10 Must Watch Japanese Movies That Aren’t Kurosawa, According To Reddit

Akira Kurosawa (1910 to 1998) is seen by many as one of the most influential and important filmmakers in Japanese cinema. Being responsible for films including Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Kagemusha, he has created some of the most celebrated movies on a global scale.

However, there have been many movies from Japan that have become critically praised and grown their own fan bases all over the world that Kurosawa was not a part of. And as Reddit users have shared, there is certainly a lot to choose from.

Shin Godzilla

Two titles among the Japanese Godzilla franchise have made it onto Redditors’ lists, and despite both being entertaining kaiju movies, they are also very different from one another too. Directed by the creator of the hit anime Neon Genesis Evangelion, Hideaki Anno, Shin Godzilla was inspired by the Tohoku tsunami that triggered explosions at a nuclear power plant. This tragic real-world event led to the idea for one of the most mutated and horrifying versions of Godzilla yet.

And it looks like Reddit user LastBlankSpace agrees, saying that the film was “haunting, beautiful, and at times downright terrifying.” Fans of the recent American Godzilla movies or fans of the original Japanese movies will surely not want to miss this one. It’s certainly one of the best Godzilla movies for beginners too.

Audition

One of the most shocking movies to be released in the 90s, Audition gained a lot of Western attraction after it was screened at multiple film festivals across Europe with only very few horror movies from Japan to compete with. It’s no wonder it was popular, with a twisted love interest and a series of scenes seeing inventive and horrifying torture scenes for everyone to see.

jv3rl0ov states that they can handle “any type of gore that’s thrown at me.” But when they wrote their review for Auditon, they said “it really unsettled me though and damn near grossed me out.” Certainly not a film for the squeamish, but brilliant nonetheless.

Your Name

Whether you have seen this movie or not, anime fans have certainly heard about this one. Only beaten by Spirited Away and Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, Your Name is the third highest-grossing anime movie worldwide and its success even inspired Paramount Pictures to adapt it into a live-action version.

The movie’s emotional story and tone certainly hit a chord with ODMAN03. “I can feel a warmth inside of myself when I watch it.” It seems that this is not a typical anime movie nor a romantic story and for that, it certainly should be on anyone’s list of must-watch animations.

Battle Royale

Netflix’s smash hit South Korean series of 2021, Squid Game certainly made an impact on audiences with a gruesome twist on childhood games and turning torture into entertainment. And if it wasn’t for Kinji Fukasaku’s 2000 Japanese smash hit Battle Royale, we may not have gotten to know how terrifying Red Light Green Light could truly be. Some could also argue that it was one of the movies that inspired TheHunger Games.

And it looks like FoxenTheBright thought the movie was also a bloody good time. They said “It was disturbing, twisted, and heartbreaking. A true action adventure masterpiece.”

Ringu

Perhaps one of the most well-known out of the Japanese supernatural horror movies, Ringu (also known as The Ring) opened the doors for Western audiences to discover many movies within this particular genre, including Ju-On: The Grudge and One Missed Call. Furthermore, it spawned a successful series of American remakes that Western cinemagoers may be more familiar with.

Speaking of the American remake, it looks as though there are still fans who prefer the original, especially MiracleBenBunny777. In a post to show their opinion, they said the “1998 Ringu movie is better and scarier than the American version of The Ring.” No matter which you prefer, there’s no denying how much the Japanese version has impacted cinema worldwide.

Akira

Katsuhiro Otomo created the Akira manga series, and when it was going to be adapted as an anime movie, he came on board as the director to bring his cyberpunk dystopia to life. Along with a talented team of animators, he was able to make one of the most celebrated sci-fi movies and one of the scariest body horror anime of all time with Akira.

While it may not be as widely celebrated today compared to the productions from Studio Ghibli and Toei Animation, it has been able to continue to be discovered and loved for its animation quality and unique scenes. Remixmark looks to be one of these new fans, as they were “blown away by the art style, the music, the story.”

Tokyo Story

Regarded alongside Kurosawa as one of the finest filmmakers in Japanese cinema, Yasujiro Ozu (1903 to 1963) was famous for directing some of the country’s best dramas. And in a poll conducted by the British publication Sight & Sound, Ozu’s Tokyo Story became number one for the 100 Greatest Films of All Time.

Many have cited that the film is his greatest piece of work, and this classic movie was also an introduction to Ozu for Carlislegendary. While they state that it’s not as exciting nor as action-packed as the most famous Samurai movies when it was initially released in 1953, they found it “does carry a wide appeal by focussing on a topic relevant to all cultures: the human condition.”

Harakiri

It’s hard not to talk about any samurai movie throughout the 20th century without mentioning Kurosawa, who is regarded to this day as one of the greatest filmmakers of these movies. But Masaki Kobayashi (1916 to 1996) was able to make one of the best with Harakiri, which focuses on a ronin (a samurai with no master) telling his previous journey that led him to his current destination.

Reddit user kidclutch thought that they “didn’t think they would be that invested in it” before watching it. But afterward, it was a different story. “The directing was great and each scene was executed fantastically.”

Godzilla

The king of the monsters himself made it on the Redditors’ list twice. The originator of the popular kaiju movies and the first of what would become a global series, Godzilla is certainly one of the most iconic cinematic monsters in the world. And, with Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla Vs. Kong being a massive success and Japan’s recent Shin Godzilla drawing in a crowd, it looks like the behemoth is bigger and better than ever before.

Davetek463 finally sat down to watch the 1954 original and “really dug it.” Although they did point out some parts of the movie have aged like how “obvious at times what were miniatures” and yet, they still “really dug it.”

Princess Mononoke

This list could have very easily been made up exclusively of anime movies by the legendary animation company Studio Ghibli. And fans may be disappointed that their favorite films from this studio weren’t included on the list.

But Princess Mononoke is considered by many to be one of the best Studio Ghibli movies of all time and certainly one of the most praised, with it being the first animated movie to win the Japan Academy Prize for Best Picture in 1998 and paving the way for it to reach a worldwide audience. And it looks as though TMB2006 agrees, saying that it “really lived up to my expectations if not exceed and is the best Ghibli film I’ve seen thus far.”