Movies Like Shine, Japanese Women

If you liked Shine, Japanese Women (1932), a movie directed by Hiromasa Nomura, 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
Waterboys (2001)
★ 6.5/10
In a Japanese school, 5 adolescent geeks join the new sport teacher and take up the challenge to take part in the synchronised swimming competition, in-spite of the mockeries of the real sportsmen.
2
The Kirishima Thing (2012)
★ 6.9/10
A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.
3
Linda Linda Linda (2005)
★ 7.6/10
Only three days before the school festival, a newly formed high school band rushes to put together a set for their big show — including a hit single by '80s by the Japanese punk rock band The Blue Hearts.
4
High☆Speed!: Free! Starting Days (2015)
★ 6.9/10
Middle school freshmen Haruka and Makoto join the school swim team, and have to join forces with their new teammates to win.
5
HAIKYU!! The Dumpster Battle (2024)
★ 7.8/10
Shoyo Hinata joins Karasuno High's volleyball club to be like his idol, a former Karasuno player known as the 'Little Giant'. But Hinata soon learns that he must team up with his middle school nemesis, Tobio Kageyama…
6
The First Slam Dunk (2022)
★ 7.8/10
Shohoku's “speedster” and point guard, Ryota Miyagi, always plays with brains and lightning speed, running circles around his opponents while feigning composure. In his second year of high school, Ryota plays with the…
7
The Karate Kid Part II (1986)
★ 6.4/10
Summoned by his dying father, Miyagi returns to his homeland of Okinawa, with Daniel, after a 40-year exile. There he must confront Yukie, the love of his youth, and Sato, his former best friend turned vengeful rival…
8
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas (2018)
★ 8.3/10
After his classmate and crush is diagnosed with a pancreatic disease, an average high schooler sets out to make the most of her final days.
9
100 METERS (2025)
★ 7.8/10
A gifted runner trains a determined but unskilled classmate, unaware he's creating a rival who will challenge him on the track for years to come.
10
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
★ 7.5/10
Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off…
11
The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie (2022)
★ 8.3/10
When five lovely young girls who hate studying hire part-time tutor Futaro, he guides not only their education but also their hearts. Time spent has brought them all closer, with feelings growing within the girls and…
12
Shinobi: Heart Under Blade (2005)
★ 6.6/10
Even though Gennosuke and Oboro are from rival ninja villages, they are secretly in love. At an annual conference with the Lord, it is dictated that a competition--a fight to the death--will take place between the five…
13
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid (2023)
★ 7.7/10
Finally, the day of Mai's high school graduation has arrived. While Sakuta eagerly waits for his girlfriend, an elementary schooler who looks exactly like her appears before him. Suspicious, and for all the wrong…
14
Fireworks (2017)
★ 6.6/10
Moshimo, Japan. The annual fireworks festival is about to take place and a group of schoolboys, arguing over whether they are round or flat when viewed from different angles, set out to find it out.
15
Okko's Inn (2018)
★ 7.2/10
12-year-old Oriko Seki, who lost her parents in a car accident, ended up living in her grandmother's Onsen Ryokan "Haru no Ya." With the ghost "Uribou" cohabitating with her and all the other odds, she ended up…
16
The Twilight Samurai (2002)
★ 7.8/10
Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects…
17
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.
18
Dou kyu sei – Classmates (2016)
★ 8.3/10
Rihito Sajo, an honor student with a perfect score on the entrance exam and Hikaru Kusakabe, in a band and popular among girls, would have never crossed paths. Until one day they started talking at the practice for…
19
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl (2019)
★ 8.2/10
In Fujisawa, Sakuta Azusagawa is in his second year of high school. Blissful days with his girlfriend and upperclassman, Mai Sakurajima, are interrupted by the appearance of his first crush, Shoko Makinohara.
20
Whisper of the Heart (1995)
★ 7.9/10
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."