Movies Similar to Sympathy for the Underdog

Song of Yakuza(1963)

A low ranking yakuza who spends more time enjoying life than doing the yakuza work falls in love with a pretty student girl, whose brother later gets drawn into the yakuza business against his own wishes.

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Fugitive Scoundrel(1970)

Gokudo goes politics. Gray-haired Bin Amatsu has Wakayama assist a politician, meaning trashing the opponent. But of course the opponent has a pretty daughter to have a crush on. Enter protective Bunta Sugawara and Gokudo’s gotta settle for a cheaper Toei nude actress.

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Dolls(2002)

Dolls takes puppeteering as its overriding motif, which relates thematically to the action provided by the live characters. Chief among those tales is the story of Matsumoto and Sawako, a young couple whose relationship is about to be broken apart by the former's parents, who have insisted their son take part in an arranged marriage to his boss' daughter.

7.6

Brother(2000)

A Japanese Yakuza gangster's deadly existence in his homeland gets him exiled to Los Angeles, where he is taken in by his little brother and his brother's gang.

7.1

High & Low The Movie(2016)

Chiku is a devastated and dangerous town with 5 gangs fighting fiercely. Mugen and the Amamiya Brothers clashed, leading to Mugen disbanding.

6.3

The Rule for a Vagabond(1965)

A brave warrior fights to restore peace to a town riddled by crime, one sword at a time, in this historical action saga.

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Wasabi(2001)

Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.

6.6

Kunisada Chuji(1958)

Kunisada Chuji is a common folk hero who looks out for poor people in the country who are at the mercy of corrupt officials. Intent on fulfilling a dying wish from one of his henchmen, Asataro, to find a decent home for his young nephew, Chuji descends from his hide-out in the mountain, and heads to the city in spite of numerous dangers that await him there.

5.2

Dochinpira 12: Dangerous Pheromones(1995)

Jin, the unstoppable gigolo, becomes infatuated with a beautiful woman named Emi he spots on the street. But not only does she reject him, he also ends up, as usual, being chased by punks from the Gokuraku gang. Later that night, Jin meets Norishiro at a bar, who happens to know Emi. She offers him a deal: if he can seduce Emi within five days, she’ll pay him 1 million yen. Jin goes to the club where Emi works, only to find out she has a boyfriend, Toshio, a civil servant who is drowning in gambling debt, owing 10 million yen to Fujita of the Gokuraku gang. Now he demands Toshio provides Emi for prostitution. At first, Jin wants nothing to do with Toshio’s mess… but something changes within him.

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Outlaw Cop(1976)

A bad cop is engaged in a violent chase to catch a yakuza boss. In his absence his wife runs away with another man, who turns out to be the very same man that her husband is hunting. Once he discovers this, he loses his nerve and turns in his badge. But the chase turns into a personal vendetta where the ex-cop plans to wipe out the entire gang.

5.3

Blue Sky(1989)

A road movie about three persons traveling in a campervan on their way to Tokyo, Hamamatsu, and Kyoto. The film is based on the story of the heroine, a young girl named Momo, who was a member of the "21 Faces of Kaijin" gang involved in the Glico Morinaga Incident, and the film's ideas are remarkable, including the use of a tape recording of the actual incident.

0.0

Bad City(2022)

Kensuke Sonomura directs the legendary Hitoshi Ozawa in this ultimate V-Cinema actioner. Kaiko City is plagued with poverty and crime. When a corrupt businessman decides to run for mayor and starts eliminating opponents from the rival mafia, a former police captain serving time for murder is secretly released and put in charge of a special task force to arrest him.

6.9

Kill Bill: Vol. 1(2003)

An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.

8.0

Dead or Alive(1999)

Ryūichi and his small gang of Triad vie for control of the Japanese underworld in a crime-ridden Shinjuku quarter while Detective Jojima tries to bring it down.

6.4

The Shortest Distance is Round: Rain and Soda(2020)

Overcoming many obstacles, Haruto and Aoyama have finally become an item. They affirm their love for each other and agree to leave for faraway lands, but the following morning Aoyama disappears. Where could he have gone!? Before long, Shibahara, a man who claims to know all about Aoyama's situation, appears before Haruto. What secrets has Aoyama been hiding? Haruto returns to the male escort club and meets fellow castrated escort Ruka. In an industry full of temptations, will Haruto be caught up in the danger zone yet again? With the appearance of new characters, what impact do they hold for Haruto and Aoyama’s relationship?

8.0

The Shortest Distance Is Round(2019)

Haruto is a freshman and a loner high school student until the arrival of the new teacher Aoyama. Aoyama cares for Haruto and starts to exchange letters with him, as something more grows inside both of them. But one night, an unexpected kiss ends their beautiful relationship. Three years later, Haruto has become a male prostitute in order to pay back his debts, when he reunites with Aoyama by chance.

5.8

Versus(2000)

A group of ruthless gangsters, an unknown woman and an escaped convict have met, in The Forest of Resurrection, the 444th portal to the other side. Their troubles start when those once killed and buried in the forest come back from the dead.

6.2

Fireworks(1997)

Beleaguered police detective Nishi takes desperate measures to try and set things right in a world gone wrong. With his wife suffering from leukemia and his business partner paralyzed from a brutal gangster attack, Nishi borrows from a yakuza loan shark and then robs a bank to clear his debt.

7.7

Shinjuku Swan(2015)

Shiratori Tatsuhiko works as a scout for Burst, a talent agency in Kabukichō, Shinjuku's red light district. In a business where money means everything Tatsuhiko finds himself in a constant struggle between rival talent scouts and the yakuza.

5.6

Yakuza vs. Gang Leader(1974)

Gokudo Shimamura comes to blows with the Delinquent Boss who rolls into town with his motorcycle gang.

5.0