Movies Like The Notorious Bored Samurai 4

If you liked The Notorious Bored Samurai 4 (1990), a action and drama movie directed by Akinori Matsuo, 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
Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
★ 7.5/10Also action and history
In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.
2
Gojoe: Spirit War Chronicle (2001)
★ 6.8/10Also action and history
Benkei, a master fighter and killer, vows never to take another life after his conversion to Buddhism. His faith in pacifism, however, is shaken and ultimately broken by the attacks from a trio of fighters known only…
3
Chûshingura (1962)
★ 7.1/10Also history and drama
After their lord is tricked into committing ritual suicide, forty-seven samurai warriors await the chance to avenge their master and reclaim their honor.
4
Samurai Marathon (2019)
★ 6/10Also action and drama
When feudal lord Itakura Katsuakira decides to prepare his samurai troops for the onslaught of modernization by having them compete in a marathon, his independent-minded daughter Yuki secretly joins the race.
5
Taboo (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
Set during Japan's Shogun era, this film looks at life in a samurai compound where young warriors are trained in swordfighting. A number of interpersonal conflicts are brewing in the training room, all centering on a…
6
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021)
★ 7.7/10Also action and history
In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.
7
Ran (1985)
★ 8/10Also action and drama
Shakespeare's King Lear is reimagined as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan where an aging warlord divides his kingdom between his three sons.
8
Buddha 2: The Endless Journey (2014)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and history
2500 years ago, in India, Siddhartha was born as a prince of the Shakya clan, but he gives up his position as a prince to see the world. He meets a strange boy named Assaji, who can predict the future, a monk with only…
9
Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014)
★ 7.6/10Also action and drama
Kenshin has settled into his new life with Kaoru and his other friends when he is approached with a request from the Meiji government. Makoto Shishio, a former assassin like Kenshin, was betrayed, set on fire and left…
10
Harakiri (1962)
★ 8.5/10Also action and drama
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce…
11
Tenchu! (1969)
★ 7/10Also history and action
A ronin desperately seeks a way out of financial straits; he allies with the Tosa clan under the ruthless leader Takechi, who quickly takes advantage.
12
Kamui (2009)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and action
A rebellious ninja in 17th century Japan takes refuge with a fisherman and his family.
13
ICHI (2008)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
Ichi is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters…
14
11 Rebels (2024)
★ 6.9/10Also action and drama
When the brutal Boshin War breaks out in Japan, a group of inmates on death row unite to defend a fortress against the Imperial army.
15
Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto (1954)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and action
Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.
16
When the Last Sword Is Drawn (2003)
★ 7.4/10Also action and drama
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a samurai and family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the low pay he receives from his small-town clan. He is forced by his love for his family to leave for the city in…
17
Medieval (2022)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
The story of fifteenth century Czech icon and warlord, Jan Zizka, who defeated armies of the Teutonic Order and the Holy Roman Empire.
18
Fate/Grand Order the Movie: Divine Realm of the Round Table: Camelot 1 Wandering; Agateram (2020)
★ 7/10Also action and history
The wandering knight, Bedivere, reaches the end of his journey. It is A.D. 1273 in Jerusalem. The Holy Land has been transformed into a massive desert and its people have been forced out of their homes as three major…
19
13 Assassins (2010)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and action
A bravado period action film set at the end of Japan's feudal era in which a group of unemployed samurai are enlisted to bring down a sadistic lord and prevent him from ascending to the throne and plunging the country…
20
Samurai II: Duel at Ichijoji Temple (1955)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and action
After years on the road establishing his reputation as Japan's greatest fencer, Takezo returns to Kyoto. Otsu waits for him, yet he has come not for her but to challenge the leader of the region's finest school of…