Movies Like Haruko Azumi Is Missing

If you liked Haruko Azumi Is Missing (2016), a drama and comedy movie directed by Daigo Matsui, 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
Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
2
Scooby-Doo! and the Samurai Sword (2009)
★ 7.6/10Also comedy
The Mystery Inc. gang takes a trip to Japan and finds themselves circling Asia and the Pacific in a treasure hunt, racing against the vengeful Black Samurai and his Ninja warriors to find the legendary Sword of Fate…
3
Kikujiro (1999)
★ 7.5/10Also comedy and drama
Brash, loudmouthed and opportunistic, Kikujiro is the unlikely companion for Masao who is determined to see the mother he has never met. The two begin a series of adventures which soon turns out to be a whimsical…
4
Swing Girls (2004)
★ 7.9/10Also comedy and drama
A group of delinquent high school girls form a band when they accidentally poison their school's brass band and have to replace them.
5
The Deep End of the Ocean (1999)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A three-year-old boy disappears during his mother's high school reunion. Nine years later, by chance, he turns up in the town in which the family has just relocated.
6
Won't Back Down (2012)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for…
7
Kids Return (1996)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
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…
8
Sometimes Always Never (2019)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and comedy
Alan is a stylish tailor with moves as sharp as his suits. He has spent years searching tirelessly for his missing son Michael who stormed out over a game of Scrabble. With a body to identify and his family torn apart…
9
Happyend (2024)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
In a near-future Japanese city bracing for a devastating earthquake, a group of teenage friends navigate personal struggles and fractured bonds amid rising tension.
10
Linda Linda Linda (2005)
★ 7.6/10Also comedy and drama
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.
11
The Truth About Emanuel (2013)
★ 6/10Also drama
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
12
The Boy and the Beast (2015)
★ 7.9/10Also drama
Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his…
13
The Kirishima Thing (2012)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.
14
Scooby-Doo! and the Curse of the 13th Ghost (2019)
★ 7.8/10Also comedy
Mystery Inc. withdraws from solving crimes after botching a case. When Vincent Van Ghoul contacts the gang about an unfinished investigation from Daphne, Shaggy and Scooby's past, the gang springs into action to finish…
15
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and comedy
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
16
SubUrbia (1997)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and drama
A group of suburban teenagers try to support each other through the difficult task of becoming adults.
17
Crows Zero (2007)
★ 7.1/10Also comedy
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.
18
Irezumi (1966)
★ 6.8/10Also drama
Otsuya, the daughter of a rich merchant, elopes with her lover Shinsuke, an employee of her father's. During their flight, Otsuya's beauty attracts the gaze of Seikichi, a mysterious master tattooist who sees her…
19
The Parts You Lose (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
An unlikely friendship unfolds between a young deaf boy, Wesley, and a fugitive criminal who takes refuge in an abandoned barn on the family’s rural North Dakota farm.
20
What Maisie Knew (2013)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
In New York City, six-year-old Maisie is caught in the middle of a bitter custody battle between her self-absorbed parents—an aging rock singer mother and a distracted art dealer father. As both quickly marry new…