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    Home/Browse/Japanese Movies/Japanese War Movies

    Japanese War Movies

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

    40films
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    Top ratedThe Mysterians3.0
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    Kagemusha
    TMDB3.9

    Kagemusha

    1980 · 3h · JP

    A feudal epic presenting the tale of a petty thief who is recruited to impersonate Shingen, an aging warlord, in order to avoid attacks by competing clans. The impostor becomes comfortable living his life among nobility, but his responsibilities to his station grow more demanding the longer he occupies it.

    Kingdom 5: The Clash of Souls
    TMDB4.3

    Kingdom 5: The Clash of Souls

    2026 · 2h 13m · JP

    Except for the state of Qin, the six rival states join forces to form an allied army led by military adviser Riboku. The allied army then targets Qin. Meanwhile, Shin of Qin jumps into the war that will determine the fate of Qin.

    Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence
    TMDB3.6

    Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

    1983 · 2h 4m · JP

    Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.

    The Eternal Zero
    TMDB3.5

    The Eternal Zero

    2013 · 2h 24m · JP

    A brother and sister learn their biological grandfather was a kamikaze pilot who died during World War II. During their research into his life, they get conflicting accounts from his former comrades about his character and how he joined his squadron.

    The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
    TMDB4.1

    The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

    1959 · 3h 24m · JP

    After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labour chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts and moves with his newlywed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.

    Code Geass: Akito the Exiled 1: The Wyvern Arrives
    TMDB3.1

    Code Geass: Akito the Exiled 1: The Wyvern Arrives

    2012 · 51m · JP

    The side story takes place in 2017 a.t.b., between the rise of the “Black Knights” organization and the return of the supposedly "dead" Zero. The setting is in Europe, where the European Union (E.U.) allied nations are being invaded by the overwhelming forces of the Holy Britannian Empire. On the verge of defeat, the E.U. army forms a special unit known as “W-0″, of which a young pilot named Akito Hyuga is a member. Leila Malkal , a former Britannian Aristocrat comes to the E.U.'s aid, commanding the “Wyvern” Knightmare corps comprised of Japanese teenagers. They recklessly plunge into a battlefield, where the survival rate is extremely low, at about 5% only. They fight for their freedom and for a "home" to which they can return.

    Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins
    TMDB3.8

    Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins

    2012 · 2h 14m · JP

    In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.

    The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
    TMDB4.1

    The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

    1959 · 2h 58m · JP

    Kaji, sent to the Japanese army labeled Red, witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against a fellow recruit. He also sees his friend Shinjô defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.

    MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM HATHAWAY The Sorcery of Nymph Circe
    TMDB4.0

    MOBILE SUIT GUNDAM HATHAWAY The Sorcery of Nymph Circe

    2026 · 1h 55m · JP

    Haunted by his past, Hathaway Noa is drawn to Gigi Andalucia, a mysterious girl whose strange abilities stir memories within him. As he prepares for a planned attack on the Adelaide Conference, Federation officer Kenneth Sleg readies his own defense, and a secret proposal brings a new player into the conflict. With each pursuing their own goals, Gigi heads to Hong Kong to fulfill her own role.

    The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
    TMDB4.2

    The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer

    1961 · 3h 10m · JP

    After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his old life, he faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his men sneak behind enemy lines.

    In This Corner of the World
    TMDB4.0

    In This Corner of the World

    2016 · 2h 10m · JP

    Japan, 1943, during World War II. Young Suzu leaves her village near Hiroshima to marry and live with her in-laws in Kure, a military harbor. Her creativity to overcome deprivation quickly makes her indispensable at home. Inhabited by an ancestral wisdom, Suzu impregnates the simple gestures of everyday life with poetry and beauty. The many hardships, the loss of loved ones, the frequent air raids of the enemy, nothing alters her enthusiasm…

    Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie
    TMDB4.0

    Saga of Tanya the Evil: The Movie

    2019 · 1h 38m · JP

    The time is UC 1926. The Imperial Army's 203rd Air Mage Battalion led by Major Tanya Degurechaff has won the battle to the south against the Republic's stragglers. They expected to be given a vacation after returning victorious, but instead receive special orders from Staff HQ as soon as they get home. They are told that there were signs of a large-scale deployment near the Empire-Federation border. Faced with the prospect of a new major enemy, the desperate Empire fans the flame of war. Meanwhile, an international volunteer army spearheaded by the Commonwealth set foot in Federation territory. As they say, the enemy of an enemy is your friend. They suffer through misfortune purely out of national interest, and among them is a young girl. She is Warrant Officer Mary Sue, and she takes up arms hoping to bring the Empire, who killed her father, to justice.

    Macross: Do You Remember Love?
    TMDB3.6

    Macross: Do You Remember Love?

    1984 · 1h 54m · JP

    It is A.D. 2009 and the human race is caught in a war between giant humanoids, male Zentrans and female Meltrans. Returning from the edge of our solar system after making a space fold, the SDF-1 Macross makes the long journey back to Earth with survivors of South Ataria Island.

    cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood
    TMDB3.8

    cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood

    2026 · 1h · JP

    San and Mayu attend an all-girls school on a warm and tranquil island. When war reaches their shores, they are ordered to help nurse the wounded in a military hospital hidden away in a cave. Amidst escalating death and brutality, the friends struggle to find solace in their fragile lives.

    Kingdom
    TMDB3.6

    Kingdom

    2019 · 2h 13m · JP

    Set in Qin Dynasty during the warring states period in ancient China. Shin was a war orphan. He has a dream of becoming a great general Shin has a fateful encounter with young King Eisei. King Eisei aims to unify all of China.

    The Place Promised in Our Early Days
    TMDB3.3

    The Place Promised in Our Early Days

    2004 · 1h 30m · JP

    In a post-war alternative timeline, Japan is divided into the North, controlled by the Union, and the South, controlled by the United States. A mysterious high tower rises within the borders of the Union. Three high school students promise to cross the border with a self-built airplane and unravel the secret of the tower.

    Barefoot Gen
    TMDB3.8

    Barefoot Gen

    1983 · 1h 23m · JP

    A story about the effect of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.

    Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection
    TMDB3.6

    Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection

    2019 · 1h 52m · JP

    The story takes place several years after Lelouch's "Zero Requiem" plan. He gave up his life to save the world and protect the ones he loved. The day Lelouch vi Brittannia fell was the day this war-torn world found peace. Now, as his friends work to keep the peace, a terrorist attack could risk everything. Can the brilliant tactician outwit death and save them all? Or will Lelouch’s legacy fall here?

    The (Silent) War
    TMDB3.0

    The (Silent) War

    2019 · 2h 3m · ES

    Northern Spain, October 1944. Several groups of guerrilla fighters, former Republican soldiers exiled in France after the end of the Spanish Civil War, infiltrate the country in order to provoke a popular uprising against General Franco's dictatorship.

    The Sky Crawlers
    TMDB3.4

    The Sky Crawlers

    2008 · 2h 1m · JP

    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.

    Kingdom III: The Flame of Destiny
    TMDB3.8

    Kingdom III: The Flame of Destiny

    2023 · 2h 9m · JP

    To defend their kingdom against a sudden invasion, a mighty general returns to the battlefield alongside a war orphan, now grown up, who dreams of glory.

    Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?
    TMDB3.6

    Mr. Nelson, Did You Kill People?

    2026 · 1h 56m · JP

    Vietnam veteran Allen Nelson returns with severe PTSD, winding up on the streets before crossing paths with Dr. Daniels of the Veterans Affairs who sets about trying to help him.

    Genocidal Organ
    TMDB3.4

    Genocidal Organ

    2017 · 1h 55m · JP

    The war on terror exploded, literally, the day Sarajevo was destroyed by a homemade nuclear device. The leading democracies transformed into total surveillance states, and the developing world has drowned under a wave of genocides. The mysterious American John Paul seems to be behind the collapse of the world system, and it's up to intelligence agent Clavis Shepherd to track John Paul across the wreckage of civilizations and to find the true heart of darkness—a genocidal organ.

    The Great War of Archimedes
    TMDB3.4

    The Great War of Archimedes

    2019 · 2h 10m · JP

    It is the early 1930s and the command of the Japanese Imperial Navy determines to construct the world's biggest and most formidable battleship, Yamato. One of the admirals, Yamamoto Isoroku, disagrees. He recruits the upstart and mathematics' expert Tadashi Kai who discovers there are discrepancies between the official cost estimates and the actual figures. They soon find out that they have stumbled upon a conspiracy.

    The Burmese Harp
    TMDB4.0

    The Burmese Harp

    1956 · 1h 57m · JP

    In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

    Macross Delta: Passionate Walküre
    TMDB3.1

    Macross Delta: Passionate Walküre

    2018 · 2h · JP

    Macross Delta is set in the year 2067, eight years after the events of Macross Frontier. The story focuses on Walküre, a team of talented idols and the Delta Squadron, a team of experienced Valkyrie pilots as they battle against the Var Syndrome, a mysterious phenomena that is consuming the galaxy, alongside the mysterious Aerial Knights Valkyrie fighter team of the Kingdom of Wind. This film recompiles scenes from the television anime with new scenes to tell a different story.

    G.I. Samurai
    TMDB2.9

    G.I. Samurai

    1979 · 2h 19m · JP

    A squadron of Japanese Self-Defense Force soldiers find themselves transported through time to their country's warring states era, when rival samurai clans were battling to become the supreme Shogun.

    Yamato
    TMDB2.8

    Yamato

    2005 · 2h 23m · JP

    Directed by Junya Sato and based on a book by Jun Henmi, "Yamato" has a framing story set in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato. The film was never released in the United States, where reviewers who have seen it have compared the military epic to "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan."

    Story of a Prostitute
    TMDB3.3

    Story of a Prostitute

    1965 · 1h 36m · JP

    Volunteering as a "comfort woman" on the Manchurian front, where she is expected to service hundreds of soldiers, Harumi is commandeered by the brutal Lieutenant Narita but falls for the sensitive Mikami, Narita's direct subordinate. Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute is a tragic love story as well as a rule-bending take on a popular Taijiro Tamura novel, challenging military and fraternal codes of honor, as seen through Harumi's eyes.

    Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie: -A Wakening of the Trailblazer-
    TMDB3.2

    Mobile Suit Gundam 00 The Movie: -A Wakening of the Trailblazer-

    2010 · 2h 3m · JP

    The year is 2314 AD, two years have passed since the defeat of the Innovades and the exposure of the A-Laws' crimes against humanity. The A-Laws have been abolished and their infrastructure integrated into the Earth Sphere Federation Army. However, the world's exposure to GN Particles has resulted in many people awakening as True Innovators. Celestial Being has returned to the shadows to rebuild and quietly observe the infantile peace. However, an abandoned probe from an expedition to Jupiter 130 years ago approaches Earth bringing a new crisis with it, one that threatens all of mankind. While Celestial Being begins their final mission to save humanity from an unimaginable threat, Gundam Meister Setsuna F. Seiei is about to discover the true purpose of his evolution as an Innovator. Aeolia Schenberg's plan has moved into its final stage...

    Four Days of Snow and Blood
    TMDB3.6

    Four Days of Snow and Blood

    1989 · 1h 54m · JP

    Based on the "2.26 Incident", an attempted coup d'état in Japan 1936, launched by radical ultra-nationalist parts of the military. Several leading politicians were killed and the center of Tokyo was briefly held by the insurgents before the coup was suppressed.

    KanColle Movie
    TMDB2.5

    KanColle Movie

    2016 · 1h 33m · JP

    The movie starts off after the events of Episode 3, when Kisaragi had sunk. The Mikawa Fleet (Furutaka, Aoba, Kako, Kinugasa and Tenryuu) are in the middle of Night Battle. Choukai uses Searchlight and gets medium damage, but they win in the end. A New Fleet Girl gets "dropped", emerging from the sea. It is Kisaragi. Kisaragi is brought back to the temporary base in Solomon Islands, but she is suffering from PTSD and has amnesia, unable to remember anyone from back in the anime, excluding Mutsuki...

    Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam - A New Translation III: Love is the Pulse of the Stars
    TMDB3.0

    Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam - A New Translation III: Love is the Pulse of the Stars

    2006 · 1h 39m · JP

    Universal Century 0087, Char Aznable has now become the leader of the AEUG. Scirocco, the man from Jupiter, schemes to seize control of the Titans. Haman, the Axis leader, is attempting to restore the Zabi family. Through politics and strategy, these three powers struggle for dominion over the Earth Sphere. The war builds to a deadly endgame around the space colony Gryps 2, which has been converted into a giant laser cannon. What destiny awaits Kamille at the end of the conflict? This is the final part of the Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam feature trilogy, which features enhanced animation and theme songs by GACKT.

    Sekigahara
    TMDB3.5

    Sekigahara

    2017 · 2h 30m · JP

    The background to and depiction of a watershed battle in Japanese history, at Sekigahara in 1600, when Tokugawa Ieyasu's Army of the East defeated the Army of the West of Ishida Mitsunari. The story includes the intrigues and shifting loyalties of the various retainers, family members, and samurai.

    Kingdom 2: Far and Away
    TMDB3.6

    Kingdom 2: Far and Away

    2022 · 2h 14m · JP

    It follows a young man who dreams of becoming a general and Ying Zheng, whose goal is unification.

    Port Arthur
    TMDB3.7

    Port Arthur

    1980 · 3h 5m · JP

    Depicts the bloody siege of the fortress of Port Arthur, one of the most strongly fortified positions in the world, during the Russo-Japanese War of (1904 - 1905). In the story dominated the character Lt Takeshi Kogyo (Teruhiko Aoi), teachers, and a reserve officer who became commander of the platoon and later company. At the same time monitors the conduct of the army commander general Nogi (Tatsuya Nakadai), which was commissioned of the emperor Matsuhito (Toshirô Mifune) to the conquest of the fort.

    Dallos
    TMDB2.8

    Dallos

    1983 · 1h 23m · JP

    In a near future, mankind has moved from a drained Earth to the Moon. Rebel acts of terrorism lead to conflicts with the Earth Federal Government. A mysterious entity called Dallos appears to restore hope.

    Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Special Edition I: Celestial Being
    TMDB3.0

    Mobile Suit Gundam 00 Special Edition I: Celestial Being

    2009 · 1h 39m · JP

    Like the Japanese Special Editions of other Gundam and Sunrise anime series, this is the first of three volumes that will condense the first 25-episode season of Gundam 00 into feature-length videos. They all feature some new animated sequences and some partially re-recorded dialogue.

    The Mysterians
    TMDB3.1
    FF3.0

    The Mysterians

    1957 · 1h 29m · JP

    In Japan, scientifically advanced invaders from the war-destroyed planet Mysteroid cause an entire village to vanish, then send a giant robot out to storm the city by night, after which they request a small patch of land on Earth and the right to marry earthling women, claiming to be pacifists. Mankind must decide whether to capitulate or to resist.

    Japan's Longest Day
    TMDB3.6

    Japan's Longest Day

    1967 · 2h 37m · JP

    A dramatisation of the 24-hour period in which the Japanese government was deadlocked over the decision to accept or reject the Allies' demand for an unconditional surrender following the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

    About Japanese War Movies

    Japanese cinema

    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.

    War

    War films range from combat spectacle to anti-war argument, and often try to be both at once. The genre is a reliable index of how a country understands its own history.

    In this list

    Years covered
    1956–2026
    Best reviewed
    The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (8.4)
    Often also
    Drama, Action, Animation

    Common questions

    What are the best Japanese war movies?
    By popularity across Flickfolio and TMDB, the top picks right now are Kagemusha, Kingdom 5: The Clash of Souls, and Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence. The full ranked list of 40 sits above — open any movie for ratings, reviews, and streaming availability.
    How is this list ranked?
    Japanese war movies are ordered by overall popularity, which blends how often a title is viewed, searched, and logged. It updates as viewing habits shift, so the list reflects what people are actually watching rather than a fixed critical canon.
    Where can I watch these movies?
    Every movie page lists current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region, alongside community ratings and reviews from Flickfolio members.

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