Best movies like Ichi
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Ichi is a blind entertainer that travels the countryside with her traditional Japanese guitar and walking stick. She’s in search for the kind man that brought her up as a child, but because of her beauty she encounters problems every step of the way. Fortunately for Ichi, she is also a gifted swordswoman and carries a lethal blade within her walking stick.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, epic, suspenseful, scenic, period piece, cult classic, atmospheric, serious, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Ichi (2008):
Similar in 77%
Adventures of Zatoichi (1964)
Plot Summary:
Blind swordsman/masseuse Zatoichi befriends a young woman looking for her father, a village leader who has disappeared. As he helps her investigate the disappearance, Zatoichi also becomes involved with another young woman who is trying to help her brother, who has murdered someone at about the same time and place as the missing man was last seen.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 79%
Zatoichi's Conspiracy (1973)
Plot Summary:
Zatoichi, the famed blind swordsman, returns to his home village for the first time in many years. He is befriended by Omiyo, who had the same wet-nurse as Zatoichi. He also encounters a boyhood friend, Shinbei, who now is wealthy and appears not to remember Zatoichi. Shinbei seems to be interested in repaying the villagers' debts, but is in reality manipulating the ownership of a now-valuable rock quarry. Zatoichi learns of the subterfuge and confronts his old friend, who has a score of yakuza swordsmen backing his play.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 79%
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman's Pilgrimage (1966)
Plot Summary:
Our hero Zatoichi sails to one of the distant islands to begin a pilgrimage to a total of 88 Shinto shrines.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 84%
Pray for Death (1985)
Plot Summary:
Akira Saito, a Japanese businessman lives in Tokyo with his Japanese-American wife Aiko and their children, Takeshi and Tomoya. When the family has a chance to move to the United States so that Aiko can teach the children about their American heritage, they pack up and head for Houston, Texas and run a restaurant. This is where the trouble begins.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: retro, manga, cult classic, independent film, psychotronic, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
The Tale of Zatoichi (1962)
Plot Summary:
The adventures of a blind, gambling masseur and master swordsman. Zatoichi targets a yakuza-controlled village, because war with a neighbouring town's smaller gang is brewing.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: art house, grindhouse, cult classic, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, vintage, period drama, cult film
Similar in 81%
Zatoichi (2003)
Plot Summary:
Zatôichi is a 19th century blind nomad who makes his living as a gambler and masseur. However, behind this humble facade, he is a master swordsman gifted with a lightning-fast draw and breathtaking precision. While wandering, Zatôichi discovers a remote mountain village at the mercy of Ginzo, a ruthless gang-leader. Ginzo disposes of anyone who gets in his way, especially after hiring the mighty samurai ronin, Hattori, as a bodyguard. After a raucous night of gambling in town, Zatôichi encounters a pair of geishas--as dangerous as they are beautiful--who've come to avenge their parents' murder. As the paths of these and other colorful characters intertwine, Ginzo's henchmen are soon after Zatôichi. With his legendary cane sword at his side, the stage is set for a riveting showdown.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, humorous, exciting, harsh, stylized, entertaining, retro, spiritual, epic, suspense
Similar in 79%
New Tale of Zatoichi (1963)
Plot Summary:
Wishing to find peace, Zatoichi travels to his old village but only finds trouble when he ends up in a love triangle and finds old scores have followed him home.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, period drama, cult film
Similar in 89%
Zatoichi the Fugitive (1963)
Plot Summary:
After arriving in the town of Shimonita, Ichi finds that a price has been put on his head by a local yakuza boss. He's drawn into a trap, but after hearing of the slaying of a former love, Ichi furiously fights his way through the entire clan to face the killer, a hired ronin.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Adventure, Action
Country: Japan
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 90%
Ninja, a Band of Assassins (1962)
Plot Summary:
[Period covered: 1575-1681] Fist film in the Shinobi series starring Raizo Ichikawa. Warlord Oda Nobunaga seeks to unite a fractured Japan, a young man trained in the arts of ninjitsu is manipulated by a ninja master into attempting to assassinate the warlord before he completes his task.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 928
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, jidai geki, period drama
Similar in 84%
Zatoichi's Vengeance (1966)
Plot Summary:
Zatoichi comes upon a dying man who asks him to give a bag of money to "Taichi". Zatoichi has no idea who this is but when he comes upon a small town harassed by gangsters, he finds that "Taichi" was the man's young son. Along his travels he also met a blind monk who makes Zatoichi question his murderous lifestyle. In trying to help the town, Zatoichi kills some gangsters and becomes a hero to the boy. He must make a choice of whether to use non-violence and set a good example, or violence and set the boy on the wrong path in life.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 76%
Zatoichi and the Doomed Man (1965)
Plot Summary:
Blind swordsman Zatoichi, jailed briefly, is implored by another prisoner to aid him in proving his innocence of a crime for which he is sentenced to death. Zatoichi is reluctant to get involved, because he knows how often such involvement has led to trouble in the past. But events conspire to thrust him repeatedly into involvement, and gradually he comes to believe in the man's innocence and determines to free him.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 82%
Zatoichi's Flashing Sword (1964)
Plot Summary:
Blind masseur Zatoichi is nursed back to health by a young woman after he is shot by a gang member. Zatoichi, who had come to the village to repay a debt, now feels further indebted. He commits himself to use his amazing sword skills to help the young woman's father, whose river-crossing service is under attack by the same gang responsible for Zatoichi's wounds.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 78%
The Blind Swordsman Samaritan (1968)
Plot Summary:
Zatoichi is forced to kill a young man who owes a debt to a yakuza boss. Moments later, his sister Osode arrives with the money she earned (prostituting herself) to pay his debts. The bosses true motives are revealed and he attempts to steal Osode even though the debt is paid. Zatoichi realizes his grievous error and protects the girl from the gang. Osode and Zatoichi are caught in a dilemma as she must rely on her brother's killer for protection and Zatoichi wrestles with the injustice he has caused.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Action, Adventure
Country: Japan
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 81%
Zatoichi's Revenge (1965)
Plot Summary:
Itinerant masseur and master swordsman, the blind Zatoichi, is near the village of his teacher, Hikonoichi, so he decides to visit. He learns of Hikonoichi's recent robbery and murder and the imprisonment of his virginal daughter, Osayo, in a brothel. Through friendship with Denroku, a local dice thrower and devoted father, Ichi uncovers an unholy alliance between the governor and the area strongman: among their scams is falsifying tax records to put farmers in debt, then forcing their daughters into prostitution at the boss's brothel. With help from Denroku's daughter, Otsuru, Ichi comforts Osayo until he can provoke showdowns with the villains and their henchmen.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, stylized, cult film
Similar in 87%
Zatoichi and the Fugitives (1968)
Plot Summary:
Zatoichi runs afoul of some evil fugitives, working for a corrupt law official.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Action, Adventure
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 76%
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973)
Plot Summary:
In the fifth film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto is challenged by five warriors, each has one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assassination.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: visual, exciting, atmospheric, rough, epic, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 82%
Zatoichi: The Last (2010)
Plot Summary:
A blind master swordsman attempts to lead a quiet life with his wife but he is provoked back into battle.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 393
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan, France
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, exciting, captivating, tense, rough, bleak, suspenseful, stylized, gloomy
Similar in 87%
Five Element Ninjas (1982)
Plot Summary:
A young martial artist seeks revenge on the ninja who kills his martial arts brothers and teacher.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: educational, grindhouse, perverse, cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, cult film
Similar in 80%
Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (1989)
Plot Summary:
This 26th film installment of the Zatoichi series sees Shintaro Katsu return to this classic role after a 10 year hiatus. The blind masseur Ichi gets caught between rival Yakuza clans.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, tense, atmospheric, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 86%
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengeance (1972)
Plot Summary:
In this first film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, adapted from the manga by Kazuo Koike, we are told the story of the Lone Wolf and Cub's origin. Ogami Itto, the official Shogunate executioner, has been framed for disloyalty to the Shogunate by the Yagyu clan, against whom he now is waging a one-man war, along with his infant son, Daigoro.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Adventure
Country: Japan
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, splatter, bloody, visual, stylized, manga, perverse, exciting, rough, serious
Similar in 75%
Zatoichi and the Chess Expert (1965)
Plot Summary:
Zatoichi makes friends with a dangerous chess player, while fending off angry yakuza and bloodthirsty relatives out for revenge, and trying to save a sick child. Meanwhile, his luck with dice is turning.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: cult classic, exciting, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 76%
Lady Snowblood (1973)
Plot Summary:
Yuki's family is nearly wiped out before she is born due to the machinations of a band of criminals. These criminals kidnap and brutalize her mother but leave her alive. Later her mother ends up in prison with only revenge to keep her alive. She creates an instrument for this revenge by purposefully getting pregnant. Yuki never knows the love of a family but only killing and revenge.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, suspenseful, bloody, exciting, melancholic, rough, visual, cult classic, stylized, slasher
Similar in 77%
Yojimbo (1961)
Plot Summary:
A nameless ronin, or samurai with no master, enters a small village in feudal Japan where two rival businessmen are struggling for control of the local gambling trade. Taking the name Sanjuro Kuwabatake, the ronin convinces both silk merchant Tazaemon and sake merchant Tokuemon to hire him as a personal bodyguard, then artfully sets in motion a full-scale gang war between the two ambitious and unscrupulous men.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 129000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: black and white, visual, visually stunning, black comedy, cynical, art house, exciting, atmospheric, bleak, realistic
Similar in 85%
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart to Hades (1972)
Plot Summary:
In the third film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto volunteers to be tortured by Yakuza to save a prostitute and is hired by their leader to kill an evil chamberlain.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: bloody, talky, stylized, manga, exciting, rough, clever, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 80%
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Bride unwaveringly continues on her roaring rampage of revenge against the band of assassins who had tried to kill her and her unborn child. She visits each of her former associates one-by-one, checking off the victims on her Death List Five until there's nothing left to do … but kill Bill.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 791000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: brutal, non-linear, suspense, atmospheric, action packed, stylized, surreal, visual, visually stunning, tense
Similar in 82%
Azumi (2003)
Plot Summary:
In war-torn Japan, the Tokugawa Shogun, desperate to restore peace to his people, orders the assassination of the hostile warlords. A beautiful young woman is raised from birth with nine other orphans, to become an assassin. Her name is Azumi, the ultimate assassin.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: intense, breathtaking, realistic, rough, serious, fast paced, epic, stylized, manga, perverse
Similar in 86%
Azumi 2: Death or Love (2005)
Plot Summary:
Young assassins Azumi and Nagara continue their mission to prevent a civil war. In their hunt for Masayuki Sanada, who is protected by both an army and a dangerous clan, they meet Ginkaku, a person who shows a remarking resemblance with former friend Nachi.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, stylized, perverse, exciting, rough
Similar in 86%
47 Ronin (2013)
Plot Summary:
Based on the original 1941 movie from Japan, and from ancient Japan’s most enduring tale, the epic 3D fantasy-adventure 47 Ronin is born. Keanu Reeves leads the cast as Kai, an outcast who joins Oishi (Hiroyuki Sanada), the leader of the 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honor to their homeland, the warriors embark upon a quest that challenges them with a series of trials that would destroy ordinary warriors.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 169000
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: USA, UK, Japan, Hungary
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: stylized, epic, exciting, fairy tale, rough, suspenseful, tense, mind bending, psychedelic, breathtaking
Similar in 86%
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx (1972)
Plot Summary:
In the second film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, Ogami Itto battles a group of female ninja in the employ of the Yagyu clan and must assassinate a traitor who plans to sell his clan's secrets to the Shogunate.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: bloody, grindhouse, atmospheric, stylized, splatter, manga, perverse, exciting, rough, serious
Similar in 77%
The Hunted (1995)
Plot Summary:
A businessman on a trip to Tokyo ends up in the middle of a centuries old feud between a criminal Ninja cult and a Samurai when he witnesses a assassination performed by the Ninja-cult leader.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, intense, rough, serious, suspenseful, bloody, stylized, brutal, fast