Movies Like Barefoot Gen

If you liked Barefoot Gen (1983), a animation and drama movie directed by Mori Masaki, 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
Genocidal Organ (2017)
★ 6.7/10Also animation and war
The war on terror exploded, literally, the day Sarajevo was destroyed by a homemade nuclear device. The leading democracies transformed into total surveillance states, and the developing world has drowned under a wave…
2
Emperor (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and history
As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years…
3
Fukushima 50 (2020)
★ 6.5/10Also history and drama
Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi facility in Japan risk their lives and stay at the nuclear power plant to prevent total destruction after the region is devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.
4
Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance (2009)
★ 7.8/10Also animation and drama
Under constant attack by monstrous creatures called Angels that seek to eradicate humankind, U.N. Special Agency NERV introduces two new EVA pilots to help defend the city of Tokyo-3: the mysterious Makinami Mari…
5
Buddha: The Great Departure (2011)
★ 7.4/10Also animation and drama
Prince Siddhartha is heir to the Shakya kingdom, which is constantly at war with the more powerful Kosala kingdom. His father tries to raise as him as a warrior leader and to shield him from the miseries of the world…
6
Escaflowne: The Movie (2000)
★ 6.6/10Also animation and drama
Gaea is a mythical realm ruled by sword and sorcery and immersed in blood and violence. Thrust into a conflict she doesn't quite understand, Hitomi Kanzaki helps aid the young Prince Van as they embark upon a journey…
7
A Wind Named Amnesia (1990)
★ 6/10Also animation and drama
A wind has swept the Earth taking all the memories from everyone. No one knows who they are, how to speak, or how to use the tools of modern civilization. Two years later, a young man who has been re-educated travels…
8
Code Geass: Akito the Exiled 1: The Wyvern Arrives (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also animation and war
The side story takes place in 2017 a.t.b., between the rise of the “Black Knights” organization and the return of the supposedly "dead" Zero. The setting is in Europe, where the European Union (E.U.) allied nations are…
9
Empire of the Sun (1987)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and history
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the…
10
The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (1959)
★ 8.2/10Also war and drama
Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he…
11
Fist of the North Star: The Legend of Yuria (2007)
★ 6.4/10Also animation and drama
Second part of the new Fist of the North Star movie pentalogy presenting the story from Yuria's perspective, spanning from her childhood, including the day she first met Kenshiro.
12
Prisoner of War (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also war and history
British RAF Wing Commander James Wright is captured by the Japanese during WWII and forced to fight in brutal hand-to-hand combat. The Japanese soldiers get more than they bargained for when Wright’s years of martial…
13
Colorful (2010)
★ 7.2/10Also animation and drama
Upon reaching the train station to death, a dejected soul is informed that he is lucky and will have another chance at life. He is placed in the body of a 14-year-old boy named Kobayashi Makoto, who has just committed…
14
Bleach the Movie: Fade to Black (2008)
★ 7.1/10Also animation and drama
A strange disturbance in the World of the Living sends Ichigo and Kon to the Soul Society, where the Seireitei has been devastated by an explosion of reishi and Rukia is missing. Stranger still, none of the Soul…
15
Pearl Harbor (2001)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and war
The lifelong friendship between Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker is put to the ultimate test when the two ace fighter pilots become entangled in a love triangle with beautiful Naval nurse Evelyn Johnson. But the rivalry…
16
Fist of the North Star: The Legend of Kenshiro (2008)
★ 6.7/10Also animation and drama
The film's story is a prequel to the Fist of the North Star depicting the one year interval between Kenshiro's defeat at the hands of Shin and their later battle. Unlike the others in the series this film has a…
17
Look Back (2024)
★ 8.2/10Also animation and 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…
18
Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress: Life That Burns (2017)
★ 7.7/10Also animation and drama
In the midst of an industrial revolution, the people of Hinomoto fight hordes of undead creatures, known as Kabane, using powerful armored trains. (Compilation film of the second half of the original TV series.)
19
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
★ 7.2/10Also war and history
In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot…
20
Detective Conan: Dimensional Sniper (2014)
★ 6.8/10Also animation and drama
A rash of sniper attacks leaves the streets of Tokyo empty and the public terrified to go outside. It’s up to Conan and his friends to find the culprit, but the case goes deeper than it seems. Military cover-ups…