Some Best Anime Movies of All the Times That You Should Watch

With a rich entertainment cultural history, Japan saw Anime for the first time in the context of a commercial, influenced by Disney’s popularity with the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs cartoon in the 1950s. Many of Disney’s animation processes is streamlined by Japanese animators and manga artists in order to minimise development costs and frame count.

Space Opera and Mecha (Robots in Japan) started the ball rolling for full-fledged anime movies that initially packed theatre seats. Studio Ghibli paved the way for animation films during the Star Wars period. It attracted a large number of audiences who wanted to look at Space Opera from a new perspective, with a Japanese cultural undertone.

Anime shows necessitate a significant time investment in order to be hooked for a couple of seasons. Although some shows are worth the time, others veer off into a mundane and monotonous plot.

Best Anime Movies of All the Times

Get a bowl of popcorn and some nachos with lime mayo sauce. From anime girl collection, you will find the best anime movies to stream right now.

Ghost in the Shell

And if you’ve never heard of Ghost in the Shell, its successors and OVAs (Original Video Animations), or the television show that followed, you’ve certainly seen something influenced by it. In reality, this film was primarily responsible for inspiring the Wachowskis to develop the Matrix saga, as well as James Cameron to create the Avatar franchise. Even if there was no tangible proof of this film’s impact on Western films, it would still be a masterpiece with its innovative scenery and ground-breaking plot. GITS will still be under the shadow of Akira due to the cyberpunk stylistic parallels, but there is no questioning this film’s significance to the anime genre as a whole.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Giant machines, spacefaring bounty hunters, and cyborg samurai aren’t the only tropes in anime. In reality, some of the most moving tales are far more personal and relatable. One such tale is The Girl Who Leapt Across Time. Although it also has the fantastical aspect of time travel, the overarching story is that of adolescence and facing the implications of our decisions. Surprisingly, the anime film is based on Yasutaka Tsutsui’s 1967 fictional novel of the same name. If you’re looking for an introduction to anime but aren’t sure if you’re able to dive in with anything like Akira, this is a great place to start.

Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz

The Gundam franchise, with its over-the-top space wars involving giant combat robots, is undoubtedly one of the most familiar in the entire anime genre. And Endless Waltz is most likely the best feature-length offering from the venerable franchise. The plot isn’t revolutionary, but the outstanding action, animation, and traditional design of the ‘a bunch of gargantuan robots duking it out between the stars’ trope place this offering among some of the best Japanese animated films of all time. It’s also a very approachable choice for someone who’s even a little bit acquainted with the science fiction genre.

Spirited Away

Keep tissues on hand in case you need them in the second half of the film. The plot revolves around Chirro, a young child, and her parents who relocate to the countryside and settle in a small town in Japan.

Chirro’s father day makes a wrong turn on the path on their journey to their new home, and things take a turn for the worse as her parents are no longer the same due to any magical forces. Overall, prepare for a strong film experience from the Ghibli studios.

A Silent Voice: The Movie

Shôka Nishimiya, a schoolgirl, transfers to a new school where she is bullied and alienated by her classmates owing to her hearing impairment. The crisis reaches a climax when she is forced to switch schools again due to a boy called Shôya Ishida, who has made her life at school a living nightmare.

The teasing drama begins at her new school, as Nishimiya lives the remainder of her school years in pain, with no plans for the future. Years later, Shoya embarks on a repentance quest after remembering the crimes he perpetrated as a child.

Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies, set in World War II Japan, brings you through the thin and haunting truth of war as seen through the eyes of a traditional Japanese household.

Seita and Setsuko, two young siblings from a traditional Japanese family, were instrumental in bringing the war to a close. The siblings are separated by a bombing by American armies, and the majority of the plot revolves around Setsuko, who is trying to find his way back to Seito while reminiscing about his past.

Your Name

Things fall into position as relationships between two strangers shape in an unusual way. Taki, a high school boy who aspires to be an architect, musician, or something else artistic, is the star of the film. Horks in an Italian themed restaurant after school to fund his studies and raise extra money for his wallet. Every night in his sleep, he transforms into a girl who, in fact, is the daughter of the city’s political powerbroker.

Metropolis

The origin tale of Metropolis is one of the strangest of any anime on this list (or maybe any film, period). As it turns out, the film’s director, Osamu Tezuka, was inspired by master filmmaker Fritz Lang’s 1927 German silent film of the same name. What’s the one? He’d never seen the movie before. As a consequence, the anime has a look that is influenced by the source material but bears no other resemblances. Having said that, the disparity between the two is probably a positive thing, since the 2001 anime film turned out to be a completely unique piece of cinema – thanks to the participation of Akira founder Katsuhiro Otomo or renowned anime director Rintaro.

Howl’s Moving Castle

A love tale is ruined after an ancient witch curses 18-year-old Sophie to take on the body of an old lady.

To break the spell, Sophie sets out on a quest to pursue her riches in Howl’s Traveling Castle, where she encounters Howl’s ghost, Karishifâ. The fire demon makes his requests in exchange for releasing the girl from the curse.

The Anthem of the Heart

The anime film, titled Kokoro Ga Saabitagatterunda in Japanese, is about an outspoken, arrogant teenager. Her voice is magically ripped away from her, preventing her from harming anyone with her speech. This shift in her life allows her to reflect on her current perspective as she makes new friends and seeks peace in music.

Mirai

Another masterpiece by the legendary Mamoru Hosoda. Mirai is a story about two siblings, a little boy and an older sister. In his backyard garden, the boy discovers a portal that enables him to go back in time. They will visit ancestors from diverse eras and gain new perspectives on various aspects of life.

My Neighbor Totoro

Siblings aged 4 and 10 relocate to the countryside to be with their ailing mother and assist their father in overseeing their mother’s treatment. Satsuki and Mei discover a mysterious beast called Totoro in their neighborhood, with whom they have several magical adventures.

Wolf Children

When her werewolf husband is killed in an accident while looking for food to feed their twins, a woman becomes widowed. Now, as a widow, she must rear her werewolf children alone in the face of humanity, while maintaining their characteristic hidden behind the shelves.

Castle in the Sky

Sheeta, a mysterious child floating down from the clouds, is pursued by government officials and pirates in search of a mythical floating fortress. She encounters a young boy called Pazu, and together they set off to discover her abandoned civilization in a floating castle.

Ninja Scroll

The narrative of Ninja Scroll is set during the Tokugawa Shogunate, when a roaming swordsman must take on a clan of demons hellbent on conquering Japan. Sounds fairly ordinary, but this film became a cultural sensation for a variety of reasons. To begin with, the animation (done by the same company that worked on Aeon Flux and Vampire Hunter D) is smooth and beautiful still today. 

Second, the film’s hyper-violent and heavily erotic content demonstrated, perhaps for the first time, that anime was not only for youth. Don’t get us wrong: there’s something here that will be deemed taboo by today’s standards, but this film remains one of the best anime films ever made or would ever be made.

Barefoot Gen

A gripping tale of a child whose world is impacted by the country’s nuclear bombing. Barefoot Gen is loosely based on a real tale about the effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings on a household. It depicts the difficulties they face as a result of being shunned by local authorities and community for their liberal, unfiltered opinions on the fighting.

Dragon Ball Super: Broly

Goku and Vegeta meet a nemesis called Broly, whom they have never seen before. The plot is brilliantly constructed all the way up to the roots of Saiyans and how Broly became inextricably linked to them.

Akira

Akira is widely regarded as the most influential anime film of all time. In reality, references to this film have appeared in anything from South Park to Kanye West’s “Stronger” music video. The film is regarded as a cinematic marvel with both its art direction and animation – and rightly so, as it remains a stunning sci-fi film to behold even 30 years after its initial release. It’s also taught in film history classes at universities across the globe. If you just view one of the movies on our page, this should be it. It is valid even though you are not a fan of anime or science fiction.

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

Cowboy Bebop was a seminal anime TV show that aired in the late 1990s. It is also regarded as one of the greatest of all time. In reality, a live-action version of the film is in the works. Although we recommend that anybody interested see the original show first, the 2001 film is still well worth seeing – especially if you aren’t already acquainted with the characters. 

The action-adventure film features the same sleek animation as the television program, although somewhat more refined, with much of the same themes. As a side note, the movie takes place after the events of the season, but it isn’t exactly a prequel or continuation, but anyone viewing the show should stream it in between episodes if they like.

FLCL

FLCL isn’t technically a film; it’s a miniseries that screened in segments on television. However, it is divided into six episodes and lasts about 2.5 hours when seen in its entirety. And that, in our opinion, qualifies it as a film. Its position on this list is also bolstered by the fact that this extremely well-executed coming-of-age tale acts as both a standalone project and a sort of parody of anime as a whole. 

FLCL also borrows animation styles from other animation campaigns and is rife with comparisons to Lupin III, South Park, Gundam, Evangelion, and even Star Trek. If you will want to learn more about anime before seeing this one, it is still a significant job in the genre.

Final Verdict

These are the top best anime movies of all time that you cannot skip for any occasion. The list will never be full as younger anime films explore uncharted creative territory.