Fantasy and mythology have a big role in Japanese culture, and it has a root for many science fiction stories known in modern days. For example, time travelling was mentioned in “Urashima Tarō” tale, and alien visitors in the story of “Kaguya-hime” so find here the best Japanese action fantasy movies and ignite your imagination.
Ghost in the Shell
One of the best Japanese action fantasy movies created by Shirow Masamune and Kazunori Itô, directed by Mamoru Oshii, and starring Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera, Yutaka Nakano, and Tamio Ôki.
Movie plot
The movie imagines the advanced technologies in the year 2029, when human brains can connect to the internet without any external devices. Major Motoko Kusanagi is a cyborg working for the police. She needs to find a criminal calling himself the Puppet Master, who hacks human brains and uses the information he can collect from it.
Movie Time: 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Movie type: Animation, Action and Crime.
Blade of the Immortal
Another one of the Japanese fantasy action movies created by Hiroaki Samura and Tetsuya Oishi, directed by Takashi Miike, and starring Takuya Kimura, Hana Sugisaki, Sôta Fukushi, Hayato Ichihara, Erika Toda, Kazuki Kitamura, Chiaki Kuriyama, and Shinnosuke Mitsushima.
Movie Plot
A live action film based on the manga by Hiroaki Samura.
The story is about a powerful samurai called Manji, who was cursed with immortality after a great battle. He is haunted by the brutal murder of his sister, and believes that only fighting evil will bring him peace.
When a group of warriors murder the parents of a young girl named Rin, Manji promises to help her take revenge. This quest will change him in profound ways.
Movie Time: 2 hours and 20 minutes.
Movie type: Drama, Action and Fantasy.
47 Ronin
A famous Japanese action movie created by Chris Morgan, Hossein Amini and Walter Hamada, directed by Carl Rinsch, and starring Keanu Reeves, Hiroyuki Sanada, Kô Shibasaki, Tadanobu Asano, Min Tanaka, Jin Akanishi, Masayoshi Haneda, Hiroshi Sogabe, and Takato Yonemoto.
Movie Plot
Lord Asano of Ako is a kind and wealthy man from the samurai class. One day he was walking with his assistant on a hunting trip, and they found a young boy named Kai alone in the forest. lord Asano takes him and raises him in the castle alongside his own daughter Mika.
Years later, Lord Asano hosts a welcome party for the shogun where many of the lords were present. Lord Asano is bewitched into attacking Lord Kira of Nagato, causing him to be dishonored. The shogun punishes him into committing seppuku.
Kai discovers that this was an evil plot by Lord Kira himself, and that his master would never do such a thing. He gathers all the other samurai that were loyal to Lord Asano, and they seek revenge for their master.
Movie Time: 2hours and 8 minutes.
Movie type: Drama, Action and Fantasy.
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Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero
Another one of the best Japanese action fantasy movies created by Akira Toriyama, directed by Tetsuro Kodama, and starring Masako Nozawa, Aya Hisakawa, Ryô Horikawa, Takeshi Kusao, Miki Itô, Mayumi Tanaka, Yûko Minaguchi, Kôichi Yamadera and
Masakazu Morita.
Movie Plot
Magenta is an evil CEO for a Pharmaceuticals company. He needs to revive the Red Ribbon Army that Goku destroyed thirty years ago in order to take revenge.
To do that, he hired Dr. Gero, the mad scientist who is obsessed with super heroes.
At the same time Goku, Vegeta, and Broly are honing their skills by training on Beerus’ planet. It seems like an interesting confrontation is about to take place.
Movie Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Movie type: Animation, Action and Adventure.
Godzilla: Final Wars
Another one of the famous Japanese action movies created by Isao Kiriyama, Ryûhei Kitamura and Wataru Mimura, directed by Ryûhei KitamuraKoji Hashimoto and starring Masahiro Matsuoka, Rei Kikukawa, Don Frye, Maki Mizuno, Kazuki Kitamura, and Kane Kosugi.
Movie Plot
The movie starts with an earth invasion by Xilians aliens, and the epic failure of the Earth Defense Force to stop them, so Commander Douglas Gordon finds that the only solution is to release Godzilla and give him the chance to defeat them after years and years of trapping him.
Movie Time: 2hours and 5 minutes.
Movie type: Fantasy, Action and Adventure.
My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission
Another one of the top Japanese action movie created by Kōhei Horikoshi, directed by Kenji Nagasaki and starring Daiki Yamashita, Nobuhiko Okamoto and Yuki Kaji.
Movie Plot
The movie is about a doomsday cult believing that the people who have superpower will increase and destroy real humanity, so they plant bombs releasing a trigger gas all over the world to kill people with superpower.
After the explosion of the first bomb, the World Heroes Association sent the best super heroes they have for disarming the rest of the bombs.
Movie Time: 2 hours and 5 minutes.
Movie type: Fantasy, Action and Adventure.
Jujutsu Kaisen 0
A movie about a high school student who got a strange power after being cursed. It is one of the best Japanese action fantasy movies created by Gege Akutami and Hiroshi Seko, directed by Seong-Hu Park and starring Chinatsu Akasaki, Aya Endô, Kana Hanazawa, Show Hayami, Yu Hayashi, Satoshi Hino, and Marina Inoue.
Movie Plot
After Yuuta Okkotsu loses his childhood friend Rika in a traffic accident, he felt he is not normal any more. He feels her spirit with him anywhere, but she is not the same. She turned into a powerful, twisted entity that protects him in violent ways.
Satoru Gojo is a master sorcerer teaching at Jujutsu High. He finds out about Yuuta and enrolls him in the school. Yuuta has to learn to control this new power while confronting his own grief.
Movie Time: 1 hour and 52 minutes.
Movie type: Animation, Action and Fantasy.
K-20: The Fiend with Twenty Faces
This one of the Japanese fantasy action movies created and directed by Shimako Sato, and starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, Takako Matsu, Tôru Nakamura, Kanata Hongô, Yûki Imai and Takeshi Kaga.
Movie Plot
The movie imagines an alternative steampunk reality in 1949, where World War II doesn’t happen and Japan does not get attacked by nuclear bombs. Tesla just won the Nobel Peace Prize, and the Japanese Empire is ruled by a rich aristocracy.
The capital of Japan in the movie is the fictional city of Teito, where inequality is rampant. K-20 is a master thief who steals from the rich. In his latest heist, K-20 frames the simple acrobat Hekichi Endo for his crimes.
Hekichi Endo is arrested and narrowly escapes execution. He assumes the identity of K-20 in order to prove his innocence.
Movie Time: 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Movie type: Adventure, Action and Crime.
Pokémon the Movie: I Choose You!
Another one of the best Japanese action fantasy movies created Takeshi Shudô, Satoshi Tajiri and Shôji Yonemura, directed by Kunihiko Yuyama and Lisa Ortiz, and starring Unshô Ishizuka, Rica Matsumoto, Sarah Natochenny, Megumi Hayashibara, Shin’ichirô Miki and Inuko Inuyama.
Movie Plot
Ash Ketchum is a young boy from Pallet town, his dream is to become the Pokemon master, and to follow his dream he starts his journey and went through Kanto region with his partner and best friend Pikachu.
Movie Time: 1 hour and 38 minutes.
Movie type: Adventure, Action and Animation.
The Seven Deadly Sins: Cursed by Light
Want more? Here is another one of the best Japanese action fantasy movies created by Rintarou Ikeda and Nakaba Suzuki, directed by Takayuki Hamana, and starring Zach Aguilar, Sora Amamiya, Brian Timothy Anderson, Chris Cason, Ray Chase, Allegra Clark, and Amber Lee Connors.
Movie Plot
The movie starts after 6 months from the defeat of the demon king by the Seven Deadly Sins, the team disbanded at this time because they thought that all troubles ended, but they were forced to go back together with their leader Meliodas after they feel that there is an evil magical alliance threatening the peace.
Movie Time: 1 hour and 19 minutes.
Movie type: Adventure, Action and Animation.
