Movies Like White Heron

If you liked White Heron (1941), a movie directed by Yasujirō Shimazu, 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
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Eternal the Movie Part 1 (2021)
★ 7.9/10
After a total solar eclipse, a dark circus troupe appears, Mamoru is stricken with a mysterious malady and bad things start happening across the city. Sequel to the Sailor Moon Crystal TV series.
2
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.
3
Rascal Does Not Dream of a Knapsack Kid (2023)
★ 7.7/10
Finally, the day of Mai's high school graduation has arrived. While Sakuta eagerly waits for his girlfriend, an elementary schooler who looks exactly like her appears before him. Suspicious, and for all the wrong…
4
After the Rain (2018)
★ 7.5/10
Akira Tachibana is a soft-spoken high school student who used to be a part of the track and field club. Working part-time at a restaurant, she finds herself inexplicably falling in love with her manager, a divorced…
5
Beyond the Boundary: I'll Be Here – Future (2015)
★ 7.4/10
The battle is over, and they can go about their normal lives now... or so they thought. With no time to rejoice after miraculously saving Mirai from Beyond the Boundary, Mirai lost all her memories. Akihito, now a high…
6
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…
7
Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (2021)
★ 7.7/10
Before he was a protector, Kenshin was a fearsome assassin known as Battosai. But when he meets gentle Tomoe Yukishiro, a beautiful young woman who carries a huge burden in her heart, his life will change forever.
8
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War -The First Kiss That Never Ends- (2022)
★ 8/10
After pining for one another and plotting for so long, Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane finally have their climactic first kiss. However, they struggle to define their relationship. After all, how much of their…
9
Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn (1995)
★ 7.6/10
Not paying attention to his job, a young demon allows the evil cleansing machine to overflow and explode, turning the young demon into the infamous monster Janemba. Goku and Vegeta make solo attempts to defeat the…
10
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.
11
We Made a Beautiful Bouquet (2021)
★ 7.7/10
Two people meet each other after missing the last train home, leading to a beautiful relationship over five years.
12
Love Like the Falling Petals (2022)
★ 7.9/10
Haruto Asakura falls in love with hairdresser Misaki Ariake and asks her out. Watching Misaki Ariake work hard to achieve what she wants, Haruto Asakura, who almost gave up his dream to become a photographer, begins to…
13
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Hashira Training- (2024)
★ 6.5/10
Tanjiro undergoes rigorous training with the Stone Hashira, Himejima, in his quest to become a Hashira. Meanwhile, Muzan continues to search for Nezuko and Ubuyashiki. A recap of Kimetsu no Yaiba episodes 55–56, with…
14
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…
15
10DANCE (2025)
★ 7.6/10
Two dancers, opposites in all but their art, agree to train together for a competition. At first, they clash, but soon become drawn to each other.
16
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…
17
Okko's Inn (2018)
★ 7.2/10
12-year-old Oriko Seki, who lost her parents in a car accident, ended up living in her grandmother's Onsen Ryokan "Haru no Ya." With the ghost "Uribou" cohabitating with her and all the other odds, she ended up…
18
Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon (1995)
★ 7.4/10
The Z Warriors discover an unopenable music box and are told to open it with the Dragon Balls. The contents turn out to be a warrior named Tapion who had sealed himself inside along with a monster called Hildegarn…
19
My Rainy Days (2009)
★ 7.4/10
A cold and calculating high school student falls in love for the first time with a professor, but he's dying of brain cancer.
20
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…