High On Films' 50 Best Japanese Films of the 21st Century

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It is a general idea that the Japanese cinema’s downfall started in the 1980s, and the 90s economic stagnation knocked the film industry down until its revival through J-horror (in the late 1990s). But since cinema history is often written from a Western perspective, we need to deeply examine such one-dimensional outlook directed against any home-grown national cinema. It’s true that the spread of television reduced the number of theater-going audience in Japan in the 1970s and 1980s. At the same time, the Hollywood movies garnered more popularity than the Japanese ones. Moreover, the biggest Japanese film studios like Shochiku, Toho and Nikkatsu were in deep financial trouble from the start of 1970s and they hardly made the kind of films that found an international audience. Finally, we should take in the fact that around the 1980s & 1990s, Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema became the face of Asian cinema in the European and American markets.



But it doesn’t mean there was dearth of new talents in the post-new wave generation Japanese cinema. From Kazhuhiko Hasegawa’s The Man Who Stole the Sun (1979), Kohei Oguri’s Muddy River (1981), Yoshimitsu Morita’s The Family Game (1983) to Juzo Itami’s The Funeral (1984) & Tampopo (1985), and Mitsuo Yanagimachi’s Fire Festival (1985), we are gradually discovering the gems of Japanese cinema from this era. One of the great Japanese auteurs, Nobuhiko Obayashi made some of his best works in the 1980s. And who can forget the rise of anime and the domination of Studio Ghibli in the 1980s & 1990s? Then there was Takeshi Kitano, Shinya Tsukamoto, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Hirokazu Koreeda, Naomi Kawase, and so on. Even the veteran Japanese filmmakers like Nagisa Oshima, Shohei Imamura, Kaneto Shindo, Masahiro Shinoda, Seijun Suzuki, and Koji Wakamatsu were making movies in the 80s, 90s, and some even in the 2000s.
The point is that – despite the limited output of the massive Japanese film industry in the decades following the 1960s or the alleged lack of creative flourish – Japanese cinema always continues to be one of the greatest cinemas around the globe. The masters of 21st century Japanese cinema are also engaged in the process of comforting the disturbed and disturbing the comforted. Maybe, our myopic tendencies might have kept some of the gems of modern Japanese cinema hidden. It’s akin to what the Nigerian author Adichie says about ‘the danger of a single story’. A phrase she uses in her TED speech to emphasize how false perceptions and overly simplistic beliefs can restrict our ideas about a person or a group or a country.
In that way, movie lists are efficient to overcome the simplistic notions about a national cinema. A movie list, of course is strictly subjective, and hence it’s not definitive even though the title makes it sounds like that. In fact, making a movie list is not an act of educating movie-lovers. But it’s an act of learning and sharing. So join us in this process and let’s look at some of the best films of Japanese cinema from the ongoing 21st century:

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  1. 1 new

    Ôdishon

    1999 — a.k.a. Audition, in 11 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    Yurîka

    2000 — a.k.a. Eureka, in 2 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    Batoru rowaiaru

    2000 — a.k.a. Battle Royale, in 9 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi

    2001 — a.k.a. Spirited Away, in 39 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    Sennen joyû

    2001 — a.k.a. Millennium Actress, in 7 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    Kairo

    2001 — a.k.a. Pulse, in 5 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    Tasogare Seibei

    2002 — a.k.a. The Twilight Samurai, in 10 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    Amida-do dayori

    2002 — a.k.a. Letter from the Mountain, in 0 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Zatôichi

    2003 — a.k.a. The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi, in 6 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Tôkyô goddofâzâzu

    2003 — a.k.a. Tokyo Godfathers, in 5 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    Cha no aji

    2004 — a.k.a. The Taste of Tea, in 2 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    Suwingu gâruzu

    2004 — a.k.a. Swing Girls, in 1 top list Check
  13. 13 new

    Dare mo shiranai

    2004 — a.k.a. Nobody Knows, in 8 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    Hauru no ugoku shiro

    2004 — a.k.a. Howl's Moving Castle, in 18 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    Linda Linda Linda

    2005, in 2 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    Yureru

    2006 — a.k.a. Sway, in 0 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Paprika

    2006, in 7 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    Jitsuroku Rengo Sekigun: Asama sanso e no michi

    2007 — a.k.a. United Red Army, in 2 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    Mogari no mori

    2007 — a.k.a. The Mourning Forest, in 2 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    Aruitemo aruitemo

    2008 — a.k.a. Still Walking, in 7 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Ai no mukidashi

    2008 — a.k.a. Love Exposure, in 4 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Tokyo Sonata

    2008, in 3 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Okuribito

    2008 — a.k.a. Departures, in 8 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Fisshu sutôrî

    2009 — a.k.a. Fish Story, in 0 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    Kari-gurashi no Arietti

    2010 — a.k.a. The Secret World of Arrietty, in 0 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Jûsan-nin no shikaku

    2010 — a.k.a. 13 Assassins, in 1 top list Check
  27. 27 new

    Kiseki

    2011 — a.k.a. I Wish, in 0 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Kotoko

    2011, in 0 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Waga haha no ki

    2011 — a.k.a. Chronicle of My Mother, in 0 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    Like Someone in Love

    2012, in 2 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Ôkami kodomo no Ame to Yuki

    2012 — a.k.a. Wolf Children, in 7 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Soshite chichi ni naru

    2013 — a.k.a. Like Father, Like Son, in 3 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    Kaguya-hime no monogatari

    2013 — a.k.a. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, in 8 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Jigoku de naze warui

    2013 — a.k.a. Why Don't You Play in Hell?, in 1 top list Check
  35. 35 new

    Iya monogatari: Oku no hito

    2013 — a.k.a. The Tale of Iya, in 1 top list Check
  36. 36 new

    Ritoru foresuto: Natsu/Aki

    2014 — a.k.a. Little Forest: Summer/Autumn, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    0.5 miri

    2014 — a.k.a. 0.5 Mm, in 1 top list Check
  38. 38 new

    Umimachi Diary

    2015 — a.k.a. Our Little Sister, in 3 top lists Check
  39. 39 new

    Happî awâ

    2015 — a.k.a. Happy Hour, in 5 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    An

    2015 — a.k.a. Sweet Bean, in 1 top list Check
  41. 41 new

    Fuchi ni tatsu

    2016 — a.k.a. Harmonium, in 1 top list Check
  42. 42 new

    Kono sekai no katasumi ni

    2016 — a.k.a. In This Corner of the World, in 2 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    Kimi no na wa.

    2016 — a.k.a. Your Name., in 12 top lists Check
  44. 44 new

    Hanagatami

    2017, in 0 top lists
    Check
  45. 45 new

    Kamera o tomeru na!

    2017 — a.k.a. One Cut of the Dead, in 4 top lists
    Check
  46. 46 new

    Manbiki kazoku

    2018 — a.k.a. Shoplifters, in 10 top lists
    Check
  47. 47 new

    Netemo sametemo

    2018 — a.k.a. Asako I & II, in 0 top lists
    Check
  48. 48 new

    Mother: Mazâ

    2020 — a.k.a. Mother, in 0 top lists
    Check
  49. 49 new

    Gûzen to sôzô

    2021 — a.k.a. Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy, in 3 top lists
    Check
  50. 50 new

    Doraibu mai kâ

    2021 — a.k.a. Drive My Car, in 11 top lists
    Check
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Last updated on Jun 19, 2022; source