Movies Like The Spring That Never Was

If you liked The Spring That Never Was, a movie directed by Kaname Kobayashi, 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
The Eternal Zero (2013)
★ 7/10
A brother and sister learn their biological grandfather was a kamikaze pilot who died during World War II. During their research into his life, they get conflicting accounts from his former comrades about his character…
2
Shark Skin Man and Peach Hip Girl (1999)
★ 6.9/10
In dreamlike mountain scenery, Toshiko makes a daring escape from her sexually warped Uncle Sonezaki. Fortunately, she met Samehada as she runs for her life, which is also escaping from some slayers. What follows is a…
3
Kamikaze Girls (2004)
★ 7.2/10
Momoko, a strange and seemingly emotionless girl obsessed with 18th century France, befriends a Yanki biker and the two experience the ups and downs of their unusual lives in a rural Japanese town.
4
Taboo (1999)
★ 6.6/10
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…
5
The Fable (2019)
★ 6.7/10
The Fable is a legendary yakuza hitman equal to none—but his boss orders him and his sultry associate to lay low and learn how to live a "normal life" in Osaka.
6
Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012)
★ 7.5/10
In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.
7
The Violence Action (2022)
★ 6.1/10
Kei Kikuno attends a vocational school as a student. For her part-time job, she works as a contract killer. She is excellent at her job and never gets scared by anyone. One day, she receives the most challenging request.
8
47 Ronin (2013)
★ 6.2/10
Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their homeland, the…
9
Crows Explode (2014)
★ 6.1/10
A month after Genji Takiya graduates, a new battle for supremacy at Suzuran All-Boys High School begins. Transfer student Kaburagi Kazeo combats Kagami Ryohei for the coveted top spot, amidst a brewing inter-school…
10
Crows Zero (2007)
★ 7.1/10
The students of Suzuran High compete for the King of School title. An ex-graduate yakuza is sent to kill the son of a criminal group, but he can't make himself do it as he reminds him of his youth.
11
Kids Return (1996)
★ 6.9/10
Shinji and Masaru spend most of their school days harassing fellow classmates and playing pranks. They drop out and Shinji becomes a small-time boxer, while Masaru joins up with a local yakuza gang. However, the world…
12
Kingdom (2019)
★ 7.3/10
Set in Qin Dynasty during the warring states period in ancient China. Shin was a war orphan. He has a dream of becoming a great general Shin has a fateful encounter with young King Eisei. King Eisei aims to unify all…
13
Crying Freeman (1995)
★ 6.4/10
A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace…
14
Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System - Case.3 On the Other Side of Love and Hate (2019)
★ 6.9/10
Following the incident in the Southeast Asia Union in 2116, Shinya Kogami resumes his vagrant journey. In a small South Asian nation, Kogami rescues a bus of refugees under attack by armed guerrilla forces. Among the…
15
Battle Royale (2000)
★ 7.3/10
In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
16
Azumi (2003)
★ 6.9/10
In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an…
17
13 Assassins (2010)
★ 7.3/10
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…
18
Seven Samurai (1954)
★ 8.5/10
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and…
19
Golden Kamuy (2024)
★ 7/10
On the Hokkaido frontier, a war veteran and Ainu girl race against misfits and military renegades to find treasure mapped out on tattooed outlaws.
20
Psycho-Pass: Sinners of the System - Case.2 First Guardian (2019)
★ 6.7/10
2112; the summer before Akane Tsunemori was assigned to Division One of the Public Safety Bureau's Criminal Investigation Department. Teppei Sugo, an accomplished pilot of the Defense Army's 15th Integrated Task Force…