Not 《大濛》 or 《咒》! Top 10 Taiwanese and Hong Kong Films That Took Japan by Storm in the Past Decade, with the Champion Grossing Over 500 Million Yen and Causing a Frenzy Across Japan

In recent years, the visibility of Taiwanese and Hong Kong films in Japan has significantly increased, ranging from youth romance, historical themes to horror films, courtroom dramas, and action movies, each attracting different audience groups. Some works rely on box office word-of-mouth for long-term screenings, some have topped the Netflix Japan rankings, and some films have been remade by the Japanese film industry, gradually breaking through the original Chinese-language film audience circle. The following ranking is compiled based on the scale of release in Japan, box office performance, streaming heat, remaking influence, film festival results, and audience discussion. Some works belong to mini-theater and film festival word-of-mouth films, not every one of them reaches the level of being known to the public, but they have all left a vivid impression on Japanese film audiences. The 10th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Fang Yu-ting, Ke Wei-lin 《大濛》 Directed by Chen Yu-xun, 《大濛》 is set against the backdrop of the White Terror period in Taiwan in the 1950s, depicting the journey of a girl from Chiayi named A Yue, who, after learning that her brother was executed in Taipei, travels alone to retrieve his body, encountering Zhao Gongdao, a rickshaw puller from Guangdong, China. The two, both having lost their sense of belonging, embark on a ridiculous and sad journey, gradually becoming each other's most important support in a life of political oppression and poverty. The film was released in Japan on May 8, 2026, under the title 《霧のごとく》. Many Japanese audiences initially thought this would be a heavy political film, but after watching it, they exclaimed, 'It completely exceeded expectations and is a very Taiwanese human drama.' Some netizens also mentioned that the scale of recreating the streets of Taiwan in the 1950s in the film is surprising, while the interaction between Fang Yu-ting and Ke Wei-lin keeps the story warm. When talking about the ending, some described it as 'sniffling sounds all over the theater,' and others said the last scene evoked an indescribable sentiment, leaving them unable to calm down for a long time after leaving. The 10th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Fang Yu-ting, Ke Wei-lin 《大濛》 (Image source: Weibo) The 9th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Wong Chuk-sang, Ki So-kong 《淪落人》 《淪落人》 depicts a Hong Kong man named Cheung Wing-hon, who, due to an accident, becomes paralyzed and separated from his wife and children, and meets Evelyn, a domestic helper from the Philippines. The two, who do not speak the same language and have completely different lifestyles, gradually see each other's dreams suppressed by reality. The film, set in a narrow Hong Kong apartment and daily life, presents the situation of the disabled, foreign workers, and urban underclass residents, and won the Audience Award at the 2019 Osaka Asian Film Festival. Some Japanese netizens described this as 'a long-awaited touching Hong Kong film,' with the dialogue between the two main characters, seasonal changes, and the sense of life all perfectly arranged. Other audiences highly praised Wong Chuk-sang for putting away his past tough image and showing a soft and restrained performance; Ki So-kong also portrayed the cautiousness and stubbornness of a helper living under someone else's roof. Regarding the ending, Japanese netizens wrote, 'It makes you want to laugh but also can't help but cry,' believing that the film left a gentle and powerful aftertaste. The 9th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Wong Chuk-sang, Ki So-kong 《淪落人》 (Image source: Weibo) The 8th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Wong Cho-wah, Wong Dan-ni 《毒舌大狀》 《毒舌大狀》 stars Wong Cho-wah as Lin Liang-shui, a judge who loses his position and becomes a barrister. Due to his negligence in a case, Wong Dan-ni, who plays a single mother named Tsang Kit-yi, is wrongly convicted and sentenced to 17 years in prison. Tormented by his conscience, Lin Liang-shui decides to reinvestigate the case, only to discover that the case involves Hong Kong's aristocratic families, the judicial system, and huge interests. 《毒舌大狀》 with its dense dialogue, courtroom confrontations, and the story of a small person challenging power, broke the record for Hong Kong-produced films with a box office of over 100 million Hong Kong dollars in Hong Kong and was released in Japan on October 20, 2023. Japanese netizens believe that the film in the first half portrays Lin Liang-shui as an arrogant barrister that is hard to identify with, but in the second half, through his repentance and counterattack, the audience gradually feels the urge to support him. Someone described the courtroom climax as 'my chest was hot by the end,' and someone else praised the final debate as 'satisfying and full of human touch.' Some audiences thought the reasoning process was a bit strong, but still affirmed that the pace of the film was smooth, and two and a half hours almost felt no drag. The 8th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Wong Cho-wah, Wong Dan-ni 《毒舌大狀》 (Image source: Weibo) The 7th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Wang Jing, Tseng Jing-hsuan 《返校》 Adapted from the Taiwanese homonymous game, 《返校》 is set against the backdrop of the martial law period in 1962. Wang Jing, who plays a high school student named Fang Rui-xin, wakes up in an empty campus and meets Wei Zhong-ting, played by Tseng Jing-hsuan, who secretly participates in a banned book reading club. The two try to find a way to escape the campus but gradually discover that the ghosts, monsters, and bloody scenes before their eyes are all related to political persecution, informing, and a love that cannot be made public. The film was released in Japan on July 30, 2021, allowing Japanese players who were familiar with the game to re-experience this piece of Taiwanese history. Japanese audiences had mixed reviews of the film's horror elements, with some believing that the monster design weakened the power of the historical story, while others highly praised it as 'flawlessly good,' stating that the film, under the shell of horror, describes the constantly changing trust and suspicion between teachers and students and classmates. Some netizens sighed after watching it, 'The truly terrifying thing is not the ghost but the human heart,' believing that the environment where speech is controlled and everyone is forced to monitor each other is more suffocating than any supernatural scene. The 7th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Wang Jing, Tseng Jing-hsuan 《返校》 (Image source: Weibo) The 6th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Liu Guan-ting, Li Pei-yu 《消失的情人節》 Directed by Chen Yu-xun, 《消失的情人節》 is a film that combines romance, fantasy, comedy, and suspense. Li Pei-yu plays Yang Xiaoqi, a post office clerk who is always one step ahead of others, while Liu Guan-ting plays Wu Gui-tai, a bus driver who is always half a step behind. Yang Xiaoqi's long-awaited Valentine's Day date suddenly disappears from her memory, and when she wakes up, it's already the next day. She can only investigate what happened on the lost day through photos, sunburns, and the reactions of the people around her. After the film was released in Japan in 2021, it was also adapted into a Japanese version 《快一秒的他》 starring Okada Masaki and Kiyohara Kaya. Japanese netizens praised the film for naturally blending comedy, mystery, and fantasy elements into the love story, with someone leaving a comment, 'There are laughs and touches, emotions seeping into the heart little by little.' Other audiences also mentioned that the convergence of the two stories at the end brings a wonderful sense of satisfaction like a short story, and the seemingly absurd time setting ultimately falls into a clumsy yet deep emotional wait. Someone also bluntly stated that the story development completely exceeded expectations, and in the end, they were moved to tears by Gui-tai, played by Liu Guan-ting. The 6th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Liu Guan-ting, Li Pei-yu 《消失的情人節》 (Image source: Weibo) The 5th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Song Yun-hua, Wang Da-lu 《我的少女時代》 《我的少女時代》 is set against the backdrop of a Taiwanese high school in the 1990s, with Song Yun-hua playing an ordinary female student named Lin Zhenxin, who has a crush on the school's heartthrob Ouyang Feifan, but unexpectedly becomes allies with Xu Taiyu, the school's boss played by Wang Da-lu. The two originally planned to break up the objects of their affection, but after spending time together, they discovered that the person who had been quietly changing and accompanying them through their youth was already there. The film incorporates Andy Lau's idol culture, cassette tapes, chain letters, and school life into the story, also evoking Japanese audiences' shared memories of the 1990s. Some Japanese netizens admitted that although the plot is quite typical, it still makes people feel 'laughing, touched, and with a sweet and sour feeling.' Song Yun-hua's glasses and braces girl image also received praise, with someone believing that she is cuter than after becoming beautiful. Other audiences wrote that the film is full of intense emotions rarely seen in current Japanese youth films. Even though they know where the story will develop, when they see missing, waiting, and reuniting years later, their hearts are still tightly grasped. The 5th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Song Yun-hua, Wang Da-lu 《我的少女時代》 (Image source: Weibo) The 4th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Lei Jia-xin, Zhu Xuan-yang 《哭悲》 《哭悲》 describes a virus that was originally mild suddenly mutating, with infected individuals retaining consciousness and memory, but their most violent and twisted desires are completely out of control. Zhu Xuan-yang, who plays Junzhe, and Lei Jia-xin, who plays Kaiting, are forced to be separated to both ends of the city after the outbreak of the epidemic. The two try to reunite but face merciless killings, sexual violence, and bloody attacks along the way. The infected are not zombies who have lost their reason but are clearly aware that they are hurting others, making the entire film more desperate than ordinary zombie films. Japanese audiences had a lot of polarized reactions after watching it. Someone only left a shocking comment, 'What is this thing,' and then highly praised the director for pushing vulgarity, cruelty, and despair to the extreme, even agreeing with the promotional copy that wrote 'a masterpiece that you don't want to watch a second time.' Some netizens described it as 'the worst yet most satisfying work,' believing that the setting that the infected retain reason is particularly terrifying; audiences who cannot accept blood plasma and bodily destruction reminded others not to easily challenge it. The 4th place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Lei Jia-xin, Zhu Xuan-yang 《哭悲》 (Image source: Weibo) The 3rd place in Taiwan and Hong Kong films that caused a sensation in Japan: Cai Ling-yan, Huang Xin-ting 《咒》 《咒》 adopts the form of a pseudo-documentary and found footage, with Cai Ling-yan, who plays a single mother named Li Ruonan, directly narrating her own experience to the camera