Japanese films released in 1961| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes |
|---|
| Akumyō | | | | |
| Akumyō 2: Araburu Kenkadamashī | | | | |
| All About Lily Chou-Chou | Shunji Iwai | Hayato Ichihara | Drama | |
| Toshiki Satō | Mao Nakagawa
Tsukasa Saitō | Pink | Best Film, Pink Grand Prix |
| Avalon | Mamoru Oshii | | Science fiction | Screened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival |
| Blue | Hiroshi Ando | | Drama | Entered into the 24th Moscow International Film Festival |
| Crayon Shin-chan: The Adult Empire Strikes Back | | | | |
| Desert Moon | Shinji Aoyama | | Drama | Entered into the 2001 Cannes Film Festival |
| | | | |
| Distance | | | | Entered into the 2001 Cannes Film Festival |
| Gaoranger: Fire Mountain Howls | | | Tokusatsu | Shown on a double bill with Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4 |
| Gaoranger vs. Super Sentai | | | Tokusatsu | V-Cinema |
| Go | | | | |
| | | | |
| Goryokaku | | | Historical epic | Based on events in the Boshin War of the 1860s |
| H Story | Nobuhiro Suwa | | Drama | Screened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival |
| | | Horror, musical | [1] [2] |
| Ichi the Killer | Takashi Miike | | | |
| Inugami | | Yūki Amami, Atsuro Watabe, Eugene Harada | | |
| | | | |
| Kamen Rider Agito: Project G4 | | | Tokusatsu | Shown on a double bill with Gaoranger: Fire Mountain Howls |
| Kinnikuman Nisei the Movie | | | | |
| Man Walking on Snow | Masahiro Kobayashi | | | Screened at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival |
| Metropolis | Rintaro | | Science fiction
Anime | |
| Millennium Actress | Satoshi Kon | | | |
| Minna no Ie | | | | |
| Mourning Wife | Daisuke Gotō | Mayuko Sasaki
Koharu Yamasaki | | Silver Prize, Best Actress, 2nd place and Best Cinematography, Pink Grand Prix |
| Saiyuki: Requiem - The Motion Picture | Hayato Date | | | |
| One Piece the Movie: Clockwork Island Adventure | | | | |
| Onmyoji | Yōjirō Takita | Mansai Nomura | | |
| Pistol Opera | Seijun Suzuki | Makiko Esumi | | |
| Poketto Monsutā Serebii: The Meeting that Traversed Time | Kunihiko Yuyama | | Fantasy Anime | |
| Shinsuke Sato | Yumiko Shaku, Hideaki Itō | Action, Science fiction | |
| Pulse | | Kumiko Asō, Haruhiko Kato, Koyuki | J-horror | |
| Spirited Away | | | | Blue Ribbon Award winner
Japan Academy Prize for Best Film
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature winner |
| St. John's Wort | | Megumi Okina, Yoichiro Saito, Koji Okura | J-horror | |
| Timeranger vs. GoGoV | | | Tokusatsu | V-Cinema |
| Takashi Shimizu | Miki Sakai | Horror | |
| | | Tokusatsu | |
| Warm Water Under a Red Bridge | | Kōji Yakusho
Misa Shimizu
Mitsuko Baisho | | Imamura's last feature film, entered into Cannes |
| Waterboys | | | | |
|
