by a story with surprising - and deeply affecting - depth and emotional resonance.
Synopsis: A young boy named Kun feels forgotten by his family when his little sister Mirai arrives. Running away from home,...
[More]
#37
Adjusted Score: 92783%
Critics Consensus: True Mothers uses an intractable conflict to explore the bonds of parenthood with director/co-writer Naomi Kawase's usual sensitivity and grace.
Synopsis: An adopted son's mother receives an unexpected visit from the boy's biological mother....
[More]
#36
Adjusted Score: 96180%
Critics Consensus: When Marnie Was There is still blessed with enough visual and narrative beauty to recommend, even if it isn't quite as magical as Studio Ghibli's greatest works.
Synopsis: A tomboy (Hailee Steinfeld) explores a long-abandoned villa and meets a mysterious blonde girl only she can see....
[More]
#35
Adjusted Score: 97810%
Critics Consensus: While not Miyazaki's best film, Ponyo is a visually stunning fairy tale that's a sweetly poetic treat for children of all ages.
Synopsis: During a forbidden excursion to see the surface world, a goldfish princess encounters a human boy named Sosuke, who gives...
[More]
#34
Adjusted Score: 97316%
Critics Consensus: Beautifully animated and narratively engaging, Weathering with You further establishes writer-director Makoto Shinkai as a singularly talented filmmaker.
Synopsis: The summer of his high school freshman year, Hodaka runs away from his remote island home to Tokyo, and quickly...
[More]
#33
Adjusted Score: 94461%
Critics Consensus: The story of an aging movie actress' complicated personal saga unfolds in this sophisticated anime film that deftly blurs memory and make-believe into a meditation on the nature of cinema itself.
Synopsis: In this animated movie, filmmaker Genya Tachibana begins work on a documentary about famed Japanese actress Chiyoko Fujiwara. Now well...
[More]
#32
Adjusted Score: 103499%
Critics Consensus: More than straight monster-movie fare, Gojira offers potent, sobering postwar commentary.
Synopsis: A fire-breathing behemoth terrorizes Japan after an atomic bomb awakens it from its centuries-old sleep....
[More]
#31
Adjusted Score: 94507%
Critics Consensus: Tragic and haunting, a beautifully heart-wrenching portrait of child abandonment.
Synopsis: Preteen Akira Fukushima (Yûya Yagira) and his young siblings have been abandoned by their mother, Keiko (You). Keiko, who has...
[More]
#30
Adjusted Score: 101017%
Critics Consensus: With its epic story and breathtaking visuals, Princess Mononoke is a landmark in the world of animation.
Synopsis: A prince becomes involved in the struggle between a forest princess and the encroachment of mechanization....
[More]
#29
Adjusted Score: 99234%
Critics Consensus: My Neighbor Totoro is a heartwarming, sentimental masterpiece that captures the simple grace of childhood.
Synopsis: This acclaimed animated tale by director Hayao Miyazaki follows schoolgirl Satsuke and her younger sister, Mei, as they settle into...
[More]
#28
Adjusted Score: 95396%
Critics Consensus: Elliptical and deliberately paced yet steadily absorbing, I Wish presents a beguiling portrait of childhood that grounds its sweetly nostalgic glow with well-rounded characters and attention to detail.
Synopsis: Forced to live apart due to their parents' separation, a sixth-grader (Koki Maeda) and his younger brother (Ohshiro Maeda) hatch...
[More]
#27
Adjusted Score: 96950%
Critics Consensus: J-Horror director Kiyoshi Kurosawa turns successfully to dramedy and gives a unique (and specifically national) perspective to the universal subjects of family and identity.
Synopsis: Ryûhei Sasaki (Teruyuki Kagawa) is keeping a secret from his wife, Megumi (Kyôko Koizumi), and his two teenage sons. Even...
[More]
#26
Adjusted Score: 101227%
Critics Consensus: As effortlessly engaging as it is widely influential, Yojimbo represents Kurosawa at the peak of his powers -- and lays the groundwork for the modern American western.
Synopsis: A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master (Toshirô Mifune), enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival...
[More]
#25
Adjusted Score: 102534%
Critics Consensus: A career high point for Akira Kurosawa -- and one of the best film adaptations of a Shakespeare play.
Synopsis: Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) and Miki (Minoru Chiaki) are waylaid by a spirit who...
[More]
#24
Adjusted Score: 99835%
Critics Consensus: Takashi Miike's electric remake of Eiichi Kudo's 1963 period action film is a wild spectacle executed with killer, dizzying panache.
Synopsis: In this remake of a 1963 film based on historical events, Shinzaemon Shimada leads a team of assassins in 19th-century...
[More]
#23
Adjusted Score: 99830%
Critics Consensus: Visually lush, refreshingly free of family-friendly clatter, and anchored with soulful depth, The Secret World of Arrietty lives up to Studio Ghibli's reputation.
Synopsis: Arrietty, a tiny teenager, lives with her parents in the recesses of a suburban home, unbeknown to the homeowner and...
[More]
#22
Adjusted Score: 104873%
Critics Consensus: Akira Kurosawa's sprawling, epic take on King Lear should be required viewing for fans of westerns, war movies, or period films in general.
Synopsis: At the age of seventy, after years of consolidating his empire, the Great Lord Hidetora Ichimonji (Tatsuya Nakadai) decides to...
[More]
#21
Adjusted Score: 101982%
Critics Consensus: After the Storm crosses cultural lines to offer timeless observations about parental responsibilities, personal bonds, and the capacity for forgiveness.
Synopsis: A dissolute private detective (Hiroshi Abe) attempts to reconnect with his distrustful family following the death of his father....
[More]
#20
Adjusted Score: 99160%
Critics Consensus: A stunning feat of modern animation, Ghost in the Shell offers a thoughtful, complex treat for anime fans, as well as a perfect introduction for viewers new to the medium.
Synopsis: In this Japanese animation, cyborg federal agent Maj. Motoko Kusanagi (Mimi Woods) trails "The Puppet Master" (Abe Lasser), who illegally...
[More]
#19
Adjusted Score: 103716%
Critics Consensus: First Love's blend of violence, comedy, and romance might seem disparate -- but for director Takashi Miike, it's just another wildly entertaining entry in a filmography full of them.
Synopsis: One night in Tokyo, a self-confident young boxer and a prostitute get caught up in a drug-smuggling plot involving organized...
[More]
#18
Adjusted Score: 104258%
Critics Consensus: Spirited Away is a dazzling, enchanting, and gorgeously drawn fairy tale that will leave viewers a little more curious and fascinated by the world around them.
Synopsis: 10-year-old Chihiro (Daveigh Chase) moves with her parents to a new home in the Japanese countryside. After taking a wrong...
[More]
#17
Adjusted Score: 101543%
Critics Consensus: Kiki's Delivery Service is a heartwarming, gorgeously-rendered tale of a young witch discovering her place in the world.
Synopsis: In this anime feature, 13-year-old Kiki moves to a seaside town with her talking cat, Jiji, to spend a year...
[More]
#16
Adjusted Score: 100029%
Critics Consensus: Demon Slayer's visually stunning animation and masterful action set pieces serve a heartfelt plot that is sure to satisfy fans.
Synopsis: Falling forever into an endless dream... Tanjiro and the group have completed their rehabilitation training at the Butterfly Mansion, and...
[More]
#15
Adjusted Score: 100029%
Critics Consensus: Demon Slayer's visually stunning animation and masterful action set pieces serve a heartfelt plot that is sure to satisfy fans.
Synopsis: Falling forever into an endless dream... Tanjiro and the group have completed their rehabilitation training at the Butterfly Mansion, and...
[More]
#14
Adjusted Score: 107696%
Critics Consensus: Ikiru is a well-acted and deeply moving humanist tale about a man facing his own mortality, one of legendary director Akira Kurosawa's most intimate films.
Synopsis: Mr. Watanabe suddenly finds that he has terminal cancer. He vows to make his final days meaningful. His attempts to...
[More]
#13
Adjusted Score: 106885%
Critics Consensus: One of legendary director Akira Kurosawa's most acclaimed films, Rashomon features an innovative narrative structure, brilliant acting, and a thoughtful exploration of reality versus perception.
Synopsis: Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the...
[More]
#12
Adjusted Score: 103058%
Critics Consensus: As beautifully animated as it is emotionally satisfying, Your Name adds another outstanding chapter to writer-director Makoto Shinkai's filmography.
Synopsis: A teenage boy and girl embark on a quest to meet each other for the first time after they magically...
[More]
#11
Adjusted Score: 100701%
Critics Consensus: Samurai epic as a touching drama.
Synopsis: In 1860s Japan, samurai Seibei (Hiroyuki Sanada) lives in a rural village with his mother and daughters, where he is...
[More]
#10
Adjusted Score: 102155%
Critics Consensus: Beautiful, thoughtful, and engrossing, Jiro Dreams of Sushi should prove satisfying even for filmgoers who don't care for the cuisine.
Synopsis: Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up...
[More]
#9
Adjusted Score: 111475%
Critics Consensus: Understated yet ultimately deeply affecting, Shoplifters adds another powerful chapter to director Hirokazu Koreeda's richly humanistic filmography.
Synopsis: On the margins of Tokyo, a dysfunctional band of outsiders is united by fierce loyalty and a penchant for petty...
[More]
#8
Adjusted Score: 103625%
Critics Consensus: An achingly sad anti-war film, Grave of the Fireflies is one of Studio Ghibli's most profoundly beautiful, haunting works.
Synopsis: A teenager (J. Robert Spencer) is charged with the care of his younger sister (Rhoda Chrosite) after an Allied firebombing...
[More]
#7
Adjusted Score: 106609%
Critics Consensus: Tokyo Story is a Yasujiro Ozu masterpiece whose rewarding complexity has lost none of its power more than half a century on.
Synopsis: The elderly Shukishi (Chishu Ryu) and his wife, Tomi (Chieko Higashiyama), take the long journey from their small seaside village...
[More]
#6
Adjusted Score: 105051%
Critics Consensus: Thanks to director Juzo Itami's offbeat humor and sharp satirical edge, Tampopo is a funny, sexy, affectionate celebration of food and its broad influence on Japanese culture.
Synopsis: Two Japanese milk-truck drivers (Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken Watanabe) help a restaurant owner (Nobuko Miyamoto) learn how to cook great noodles....
[More]
#5
Adjusted Score: 105197%
Critics Consensus: Only Yesterday's long-delayed U.S. debut fills a frustrating gap for American Ghibli fans while offering further proof of the studio's incredibly consistent commitment to quality.
Synopsis: A put-upon 27-year-old Japanese office worker travels to the countryside and reminisces about her childhood in Tokyo and what life...
[More]
#4
Adjusted Score: 101918%
Critics Consensus: Hirokazu Kore-eda's film may seem modest at first, but this family drama casts a delicate, entrancing spell.
Synopsis: Twelve years after their beloved eldest son, Junpei, drowned while saving a stranger's life, Kyohei (Yoshio Harada) and Toshiko (Kirin...
[More]
#3
Adjusted Score: 107659%
Critics Consensus: Drive My Car's imposing runtime holds a rich, patiently engrossing drama that reckons with self-acceptance and regret.
Synopsis: Two years after his wife's unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer...
[More]
#2
Adjusted Score: 112595%
Critics Consensus: Arguably Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, The Seven Samurai is an epic adventure classic with an engrossing story, memorable characters, and stunning action sequences that make it one of the most influential films ever made.
Synopsis: A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits,...
[More]
#1
Adjusted Score: 103981%
Critics Consensus: Boasting narrative depth, frank honesty, and exquisite visual beauty, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is a modern animated treasure with timeless appeal.
Synopsis: A tiny nymph found inside a bamboo stalk grows into a beautiful and desirable young woman, who orders her suitors...
[More]
74%
