Martial Arts
Studio Ghibli
Inspired By...
Now THEY Can Act!
Representation Matters
100

This film is a biographical martial arts entry that is based on the grandmaster of martial art Wing Chun, who was also the teacher of Bruce Lee.

Ip Man

100

This film was Studio Ghibli’s first official production.

Castle in the Sky

100

This 2000 Japanese film was the inspiration for The Hunger Games.

Battle Royale

100

This nominee for Best Actor in a Leading role has also starred as Glenn Rhee in The Walking Dead.

Steven Yeun

100

This character is the 13th and newest Disney Princess and the first of Southeast Asian descent.

Raya

200

In what would be Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death in 1973, this film went on to be the most profitable martial arts film of all time, not to mention one of the most popular.

Enter The Dragon

200

This Studio Ghibli animated movie is loosely based on The Little Mermaid.

Ponyo

200

This horror film revitalized horror in Japanese cinema and led to western remakes of J horror films like The Grudge, Dark Waters and Pulse. 

The Ring

200

Most well known for his role as Jimmy Woo in the MCU, this actor has been in other hits such as Always Be My Maybe, and was most recently in the new show Young Rock.

Randall Park

200

This director is the 2nd woman and first Asian woman to win an Oscar for Best Director.

Chloe Zhao

300

Known as a broad homage to classic martial arts movies, this Tarantino film features Uma Thurman as The Bride (Uma, Jerry! Uma!)

Kill Bill 

Originally set to release as one movie, the original cut had a runtime of over 4 hours so it was split into 2 volumes.

300

This film is the highest grossing film in Japanese cinema history and the only non-English film to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.

Spirited Away

300

This movie directed by Akira Kurosawa was the inspiration for Star Wars.

The Hidden Fortress

300

A Chinese-born Singaporean actor and Wushu champion, this actor made his debut in the 1982 film Shaolin Temple, with his first non-Chinese film being Lethal Weapon 4.

Jet Li

300

Asians are stereotypically lauded for their scholastic skills, but this 2019 Netflix film shows that the depth of Asian American characters goes beyond their academic achievements.

Always Be My Maybe

400

Commonly referred to as one of the most influential non-English movies of all time, this martial arts classic was directed by Ang Lee and won 4 Oscars at the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

400

Studio Ghibli was co-founded by Isao Takahata and this director who Takahata is credited with discovering. 

Hayao Miyazaki

400

This Hong Kong film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak was remade into The Departed, winning Martin Scorsese an Oscar for Best Picture.

Internal Affairs

400

Although he is the voice of the Emperor in the animated version of Mulan, this actor is known for his prominent role as Miyagi in the 1984 classic The Karate Kid.

Pat Morita
400

This movie starring Awkwafina accurately depicts the cultural differences in family matters many Asian Americans feel due to a clash between American individualistic values and Asian collectivist values.

The Farewell

500

Directed by, written by, and starring Jackie Chan, this Hong Kong crime-action meets martial arts movie went on to create a franchise of 7 total films.

Police Story

500

Studio Ghibli's logo features this character from one of their most beloved films.

Totoro from My Neighbor Totoro

500

This 1954 Japanese film is responsible for creating the "assembling the team" trope common in many action, heist and Western films. 

Seven Samurai

500

Named one of Asia's 25 greatest actors of all-time by CNNGo, Chin Han played Lau, a mob boss and CEO of Lau Security Investments Holdings, in this iconic superhero movie.

The Dark Knight

500

As the second film ever produced by a major Hollywood Studio to feature an Asian majority cast, this 1993 film provided much-needed insight and representation to the Asian-American community.  

The Joy Luck Club

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