How to Immerse Yourself in Japanese Using Amazon Prime Video
Are you an Amazon Prime member? If so, did you know that you have free access to dozens of great Japanese anime series, TV shows, and movies using Amazon Prime Video? There are even a few Japanese language "Amazon Originals" (日本オリジナル) which were previously available only in Japan but are now available to stream in other countries.
In this post, I share how to learn Japanese using Prime Video and some of my favorite Japanese shows and movies available to stream for free.
How to Watch Japanese Content on Amazon Prime Video
Step 1: Sign up for Amazon Prime
If you're not yet an Amazon Prime member, sign up here. You can try Prime free for 30 days and then it's $14.99 a month thereafter.
Step 2: Download the Prime Video App
Amazon Prime Video can be streamed through your browser online or using one of the many Prime Video apps. Prime Video apps are available on the following platforms:
- iOS devices (iPhone, iPad & iPod touch)
- Android devices
- Apple TV
- Smart TVs (e.g. Samsung)
- Most Blu-ray players and modern set-top boxes
- Most modern game consoles (e.g. PlayStation, Xbox & Wii)
- Roku
- Google TV
- Amazon Fire TV, Fire TV Stick, Fire Phone & Fire Tablets
Step 3: Find Japanese language content
Here are three ways to find Japanese content on Amazon Prime Video:
- Within the Prime TV Shows area, check the "International" filter in the "Genre" dropdown and then the "Japan" filter in the "Foreign Subgenres" dropdown.
- Within the Prime Movies area, check the "International" filter in the "Genre" dropdown and then the "Japan" filter in the "Foreign Subgenres" dropdown.
- Browse anime series in the Anime TV section (some have Japanese audio, such as Blade of the Immortal and Vinland Saga).
Step 4: Turn subtitles on or off
To turn on subtitles:
- Select the Subtitles and Audio button (the speech bubble with 2 lines).
- Select your desired subtitle language.
- Select Subtitle Settings to customize the font size, color, etc.
- Tap or click anywhere outside the subtitle menu to return to your video.
If you want to practice your listening comprehension, try turning off English subtitles:
- Select the Subtitles and Audio button again.
- Select Off under Subtitles.
Unfortunately, most Japanese content on Amazon Prime Video does not have Japanese subtitles for those wanting to practice reading Japanese. For that option, check out Japanese anime, shows, and movies available on Netflix.
However, you can turn on both Japanese dubbing and subtitles for some newer Amazon Originals like Jack Ryan. It may seem a little strange at first to seeing an American CIA analyst speaking Nihongo, but you'll get used to it!
Recommended Japanese Anime, TV Shows & Movies on Prime Video
Here are seven Japanese titles to get you started on Amazon Prime Video:
Documental
The premise of Documental (ドキュメンタル) is simple: he or she who laughs last wins money!
The show pits ten of Japan’s top comedians against each other in a closed room, with each of them attempting to simultaneously make the other nine laugh while they themselves keep a completely straight face.
If a comedian smiles or laughs, they lose their entry fee of ¥1,000,000 (approx. $9,000 USD). But whoever manages to go the longest without cracking up, leaves with ¥10,000,000 (approx. $90,000 USD)!
If you enjoy comedy, psychology, and competition, this Prime Original is a great way to practice your Japanese while getting some laughs along the way.
The series is produced by MATSUMOTO Hitoshi (松本人志), a.k.a. Matchan (松ちゃん), a popular comedian and TV host in Japan. He created the show title by combining the words “documentary” (ドキュメンタリー) and “mental” (メンタル), since the series uses a documentary style to highlight the mental battles between the “comedic fighters” who agree to enter the room and put their hard-earned yen on the line.
- Type: TV series
- Genre: Comedy
- Rating: 13+
- Seasons: 5
- Release Date: 2018
- IMDB: 8.0/10
+ Stream Documental for free on Amazon Prime Video
Modern Love Tokyo
Modern Love Tokyo (モダンラブ・東京) is a Japanese remake of the Amazon Original series Modern Love, which was based on a weekly New York Times column of the same name. The series explore various forms of love—romantic, familial, platonic, etc.—via anthologies based in Tokyo.
- Type: TV series
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rating: 13+
- Seasons: 1 (7 episodes)
- Release Date: 2022
- IMDB: 6.6/10
+ Stream Modern Love Tokyo for free on Amazon Prime Video
Tokyo Girl
Tokyo Girl (東京女子図鑑, lit. “Tokyo Girls Guide”), is a “dramedy” centered around SAITOU Aya (斎藤綾) who dreamed of moving to Tokyo as a high school student living in rural Japan. She finally makes it to the big city at age 23, but reality doesn’t quite unfold with the same glamor and material trappings she had dreamed of back in the inaka (田舎, "countryside")...
- Type: TV series
- Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rating: 13+
- Seasons: 1 (11 episodes)
- Release Date: 2018
- IMDB: 8.0/10
+ Stream Tokyo Girl for free on Amazon Prime Video
Blade of the Immortal
Blade of the Immortal (無限の住人) is an Amazon Original anime series based on the manga of the same name. The series is set during the Edo Period (江戸時代) and centers around an immortal samurai named Manji (万次) who must kill 1,000 evil men to break his curse and regain his mortality.
- Type: Anime Series
- Genre: Action
- Rating: 18+
- Seasons: 1 (24 episodes)
- Release Date: 2019
- IMDB: 8.1/10
+ Stream Blade of the Immortal for free on Amazon Prime Video
Vinland Saga
Vinland Saga (ヴィンランド・サガ) is a Japanese anime and manga series set mostly in 11th century England after much of the region had been conquered by the Danish King Sweyn Forkbeard. It may seem funny at first to hear Vikings speak Japanese, but you will soon forget that fact as you get sucked into the story and excitedly follow the protagonist Thorfinn's mission to avenge his murdered father.
- Type: Anime
- Genre: Historical Drama, Adventure
- Rating: 18+
- Seasons: 2
- Release Date: 2019
- IMDB: 8.8/10
+ Stream Vinland Saga for free on Amazon Prime Video
13 Assassins
In this samurai epic set in the year 1844, thirteen samurai join forces to assassinate the tyrannical Lord MATSUDAIRA Naritsugu (松平斉承), the Shogun’s younger brother. Hence the film’s Japanese name “13 Assassins” (十三人の刺客). The film stars YAKUSHO Kouji (役所広司) of “Shall We Dance” fame.
- Type: Movie
- Genre: Drama, Action
- Rating: R
- Release Date: 2011
- Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
+ Stream 13 Assassins for free on Amazon Prime Video
Hafu
Hafu is a thought-provoking documentary about the lives of five Japan residents who have a Japanese parent and a parent from another country. Called hafu (ハフ, lit. “half”) in Japan, these multiethnic, multicultural individuals often face significant challenges in a country that has historically seen itself as monoethnic and culturally uniform.
- Type: Film
- Genre: Documentary
- Rating: 13+
- Release Date: 2013
- IMDB: 1.1/10
+ Rent Hafu on Amazon Prime Video
Hungry for more Japanese resources?
My book Master Japanese: How to Learn Japanese Anywhere in the World shows you exactly how to learn Japanese using my Anywhere Immersion Method, and includes hundreds of John-tested, John-approved Japanese learning resources.
Photo by Thibault Penin on Unsplash
