Movies Like Matsuri

If you liked Matsuri (2016), a movie directed by Mari Kawakita, 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
Drawing Closer (2024)
★ 8.4/10
With only a year left to live, 17-year-old Akito finds new meaning in life by bringing joy to a terminally ill girl who has just six months remaining.
3
A Gentle Breeze in the Village (2007)
★ 7/10
Soyo, a student in a school with only six students, develops feelings for the new student, Hiromi, who has moved from Tokyo.
4
Whiplash (2014)
★ 8.4/10
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
5
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…
6
Ocean Waves (1993)
★ 6.4/10
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking…
7
Orange (2015)
★ 7.3/10
A girl mysteriously receives advice from her future self and as a result her group of friends, along with a newly arrived, troubled classmate, learn how to be better friends and a better community.
8
Paradise Kiss (2011)
★ 7.1/10
Hyasaka Yukari only wants one thing: to enter the college that her mom wants. One day, she meets an extravagant group that loves fashion. They were searching for a model and Yukari fits their ideal model. From now…
9
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.
10
Blue Spring (2001)
★ 7.1/10
Soon after being named the new leader of his high school's gang system, Kujo grows bored with the violence and hatred that surround him. He wants desperately to abandon his post… but his once-enviable position of power…
11
The Garden of Words (2013)
★ 7.6/10
Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two…
12
Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
★ 7.3/10
Plagued by a seemingly endless stream of haunting dreams, Tomoya drifts through life with an almost overwhelming sense of anger and emptiness. Then, one fateful day, he meets the mysterious and beautiful Nagisa, and…
13
Flying Colors (2015)
★ 7.5/10
A high school girl, Sayaka Kudō was the bottom of the class. After a year, she improved her deviation value from 30 to 70, then passed Keio University that is considered one of the most difficult to enter in Japan.
14
Your Lie in April (2016)
★ 7/10
Arima Kousei won numerous piano competitions while under the strict watch of his mother. He was known as the human metronome during that time. Since the death of his mother, Kousei has been unable to hear the sound of…
15
Close Range Love (2014)
★ 7.4/10
A smart high school student falls in love with her English teacher after she receives one-on-one tutoring from him.
16
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.
17
A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016)
★ 8.4/10
Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave…
18
Sidelined: The QB and Me (2025)
★ 6.4/10
Dallas, a burdened but headstrong dancer, is determined to get into the best dance school in the country—her late mother’s alma mater. However, that dream is suddenly derailed when the cheeky yet secretly grieving…
19
Wolf Girl and Black Prince (2016)
★ 6.5/10
Erika Shinohara is a first year of high school student. While talking to friends, she makes up a story about her "boyfriend." In reality, Erika Shinohara doesn't have a boyfriend. Erika's friends soon begin to doubt…
20
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.