Movies Like Mari’s Story

If you liked Mari’s Story (2023), a movie directed by Toru Takano, 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
Teasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie (2022)
★ 8.4/10
Takagi and Nishikata’s final summer in junior high is about to begin, and it’s already off to a heartwarming start! When the pair find an abandoned kitten, they decide to work together and take care of Hana, their…
2
Crayon Shinchan the Movie: Fast Asleep! The Great Assault on the Dreaming World (2016)
★ 6.6/10
One night, the Nohara family were enjoying a pleasant dream, when suddenly a big fish appeared in their dreams and ate them. The next morning, Hiroshi read in the newspaper that everybody in another town had the same…
3
Luck (2022)
★ 7.8/10
Suddenly finding herself in the never-before-seen Land of Luck, the unluckiest person in the world must unite with the magical creatures there to turn her luck around.
4
Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)
★ 8.2/10
With dreams of diving abroad, Tsuneo gets a job assisting Josee, an artist whose imagination takes her far beyond her wheelchair. But when the tide turns against them, they push each other to places they never thought…
5
Rent-a-Cat (2012)
★ 7.2/10
A young woman who rents out cats to lonely old folks finds her life turned upside down when a young man from her past shows back up in her life.
6
Detective Conan: Strategy Above the Depths (2005)
★ 6.9/10
Fifteen years ago in a barren stretch of the Pacific, a cruise ship collided with an iceberg and was lost at sea. More than a decade later, Hideto Yashiro—a ship engineer—died in a fatal car accident. The unlikely…
7
Tamako Love Story (2014)
★ 7.2/10
Devoted to her family’s rice-cake–making business and the high school baton club, Tamako is a little slow when it comes to love. She’s oblivious to her childhood friend Mochizo’s affections, even though all their…
8
Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel (2005)
★ 6.8/10
Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura are executing their mission of delivering a lost pet to a certain village. However, right in the midst of things, troops led by the mysterious knight, Temujin, attack them. In the violent…
9
Still the Water (2014)
★ 6.7/10
On the Japanese island of Amami, despite lacking parental guidance, Kaito and his girlfriend Kyoko try to find their place in the world. While Kaito suffers from the absence of his father, who moved to Tokyo after his…
10
Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)
★ 6.3/10
Lifelong platonic friends Zack and Miri look to solve their respective cash-flow problems by making an adult film together. As the cameras roll, however, the duo begin to sense that they may have more feelings for each…
11
A Whisker Away (2020)
★ 7.9/10
A peculiar girl transforms into a cat to catch her crush's attention. But before she realizes it, the line between human and animal starts to blur.
12
The Last: Naruto the Movie (2014)
★ 7.5/10
Two years after the events of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the moon that Hagoromo Otsutsuki created long ago to seal away the Gedo Statue begins to descend towards the world, threatening to become a meteor that would…
13
Joy Ride (2023)
★ 6.5/10
When Audrey's business trip to Asia goes sideways, she enlists the aid of Lolo, her irreverent, childhood best friend who also happens to be a hot mess; Kat, her college friend turned Chinese soap star; and Deadeye…
14
Bastard Out of Carolina (1996)
★ 7.1/10
A poor, struggling South Carolinian mother and daughter face painful choices with their resolve and pride. Bone, the eldest daughter, and Anney her tired mother, grow both closer and farther apart: Anney sees Glen as…
15
Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie (2025)
★ 6.7/10
When her beloved dollhouse is accidentally claimed by an eccentric cat lady during a road trip to Cat Francisco, Gabby embarks on a real-world adventure to reunite the Gabby Cats and rescue her most prized possession…
16
Detective Conan: Jolly Roger in the Deep Azure (2007)
★ 6.5/10
The Isle of Koumi, a beautiful island in the Pacific Ocean. On the island, people pass an old legend down from generation to generation that there was the Seabed Palace, an ancient ruin at the bottom of the sea, where…
17
Ponyo (2008)
★ 7.8/10
When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be…
18
Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
★ 7.3/10
Plagued by a seemingly endless stream of haunting dreams, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming sense of anger and emptiness. Then, one fateful day, he meets the mysterious and beautiful Nagisa, and…
19
50 First Dates (2004)
★ 6.9/10
Henry is a player skilled at seducing women. But when this veterinarian meets Lucy, a girl with a quirky problem when it comes to total recall, he realizes it's possible to fall in love all over again…and again, and…
20
Rudolf the Black Cat (2016)
★ 6.5/10
Rudolf, a black stray cat, is suddenly separated from his beloved master. He unexpectedly wakes up in a long-distance truck that takes him to metropolis Tokyo. There, he meets Ippai-attena, a big boss cat feared by…