Best movies like Giovanni's Island
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In the aftermath of the most devastating conflict mankind had ever experienced, the tiny island of Shikotan became part of the Sakhalin Oblast... and on the unhealed border in this remote corner of the world, friendship among children from two different countries timidly blossomed, striving to overcome language barriers and the waves of history. Inspired by true events.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, emotional, realistic, serious, mind bending, psychedelic, surreal, adult animation, manga
Best tv shows and movies like Giovanni's Island (2014):
Similar in 89%
Asura (2012)
Plot Summary:
Abandoned in the barren wasteland of Kyoto, a savage, enraged orphan does whatever it takes to survive in the wild. When he crosses paths with civilization, he must learn to tame the beast within.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, History, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 76 min
Plot tags: anime, atmospheric, serious, tense, suspense, psychological, bleak, realistic, stylized
Similar in 77%
Tatsumi (2011)
Plot Summary:
Animated film based on the life and stories of Manga writer Yoshihiro Tatsumi who revolutionised the art form with darker, more adult stories. The film animates several of his stories.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 852
Genere: Animation, Biography, Drama
Country: Singapore
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, serious, stylized, manga, adult animation, anime, contemplative
Similar in 84%
My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002)
Plot Summary:
Kim Nam-woo struggles through life as people around him constantly leave him; his best friend, Jun-ho, is going to study in Seoul and in some ways his widowed mother is "leaving" him too by paying more attention to her new boyfriend. To escape, he goes to a dream world, where he meets a girl named Mari. The story follows Nam-woo in discovering himself and maturing.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 903
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Country: South Korea
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: anime, atmospheric, stylized, touching, serious, adult animation, korean anime, whimsical
Similar in 84%
The Art of Happiness (2013)
Plot Summary:
Sergio driving a taxi in a white Naples overflowing sadness and garbage. Pouring rain leads her clients through the city trying to process the death of his brother, who started ten years earlier for Tibet and never returned. A pop singer, a recycler of fragments of life, a radio announcer, an old uncle, alternate seats on its bearing, each in its own way, a trace of his brother loved. Stubborn not to go over and get lost in an endless race, Sergio is overwhelmed by memories and the music produced in pairs with Alfredo, which in Buddhism and in its foundations had found the strength to cope with the disease. Those notes that he believed buried and laid to always return overbearing and demanding a soundboard that resonate and express his being sound. Putting his hand on the piano, Sergio Alfredo feel again, giving the past with the present and realizing itself in the feeling.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, contemplative, realistic, stylized, anime, adult animation, gloomy
Similar in 87%
The Murder Case of Hana & Alice (2015)
Plot Summary:
Prequel to 2004 coming-of-age live-action film Hana & Alice. After her parents separate, 14 year-old Tetsuko (who will soon be nick-named Alice) moves with her mother to a new town in what she calls "The Boonies" and must enroll as a transfer student in a new middle school. She immediately finds herself bullied due being assigned the seat of "Judas" who is said to have been murdered over a year before. She is told that if anybody knows his fate it would be Hana, the recluse in the house next door, who has been unable to bring herself to attend class since "Judas" disappeared.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: anime, tense, captivating, psychological, touching, adult animation, yuri
Similar in 77%
3000 Leagues in Search of Mother (1976)
Plot Summary:
Italy is in a deep depression, so to support her family, Marco's mother goes to Argentina to work as a domestic. But after she writes to her family that she is sick, her letters stop coming. So Marco decides to go to Argentina to look for her. He travels across Argentina to find her, meeting many wonderful people, and having many adventures during his journey.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 988
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, juvenile, sentimental, serious, emotional, realistic, vintage
Similar in 90%
The Prophet (2014)
Plot Summary:
Exiled artist and poet Mustafa embarks on a journey home with his housekeeper and her daughter; together the trio must evade the authorities who fear that the truth in Mustafa's words will incite rebellion.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Animation, Drama
Country: Qatar, France, Lebanon, Canada, USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: stylized, thought provoking, inspirational, mind bending, anime, sincere, scenic, tragic ending, adult animation, art house
Similar in 85%
First Squad: The Moment of Truth (2009)
Plot Summary:
Set during the opening days of World War II on the Eastern Front. Its main cast are a group of Soviet teenagers with extraordinary abilities; the teenagers have been drafted to form a special unit to fight the invading German army. They are opposed by a Schutzstaffel officer who is attempting to raise from the dead a supernatural army of crusaders from the 12th-century Order of the Sacred Cross.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, History, Sci-Fi, War
Country: Russia, Japan, Canada
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: anime, bleak, stylized, exciting, serious, suspenseful, manga
Similar in 82%
Barefoot Gen (1983)
Plot Summary:
A powerful statement against war, Barefoot Gen is a story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people. Based on the acclaimed manga by Nakazawa Keiji, the author of Barefoot Gen, who was 6 years old at the time of the Hiroshima bombing, and is one of the survivors of the destruction. The bomb was responsible for the death of his father, his sister, and his brother. At the age of 6 he and his mother dug their remains out of the ruins of their home. In 1963 Nakazawa moved to Tokyo to become a manga artist, but returned to Hiroshima in 1966 to attend his mothers funeral. It was then that he learned of the true impact of the radiation from the bomb.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Animation, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: anime, disturbing, adult animation, heartbreaking, political, rough, bleak, retro, depressing, epic
Similar in 84%
Tibetan Dog (2011)
Plot Summary:
Jiantan is a young boy who has to leave Xi'an after the death of his mother to go deep into the Tibetan prairies to start living with the father he barely remembers. His dad, LaGeBa, is a busy doctor who decided to depart from the city and reside in Tibet where he is the essential physician of the poor community he lives in. To help his father, Jiantan has to learn how to herd sheep. While trying to learn his new responsibility, he is saved by a stray gold-colored Tibetan Mastiff. Both Jiantan and the big dog help each other as they try to adjust to this new environment.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 244
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Drama, Mystery
Country: Japan, China
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: anime, atmospheric, touching, captivating, emotional, serious, stylized, gloomy, super sentai
Similar in 88%
The Day of the Crows (2012)
Plot Summary:
In a cabin of the deep of the forest, a child and his father leas a wild and hard life in utmost isolation. The child grows up fearing and admiring his father, with the ghosts haunting the forest as his only companions. Until the day he discovers the neighbouring village and meets a young girl there, Manon. At her side, he discovers that love exists. From then on he won't cease to search for the place where his father's love for him is hiding.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Country: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Canada
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, captivating, stylized, anime, 2d animation
Similar in 86%
The Sky Crawlers (2008)
Plot Summary:
Youngsters called Kildren, who are destined to live eternally in their adolescence. The Kildren are conscious that every day could be the last, because they fight a war as entertainment, organized and operated by adults. But as they embrace the reality they are faced with, they live their day-to-day lives to the full.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, dieselpunk, captivating, entertaining, manga, suspense, adult animation, serious, stylized
Similar in 82%
A Letter to Momo (2011)
Plot Summary:
Clinging to an unfinished letter written by her recently deceased father, young Momo moves with her mother from bustling Tokyo to the remote Japanese island of Shio. Upon their arrival, she begins to explore her new habitat, meeting local children and learning their routines and customs. However, it's not long before several bizarre occurrences crop up around the previously tranquil island. Orchards are found ransacked, prized trinkets start disappearing and, worst of all, each morning after her mother leaves for work, Momo hears strange mumblings coming from the attic of their home. Annoyed by these creepy goings-on and her mother's refusal to believe them, Momo embarks on a strange and supernatural adventure to discover the source of the mischief, which leads her to a trio of troublesome imps: the flatulent lizard Kawa, the childlike Mame and their hulking ogre leader Iwa. Momo also learns that her visit to the island is in some way connected to her father's mysterious letter.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Animation, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, humorous, semi serious, stylized, captivating, uplifting, epic, whimsical
Similar in 87%
Colorful (2010)
Plot Summary:
Upon reaching the train station to death, a dejected soul is informed that he is lucky and will have another chance at life. He is placed in the body of a 14-year-old boy named Kobayashi Makoto, who has just committed suicide. Watched over by a neutral spirit named Purapura, the soul must figure out what his greatest sin and mistake in his former life was, before his time limit in Makoto's body runs out. He also has a number of other lesser duties he must complete, such as understanding what led Makoto to commit suicide in the first place and learning how to enjoy his second chance at life.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: anime, serious, manga, psychological, inspirational, touching, stylized, depressing, deep, adult animation
Similar in 82%
Clannad: The Motion Picture (2007)
Plot Summary:
Clannad is set in a high-school located in some Japanese town. Okazaki Tomoya is a third-year student who doesn't take his studies seriously. Always late for class, he's seen as a delinquent by the rest of his classmates who are busy preparing for their entrance examinations. Needless to say, he hasn't too many close friends either.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, emotional, sincere, humorous, semi serious, serious, shoujo, realistic
Similar in 80%
Rurouni Kenshin: Requiem for the Ishin Patriots (1997)
Plot Summary:
The war against the Tokugawa Shogunate ended years ago. But there are some who are not happy with the outcome. Shigure Takimi watched his friends and family get slashed down in the name of freedom and prosperity. Now he and a band of desparate rebels have sworn to settle one final score. Only one man stands in their way: Rurouni Kenshin. Will the former assassin take up his sword to fight again? When Shigure discovers Kenshin's true identity and his fight becomes a personal vendetta, the young hero will have no choice.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, stylized, crying
Similar in 88%
Ocean Waves (1993)
Plot Summary:
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 it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off he narrates the events that brought her into his life.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 72 min
Plot tags: anime, realistic, adult animation, sincere, touching, serious, whimsical
Similar in 84%
Flavors of Youth (2018)
Plot Summary:
Three different stories of youth set in different cities of China. 1 Shanghai Love. 2 Sunny Breakfast. 3 Small Fashion Show. Directed by Zhenxing Yi, the plot revolves around a young man working in Beijing. He used to live with his grandma in his less developed hometown Hunan. While he is drown in his childhood reminiscence, he receives an unexpected call – Grandma is in critical condition.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Romance
Country: China, Japan
Duration: 74 min
Plot tags: anime, anthology, light, manga, psychological, atmospheric, uplifting, sweet, captivating, scenic
Similar in 82%
A Silent Voice (2016)
Plot Summary:
Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shouko and Shouya do not speak to each other again... until an older, wiser Shouya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shouko once more. He wants to atone for his sins, but is it already too late...?.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Animation, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, sincere, romantic, sweet, inspirational, biting, manga, adult animation, epic
Similar in 81%
Wandering Son (2011)
Plot Summary:
Yoshino and Shuichi are two friends, both starting at a new school, both starting puberty, and both transgender. This series follows them as they come out and find acceptance.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 342
Genere: Animation, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, atmospheric, emotional, psychological, captivating, adult animation, adult anime
Similar in 75%
Millennium Actress (2001)
Plot Summary:
Documentary filmmaker Genya Tachibana has tracked down the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, who mysteriously vanished at the height of her career. When he presents her with a key she had lost and thought was gone forever, the filmmaker could not have imagined that it would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life... but also his own.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: anime, surreal, touching, tense, atmospheric, emotional, talky, serious, adult animation, cult classic
Similar in 89%
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Plot Summary:
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 301000
Genere: Animation, Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: depressing, anime, touching, heartbreaking, sad, emotional, harsh, dramatic, sentimental, tear jerker
Similar in 78%
From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
Plot Summary:
The story is set in 1963 in Yokohama. Kokuriko Manor sits on a hill overlooking the harbour. A 16 year-old girl, Umi, lives in that house. Every morning she raises a signal flag facing the sea. The flag means “I pray for safe voyages”. A 17 year-old boy, Shun, always sees this flag from the sea as he rides a tugboat to school. Gradually the pair are drawn to each other but they are faced with a sudden trial. Even so, they keep going without running from facing the hardships of reality.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 50000
Genere: Animation, Comedy, Drama, Family, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: anime, touching, sentimental, atmospheric, romantic, sweet, emotional, talky, serious, manga
Similar in 77%
The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
Plot Summary:
The story takes place in a alternate postwar period, in 1996, where Japan is divided. Hokkaido is ruled by the "Union" while Honshu and other southern islands are under US authority. A tall tower was built on Hokkaido, which could even be seen from Tokyo. In the summer of 1996, three middle-school students make a promise that they'll cross the border with a self-constructed plane and unravel the tower's secret, but their project was abandoned after the girl, Sayuri Sawatari, became mysteriously ill and transferred to Tokyo. Years later on the brink of another war Hiroki Fujisawa finds out that Sayuri had been in coma since then, and he asks Takuya Shirakawa to help him finding a way to wake her up.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: anime, serious, manga, captivating, suspense, sad, adult animation, deep, futuristic, whimsical