What is the highest-rated Japan movie on Celluloid?

Seven Samurai (1954) leads our Japan catalogue with a 93% Celluloid Score — Celluloid Pick. Directed by Akira Kurosawa, it is ranked above 40 other Japan titles in our database.

Best Movies from Japan — Ranked by Celluloid Score

Quick Answer

The highest-rated Japan film on Celluloid is Seven Samurai (1954) with a 93% Celluloid Score — Celluloid Pick.

41: Films indexed

71%: Avg. Celluloid Score

2: Languages

34: Critic reviews

Guide to Japan Movies on Celluloid

Each film from Japan in our catalogue includes a Celluloid Score from up to four verified inputs, original verdict text, and linked editorial reviews where available. Audience sentiment is separate.

Titles are indexed by original language and country of production for easier discovery.

Essential Japan Picks

Top 5 by Celluloid Score

Seven Samurai 1954 · Akira Kurosawa · Japanese

Kurosawa's epic template for action cinema remains unmatched in scope, character, and editing rhythm.

93%

Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick

Tokyo Story 1953 · Yasujirô Ozu · Japanese

Ozu's minimalist domestic masterpiece routinely tops critics' polls as one of the greatest films ever made.

93%

Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick

Rashomon 1950 · Akira Kurosawa · Japanese

The film that introduced Japanese cinema to the world and gave us the term Rashomon effect.

92%

Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick

Spirited Away 2001 · Hayao Miyazaki · Japanese

Miyazaki's masterpiece won the Oscar for animation and remains Japan's most beloved export.

92%

Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick

Ran 1985 · Akira Kurosawa · Japanese

Kurosawa's King Lear adaptation is among the most visually overwhelming war films ever made.

91%

Celluloid Score Celluloid Pick

Japan Movie Reviews

All reviews →

Full critic reviews with answer-engine summaries — each review answers whether the film is worth watching, what it is about, and where to stream it.

Seven Samurai (1954) ★★★★★

Seven Samurai (1954) Review: A Japanese Classic

Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) endures as a defining action landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Essential viewing — a certified classic.

Tokyo Story (1953) ★★★★½

Tokyo Story (1953) Review: A Japanese Classic

Yasujirô Ozu's Tokyo Story (1953) endures as a defining drama landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Essential viewing — a certified classic.

Spirited Away (2001) ★★★★★

Spirited Away (2001) Review: Finding Courage in a Strange World

Hayao Miyazaki's fantasy turns bewilderment, work and small acts of kindness into an extraordinary adventure. A spoiler-free review of its animation, world-building and emotional logic.

An exceptional animated fantasy for viewers who enjoy strange worlds and patient discovery. Spirited Away combines dazzling invention with an ordinary child's courage; younger viewers may find its transformations and threats frightening.

Rashomon (1950) ★★★★½

Rashomon (1950) Review: A Japanese Classic

Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon (1950) endures as a defining crime landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Essential viewing — a certified classic.

Ran (1985) ★★★★½

Ran (1985) Review: A Japanese Classic

Akira Kurosawa's Ran (1985) endures as a defining action landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Essential viewing — a certified classic.

Shoplifters (2018) ★★★★½

Shoplifters (2018) Review: The Work of Being a Family

Hirokazu Koreeda finds affection, dependence and moral ambiguity in a precarious Tokyo household. A spoiler-free review of its ensemble, domestic detail and refusal of easy answers.

A compassionate, morally complicated family drama. Shoplifters is exceptional in its performances and everyday detail, though its child-neglect themes and painful questions make it more demanding than its warmth suggests.

Perfect Days (2023) ★★★★★

Perfect Days Review: Wim Wenders Finds the Sublime in a Toilet Cleaner's Routine

Wim Wenders's Perfect Days follows a Tokyo toilet cleaner through the small rituals of an ordered life, and locates in them a quiet transcendence — a serene, deeply humane film crowned by Kōji Yakusho's Cannes-winning performance.

A luminous, meditative ode to the beauty of the ordinary — one of Wenders's finest films and a masterclass in performance from Kōji Yakusho. Quietly perfect.

Drive My Car (2021) ★★★★½

Drive My Car (2021) Review: Learning to Listen

Ryusuke Hamaguchi's drama uses a car, a theatre rehearsal and the spaces between conversations to examine grief. A spoiler-free look at the performances, pacing and emotional demands.

A deeply rewarding drama for an attentive evening. Drive My Car finds emotional movement in listening and repetition, though its three-hour duration and restrained pace will not suit every mood.

Your Name (2016) ★★★★½

Your Name (2016) Review: A Japanese Classic

Makoto Shinkai's Your Name (2016) endures as a defining animation landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Essential viewing — a certified classic.

Harakiri (1962) ★★★★½

Harakiri (1962) Review

Masaki Kobayashi's Harakiri (1962) remains a defining Action landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover the title.

Godzilla Minus One (2023) ★★★★½

Godzilla Minus One (2023) Review: A Japanese Classic

Takashi Yamazaki's Godzilla Minus One (2023) endures as a defining action landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Essential viewing — a certified classic.

Princess Mononoke (1997) ★★★★½

Princess Mononoke (1997) Review: A Japanese Classic

Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke (1997) endures as a defining animation landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Essential viewing — a certified classic.

Black Box Diaries (2024) ★★★★☆

Black Box Diaries Review: Shiori Ito's Courageous Self-Investigation

Shiori Ito turns her own camera on her years-long fight for justice in Japan — raw, urgent, and impossible to look away from.

Essential documentary filmmaking.

High and Low (1963) ★★★★☆

High and Low (1963) Review: The Price of Doing Right

Akira Kurosawa turns a kidnapping into a test of responsibility, then widens the frame to an entire city. A spoiler-free review of the staging, police investigation and Toshiro Mifune's performance.

An outstanding moral thriller and police procedural. High and Low is compelling for its precise staging and difficult central choice, though its methodical investigation asks for patience after the urgent opening.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) ★★★★½

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) Review

Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies (1988) remains a defining Animation landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover the title.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020) ★★★★★

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020) Review: Japan's Record-Breaking Anime Epic

Haruo Sotozaki's feature adaptation became Japan's highest-grossing film — 98% critics, 97% audiences, and animation that turns grief into swordplay you feel in your chest.

Masterpiece-tier Japan animation on Best of Asia 2016–2026 — the shonen event film all others measured against.

Akira (1988) ★★★★½

Akira (1988) Review: A Japanese Classic

Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (1988) endures as a defining animation landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Essential viewing — a certified classic.

Ikiru (1952) ★★★★☆

Ikiru (1952) Review: What Makes a Life Useful?

Takashi Shimura's quiet performance gives Akira Kurosawa's drama its force. A spoiler-free review of bureaucratic routine, mortality and the difficult search for a useful life.

A moving, demanding drama about finding purpose in ordinary work. Ikiru rewards viewers who welcome moral questions and patient performances; its illness narrative may be difficult if loss is close to home.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning (2021) ★★★★★

Rurouni Kenshin: The Beginning Review — The Tragedy That Forged the Legend

A ravishing, devastating prequel — Satoh and Kasumi Arimura turn Kenshin’s assassin years into the franchise’s most emotionally powerful film.

The saga’s soul laid bare. Tragic, gorgeous, and unforgettable — the finest Rurouni Kenshin film.

Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends (2014) ★★★★½

Rurouni Kenshin Part III: The Legend Ends Review — Trilogy Catharsis Delivered

The Legend Ends pays off every vow and every scar — Satoh’s final technique and the ironclad showdown are pure live-action anime catharsis.

A thunderous, deeply satisfying trilogy closer. Honor, friendship, and steel collide in one of Japan’s finest action finales.

Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno (2014) ★★★★½

Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno Review — Civil War Spectacle with a Soul

Kyoto Inferno widens the canvas into civil-war grandeur while keeping Kenshin’s vow at the center — Tatsuya Fujiwara’s Shishio is a villain for the ages.

A scorched, propulsive middle chapter that raises the franchise to epic scale without losing its heart. Essential viewing.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004) ★★★★☆

Howl's Moving Castle (2004) Review

Hayao Miyazaki's Howl's Moving Castle (2004) remains a defining Fantasy landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover the title.

Look Back (2024) ★★★★☆

Look Back (2024) Review

Kiyotaka Oshiyama's Look Back (2024) remains a defining Animation landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover the title.

The Furious (2026) ★★★★☆

The Furious Review: Kenji Tanigaki's Tokyo Action Sprint Is 93% Lean Fury

Xie Miao and Joe Taslim anchor Kenji Tanigaki's one-night Tokyo actioner — 93% critics, 88% audiences, and hand-to-hand cinema that embarrasses Hollywood chase films.

Essential Japan action on Best of 2026 — martial-arts clarity over CGI bloat.

My Neighbor Totoro (1988) ★★★★☆

My Neighbor Totoro (1988) Review

Hayao Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro (1988) remains a defining Fantasy landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover the title.

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final (2021) ★★★★½

Rurouni Kenshin: The Final Review — Revenge, Brotherhood, and Brutal Grace

Mackenyu’s Enishi elevates a ferocious, emotionally raw finale — Otomo’s action craft remains the gold standard of Japanese live-action spectacle.

A bruising, beautifully staged revenge saga that honors Kenshin’s scars. Mackenyu steals scenes; Satoh holds the soul.

Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins (2012) ★★★★½

Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins Review — Live-Action Anime Done Right

Keishi Otomo’s Origins proves manga adaptation can be graceful, kinetic and emotionally grounded — Takeru Satoh’s Kenshin is an instant classic of Japanese blockbuster cinema.

A thrilling, big-hearted opener that sets a new standard for live-action anime. Satoh, steel, and soul — unmissable.

Happyend (2024) ★★★★½

Happyend Review: Gen Z Anger in a Near-Future Tokyo Hangout Movie

Neo Sora's 175-minute Tokyo drama threads surveillance-state anxiety through a loose friendship story that builds political fury sideways.

Patient, prickly, and urgently of-the-moment.

Battle Royale (2000) ★★★★½

Battle Royale (2000) Review: A Japanese Classic

Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale (2000) endures as a defining thriller landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover cinema from the region.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021) ★★★★☆

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021) Review

Sunghoo Park's Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021) remains a defining Animation landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover the title.

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway (2026) ★★★½☆

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Review: The Franchise Machine Purrs at Full Throttle

The 29th Detective Conan film swaps bombast for an honest-to-goodness mystery, wraps it in superbly animated motorcycle mayhem, and rode both to a record-breaking tenth-billion-yen run in Japan — proof this 29-film engine still has gears left.

One of the stronger modern Conan films — a treat for franchise faithful and a surprisingly workable entry point for the mystery-inclined. Casual viewers should expect formula, executed well.

Suzume (2022) ★★★★☆

Suzume (2022) Review

Makoto Shinkai's Suzume (2022) remains a defining Animation landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover the title.

The Boy and the Heron (2023) ★★★½☆

The Boy and the Heron (2023) Review

Hayao Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron (2023) remains a defining Animation landmark from Japan, with scores that still shape how audiences discover the title.

Worth watching — solid entertainment with lasting cultural visibility.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (2024) ★★☆☆☆