5 Must-See Japanese Gangster Films if You Enjoyed Like a Dragon: Yakuza

The Yakuza have a special aura of mystery, which is why they have become so popular in cinema and literature. Yakuza films have even become a subgenre of gangster cinema.

We have collected five very different films about Japanese gangsters, from touching dramas to bloody action movies.

1. Brother, 2000

Yamamoto is a Yakuza who has dedicated his entire life to the loyal service of his clan. His life is radically changed by the tragic murder of his boss, after which the clan falls apart and one by one subordinates go over to the enemy's side.

Yamamoto himself prepares to accept death and gives his gang partner a gun, but he persuades him to flee to the US, where the gangster's half-brother, a small-time drug dealer named Ken, lives. After meeting him and getting to know his friends, Yamamoto creates a mafia clan that will soon be reckoned with in Los Angeles.

2. Graveyard of Honor, 1975

The movie tells the story of Rikio Ishikawa from the Kawada clan. Headstrong and unwilling to accept authority, he repeatedly breaks the rules: he attacks people from other clans, steals money, and organizes provocations.

The head of a friendly family wants to run for parliament, but loses the election because of a massacre caused by Ishikawa. When they try to hold Ishikawa accountable, he blows up his boss's car and wounds him. Such disobedience is not forgiven in the yakuza – now he is banned from Tokyo for ten years, and a bull's-eye appears on his back.

3. Fireworks, 1997

Officer Nishi resigned after a tragic incident: while visiting his wife Miyuki in the hospital, where she was diagnosed with leukemia, his friends were attacked. One of them, Tanaka, was killed, the other, Horibe, was disabled for life.

Horibe tells his former colleague that his marriage has broken up and that he himself is thinking about suicide, and also about painting, but he has no money for paints and brushes. The main character decides to help and commits a bank robbery.

He gives part of the money to Tanaka's widow, buys art supplies for Horibe with the rest, and takes a trip around Japan with his wife. Unfortunately, they will not be able to enjoy the sights in peace.

4. The Outsider, 2018

In post-war Japan in the 1950s, American POW Nick is in prison in Osaka. By chance, he frees yakuza member Kiyoshi from the noose and helps him escape.

In gratitude, the Shiromatsu family, to which Kiyoshi belongs, organizes Nick's release. The mafiosi offers the outsider a small job in which he brutally beats up a businessman. Kiyoshi and Nick become close, the latter is given a luxurious house and a suitable suit, and gradually becomes more and more integrated into the world of the yakuza.

5. Yakuza Princess, 2021

It all begins with a massacre at a family party in Osaka 20 years ago. In the present day, now in Brazil, a young man wakes up in a hospital with a scarred face, an ancient katana and amnesia. In Brazil, a woman named Akemi is learning the art of swordsmanship from a sensei.

Recently, an unknown person killed Akemi's grandfather, and now she is alone, having no parents. Meanwhile, in Osaka, a tattooed man's phone rings.