Tora-san Series
Otoko wa Tsurai yo (男はつらいよ, "It's tough being a man") is a Japanese film series starring Kiyoshi Atsumi as "Tora-san" (寅さん), a kind-hearted vagabond who is always unlucky in love. The series itself is often referred to as "Tora-san" by its fans. Spanning 48 installments released between 1969 and 1995, all of the Otoko wa tsurai yo films except episodes 3 (Azuma Morisaki) and 4 (Shun'ichi Kobayashi) were directed by Yōji Yamada, who also wrote (or co-wrote) all the screenplays.
Franchise Evolution & Timeline Analysis
The Tora-san Series has evolved significantly over a span of 50 years, growing from a singular narrative into a complex cinematic universe. With 50 interconnected entries, tracking the consistency of the franchise reveals fascinating trends in audience sentiment.
The "Series" Benchmark: 8.0/10
The franchise maintains a steady average rating of 8.0. While most series experience "Sequel Fatigue," Tora-san Series has managed to keep its narrative quality relatively stable, with Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset standing out as the peak cinematic achievement.
Continuity vs. Commercial Appeal
Our data indicates that while the "Release Order" is preferred for first-time viewers, the "Chronological Order" provides a much deeper understanding of the world-building within the Tora-san Series. The timeline highlights a clear three-act structure across all chapters.
Timeline & Watch Order
We recommend watching the Tora-san Series franchise in the following order to fully experience the narrative expansion.
Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp
Tora-san, an itinerant peddler who is thrown out of his father's house twenty years before but reconnects with his aunt, uncle and sister Sakura. Tora wreaks so...
Tora-san's Cherished Mother
Kuruma Torajiro is discovered looking around Kyoto for someone special to him....
Tora-san, His Tender Love
Traveling salesman Kuruma Torajirō falls in love with an inn manager as New Year's approaches....
Tora-san's Grand Scheme
After winning big at the races, Torajiro Kuruma wants to take his aunt and uncle on a trip to Hawaii to partly pay the great filial debt he feels he owes them, ...
Tora-san's Runaway
After an encounter with a dying yakuza's son and at his sister Sakura's urging, Torajiro attempts to change his vagrant lifestyle and become an honest worker wi...
Tora-san's Shattered Romance
Torajiro becomes homesick during his travels after watching a television report about his hometown and meeting a young woman that reminds him of his sister Saku...
Tora-san, the Good Samaritan
After a quarrel with his mother, Torajiro sets off to find a bride....
Tora-san's Love Call
Taking a message from Hiroshi's father to heart, Torajiro attempts to give up his wandering ways....
Tora-san's Dear Old Home
While Sakura and Hiroshi struggle to save funds to build a house, Torajiro befriends three young women on vacation during his travels....
Tora-san's Dream-Come-True
When Tora-san returns to visit his family, he is surprised to find an arrogant professor occupying his room. The professor and Tora-san become rivals for the af...
Tora-san's Forget Me Not
On the road again, Torajiro meets a kindred spirit in Lily, a lounge singer....
Tora-san Loves an Artist
Tora-San returns to Shibamata just before his family leaves on a trip for Kyushu. Later, he encounters an old school chum and begins to have feeling for his ar...
Tora-san's Lovesick
After Torajiro's latest attempt to find a bride goes awry, he starts traveling again and runs into Utako (last seen in Tora-san's Dear Old Home), now a widow....
Tora-san's Lullaby
After Hiroshi is injured in a workplace accident, Torajiro gives Sakura the money he has saved and leaves to work as a traveling salesman once again. During hi...
Tora-san Meets the Songstress Again
Tora-san visits Hokkaido and is reunited with Lily. Now divorced, she plans to resume her singing career and renews her unusual relationship with Tora-san....
Tora-san, the Intellectual
Tora-san is inspired to pursue an education after a visit to the grave of a woman he met years ago. When he returns to Shibamata with the intent to study, he f...
Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset
Tora-san arrives in Shibamata on Mitsuo's first day of school only to find that on his account, Mitsuo was embarrassed. After a fight with his family, he goes ...
Tora-san's Pure Love
When Tora-san's infatuation with his nephew's school teacher causes family turmoil, he leaves on his travels again. When he returns, he falls in love with the t...
Tora-san Meets His Lordship
Tora-san befriends the descendant of a feudal lord. The man asks Tora to locate his deceased son's wife who resides somewhere in Tokyo....
Tora-san Plays Cupid
Tora-san becomes friends with Toraya's newest tenant, a pachinko-playing electrician that goes by the nickname Watt. Tora attempts to match Watt with a young w...
Stage-Struck Tora-san
Tora-san leaves Shibamata once again after an argument with his family and finds himself at an inn where he meets Tomekichi, a young man who looks up to Tora-sa...
Talk of the Town Tora-san
After a chance encounter with Hiroshi's father on a bus, Tora decides to get serious and reflect on the mortality of man. His plans are derailed when a beautif...
Tora-san's Dream of Spring
Tora-san's opinions about Americans get challenged when another wandering peddler Michael Jordan stops by Shibamata....
Tora-san's Tropical Fever
When cabaret singer Lily writes Toraya about her illness, Tora-san rushes to Okinawa to be by her side....
Foster Daddy, Tora!
After a friend and business colleague dies, Tora-san visits the man's daughter, then takes her to Tokyo so she can study for a night school exam....
Tora-san's Love in Osaka
When his travels bring him to Osaka, Tora-san falls in love with a local geisha. He helps her to track down her estranged brother, and informs his family that h...
Tora-san's Promise
Tora-san returns to his family's home to attend an elementary school class reunion. After he embarrasses himself by getting drunk and insulting all his ex-class...
Hearts and Flowers for Tora-san
During his travels, Tora-san gets drunk with an old man in Kyoto. Though Tora-san never fully comprehends his importance, the old man is a Living National Treas...
Tora-san, the Expert
Tora-san gets into an argument with his uncle and sets out on the road again. In Kyushu he meets a young woman named Keiko and the shy zoologist Saburō, and att...
Tora-san's Song of Love
Tora-san returns to his family home to learn that his brother-in-law cannot go to Mitsuo's (Tora-san's nephew) athletic event. Tora-san volunteers to take his p...
Tora-san Goes Religious?
Tora-san visits brother-in-law Hiroshi's hometown to attend a memorial service for his late father. When the local temple priest becomes intoxicated, Tora-san w...
Marriage Counselor Tora-san
In Shibamata, Tokyo, Tora-san's family prepares for a wedding. Meanwhile, the traveling Tora-san meets an old acqaintance in Iwate Province. Tora-san refuses to...
Tora-san's Forbidden Love
Tora-san spends several days at the home of a hard-working salaryman ("salaried worker"), who abruptly disappears. When the man's wife asks Tora-san to help fin...
Tora-san, the Go-Between
In Nagasaki, Tora-san and an acquaintance help an old woman who has fallen and injured herself. She invites them to her home where the three share a night of ea...
Tora-san's Island Encounter
Tora-san's family's neighbor, Akemi, who had been married in Marriage Counselor Tora-san (1984), runs away from her husband, who is only interested in work. Tor...
Tora-san's Bluebird Fantasy
During his travels, Tora-san comes across a traditional theater he used to visit, and discovers that one of his old friends has died. Tora-san and his family he...
Tora-san Goes North
When his travels take him to rural Hokkaido, Tora-san helps a cantankerous old veterinarian (Mifune) in his relationships with his estranged daughter, and a wom...
Tora-san Plays Daddy
A playboy-gambler friend of Tora-san’s dies and, abandoned by his mother, his little boy suddenly turns up in Shibamata. Searching for the boy’s mother, Tora-sa...
Tora-san's Salad-Day Memorial
In his travels through Japan, Tora-san meets and falls in love with a female doctor, however he is afraid of committing to a relationship....
Tora-san Goes to Vienna
During his wandering throughout Japan, Tora-san meets a suicidal man. He travels with the man to Vienna, but winds up homesick for Japan....
Tora-san, My Uncle
Tora-san's nephew Mitsuo is exchanging letters with Izumi, a former classmate whose parents divorced and took her out of Tokyo....
Tora-san Takes a Vacation
Mitsuo goes to Nagoya to visit Izumi, whose father left Izumi’s sad, bar hostess mother for another woman, so together they decide to confront him in Oita. Mean...
Tora-san Confesses
When Izumi can't stand seeing her mother flirt with other men, she leaves home. She sends a letter to Mitsuo and Mitsuo goes looking for her. But Izumi unexpect...
Tora-san Makes Excuses
Tora befriends a pretty barbershop owner and runs into Izumi. When Tora twists his ankle, Mitsuo comes to care for him and see Izumi. Meanwhile, Izumi must choo...
Tora-san's Matchmaker
After failing to find a job, Mitsuo becomes a fisherman on a small island, and develops a crush on a young nurse there. Tora-san, dispatched to bring Mitsuo bac...
Tora-san's Easy Advice
Mitsuo, unhappy in his new job as a shoe salesman, is invited to a festival and is introduced to a friend’s sister. Tora-san meanwhile helps an injured housewif...
Tora-san to the Rescue
Tora-san works hard to bring together his nephew, Mitsuo, and Mitsuo’s girlfriend who is engaged to someone else....
Tora-san's Tropical Fever Special Version
Carrying a bag full of samples, Mitsuo makes rounds to shoe stores in remote cities. While staying at budget hotels, his thoughts turn to Tora-san....
Tora-san, Wish You Were Here
The 50th film in Tora-san series, using the old footages and newly shot scenes to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the series. The adult Mitsuo, Tora-san’s nep...
Common Questions about Tora-san Series
How many movies are in the Tora-san Series?
There are currently 50 movies in the Tora-san Series, starting from Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp to the latest release, Tora-san, Wish You Were Here.
What is the best order to watch the Tora-san Series?
The best way to watch the Tora-san Series is usually in release order: starting with Tora-san, Our Lovable Tramp and ending with Tora-san, Wish You Were Here. Check our timeline for the full chronological breakdown.
Which is the highest-rated movie in the Tora-san Series?
According to movieMx ratings, the fans have a strong preference for Tora-san's Sunrise and Sunset in this franchise.