April Story
In spring, a girl leaves the island of Hokkaido to attend university in Tokyo. Once there, she is asked to reveal why she wanted to go there in the first place.
Movies Like April Story
Similar in style, tone, and themes — find your next watch.
Love Letter
1995★ 7.8
Hiroko attends the memorial service of her fiancé, Itsuki Fujii, who died in a mountain-climbing incident. Although Itsuki's mother says that their old house is gone, Hiroko records the address listed under his name in his yearbook and sends him a letter. Surprisingly, she receives a reply, and discovers it came from his old classmate, a girl who also happens to be called Itsuki Fujii.
Only Yesterday
1991★ 7.4
In lyrical switches between the present and the past, Taeko contemplates the arc of her life, and wonders if she has been true to the dreams of her childhood self.
Ocean Waves
1993★ 6.4
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...
Even If This Love Disappears from the World Tonight
2022★ 7.4
A high school girl wakes up each day with no memory of the day before. When she agrees to date a shy classmate, Toru, he begins to fall for her—despite her rule against falling in love.
The Best of Me
2014★ 7.5
A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
Love Everlasting
2016★ 7.4
Bridger is a young outsider who's always wanted more. He and his mother flee an abusive home, eventually finding a small town in the middle of nowhere. Once there, Bridger finds true acceptance with another misfit.
My Tomorrow, Your Yesterday
2016★ 7.5
Takatoshi Minamiyama majors in art at an university in Kyoto. On the train to the school, he sees Emi Fukuju and falls in love with her at first sight. Gathering up all his courage, he speaks to her. They begin to date and enjoy happy days together, but Emi reveals her secret to him.
Purple Hearts
2022★ 8.0
An aspiring musician agrees to a marriage of convenience with a soon-to-deploy Marine, but a tragedy soon turns their fake relationship all too real.
From Up on Poppy Hill
2011★ 7.5
Yokohama, 1963. Japan is picking itself up from the devastation of World War II and preparing to host the 1964 Olympics—and the mood is one of both optimism and conflict as the young generation struggles to throw off the shackles of a troubled past. Against this backdrop of hope and change, a friendship begins to blossom between high school students Umi and Shun—but a buried secret from their past emerges to cast a shadow on the future and pull them apart.
The Garden of Words
2013★ 7.6
Takao, who is training to become a shoemaker, skipped school and is sketching shoes in a Japanese-style garden. He meets a mysterious woman, Yukino, who is older than him. Then, without arranging the times, the two start to see each other again and again, but only on rainy days. They deepen their relationship and open up to each other. But the end of the rainy season soon approaches.
We Made a Beautiful Bouquet
2021★ 7.7
Two people meet each other after missing the last train home, leading to a beautiful relationship over five years.
Her Blue Sky
2019★ 7.3
High school student Aoi Aioi lives with her elder sister, Akane, after a tragic accident took their parents away 13 years ago. Because Akane has since been taking care of her single-handedly, Aoi wants to move to Tokyo after her graduation to relieve her sister's burden and pursue a musical career, inspired by Akane's ex-boyfriend Shinnosuke "Shinno" Kanamuro. Shinno was part of a band until he left for Tokyo to become a professional guitarist after the sisters' parents passed away, and he was never to be seen again.
Closest Love to Heaven
2017★ 7.6
When Ninon finds out that her neighbor and popular classmate Yuiji Kira only has one year to live, she decides to go out of her way and help him attain happiness on his remaining time.
The Lost Husband
2020★ 6.8
Trying to put her life back together after the death of her husband, Libby and her children move to her estranged Aunt's goat farm in central Texas.
Fireworks
2017★ 6.6
Moshimo, Japan. The annual fireworks festival is about to take place and a group of schoolboys, arguing over whether they are round or flat when viewed from different angles, set out to find it out.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
2025★ 6.2
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
Steins;Gate: The Movie - Load Region of Déjà Vu
2013★ 7.6
One year after the events of the anime, Rintarou begins to feel the repercussions of extensive time travel, and eventually completely fades from reality. Kurisu, being the only companion to remember him, now must find a way to bring him back.
Life in a Year
2020★ 8.2
A 17 year old finds out that his girlfriend is dying, so he sets out to give her an entire life, in the last year she has left.
All My Life
2020★ 7.8
It was a chance meeting started by one of Sol’s friends trying to chat up Jennifer. However, in the end, it was those two who hit it off. Sol enjoyed Jen’s smile, her effort, and how silly she could be. Jen enjoyed Sol’s cooking, his athleticism, and that he would join her in fun moments. As you can imagine, love bloomed, and things got serious. Jen’s investment in Sol led to her pushing him to follow his dreams and even move in to save money. Sol’s investment in Jen well, it led to him proposing. But what started as a liver tumor grew into full-on cancer, so with a diagnosis of 6 months to live, Sol and Jennifer try to make the best of it.
Over the Sky
2020★ 6.8
Mio is a girl in high school who slacks off. She and her childhood friend Arata and best friend Madoka spend their after-school days in Ikebukuro hanging out. One day, Madoka tells Mio that she loves Arata, and Mio realizes that she loves Arata, too. But she’s scared of their relationship falling apart and lies, saying she’ll help them. Mio deliberately acts coldly to Arata, and they get into a fight. She decides to work things out with Arata, but gets into a car accident on her way to meet him. She wakes up in a mysterious world. It's the Ikebukuro she knows, but something’s different...