The 40 most popular 1990s japanese movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Zero Woman 2
1995 · 1h 39m
country: Japan
When a valuable suitcase is stolen, the mob, petty criminals, and a beautiful agent from the Elite Zero division are pulled into a battle to settle the score.


Princess Mononoke
1997 · 2h 14m
country: Japan
Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.


Perfect Blue
1998 · 1h 21m
country: Japan
Rising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.


Ghost in the Shell
1995 · 1h 23m
country: Japan
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.


Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion
1997 · 1h 27m
country: Japan
SEELE orders an all-out attack on NERV, aiming to destroy the Evas before Gendo can advance his own plans for the Human Instrumentality Project. Shinji is pushed to the limits of his sanity as he is forced to decide the fate of humanity.


Whisper of the Heart
1995 · 1h 51m
country: Japan
Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: "Seiji Amasawa."


Door II: Tokyo Diary
1991 · 1h 22m
country: Japan
Ai is a call girl that makes good money for what she does but there’s always at risk no matter how good the money is.


Porco Rosso
1992 · 1h 33m
country: Japan
In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.


Midori
1992 · 55m
country: Japan
After losing her parents, young flower selling Midori is put up by a fairground group. She is abused and forced to slavery, until the arrival of an enigmatic magician of short stature, who gives her hope for a better future.


Neo Chinpira 2: Zoom Goes the Bullet
1991 · 1h 33m
country: Japan
In the sequel to 1990's classic Neo Chinpira, Junko (Sho Aikawa) attempts to take out Kazama and then goes on the run. However, he quickly begins to feel homesick, and returns home to find that almost everything has changed. Noriko is now a bar mama with a lavish lifestyle, Yumeko is nowhere to be found, and his boss (Toru Minegishi) seems to have sinister plans involving Junko and his uncle (Jo Shishido).


Roujin Z
1991 · 1h 20m
country: Japan
Mr. Takazawa, an elderly invalid who is cared for at his home by Haruko, a young nursing student, is chosen by the Japanese Ministry of Public Welfare to test the Z-001, a computerized hospital bed with robotic features that allegedly displays more efficiency and skills than any human nurse, but Haruko mistrusts a machine unable to consider human feelings.


Confinement Escape: Beautiful Prey
1993 · 1h 5m
country: Japan
Ryoko, a cosmetics saleswoman, accidentally runs over a man, who turns out to be a serial rapist who escaped from a prison transport vehicle. Held captive inside her car by the bloodied man, she seizes an opportunity to escape. Wandering through the forest, she arrives at a mountain cabin where she is rescued by another man. However, he harbors twisted sexual desires of his own. Once discovered, he imprisons Ryoko too...


Pom Poko
1994 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
The Raccoons of the Tama Hills are being forced from their homes by the rapid development of houses and shopping malls. As it becomes harder to find food and shelter, they decide to band together and fight back. The Raccoons practice and perfect the ancient art of transformation until they are even able to appear as humans in hilarious circumstances.


Jokyoshi Nikki 2 Abakareta Sei
1996 · 1h 22m
country: Japan
Mari is a high school teacher who is earnest and somewhat cold. Tired of her monotonous days, she discovered a secret game: wandering around Roppongi at night and seducing men. She enjoys the pleasure of lewd acts with strangers and finds temporary peace. Her student Toshihiko, who happens to witness her nighttime appearance, is captivated by Mari's seductive figure before he knows it...


Dragon Ball Z: Bojack Unbound
1993 · 51m
country: Japan
Mr. Money is holding another World Martial Arts Tournament and Mr. Satan invites everyone in the world to join in. Little does he know that Bojack, an ancient villain who has escaped his prison, is competing. Since Goku is currently dead, it is up to Gohan, Vegeta, and Trunks to defeat Bojack and his henchman.


Pokémon: The First Movie
1998 · 1h 36m
country: Japan
Determined to prove its superiority, a bio-engineered Pokémon called Mewtwo lures Ash, Pikachu and others into a Pokémon match like none before.


Dragon Ball Z: Wrath of the Dragon
1995 · 51m
country: Japan
The Z Warriors discover an unopenable music box and are told to open it with the Dragon Balls. The contents turn out to be a warrior named Tapion who had sealed himself inside along with a monster called Hildegarn. Goku must now perfect a new technique to defeat the evil monster.


Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan
1993 · 1h 10m
country: Japan
While the Saiyan Paragus persuades Vegeta to rule a new planet, King Kai alerts Goku of the South Galaxy's destruction by an unknown Super Saiyan.


Super Mario Bros.
1993 · 1h 45m
country: United Kingdom
Mario and Luigi, plumbers from Brooklyn, find themselves in an alternate universe where evolved dinosaurs live in hi-tech squalor. They're the only hope to save our universe from invasion by the dino dictator, Koopa.


Dragon Ball Z: Cooler's Revenge
1991 · 48m
country: Japan
After defeating Frieza, Goku returns to Earth and goes on a camping trip with Gohan and Krillin. Everything is normal until Cooler - Frieza's brother - sends three henchmen after Goku. A long fight ensues between our heroes and Cooler, in which he transforms into the fourth stage of his evolution and has the edge in the fight... until Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan.


Angel 2: Dominatrix of Mystery
1997 · 1h 12m
country: Japan
Housuke Atami is dating Shizuka, the hottest girl in school, but it's just a platonic relationship. He and his friend Shinohara channel their frustration into secretly videotaping the girls' locker room. One day, they meet a mysterious girl of striking beauty; around the same time, the school is rocked by rumors of the "ghost" of a former beauty queen student. Shizuka notices a radical change in Housuke's behavior and makes up her mind to follow him.


Cure
1997 · 1h 51m
country: Japan
A frustrated detective deals with the case of several gruesome murders committed by people who have no recollection of what they've done.


Female Ninjas Magic Chronicles 3: Sacred Book of Sexual Positions
1993 · 1h 13m
country: Japan
The government is worried that the Emperor will have no children because he can’t get an erection. The female ninjas try to find a sacred book that will help him, but they face a stiff challenge.


Dragon Ball Z: Bardock - The Father of Goku
1990 · 48m
country: Japan
Bardock, Son Goku's father, is a low-ranking Saiyan soldier who was given the power to see into the future by the last remaining alien on a planet he just destroyed. He witnesses the destruction of his race and must now do his best to stop Frieza's impending massacre.


Pokémon the Movie 2000
1999 · 1h 24m
country: Japan
When Lawrence III's scheme to capture the Legendary Pokémon Lugia upsets the balance of nature, it is up to Ash Ketchum and his friends to save the world.


Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler
1992 · 46m
country: Japan
Cooler has resurrected himself as a robot and is enslaving the people of New Namek. Goku and the gang must help.


Ring
1998 · 1h 36m
country: Japan
A mysterious video has been linked to a number of deaths, and when an inquisitive journalist finds the tape and views it herself, she sets in motion a chain of events that puts her own life in danger.


Case Closed: The Fourteenth Target
1998 · 1h 40m
country: Japan
Ran’s secret past revealed! Ten years ago, something happened between her mom and dad. Now, plagued by nightmares, Ran is starting to remember… Meanwhile, a murderous card dealer breaks out of jail to seek revenge. His target: Ran’s father. Can Conan stop him in time and save his girlfriend’s family?


Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might
1990 · 1h 1m
country: Japan
Goku and friends must stop a band of space pirates from consuming fruit from the Tree of Might before it's destructive powers drain Earth's energy.


Dragon Ball Z: The History of Trunks
1993 · 48m
country: Japan
It has been thirteen years since the Androids began their killing rampage and Son Gohan is the only person fighting back. He takes Bulma's son Trunks as a student and even gives his own life to save Trunks's. Now Trunks must figure out a way to change this apocalyptic future


Lupin the Third: Island of Assassins
1997 · 1h 33m
country: Japan
Lupin is framed for the murder of Inspector Zenigata by a mysterious assailant holding a silver-coloured Walther P38 pistol Lupin himself once owned. Tracking the true killer leads Lupin to the island of the bloodthirsty Tarantula assassins inside the Devil’s Triangle. After joining the spider-tattooed army against their will, Lupin and his gang make both new friends and enemies as they not only plan to take home the Tarantulas’ massive gold repository for themselves, but hunt down the shooter from Lupin’s past. Can Lupin put to rest this demon who haunts his memories with the Walther P38?


Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn
1995 · 55m
country: Japan
Not paying attention to his job, a young demon allows the evil cleansing machine to overflow and explode, turning the young demon into the infamous monster Janemba. Goku and Vegeta make solo attempts to defeat the monster, but realize their only option is fusion.


Only Yesterday
1991 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.


Love Letter
1995 · 1h 57m
country: Japan
Hiroko attends the memorial service of her fiancé, Itsuki Fujii, who died in a mountain-climbing incident. Although Itsuki's mother says that their old house is gone, Hiroko records the address listed under his name in his yearbook and sends him a letter. Surprisingly, she receives a reply, and discovers it came from his old classmate, a girl who also happens to be called Itsuki Fujii.


Dreams
1990 · 1h 59m
country: Japan
Eight visually rich vignettes drawn from Kurosawa’s own dreams—fox weddings and vanished orchards, a soldier’s ghosts, a walk through Van Gogh’s canvases, nuclear nightmares, and a water-mill utopia—meditate on childhood, art, mortality, and humanity’s uneasy bond with nature.


Detective Conan: The Last Wizard of the Century
1999 · 1h 40m
country: Japan
Kaitou Kid dares to challenge the police once more, setting his sights on the Russian Imperial Easter Egg. With the date, time, and place, the Osaka police force scrambles to stop him. But this time, Kid may have bitten off more than he can chew—Conan Edogawa, Heiji Hattori, and numerous others are also trying to get their hands on the jeweled egg.
Angel of Darkness 3
Angel of Darkness 3
1996 · 1h 12m
country: Japan
Manami, the sole survivor of Angel of Darkness 2, is rushed to hospital where she slips into a deep sleep. A priest correctly suspects that the demon (now referred to as an Injuu) is inside Manami's body, but by the time he is able to confirm his theory, the creature has already moved on. As before, the tentacled beastie passes from host to host (by thrusting its slimy appendages into its victims' orifices), eventually ending up inside goody-goody schoolgirl Fumie, who does her best 'Linda Blair' impersonation for a while, before the priest inevitably turns up to save the day.


Zero Woman: Final Mission
1995 · 1h 21m
country: Japan
A famous businessman's links with organized crime are looked into by the Zero Division of the Tokyo Police, with the investigation being headed by a highly trained, extremely violent and very beautiful female officer. When not having shoot-outs with the crime syndicate thugs trying to kill her, she spends most of her time in her apartment, wearing lingerie and taking showers. A sub-plot involves the businessman's S&M-obsessed daughter.


Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
1999 · 1h 42m
country: Japan
A member of an elite paramilitary counter-terrorism unit becomes traumatized after witnessing the suicide bombing of a young girl and is forced to undergo retraining. However, unbeknownst to him, he becomes a key player in a dispute between rival police divisions, as he finds himself increasingly involved with the sister of the girl he saw die.


Ocean Waves
1993 · 1h 12m
country: Japan
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...
The 1990s were the independent film decade, when Sundance and Miramax pushed low-budget American filmmaking into the mainstream. It's also when Hong Kong action, Japanese animation, and Iranian art cinema found large Western audiences.
Japanese cinema gave the world Kurosawa's samurai epics, Ozu's domestic dramas, Godzilla and the kaiju film, and the J-horror wave that Hollywood spent the 2000s remaking. It also sustains the most developed animation industry on earth.