Best movies like Ichi the Killer: Episode Zero
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A masochistic mobster meets his match in the dark streets of Tokyo. His nemesis, Ichi, is a psychopathic killer with an unrelenting thirst for bloodshed. A horrifying secret burns in his mind, and his hands deal death without mercy. At last, the shrouds of mystery are parted to reveal the origin of the monster. The city will know its greatest fear at the unveiling of Ichi the Killer.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 812
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: anime, adult anime, adult animation, disturbing, crying
Best tv shows and movies like Ichi the Killer: Episode Zero (2002):
Similar in 84%
The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 1 (2007)
Plot Summary:
August 1995: Mikiya first meets Shiki in a white kimono during a snowing day. Later on, at the high school freshmen ceremony, Mikiya sees Shiki in the crowd and chases after her, introducing himself to her. But Shiki hides a big secret: A wave of bizarre murders occur around many loose ends, and no suspects. there are still many questions: Who to believe? Who is the murderer? What is the secret of Shiki? and especially: Who is SHIKI?.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery
Country: Japan
Duration: 61 min
Plot tags: anime, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, detective, dark drama
Similar in 80%
The Garden of Sinners: Paradox Spiral (2008)
Plot Summary:
In the middle of October 1998, Enjou Tomoe is attacked by bullies from his old school and saved by Ryougi Shiki. He asks her to hide him at her place and admits that he killed someone. Several days after the incident there are still no broadcasts about the murder as if it didn't happen.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: anime, disturbing, psychotronic, captivating, suspense, manga, adult animation, dark drama, surprise ending, ambiguous ending
Similar in 79%
Crying Freeman 1: Portrait of a Killer (1988)
Plot Summary:
Emu Hino, a 29-year-old virgin, witnesses a mob hit and fears that the killer will now find her and kill her. Indeed, he sets out to do so; he's Yo Hinomura, a talented potter and artist who's been conscripted against his will to be the prime hitman for the 108 Dragons, a gang within the Chinese Mafia, who are determined to push aside Tokyo's local crime lords. He breaks into her house, and she asks that he make love to her before he kills her; she connects to his inner self, and he becomes her protector. Now he must defend her against the local crime gang, who have connections with corrupt Tokyo police. Will Yo and Emu make it out alive, and will the 108 Dragons triumph?.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: anime, manga, adult anime, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, suspense, adult animation
Similar in 89%
Calamity of a Zombie Girl (2018)
Plot Summary:
When a zombie named Euphrosyne awakens after a century-long slumber, she finds herself coming face-to-face with a group of five university students – a stand-off that leads to a bloody battle for all concerned, revolving around a secret stone hidden in the depths of the campus’ archives.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 113
Genere: Animation, Fantasy, Horror, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 79 min
Plot tags: anime, dark fantasy, suspense, suspenseful, scary, tense, unusual plot structure, biting
Similar in 90%
Shigurui: Death Frenzy (2007)
Plot Summary:
Shigurui is a manga series written by Norio Nanjo and illustrated by Takayuki Yamaguchi, based on the first chapter of the novel Suruga-jō Gozen Jiai by Norio Nanjō. An animated television adaptation, based on the first 32 chapters of the manga, aired on WOWOW July 19th, 2007 to October 12th, 2007. The series was directed by Hiroshi Hamasaki, written by Seishi Minakami, and produced by Madhouse Studios. The series is noted for its realistic graphic violence and nudity as well as its abrupt ending. The anime was licensed in North America by Funimation Entertainment under the fully translated title Shigurui: Death Frenzy. The licensing was announced in May 2008 and the full series was released on March 31st, 2009 on Blu-ray and DVD.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, rough, suspenseful, stylized, disturbing, serious, realistic, surreal, manga, adult anime
Similar in 77%
Urotsukidôji II: Legend of the Demon Womb (1993)
Plot Summary:
In this sequel to Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend, the unbelievable sexual violence of the Overfiend and his cohorts from Hell continues to wreak havoc on the earth. Who can stop this relentless onslaught?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 854
Genere: Animation, Fantasy, Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: anime, surreal, hentai, saga, crying, biting, suspense, manga, cult film
Similar in 84%
Urotsukidôji IV (1993)
Plot Summary:
It is the age of the Overfiend, and flesh-hungry monsters rule the Earth. Immortal half-demon Amano Jyaku travels the wasteland, witness to the rape and torture of the human race. The last hope for humanity is the demonic Lord of Chaos, the Overfiend's natural enemy. Will the world survive their final battle?.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 223
Genere: Animation, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: surreal, adult anime, adult animation, hentai, sinister, splatter, anime, cult film
Similar in 75%
The Vanilla Series: Nightmare Campus (1994)
Plot Summary:
During an archaeological expedition to a forbidden Himalayan temple, 19-year-old Masao Sera stumbled upon a bloody, sacrificial rite designed to throw open the Gates of Hell. Meanwhile, a dark force has descend upon Masao's college. Fights, gang violence and rape are the order of the day. But now, some of the gangs have started to develop supernatural powers and unholy appetites. As demonic entities battle for control of the campus, the conflict threatens to grow into Armageddon when Masao mysteriously returns with the King of the Underworld bound to his mortal soul.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 106
Genere: Animation, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: anime, hentai
Similar in 80%
Battle Royal High School (1987)
Plot Summary:
When the school Karate club's star fighter quits and decides to go pro, he unwittingly fulfills an ancient interdimensional prophecy and becomes demon king of his dimension. Soon his high school becomes a battleground for demon slaying samurai, interplanetary law enforcement, and even his own traitorous demon minions. Well animated fight scenes ensue.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 258
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: anime
Similar in 77%
The Professional: Golgo 13 (1983)
Plot Summary:
Indestructible to his enemies and irresistible to women, the professional assassin codenamed Golgo 13 is shrouded in mystery and anonymity. If you're on his hit list, you're already dead. Always hired on his reputation alone, Golgo never breaks a contract. Can he survive the combined forces of the FBI, CIA, the Pentagon and the U.S. Army? Has the nameless agent finally met his match against the superhuman powers of the Snake and the twin evils of the psychopathic mercenaries, Gold and Silver?.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: anime, manga, bloody, mind bending, mecha, cult classic, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Violence Jack, Part 1, Slum King (1986)
Plot Summary:
Kanto Hell Earthquake has demolished the metropolitan completely. After the earthquake, Slum King is kidnapping girls and sell them as sex slaves. Mari is wandering on the devastated field looking for her lover, Ken. But she is also kidnapped by them. While she is tortured and trained as a sex slave, Ken saves her. Ken has become the member of Slum King. The king offers condition to him; in return for releasing her, he has to kill Violence Jack.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 403
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Horror, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 37 min
Plot tags: anime, manga, bloody
Similar in 82%
Devilman Volume 3: Devilman Apocalyps (2000)
Plot Summary:
Fear runs rampant throughout Tokyo with the revelation that demons in fact exist amongst us. Paranoia and the darker side of humanity boils onto the streets as people turn on one another, suspecting that anyone could in fact be a demon hiding in human clothing. Amidst the growing tensions, tragedy strikes Akira causing his mind to snap, retreating into his subconscious, allowing his Devilish alter-ego Amon to break free from Akira's cage of flesh and wreak havoc on both human and demons alike.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 775
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: anime, adult anime, ecchi
Similar in 78%
Fist of the North Star (1986)
Plot Summary:
After a nuclear holocaust tears the world apart, mankind is forced to the harshness of not only the oppression of others who are much more powerful, but the dead earth which seems to be getting worse with every passing moment. But a savior has risen from the ashes, a man who will defeat those who would torment the weak and make the world a livable place once more. A man named Kenshiro.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: anime, manga, adult anime, apocalyptic, adult animation, mind bending, perverse, cult classic, rough, bleak
Similar in 88%
Deadman Wonderland (2011)
Plot Summary:
Death is the main attraction in Deadman Wonderland, from the studio that brought you Samurai Champloo and Ergo Proxy. Ganta is the only survivor after a mysterious man in red slaughters a classroom full of teenagers. He’s framed for the carnage, sentenced to die, and locked away in the most twisted prison ever built: Deadman Wonderland. And then it gets worse. At Deadman Wonderland, convicts are forced into brutal deathmatches for the amusement of the masses, the cheers of the crowd drowning out the screams of the dismembered. Even when Ganta befriends Shiro, an unusual female inmate, his dark fate crushes all hope – until he discovers the strange ability to wield his spilled blood as a weapon. Ganta learns his new skill might be related to the murderous man in red and uncovers disturbing secrets that could expose those who stole his freedom. He’s determined to see justice served – but first he’ll have to fight for his life in a prison that holds a million ways to die.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, rough, exciting, manga, sad, adult anime, shounen, suspenseful, serious, tense
Similar in 84%
When They Cry (2006)
Plot Summary:
After moving into the quiet town of Hinamizawa, Maebara Keiichi spends his days blissfully in school often playing games with his local friends. However, appearances can be deceiving. One fateful day, Keiichi stumbles upon news of a murder that had occurred in Hinamizawa. From this point on, horrific events unfold in front of Keiichi, as he soon learns his close friends may not be all that they seem. Based on the amateur mystery game by 07th Expansion, the story is told in a series of different scenarios.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, psychological, suspenseful, disturbing, sadistic, serious, mind bending, manga, psychological horror, adult animation
Similar in 79%
Shiki (2010)
Plot Summary:
Sotobamura is a small village with around 1300 residents; so small the village isn't even connected to a single highway. An isolated village in which old customs, such as the burial of the dead, are still practiced. One day, the bodies of three people are found dead. Although Ozaki Toshio, the village's lone doctor, feels uncertain, he treats the deaths as a normal occurrence. However, in the days following, the villagers start to die one after the other.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, dark fantasy, scary, offbeat, suspenseful, manga, captivating, suspense, serious, psychological
Similar in 87%
Gantz (2004)
Plot Summary:
Gantz is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hiroya Oku. Gantz tells the story of Kei Kurono and his friend Masaru Kato who die in a train accident and become part of a semi-posthumous "game" in which they and several other recently deceased people are forced to hunt down and kill aliens armed with a handful of futuristic items, equipment, and weaponry. Both the manga and anime are noted for their heavy violence and sexual content.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 22 min
Plot tags: anime, adult anime, exciting, serious, suspenseful, stylized, manga, seinen, psychological horror, mind twisting
Similar in 85%
M.D. Geist (1986)
Plot Summary:
Geist (the main character) is MD-02, a Most Dangerous Soldier, genetically engineered to function as a killing machine, but every one of the MDS units went homicidally insane. As a result Geist was placed in suspended animation in a stasis pod orbiting the planet Jerra until it crashed several years later, awakening him and bringing him into another war on the planet.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 838
Genere: Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags: anime, mecha, adult anime
Similar in 89%
Demon City Shinjuku (1988)
Plot Summary:
Kyoya's father was a great warrior, killed at the hands of the diabolical psychic, Rebi Ra, who has now opened a portal to hell in the city of Shinjuku. It falls to Kyoya to finish what his father started and battle his way through demons, while protecting a young woman from harm. The only problem is that he's not exactly your classic hero type, and his powers are still latent.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Action, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: anime, manga, adult anime, adult animation, serious, futuristic, suspenseful, ecchi, weird, 2d animation
Similar in 76%
Urotsukidoji: Legend of the Overfiend (1989)
Plot Summary:
Legend has it that the human race is not the only dominant civilization living on Earth. Two other races exist in this world: the Makai (a demon race) and the Juujinkai (a half-man, half-beast race). Once every 3,000 years, a supreme being known as the "Choujin" (Overfiend) will emerge and bring balance to all three realms on Earth. In present-day Japan, after 300 years of endless searching, a Jujinkai named Amano Jyaku has discovered the presence of the Choujin inside high school slacker Tatsuo Nagumo. But now, Amanoùalong with his sister Megumi and their sidekick Kurokoùmust protect Nagumo and his new girlfriend Akemi Ito from the Makai, who believe that Nagumo is not the Choujin, but an evil entity bent on destroying all living beings on Earth.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Action, Fantasy, Horror, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: hentai, disturbing, anime, rough, suspenseful, adult animation, manga, erotic, brutal, surreal
Similar in 79%
The Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2 (2009)
Plot Summary:
In February 1999, a string of murders has Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokutou on edge. These crimes share a disturbing resemblance to a similar set of homicides from 1995, when Shiki and Mikiya first met, and awaken a dark, murderous desire that has laid dormant within Shiki's soul ever since then.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Crime, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: anime, adult animation, neo noir, suspense, dark, manga, dark drama, tension, biting, exciting
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The Garden of Sinners: Remaining Sense of Pain (2008)
Plot Summary:
July 1998 - After a group of delinquents is found dead in their hangout place with all their limbs twisted and torn off, Aozaki Touko receives a request to find the murderer and asks Shiki for help. The main suspect is Asagami Fujino; a girl who was the boys' plaything until recently, who Shiki believes to be "one of her kind".
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Crime, Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 58 min
Plot tags: anime, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, manga, dark drama, adult animation, adult anime
Similar in 77%
Inuyashiki (2017)
Plot Summary:
Inuyashiki Ichirou is down on his luck. While only 58 years old, his geriatric looks often have him written off as a pathetic old man by the world around him and he’s constantly ignored and disrespected by his family despite all that he’s done to support them. On top of everything else, his doctor has revealed that he has cancer and it appears that he has little time left in this world. But just when it seems things couldn’t get any worse, a blinding light in the night sky strikes the earth where Ichirou stands. He later wakes up to find himself unscathed, but he soon starts to notice that there’s something… different about himself. However, it turns out that these strange, new changes are just what Ichirou needs to take a new lease on life and now it seems like there’s nothing to stop him from being a hero worthy of the respect that he never had before… unless, that is, there was someone else out there with these same changes….
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, suspense, tense, serious, captivating, manga, exciting, adult anime, seinen, psychological
Similar in 75%
Genocyber (1994)
Plot Summary:
As the nations of the world begin to merge, world peace is threatened by the private armies of individual corporations. The Kuryu Group has just discovered a weapon that will tip world power in their favor. The Genocyber: a nightmarish combination of cybernetics and psychic potential. Many desire to control this monstrosity, but can its hatred be contained... Battle erupts, and the cyberpunk world of the future is about to explode with violence.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 46 min
Plot tags: anime, adult anime, mecha, adult animation, cyber, manga, brutal, seinen, psychological
Similar in 80%
Elfen Lied (2004)
Plot Summary:
The Diclonius, a mutated homo sapien that is said to be selected by God and will eventually become the destruction of mankind, possesses two horns in their heads, and has a "sixth sense" which gives it telekinetic abilities. Due to this dangerous power, they have been captured and isolated in laboratories by the government. Lucy, a young and psychotic Diclonius, manages to break free of her confines and brutally murder most of the guards in the laboratory, only to get shot in the head as she makes her escape. She survives and manages to drift along to a beach, where two teenagers named Kouta and Yuka discovers her. Having lost her memories, she was named after the only thing that she can now say, "Nyuu," and the two allow her to stay at Kouta's home. However, it appears that the evil "Lucy" is not dead just yet.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, suspenseful, disturbing, rough, bleak, manga, seinen, psychological, semi serious, mind twisting
Similar in 82%
Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey (2012)
Plot Summary:
The Band of the Hawk participates in the Midland war campaign. On the bloody battlefield, they conquer decisive victories that lead them to Doldrey, an old fortress that will decide the outcome of the war.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: anime, serious, manga, brutal, humorous, grindhouse, fantasy anime, dark fantasy, seinen, crying
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Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent (2013)
Plot Summary:
A year has passed since Guts parted ways with the Band of the Hawks. Meanwhile, his former mercenary group is plotting a rescue mission to save an imprisoned Griffith.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: anime, adult animation, serious, dark, suspense, manga, brutal, humorous, grindhouse, fantasy anime
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Perfect Blue (1997)
Plot Summary:
A retired pop singer turned actress' sense of reality is shaken when she is stalked by an obsessed fan and seemingly a ghost of her past.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Animation, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: surreal, suspense, adult animation, anime, suspenseful, scary, atmospheric, tense, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 83%
Berserk (2016)
Plot Summary:
Spurred by the flame raging in his heart, the Black Swordsman Guts continues his seemingly endless quest for revenge. Standing in his path are heinous outlaws, delusional evil spirits, and a devout child of god. Even as it chips away at his life, Guts continues to fight his enemies, who wield repulsive and inhumane power, with nary but his body and sword—his strength as a human.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, manga, adult animation, humorous, seinen, saga, biting, suspenseful, rough
Similar in 77%
Blood: The Last Vampire (2000)
Plot Summary:
In Japan, the vampire-hunter Saya, who is a powerful original, is sent by her liaison with the government, David, posed as a teenage student to the Yokota High School on the eve of Halloween to hunt down vampires. Saya asks David to give a new katana to her. Soon she saves the school nurse Makiho Amano from two vampires disguised of classmates and Makiho witnesses her fight against the powerful demon.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Animation, Action, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: anime, intense, exciting, rough, suspenseful, adult anime, suspense, surreal, cult classic, manga