Best movies on Apple TV+ (Japon) : our Top 20

2016 · Makoto Shinkai

Two high-school students who've never met, Mitsuha and Taki, live separate lives until one night they begin inexplicably swapping bodies. Mitsuha wakes up inhabiting Taki’s everyday existence while he finds himself living hers, and the strange exchange keeps occurring at unpredictable times, forcing them to coordinate, leave messages, and rearrange their routines to accommodate each other's world.

With Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Ryo Narita, Aoi Yuki, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Kaito Ishikawa and Kanon Tani

2003 · Edward Zwick

Nathan Algren, an American veteran brought to Japan to teach modern military tactics, gradually becomes moved by the samurai’s discipline and code of honor. Faced with a drive to erase their traditions for the sake of progress and open trade, he abandons his original role, embraces the samurai way, and takes up arms to defend their right to endure.

With Tom Cruise, Ken Watanabe, Timothy Spall, Tony Goldwyn, Hiroyuki Sanada, Koyuki and Shin Koyamada

1999 · Jim Jarmusch

A Black contract killer who has adopted the discipline, rituals and code of the ancient samurai becomes the mob's marked man, thrust into a lethal game where his sense of honor clashes with outlaw vengeance.

With Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Isaach De Bankolé, Cliff Gorman, Henry Silva, Tricia Vessey and Victor Argo

2023 · Hayao Miyazaki

During World War II, teenage Mahito—still reeling from his mother's tragic death—is sent from Tokyo to the quiet countryside to live with his new stepmother, Natsuko, whose uncanny resemblance to his mother unsettles him. As he tries to find his footing in this unfamiliar household, a persistent gray heron begins to appear at the margins of his days, its eerie presence both puzzling and tormenting, seemingly fixated on him and calling him "the long-awaited one."

With Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Ko Shibasaki, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Takuya Kimura and Keiko Takeshita

2005 · Roger Donaldson

A portrait of New Zealander Burt Munro, a relentless tinkerer and racer who spent decades rebuilding and modifying a 1920 Indian motorcycle until, in 1967, his ingenuity and perseverance earned him the land-speed world record on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats.

With Anthony Hopkins, Walton Goggins, Diane Ladd, Bruce Greenwood, Iain Rea, Tessa Mitchell and Aaron Murphy

2004 · Katsuhiro Otomo

Drawn into the shadowy machinations of the enigmatic Ten Rings, Shang-Chi is compelled to confront a past he believed he had left behind.

With Keiko Aizawa, Aiko Hibi, Manami Konishi, Anne Suzuki, Sanae Kobayashi, Katsuo Nakamura and Masane Tsukayama

2008 ·

In 208 A.D., as the Han Dynasty teeters on the brink, the calculating Prime Minister Cao convinces the capricious emperor that only a sweeping campaign against the western state of Xu and the southern principality of Eastern Wu can reunify the realm. Armies mobilize on an unprecedented scale, and, with survival at stake, bitter rivals Xu and Eastern Wu set aside their enmity to form a tenuous and unlikely alliance against Cao’s drive for domination.

With Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Zhang Feng Yi, Chang Chen, Zhao Wei, Hu Jun and Shidô Nakamura

2011 · Ron Fricke

Captured on 70mm over nearly five years and filmed across twenty-five countries on five continents, Samsara presents a visual odyssey through consecrated sites, regions marked by catastrophe, vast industrial landscapes, and the planet’s most awe-inspiring natural scenes.

With Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi, Puti Sri Candra Dewi, Putu Dinda Pratika, Marcos Luna, Hiroshi Ishiguro, Olivier De Sagazan and Ladyboys of Cascade Bar

2004 · Zack Snyder

A ragtag band of survivors fortifies an empty shopping mall after a sudden outbreak transforms the world outside into a landscape of ravenous, flesh-eating undead; within its fluorescent aisles they must navigate dwindling resources, fraying loyalties and the constant, creeping danger at the doors as they fight to stay alive.

With Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Ty Burrell, Inna Korobkina, Jake Weber, Michael Kelly and Kim Poirier

2013 · Carl Rinsch

A sealed briefcase containing an unknown prize falls into the hands of small-time criminals, sparking a brutal race as Irish extremists and the Russian mob close in. An Irish fixer assembles a handpicked squad of mercenaries—self-styled "ronin"—and sends them on a perilous mission to recover it.

With Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ko Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, Min Tanaka, Rinko Kikuchi and Jin Akanishi

2000 · Takeshi Kitano

After a reckless young man named Kenai is mysteriously turned into a bear, he’s forced to experience life from a whole new perspective and discover what truly matters. His bold, often hilarious trek across the wilderness brings him unlikely allies—a talkative bear cub named Koda, the bumbling moose duo Rutt and Tuke, shaggy woolly mammoths and a herd of rambunctious rams—and through their friendship he learns compassion, responsibility and the meaning of family.

With Takeshi Kitano, Omar Epps, Claude Maki, Susumu Terajima, Masaya Kato, Royale Watkins and Lombardo Boyar

2024 · Jeff Fowler

When a mysterious newcomer called Shadow appears wielding abilities unlike anything they've faced, Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails are forced to reunite. Outmatched at every turn, the trio must turn to an unexpected ally in a desperate bid to stop Shadow and save their world.

With Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Krysten Ritter and James Marsden

1992 · James Ivory

In Edwardian England on the cusp of modernity, liberal-minded Margaret Schlegel and her sister Helen find themselves drawn into the lives of two very different pairings: the wealthy, conservative industrialist Henry Wilcox and his wife Ruth, and the downwardly mobile working-class Leonard Bast and his mistress Jackie. Their intertwined relationships become a lens for examining shifting class divisions and the social upheavals of a changing era.

With Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anthony Hopkins, Samuel West, Vanessa Redgrave, Adrian Ross Magenty and Prunella Scales

2022 · Jordan Peele

In a remote ravine in California's interior, a small community uncovers an eerie, deeply unsettling discovery that shatters the quiet of their secluded lives.

With Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Brandon Perea, Steven Yeun, Michael Wincott, Wrenn Schmidt and Barbie Ferreira

2022 · Goro Taniguchi

Enigmatic pop star Uta reveals her true identity, propelling Luffy and the Straw Hat Pirates into an unexpected journey. Her grand, well-intentioned plan to impose global peace quickly spirals into peril, forcing the crew to face its dangerous consequences.

With Kaori Nazuka, Shuichi Ikeda, Mayumi Tanaka, Kazuya Nakai, Akemi Okamura, Kappei Yamaguchi and Hiroaki Hirata

2008 · Yojiro Takita

After losing his position in the orchestra, Daigo, a cellist, and his wife return to his small hometown to make ends meet. Expecting an interview at a travel agency, he instead finds himself being considered for a very different line of work — assisting at the local funeral home and facing departures of a far more final nature.

With Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano and Tetta Sugimoto

2022 · Jeff Fowler

Settled in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to show he can be a real hero. His moment arrives when Dr. Robotnik returns, now teamed with Knuckles, and the duo seek an emerald with the power to obliterate civilizations. Sonic and his loyal companion Tails set off on a globe-spanning race to recover the gem before it falls into the wrong hands.

With Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, Jim Carrey and Natasha Rothwell

2022 · Jeff Fowler

Settled in peaceful Green Hills, Sonic is desperate to prove he’s cut out to be a true hero. His chance comes when Dr. Robotnik returns, now teamed with the formidable Knuckles, in pursuit of a mythical emerald with the power to obliterate whole civilizations. With his loyal companion Tails by his side, Sonic embarks on a globe-spanning race to recover the gem before it can be seized and used for devastation.

With Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, Jim Carrey and Natasha Rothwell

2020 · Jeff Fowler

Endowed with lightning-fast speed, Sonic has settled into life on Earth—until his remarkable abilities catch the eye of the eccentric, dangerously brilliant Dr. Robotnik. A high-stakes, globe-trotting pursuit ensues as the obsessed inventor seeks to harness Sonic’s one-of-a-kind power, propelling the blue speedster and his friends into a breakneck race to prevent a plot for world domination.

With James Marsden, Ben Schwartz, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Neal McDonough and Jim Carrey

2016 · Duncan Jones

Azeroth’s tranquil societies teeter on the verge of war when a fearsome horde of orc warriors—desperate refugees from a dying homeland—arrive bent on claiming new lands. A suddenly opened rift links the two worlds and sets them on a collision course: one army faces obliteration while an entire people risks extinction. From opposite sides, two champions are drawn into a decisive confrontation that will determine the survival of their loved ones, their cultures, and the world they call home.

With Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Ben Schnetzer, Toby Kebbell and Robert Kazinsky