Movies Like In Praise of Shadows

If you liked In Praise of Shadows (1990), a movie directed by Yoshio Miyata, 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
Tomie: Rebirth (2001)
★ 7.2/10
Young art student Hideo paints an unnerving portrait of Tomie, who whispers that she loves him. Inexplicably, he reacts by stabbing her to death with a painting trowel. Two friends, Takumi and Shunichi, arrive on the…
2
The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (2013)
★ 8.1/10
Found inside a shining stalk of bamboo by an old bamboo cutter and his wife, a tiny girl grows rapidly into an exquisite young lady. The mysterious young princess enthrals all who encounter her. But, ultimately, she…
3
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…
4
Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie (1999)
★ 7.7/10
Sakura Kinomoto, a Card Captor, wins a game of chance and is awarded a trip to Hong Kong, along with her best friend Tomoyo and her rival, Syaoran Li. It turns out that the ancient rival of Clow Reed, the creator of…
5
The Boy and the Heron (2023)
★ 7.4/10
While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to…
6
Harakiri (1962)
★ 8.5/10
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce…
7
Her Blue Sky (2019)
★ 7.4/10
High school student Aoi Aioi lives with her elder sister, Akane, after a tragic accident took their parents away 13 years ago. Because Akane has since been taking care of her single-handedly, Aoi wants to move to Tokyo…
8
Angel's Egg (1985)
★ 7.7/10
In the ruins of a strange city, a young girl takes care of a large egg she holds carefully in her arms. She bonds with a boy who is searching for a bird he saw in a dream.
9
Hells (2008)
★ 6.9/10
Amagane Rinne has a fatal accident while hurrying to her first day of school. She suddenly arrives at an awkward school... in Hell, filled with demons. While she struggles and wishes to go back to the world from whence…
10
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
★ 7.8/10
When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to 'leap' backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realises that changing the past isn't…
11
Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989)
★ 6/10
Legend has it that the human race is not the only dominant civilization living on Earth. Two other races exist in this world: the Makai (a demon race) and the Jujinkai (a half-man, half-beast race). Once every 3,000…
12
Mind Game (2004)
★ 7.5/10
Nishi is a loser who has a crush on his childhood girlfriend. After an encounter with the Japanese mafia, he journeys to heaven and back, and ends up trapped in an even more unlikely place.
13
JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The Movie (2025)
★ 8.7/10
Pursued by a religious cult and other curse users, former friends Satoru Gojo and Suguru Geto are the only sorcerers capable of carrying the difficult task of protecting Riko Amanai, a student who has been designated…
14
Black Box (2020)
★ 6.4/10
After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.
15
Dreams (1990)
★ 7.7/10
Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on…
16
Your Name. (2016)
★ 8.5/10
High schoolers Mitsuha and Taki are complete strangers living separate lives. But one night, they suddenly switch places. Mitsuha wakes up in Taki’s body, and he in hers. This bizarre occurrence continues to happen…
17
Paprika (2006)
★ 7.8/10
Dr. Atsuko Chiba is a research psychologist who uses a device called the DC Mini to enter her patients' dreams, wherein she adopts the alter-ego "Paprika". When the device is stolen, she must stop rogue elements from…
18
My Oni Girl (2024)
★ 7.2/10
A shy teenage boy's inability to say no is tested when a headstrong girl drags him on a mystical journey amid summer snow to find her missing mom.
19
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
★ 8.4/10
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
20
Even If This Love Disappears Tonight (2022)
★ 7.6/10
A high school girl wakes up each day with no memory of the day before. When she agrees to date a shy classmate, Toru, he begins to fall for her—despite her rule against falling in love.