
iCM Forum's Favourite Japanese Movies : 2021 edition


The cinema of Japan has a history that spans more than 100 years and is one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world. Films have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived.
Japanese cinema got it all, Samurai, yakuza & Kaiju of course... but it's so much more than that.
Just when the Japan Challenge is near it's end, let's see what are iCM Forums Favourite Japanese Movies anf if we can discover some new directors who could rise and stand between our beloved Ozu, Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Kobayashi etc etc.....
This is the third edition of that pool, precedents one where held in 2013 & 2017. So it is about time to do this again.

Quoting the 2017 ruleset :
I'm not going to set rules for which movies are admissible. If you feel a movie is Japanese (and good enough of course to include in your list) than you should include it. When in doubt about a movie, you can ask here for advice. But to give some guidelines as to what to search for: you can look at production country, language and/or the nationality of the director/crew.
The deadline is 30th June 2021 : I will download all lists the morning after deadline, so feel free to submit an incomplete list and keep editing your list until the deadline.
Rules :
1) Make a list of your favorite films (Films include feature length films, short films, documentaries, mini-series, whatever has an entry on IMDB, except TV series no video games either.).
You can submit a list in one of three ways:
1. Imdb list
2. ICM list
3. List of imdb urls if you can't make an imdb list.
Make sure your (imdb/icm) list is public!
2) There is no maximum number of films, but each film on your list must only be listed once. Your list should have at least 10 films in it.
3) Submit a link to your IMDB/ICM list here, by midnight CET June 30, 2021. I will download all lists the morning after deadline, so feel free to submit an incomplete list and keep editing your list until the deadline.
4) I will assume your list is RANKED unless you specify otherwise.
Other than a ranked list you can submit your list in one of the following ways:
- Unranked: All films get the same number of points (Pts are determined by the length of your list, same amount of total points as if the list had been ranked).
- Partially ranked: Top X is ranked, rest is unranked
List length and half-life will probably be respectively 200 and 30, since that was used in the 2 previous editions of this poll.

Some help:
Movies you rated on IMDb from Japan, sorted by your rating
Last editions results:
Favourite Japanese Movies | 2017 | ![]() ![]() |
![]() ![]() |
Results Thread | Nominations Thread |
Favorite Japanese Movies | 2013 | ![]() ![]() |
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Results Thread | Nominations Thread |
65 Participants
01 | St. Gloede | Ranked | St. Gloede | 195 |
02 | jvv | unranked | jvv(unranked) | 52 |
03 | Teproc | Ranked | Teproc | 43 |
04 | TraverseTown | Ranked | TraverseTown | 181 |
05 | Perception de Ambiguity | Ranked | Perception de Ambiguity | 570 |
06 | Onderhond | Ranked | Onderhond | 310 |
07 | blocho | unranked3 | blocho(unranked3) | 29 |
08 | mightysparks | Ranked | mightysparks | 30 |
09 | Dolwphin | unranked | Dolwphin(unranked) | 48 |
10 | Carmel1379 | Ranked | Carmel1379 | 118 |
11 | pitchorneirda | Ranked | pitchorneirda | 32 |
12 | Y U M E | Ranked | Y U M E | 285 |
13 | beavis | Ranked | beavis | 50 |
14 | hurluberlu | Ranked | hurluberlu | 206 |
15 | Caracortada | Ranked | Caracortada | 54 |
16 | filmbantha | Ranked | filmbantha | 95 |
17 | Mysterious Dude | Ranked | Mysterious Dude | 50 |
18 | zuma | Ranked | zuma | 90 |
19 | beasterne | Ranked | beasterne | 20 |
20 | peeptoad | Ranked | peeptoad | 18 |
21 | jeff_v | Ranked | jeff_v | 51 |
22 | russa03 | Ranked | russa03 | 51 |
23 | sushantv10 | Ranked | sushantv10 | 192 |
24 | zzzorf | Ranked | zzzorf | 99 |
25 | Smoover | Ranked | Smoover | 100 |
26 | RolandKirkSunglasses | Ranked | RolandKirkSunglasses | 54 |
27 | Torgo | Ranked | Torgo | 155 |
28 | Gorro | Ranked | Gorro | 200 |
29 | mjf314 | Ranked | mjf314 | 80 |
30 | Lammetje | Ranked | Lammetje | 11 |
31 | DudeLanez | unranked18 | DudeLanez(unranked18) | 85 |
32 | cinephage | Ranked | cinephage | 110 |
33 | clemmetarey | Ranked | clemmetarey | 45 |
34 | matthewscott8 | Ranked | matthewscott8 | 31 |
35 | murnaunosferatu | Ranked | murnaunosferatu | 50 |
36 | joachimt | Ranked | joachimt | 61 |
37 | frbrown | Ranked | frbrown | 111 |
38 | tommy_leazaq | Ranked | tommy_leazaq | 102 |
39 | insomnius | Ranked | insomnius | 81 |
40 | Melvelet | unranked50 | Melvelet(unranked50) | 136 |
41 | klaus78 | Ranked | klaus78 | 100 |
42 | sol | Ranked | sol | 100 |
43 | Rufus-T | Ranked | Rufus-T | 40 |
44 | zomgmouse | Ranked | zomgmouse | 122 |
45 | Gordon_Gekko | Ranked | Gordon_Gekko | 101 |
46 | Lonewolf2003 | unranked145 | Lonewolf2003(unranked145) | 179 |
47 | Mifune | Ranked | Mifune | 63 |
48 | perceval | Ranked | perceval | 127 |
49 | Opio | Ranked | Opio | 62 |
50 | Panunzio | Ranked | Panunzio | 32 |
51 | Fergenaprido | Ranked | Fergenaprido | 60 |
52 | DulceDoes | unranked21 | DulceDoes(unranked21) | 91 |
53 | connordenney | unranked23 | connordenney(unranked23) | 38 |
54 | gromit82 | unranked | gromit82(unranked) | 10 |
55 | lineuphere | Ranked | lineuphere | 110 |
56 | OldAle1 | unranked50 | OldAle1(unranked50) | 142 |
57 | longsilence | Ranked | longsilence | 144 |
58 | Good-Will-Harding | unranked32 | Good-Will-Harding(unranked32) | 105 |
59 | monclivie | Ranked | monclivie | 57 |
60 | PeacefulAnarchy | Ranked | PeacefulAnarchy | 80 |
61 | Wonderful Rainbow | Ranked | Wonderful Rainbow | 10 |
62 | Jimi Antiloop | Ranked | Jimi Antiloop | 24 |
63 | mathiasa | Ranked | mathiasa | 58 |
64 | Tim2460 | Ranked | Tim2460 | 43 |
65 | rokp | Ranked | rokp | 44 |
