Movies Like Summer of the Lion Kings
If you liked Summer of the Lion Kings (1991), a drama movie directed by Banmei Takahashi, 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

Female Yakuza Tale (1973)
★ 6.1/10Also dramaOcho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a…
- 2

Battles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaRepeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog…
- 3

The Outsider (2018)
★ 6.1/10Also dramaA former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
- 4

Outrage (2010)
★ 6.9/10Also dramaWhen a tough yakuza gangster is betrayed by his bosses, it means all out war. Bodies pile up as he takes out everyone in his way to the top in a brutal quest for revenge.
- 5

The Return of Sister Street Fighter (1975)
★ 6.5/10Also dramaWhen Koryu's childhood friend Shurei is abducted by gangsters, the desperate young woman recruits a female martial artist and a tough-as-nails stranger to join her for a dangerous rescue mission.
- 6

Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)
★ 7.1/10Also dramaA yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
- 7

Shogun's Samurai: The Yagyu Clan Conspiracy (1978)
★ 7/10Also dramaFollowing the death of the second Tokugawa shogun, it is revealed that he was poisoned by retainers of his son Iemitsu in hopes of gaining him the shogunate despite the stammer and birthmark which undermine his…
- 8

The Yakuza (1974)
★ 7.1/10Also dramaWhen George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
- 9

Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004)
★ 5.9/10Also dramaThe story of golf icon and legend, Bobby Jones, who retired from competition at the tender age of 28.
- 10

Kids Return (1996)
★ 6.9/10Also dramaShinji 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…
- 11

House of Bamboo (1955)
★ 6.2/10Also dramaEddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
- 12

The Visit (1964)
★ 7.2/10Also dramaCarla Zachanassian had a child by Serge Miller as a teenager. When Serge refused to marry her, she was driven out of town. By her own wit and cunning, she has returned as a multi-millionaire for a visit. The town lays…
- 13

A Family (2021)
★ 7.4/10Also dramaTaken in by the yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times.
- 14

Graveyard of Honor (2002)
★ 6.3/10Also dramaA barkeeper saves a yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However, his fear of nothing soon causes problems.
- 15

Home Run (2013)
★ 6.2/10Also dramaA pro ball player with a substance abuse problem is forced into rehab in his hometown, finding new hope when he gets honest about his checkered past, and takes on coaching duties for a misfit Little League team
- 16

Black Rain (1989)
★ 6.6/10Also dramaTwo New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan. However, in Japan he manages to escape, and…
- 17

Battles Without Honor and Humanity (1973)
★ 7.3/10Also dramaIn the teeming black markets of postwar Japan, Shozo Hirono and his buddies find themselves in a new war between factious and ambitious yakuza.
- 18

Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also dramaThe true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
- 19

Belly (1998)
★ 6.4/10Also dramaTommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking…
- 20

Fast Girls (2012)
★ 6/10Also dramaA street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.