Movies Like Pretty Bonsai

If you liked Pretty Bonsai (2024), a movie directed by Takashi Ohashi, 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
Look Back (2024)
★ 8.2/10
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…
2
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…
3
I've Always Liked You (2016)
★ 7.4/10
Love is blooming at Sakuragaoka High School. Natsuki Enomoto has finally mustered the courage to confess to her childhood friend, Yuu Setoguchi. However, in the final moments of her confession, an embarrassed Natsuki…
4
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…
5
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."
6
Hanasaku Iroha the Movie: Home Sweet Home (2013)
★ 6.3/10
While sorting through a mess of books in the staff room, Ohana happens upon one of Denroku's log books from long ago. Within it, it recounts a story of Ohana's mom when she was the same age as her.
7
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…
8
The Moment You Fall in Love (2016)
★ 7.5/10
Following Natsuki Enomoto's confession rehearsals with Yuu Setoguchi, their younger siblings Kotarou and Hina struggle to confess their own love. Despite a disastrous first meeting in middle school with her…
9
Sisters of the Gion (1936)
★ 7.1/10
A geisha in the Gion district of Kyoto feels obliged to help her lover when he asks to stay with her after going bankrupt and leaving his wife. However, her younger sister opposes this, thinking that they should both…
10
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.
11
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…
12
Wood Job! (2014)
★ 7.4/10
After failing his university entrance exam, Yuki Hirano sets his eyes on the role of a forestry trainee. Setting off for training he doubts his decision many times, but eventually after passing the training course, he…
13
Liverleaf (2018)
★ 6.1/10
The story follows Nozaki Haruka, a middle school student who transfers to a new school in a small town because of her father's work. Unfortunately, she becomes a victim of horrific bullying, but since the school will…
14
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…
15
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…
16
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…
17
Memoirs of a Geisha (2005)
★ 7.6/10
In the years before World War II, a penniless Japanese child is torn from her family to work as a maid in a geisha house.
18
Sasaki and Miyano: Graduation (2023)
★ 6.3/10
As Sasaki prepares for his college entrance exams, Miyano tries to make the most of their limited time together while grappling with his own emotions.
19
Fruits Basket -prelude- (2022)
★ 6.9/10
Kyoko, who couldn't believe anything in the world and lived a desolate life, meets Katsuya Honda, who has been assigned as an educational trainee. She is at the mercy of Katsuya, who is rude and has a strong habit, and…
20
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.