Movies Like Swimming in a Sand Pool

If you liked Swimming in a Sand Pool (2024), a comedy and drama movie directed by Nobuhiro Yamashita, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Flying Colors (2015)
★ 7.5/10Also comedy and drama
A high school girl, Sayaka Kudō was the bottom of the class. After a year, she improved her deviation value from 30 to 70, then passed Keio University that is considered one of the most difficult to enter in Japan.
2
Linda Linda Linda (2005)
★ 7.6/10Also comedy and drama
Only three days before the school festival, a newly formed high school band rushes to put together a set for their big show — including a hit single by '80s by the Japanese punk rock band The Blue Hearts.
3
Swing Girls (2004)
★ 7.9/10Also comedy and drama
A group of delinquent high school girls form a band when they accidentally poison their school's brass band and have to replace them.
4
Sound! Euphonium the Movie - Our Promise: A Brand New Day (2019)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
The next piece begins! Kumiko is now in her second year at Kitauji High School, and with a new year comes new problems. As if making it to Nationals wasn't hard enough, Kumiko is tasked with mentoring the concert…
5
SubUrbia (1997)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and drama
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
6
The First Slam Dunk (2022)
★ 7.8/10Also comedy and drama
Shohoku's “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the…
7
Class Act (1992)
★ 6.3/10Also comedy and drama
Duncan is a genius straight A student, Blade is ajuvenile delinquent. But because of a mix up with their school records, everyone thinks each is the other one. Now, Duncan kind of likes the attention from being thought…
8
The Colors Within (2024)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
Totsuko is a high school student with the ability to see the 'colors' of others. Colors of bliss, excitement, and serenity, plus a color she treasures as her favorite. Kimi, a classmate at her school, gives off the…
9
Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)
★ 7.5/10Also drama
In their last year of high school, two girls in the brass band club perform a song inspired by a fairy tale that parallels their friendship.
10
Don't Say Good Luck (2026)
★ 7.3/10Also comedy and drama
Sophie Birenbaum is ready for the spotlight as the lead in her high school musical—until she's suddenly facing more drama at home than on the stage.
11
High School Musical 3: Senior Year (2008)
★ 6.5/10Also comedy and drama
As seniors in high school, Troy and Gabriella struggle with the idea of being separated from one another as college approaches. Along with the rest of the Wildcats, they stage a spring musical to address their…
12
My Own Love Song (2010)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and drama
A wheelchair-bound singer and her best friend embark on a roadtrip to Memphis.
13
Look Back (2024)
★ 8.2/10Also drama
Popular, outgoing Fujino is celebrated by her classmates for her funny comics in the class newspaper. One day, her teacher asks her to share the space with Kyomoto, a truant recluse whose beautiful artwork sparks a…
14
Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 3 (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also comedy
Zed and Addison are beginning their final year at Seabrook High in the town that’s become a safe haven for monsters and humans alike. Zed is anticipating an athletic scholarship that will make him the first Zombie to…
15
K-ON! The Movie (2011)
★ 8/10Also comedy
With graduation right around the corner, every member of the Light Music Club except for Azusa will be leaving for good. But the girls aren’t going to let something as silly as graduation tear them apart! For their…
16
Sometimes Always Never (2019)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and comedy
Alan is a stylish tailor with moves as sharp as his suits. He has spent years searching tirelessly for his missing son Michael who stormed out over a game of Scrabble. With a body to identify and his family torn apart…
17
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023)
★ 6.5/10Also comedy and drama
Stacy and Lydia are BFFs who've always dreamed about having epic bat mitzvahs. But things start to go comically awry when a popular boy and middle school drama threatens their friendship and their rite of passage.
18
Haikyu!! The Movie: Battle of Concepts (2017)
★ 8/10Also drama
A recap film depicting the match against Shiratorizawa Academy in the third season of the anime series.
19
Hooking Up (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also comedy and drama
Bailey and Darla embark upon a misguided and mutually deceitful form of therapy, one in which they must drive across the country, re-enacting Darla's colorful history as a sex addict. As their true motivations for the…
20
Teen Beach 2 (2015)
★ 6.8/10Also comedy
When characters from the movie musical “Wet Side Story” get stuck in the real world, teens Brady and Mack must find a way to return them home.