Best Japanese Films & Series to Stream in the UK

Aggretsuko

Frustrated with her thankless office job, a 25-year-old red panda copes with her daily struggles by belting out heavy metal karaoke after work.

Atomic People

First-hand accounts from surviving 'Hibakusha', the only people left to have survived a nuclear bomb, recall the destruction left in the wake of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Battle Royale

Each year, a 9th grade class is sent to a remote island where they are forced to hunt and kill each other until there is only one survivor left.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes

A café owner discovers that the TV in his café suddenly shows images from the future, but only two minutes into the future.

Black Box Diaries

A documentary that follows 25-year-old journalist Shiori Ito’s courageous investigation of her own sexual assault in 2015 and attempt to prosecute her high-profile offender.

Bleach

A teenager acquires the powers of a Soul Reaper. With her help, he takes on the duty of ushering lost souls into the afterlife and defeating evil spirits.

Casshern

Genetically modified human mutants threaten the future of the world, and the only hope for mankind rests on the shoulders of Casshern, a warrior who has been reincarnated.

Cat Heaven Island

On a far off, rural island in Japan, hundreds of cats roam a secluded fishing village, home of an aging, beautiful, and fading culture.

Cat Nation

A film about cats. And Japan. And a bewildered British guy. But mostly cats.

Cutie and the Boxer

This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko.

Departures

A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.

Giri/Haji

A Tokyo police detective heads to London to bring back his gangster brother who has been accused of murder.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.

Kensuke's Kingdom

A young boy and his family set off on a sailing trip of a lifetime until a violent storm erupts, sweeping Michael and his dog overboard.

Mary and the Witch's Flower

Mary is spending the summer at her great aunt’s, but the holidays become more interesting when she’s swept away on a flying broomstick to the magical Endor College.

Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories

A scarred man operates a midnight diner in the backstreets of Shinjuku. No one knows his name or his story, but his customers each bring him theirs.

The Most Beautiful Boy in the World

50 years ago, Björn Andrésen was plucked from obscurity to star in Visconti’s Death in Venice and hailed “the most beautiful boy in the world”.

Norwegian Wood

Sparked by The Beatles song, Toru reflects on his life in the 1960s and the suicide of his friend Kizuki

Rental Family

Tokyo-based actor Phillip is employed by a company that hires out its staff to stand in as family members. He soon begins to form real connections with his clients.

ROMA

Charged with the care of four small children abandoned by their father, Cleo tends to the family even as her own life is shaken by personal and political upheavals.

Samurai Gourmet

Recent retiree Takeshi rediscovers his passion for food and life by getting in touch with his inner warrior and eating what he truly desires.

Shōgun

When a political power vacuum places 17th-century Japan on the knife-edge of war, the arrival of a shipwrecked Englishman triggers a wave of scheming, violence and spiritual reckoning in the clamouring for power.

Tokyo Vice

Jake Adelstein, an American journalist, plugs into the Tokyo Vice police squad and descends into the neon underbelly of Tokyo.

Tony Takitani

When technical illustrator Tony Takitani asks his wife to resist her all-consuming obsession for designer clothes, the consequences are tragic.