Movies Like Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash

If you liked Nagasaki: In the Shadow of the Flash (2025), a drama and war movie directed by Junpei Matsumoto, 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
Barefoot Gen (1983)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and war
A story about the effect of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.
2
Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
In the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.
3
House of Bamboo (1955)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
4
The Outsider (2018)
★ 6.1/10Also drama
A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
5
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog…
6
Gate of Flesh (1964)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
In the shady black markets and bombed-out hovels of post–World War II Tokyo, a tough band of prostitutes eke out a dog-eat-dog existence, maintaining tenuous friendships and a semblance of order in a world of chaos…
7
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Proxy War (1973)
★ 7/10Also drama
Shozo Hirono has managed to separate from the Yamamori family and create his own small family, and extend his circle of acquaintances. These new friendships include a powerful underboss of the Muraoka family, Noboru…
8
Stray Dog (1949)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
A bad day gets worse for young detective Murakami when a pickpocket steals his gun on a hot, crowded bus. Desperate to right the wrong, he goes undercover, scavenging Tokyo’s sweltering streets for the stray dog whose…
9
Emperor (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and war
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…
10
Black Rain (1989)
★ 7.6/10Also drama
Shigematsu Shizuma, who lives with his family in a village near Fukuyama, was in Hiroshima with his wife and niece just after the devastating atomic bombing, a tragedy that cruelly took the lives of thousands of people…
11
High and Low (1963)
★ 8.4/10Also drama
A Yokohama shoe executive faces a wrenching choice when kidnappers mistakenly seize his chauffeur’s son but demand the ransom anyway.
12
Panic in Year Zero! (1962)
★ 6.3/10Also drama
While on a fishing trip, Harry Baldwin and his family hear an explosion and realize that Los Angeles has been leveled by a nuclear attack. Looters and killers are everywhere. Escaping to the hills with his family, he…
13
Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Final Episode (1974)
★ 7.2/10Also drama
While Hirono is in prison, his rival Takeda turns his own crime organization into a political party, whose two executives stir up new tensions in their thirst for power.
14
Barefoot Gen 2 (1986)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and war
Three years after the Hiroshima bombing, a teenager helps a group of orphans to survive and find their new life.
15
Anatahan (1953)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and war
From June 1944, twelve Japanese seamen are stranded for seven years on an abandoned and forgotten island called Anatahan.
16
Waiting for Anya (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and war
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
17
Wife of a Spy (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and war
It’s 1940, and the population of Japan is divided over its entry into World War II. Satoko, the wife of a fabric merchant, is devoted to her husband but is beginning to suspect he’s up to something. Soon she allows…
18
Birdy (1984)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and war
Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam War. One of them has always been obsessed with birds - but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. Can his friend help him pull…
19
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…
20
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
★ 6.9/10Also war and drama
There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley…