Japanese movies about surfers

List of the best Japanese movies about surfers, selected by visitors to our site: A Scene at the Sea, Point Break, Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu, Maniac Hero, The Garden of Words, The Liar and His Lover, Mitsuko Delivers, Karate-Robo Zaborgar, One Week Friends, Outrage Coda.

In the top there are new films of 2023, a plot description and trailers for films that have already been released.

Country
Markimdb: 7.5
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryJapan

When deaf garbage man Shigeru (Kurôdo Maki) finds a broken surfboard on one of his runs, it piques his curiosity, even though he has no experience with surfing. So he repairs the board and, with loyal girlfriend Takako (Hiroko Oshima), who also is deaf, he sets out to learn how to ride the waves. He goes through mishaps and the locals mock him. But, with the help of a shop owner who once was a surfing legend, Shigeru may finally have a chance to become one with the sea and the surfing community.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genreaction, thriller, crime
CountryUSA, Japan
Duration01:57

In the coastal town of Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. The F.B.I. believes that the members of the gang could be surfers and send young agent Johnny Utah undercover at the beach to mix with the surfers and gather information.

Markimdb: 7.7
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Koyomi Araragi was turned into a vampire by the legendary vampire, Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade, and he needs to revive the weakened vampire back to her complete form to return to being human again. The only way for Koyomi to achieve his goal is to fight the three vampire hunters – Dramaturgy, Episode and Guillotinecutter.

Markimdb: 5.1
Genreaction, comedy
CountryJapan
Duration01:30

Nakatsu was laid off at his company and now works part-time at a convenience store. One day, Nakatsu forms a vigilante group to protect his town with Toshida, who has a mysterious physical ability, Kanari, who is a female high school student with excellent information gathering abilities, and Kusaki, who wields hammers under his sleeves. As they punish evil doers, the group gains popular support and flourish.

Markimdb: 7.5
Genremelodrama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration00:46

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 start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches...

Markimdb: 6.8
Genremelodrama
CountryJapan
Duration01:57

Set within music field, this film depicts a love story between a 25-year-old sound engineer and 16-year-old high school student Riko, who posessess a gifted voice. 25-year-old sound engineer Aki is a member of popular band "Crude Play," but right after the band decides to make their major record debut Aki quits the band. But, Aki provides his music to Crude Play under the name of producer Soichiro. Aki begins to date Riko, whose father runs a fruit and vegetable shop. Riko doesn't know about Aki's background, but she likes to listen to him hum. Riko is in a band herself, with childhood friend Yuichi and Sota. One day she is scouted by producer Soichiro.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrecomedy
CountryJapan
Duration01:49

Mitsuko is 24, heavily pregnant and estranged from the American father of her child. Her parents believe she is happy and successful in America and are unaware that she has secretly returned to Tokyo. Making the biggest decisions on the slightest whim, she moves back into the tenement street where she lived as a child. The move changes lives, reignites old romances and creates a supportive circle of love that may be exactly what Mitsuko needs.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrefantastic, action
CountryJapan
Duration01:54

An evil criminal organisation called Sigma kidnap prominment business leaders to harvest their DNA and only Karate-Robo Zaborgar can save them.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genrecomedy, melodrama, drama
CountryJapan
Duration01:03

High school student Yuki Hase (Kento Yamazaki) wants to become close with classmate Kaori Fujimiya (Haruna Kawaguchi) who is alway by herself. Kaori Fujimiya refuses to become close with Yuki Hase, because she forgets her friends every new Monday. Even though Kaori tells Yuki why she doesn't want to become friends, Yuki still wants to become close to her.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrethriller, drama, crime
CountryJapan
Duration01:14

Ôtomo gets involved with new Yakuza battles after he comes back the Yakuza society.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genreaction, fantasy, adventure, family, cartoon
CountryUSA, Japan
Duration02:23

Kubo mesmerizes the people in his village with his magical gift for spinning wild tales with origami. When he accidentally summons an evil spirit seeking vengeance, Kubo is forced to go on a quest to solve the mystery of his fallen samurai father and his mystical weaponry, as well as discover his own magical powers.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genrefantastic, melodrama, drama
CountryJapan
Duration01:00

Narumi is on bad terms with her husband Shinji when one day, Shinji goes missing. He comes back a couple of days later, but seems like a totally different person, and is now gentle and tender. He goes for a walk every day. Meanwhile, Journalist Sakurai covers the story of a family that was brutally murdered, when an unexplained phenomenon takes place. Shinji Kase tells his wife that he came to Earth to invade.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genrehorror, fantastic, action, thriller, fantasy, adventure, cartoon, crime, detective, anime
CountryJapan, Italy, United Kingdom, Mexico, Spain

The Governor of Tokyo, Yuichiro Asakura, receives a threatening letter the day before the opening of Touto Line, a new train line for the Tokyo Metro. During the opening ceremony of the line, Conan Edogawa and the Detective Boys are driven by Professor Agasa and pass under the Touto Line. Conan, having heard about the threatening letter, notices explosives connected to the Touto railway; Using his original voice to inform the police as Shinichi Kudo, he is able to stop the train and divert traffic away from the explosives preventing any deaths.

Markimdb: 8.4
Genrefantasy, melodrama, drama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:35

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 randomly, and the two must adjust their lives around each other.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genrehorror, action, fantasy
CountryJapan
Duration01:36

Garo: Soukoku no Maryu (lit. Blue Cries of the Demon Dragon) is the second film to the Garo series. The film serves as an epilogue after Makai Senki and leads up to The One Who Shines in the Darkness. The story continues after the events of Makai Senki. Having made a contract with Gajari, Kouga Saejima honors his end of the deal by traveling to the Promised Land to retrieve a part of Gajari: the Fang of Sorrow. After Kouga defeated Sigma, Gajari transported him to the Promised Land, however, his quest had unexpected results.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrecomedy, melodrama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:25

Satou Ichirou once called himself 'Maryuuin Kouga' and behaved as if he were a hero in a fantasy world. His strange behavior caused his classmates to bully him and he left the school. At his new school, he tries to behave like a normal boy, but one day he meets a girl who cosplays with a blue cape. She calls herself "a researcher traveling from the outer world to search for the 'Dragon Terminal'". At first, Ichirou rejects the girl, Satou Ryouko, because her behavior reminds him of his embarrassing past, but he changes his mind after seeing her getting bullied. In order to bring Ryouko back to real life, Ichirou accepts her and his past and begins the final battle as Maryuuin Kouga.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrecomedy, melodrama, crime
CountryJapan
Duration02:08

Unemployed 35 year old Sakurai aspired to become an actor, but failed miserably. He decides to end his own life, but first he goes to purify himself at a public bathhouse. While there, he meets the very prosperous Kondo, who subsequently suffers a fall, erasing his memory. On a whim, Sakurai switches locker keys, steals the man's belongings, and decides to pass himself off as Kondo. What Sakurai does not know is that Kondo runs an illegal business, which brings him into contact with ornery Yakuza members. Meanwhile, Kondo has been convinced that he is actually the failed actor Sakurai and he faces the dismal reality of that life with increasing bewilderment. Fortunately, at the hospital he meets the lovely Kanae who, while yearning for marriage, goes out of her way to help "Sakurai" pull himself together. Eventually Kondo regains his memory, but before he can make a new life with Kanae, he has to solve the many problems caused by the theft of his identity.

Markimdb: 6.5
Genrecomedy, melodrama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Kae Serinuma is a second year high school student and an avid fujoshi who secretly ships her classmates, Igarashi and Nanashima. The death of her favorite anime character causes her to become stressed and lose weight rapidly. Now that Serinuma has become an attractive girl to her classmates, snarky junior Shinomiya and senior Mutsumi, how is she going to deal with them with her constant BL-filled fujoshi mind?

Markimdb: 8.2
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration02:59

Natsuki Subaru, an ordinary high school student, is on his way home from the convenience store when he finds himself transported to another world. As he's lost and confused in a new world where he doesn't even know left from right, the only person to reach out to him was a beautiful girl with silver hair. Determined to repay her somehow for saving him from his own despair, Subaru agrees to help the girl find something she's looking for.

Markimdb: 5.7
Genrecomedy, cartoon
CountryJapan

The anime follows Machi, a middle school student who serves as a shrine maiden at a Shinto shrine and takes care of a bear, who lives on mountain in Japan's northern Tohoku region. The bear, Natsu, has the ability to talk and is Machi's guardian. When Machi explains to Natsu that she will attend a school in the city, he gives Machi a set of trials that she must pass in order to be able to survive city life.

Markimdb: 5.9
Genreaction, drama
CountryJapan
Duration02:09

While a menacing typhoon approaches, an accident at the giant natural gas plant Regalia occurs. Japan Coast Guard rescue divers Daisuke Senzaki (Hideaki Ito), Tetsuya Yoshioka (Ryuta Sato) and engineer Hiroshiichirou Sakuragi (Masaya Kato) head together to the gas plant. During their rescue efforts an explosion occurs that traps Daisuke, Natsu Nishizawa Kazue Fukiishi and worker Hisayoneo Kizima (Gaku Hamada). Daisuke then looks for a way out for his party with a man he just meets Takuya Hotori. Because of the typhoon, even a helicopter cannot approach the Regalia. Meanwhile, at the head office of the Japan Coast Guard, the Japanese coast guard tries to find a way to rescue the trapped people, but the government officials put national interests first. Tension arises between these two parties. Daisuke's wife Tamakisai Senzaki (Ai Kato) prays for the safe return of Daisuke not only for her sake, but for their new born son.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genredrama, military, biography, history
CountryJapan
Duration02:20

Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) was the Japanese Naval commander who was given the order to attack Pearl Harbour, an order he was duty bound to obey which went against his own personal beliefs. While this infamous attack is a low point in Japanese and US history it wouldn’t have happened if the Japanese government had listened to Yamamoto in 1939 and searched for a more peaceful way to end their war campaign, proving his many ominous presages of the outcomes of the attack to come true.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genredrama
CountryJapan

A story about the disappearance of Kirishima, a star athlete of the volleyball club, and how his disappearance affects every person in school.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genredrama
CountryJapan

The story centers on Kinuko who lives together with her granddaughter Nagisa in the house she once shared with her late husband and where she raised her children. On a spring morning, on the important 49th day after her husband’s passing, the goldfish he had been taking care of suddenly dies. Kinuko wraps its body in camellia flowers and buries it in the garden. She spends her day thinking of the past, cherishing her memories and trivial events. The financial burden of taking care of the house and the garden is becoming too heavy for her and she now faces the logical decision of selling the place…

Markimdb: 6.3
Genremelodrama, drama
CountryJapan
Duration02:13

Set in the 1960s, high school student Toru Watanabe loses his only friend Kizuki after he commits suicide. Toru, now looking for a new life, enters a university in Tokyo. By chance, Toru meets Kizuki's ex-girlfriend Naoko in the university. They grow close because they both share the same loss. As Toru and Naoko grow even closer, Naoko's sense of loss also grows. After Naoko's 20th birthday, she leaves for a sanitarium in Kyoto. Watanabe, devastated by the situation, meets pure-hearted Midori during the spring semester. Midori looks like a small animal that just came into the world ...

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrehorror, action, thriller, crime
CountryIndonesia, Japan

Mr. Nomura is an eerily handsome, sharply dressed, sociopathic serial killer who preys on the women of Tokyo. In Jakarta, a world-weary journalist named Bayu finds himself unexpectedly falling into vigilantism after brutally killing two sadistic robbers. When each posts videos of their violent sprees online, the pair find one another on the Internet and begin a toxic and competitive duel. While Bayu clings to the hope that he can resume a normal life, Nomura continues to spill blood without remorse. Killing, advises Nomura, is something everyone ought to consider.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genredrama
CountryJapan
Duration02:08

Dr. Ichito Kuriharai (Sho Sakurai) works at a clinic in Nagano Prefecture. He rarely has any free time due to the clinic's shortage of doctors and the constant influx of patients. Ichito even sometimes diagnoses patients out of his area of speciality and sometimes goes days without sleeping. He hopes to work at a major hospital where he can get more free time to spend with his wife Haruna (Aoi Miyazaki) and also specialize in his field of study. However, Ichito is also reluctant to add to shortage of doctors at the clinic and break his relationships with the patients. One day, Dr. Ichito Kuriharai clears out the belongings of a terminal cancer patient who passed away. During this time, he discovers a letter made out to him thanking him for the care he provided to her, even though he could not cure her sickness. Dr. Ichito Kuriharai then has a revelation about the medical chart he keeps in his hand - filled with personal observations and concerns ...

Markimdb: 5
Genrehorror
CountryJapan
Duration01:31

A school teacher visits the home of a boy who's been absent from school for a long period of time, unaware of the horrific tragedy which occurred in the boy's household many years ago.

Markimdb: 6.7
Genreaction, fantasy, drama, adventure, cartoon
CountryJapan

Legends speak of the Shepherd, a savior who will bring peace to the seraphim and human worlds. Sorey has spent his life studying ancient books and exploring ruins to learn more about this legendary savior. When he and his seraphim companion Mikleo encounter a mysterious girl in the ruins, the stories of the Shepherd become Sorey's reality.

Markimdb: 7.2
Genrefantastic, action, thriller, cartoon, detective, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:00

Freed of her responsibilities with the 501 Organization, Motoko Kusanagi must now learn how to take orders from Aramaki. Someone hacks the Logicomas, and Batou enlists the help of former army intelligence officer Ishikawa and former air artillery expert Borma. Kusanagi also seeks to enlist ace sniper Saito and undercover cop Paz into the new Public Security Section 9.

Markimdb: 4.5
Genrefantastic, action, drama, adventure, cartoon, crime, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:22

Marking the 75th anniversary of his birth, Shotaro Ishinomori's classic spy heroine manga "009-1" has been adapted into a live-action motion picture for the first time ever.

Markimdb: 6.2
Genrethriller, crime
CountryJapan
Duration02:04

Ninagawa is a powerful man in Japanese politics and with top economic connections.His granddaughter is then murdered. The suspect is Kunihide Kiyomaru (Tatsuya Fujiwara). Kunihide Kiyomaru has a prior conviction for assaulting and killing a girl 8 years ago. The police could never apprehend the suspect in the prior killing.

Markimdb: 8.5
Genrefantastic, thriller, drama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:56

Satoru Fujinuma is a struggling manga artist who has the ability to turn back time and prevent deaths. When his mother is killed he turns back time to solve the mystery, but ends up back in elementary school, just before the disappearance of his classmate Kayo.

Markimdb: 7.8
Genredrama, cartoon, biography, history, anime
CountryJapan
Duration02:06

A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genrehorror, thriller, crime, detective
CountryJapan
Duration00:40

A series of grotesque murder cases takes place on rainy days. Detective Hisashi Sawamura (Shun Oguri) works to catch the murderer like he has done with past cases, but he soon realizes the murderer's next target is his wife and son. A man in a frog mask is a suspect.

Markimdb: 5.8
Genrefantastic, drama
CountryJapan
Duration02:06

Koichi and Atsumi are lovers who have known each other all their lives. A year ago, however, a suicide attempt by Atsumi left her in a coma. Through 'sensing', a type of neurosurgical procedure allowing contact with the intentional aspect of a comatose patient's mind, Koishi tries to find out why Atsumi tried to kill herself, and to bring her back to consciousness. He enters her subconscious, and is told to find a picture of a plesiosaur she drew when she was a child. It turns out that a childhood incident buried in their past will bring their minds together.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genrecomedy, melodrama
CountryJapan
Duration01:33

Yu Akahane (Nana Komatsu) moves to a dormitory room after her father's transfer from work. She is excited that she will live in the same dorm as Takumi Shirakawa (Yudai Chiba) aka "White Prince." Yet, Haruto Kurosaki (Kento Nakajima) aka "Black Devil" kisses her as punishment for going against him. It is Yu Akahane’s first kiss. Since then, she becomes obedient to Haruto Kurosaki.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genreaction, melodrama, drama, detective, military, history
CountryJapan
Duration02:24

A young man Kentaro Saeki (Haruma Miura) keeps failing his bar test and does not know what to do any more. His older sister Keiko is a freelance writer. Kentaro and Keiko begin to search for information on their grandfather Kyuzo Miyabe (Junichi Okada) who dead in the special forces during World War II. Their grandfather Kyuzo Miyabe was terrified of death and obsessed with life. Why did he join the special forces? According to his fellow navy soldiers, Kyuzo Miyabe was a genius and also a coward. Kentaro and Keiko then discovers the shocking truth which has been sealed for 60 years.

Markimdb: 6.6
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Luca follows in his father's footsteps to rescue his mother from evil Ladja. Finding the heavenly hero who wields the Zenithian sword is his only hope.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrefantastic, action, fantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:45

People everywhere were enjoying a new game called Ordinal Scale, an ARMMORPG developed exclusively for the Augma, a new wearable console designed for AR (augmented reality) gaming. But, the players had no idea that a nightmare from the virtual world was starting to spread into reality! As his fellow players find themselves in danger, the hero is called upon once again.

Markimdb: 6.4
Genrecomedy, melodrama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Our naïve protagonist proposes to a female character in an online game, only to find out that the player is actually a guy. Traumatized by that, he decides to never trust a girl online, but now, two years later, a female player is proposing to him. What will happen?

Markimdb: 5.7
Genrehorror
CountryJapan

Mirai and Haruna are shooting a show streamed on smartphones which introduces different viewer submitted videos. That day the videos were all of paranormal phenomena, carefully selected alleged accurate accounts of haunted occurrences. In the middle of one video, the image gets interrupted, immediately turning back on to show a footage that was not in the script. The video capture an urban legend rumoured at Haruna’s school. A psychic on the show assesses that a certain demonological ritual must be performed in order to rid the school of this phenomena. The director, agents and the two girls go to the school accordingly to find there is more to the video than meets the eye…

Markimdb: 8
Genrecomedy, drama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan

Moritaka Mashiro, a junior high school student, content to live out a relatively normal life as any other does, is persuaded by his classmate, Akito Takagi, to become an aspiring mangaka when the latter realizes his natural talent as an artist. However, Moritaka is reluctant to pursue his dream as his uncle, once a mangaka with his own serializations, died from overwork trying to regain his lost status. With Akito's help, Takagi gets another classmate and his school crush, Azuki Miho, who is an aspiring voice actress, to voice in the anime adaptation of their future manga once it is completed. However, Mashiro also proposes to Azuki, who surprisingly accepts only on the condition she will marry him when both of them have achieved their dreams. With a goal set before him, Mashiro begins a long and struggling path to become a famous mangaka.Source: AnimeNewsNetwork

Markimdb: 5.4
Genrefantasy, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:33

Warriors called "Saints" are the champions of hope who have always appeared since the Age of Myth whenever evil threatens the world. In this present day story, many years since the long fought "Holy War" we find Saori Kido, a girl troubled by her mysterious powers. She is saved by a boy, Seiya "Bronze Saint" from a sudden attack by an assassin, through the accident Saori realizes her destiny and mission and decides to go to "Sanctuary" with Seiya and his company of Bronze Saints. In Sanctuary they confront "Pope" and wage a desperate battle against the greatest Saints, the "Gold Saints".

Markimdb: 7.6
Genrefantastic, melodrama, drama, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:53

One day, Naho Takamiya receives a letter written to herself from ten years in the future. As Naho reads on, the letter recites the exact events of the day, including the transfer of a new student into her class named Kakeru Naruse. The Naho from ten years later repeatedly states that she has many regrets, and she wants to fix these by making sure the Naho from the past can make the right decisions—especially regarding Kakeru. What's more shocking is that she discovers that ten years later, Kakeru will no longer be with them. Future Naho asks her to watch over him closely.

Markimdb: 6.8
Genredrama, crime, detective
CountryJapan

The movie begins in the year 1995 where there were 5 peculiar murder cases. The murderer would always get someone close to the victim to witness how he would strangle the victim from behind with a rope but he would let the witnesses go and speak to the media on how the murders happened. Ito plays the role of Makimura, the police detective who was in charge of investigating the serial murders but failed to catch the cunning murderer and his respected superior ended up being killed as well. 22 years later in 2017 when the case is nearing its statute of limitations, a man named Sonezaki claims to be the culprit for the 1995 murders and even publishes a book titled "Watashi ga satsujinhan desu" to talk about the cases. Despite the disgust towards Sonezaki's actions, the intensive attention showered on him via the media and SNS makes him become the talk of town.

Markimdb: 7.1
Genrehorror, fantastic, action, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration00:56

Somewhere in Tokyo, there is a room. In that room is a black sphere. Periodically, people who should otherwise have died are transferred to the room. There, the sphere gives them special suits and weapons, and sends them out on a mission to kill aliens here on Earth. While these missions take place, the rest of the world is largely oblivious to them. These missions are lethal - few participants survive them. The sphere calls the shots, and it's not the slightest bit nice. Its name... Gantz.

Markimdb: 7.3
Genrefantastic, melodrama, adventure, cartoon, anime
CountryJapan
Duration01:39

In an underground world where tunnels extend everywhere, even though they live in dark and confined spaces, people wear protective clothes and lead quiet and enjoyable lives. Patema, a princess in her underground village, loves to explore the tunnels. Her favorite place is a "danger zone" that her village prohibits people from entering. Even though she's scolded, Patema's curiosity can't be held back. No one ever explained what the supposed danger was. On her usual trip to the "danger zone," Patema faces unexpected events. When hidden secrets come to light, the story begins to unfold.

Markimdb: 6.1
Genrefantastic, action, comedy, adventure
CountryJapan
Duration01:41

In an era where aliens have invaded and taken over feudal Tokyo, a young samurai finds work however he can.

Markimdb: 6.3
Genrecomedy, drama
CountryJapan
Duration01:32

Arrangement instructor Makiko Norita (Yukie Nakama) displays a dignified smile, but she also makes bitting remarks. Nevertheless, with her magic arrangement skills, arrangement instructor Makiko Norita makes people happy. Based on the book "Jinsei ga Tokimeku Katazuke no Maho" by Marie Kondo (published December 27, 2010 by Sunmark Publishing,Inc.). Marie Kondo is a cleaning consultant and developed popular "KonMari Method" for organizing and storing household items.




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