Best anime movies provide kids and adults alike the substance for creativity and entertainment through the creative depiction of imaginary and almost-real anime characters.
Ever since the foundation of anime in the 1900s in Japan, anime had gathered quite the popularity in and out of Japan. Today the best anime movies have a global fanbase equal to that of best cartoons and animated movies.
Top anime movies have strong characters and visual storytelling. While it may sometimes question physics, it never fails to awe and dazzle our imagination.
Anime movies do not always have the best of designs or visuals or the characters that fit everyone’s taste, but what it does have is variety. Everyone will be able to find their type of anime, be it fantasy anime, action anime, or just good anime movies to watch.
If you have been searching “what anime should I watch” then this piece is for you. Because I have compiled the best anime movies which will be the juice for your thirst of uniquely creative and unlimited productions which only anime aesthetics can provide.
Without further ado, let us dive right into it.
Spirited Away (2001)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino
Spirited away starts when a ten-year girl and her family get lost in the woods and find a magical amusement where you buy food at nothing and get a thousand free 😉. The 10-year-old sulky girl thus enters the magical realm governed by strange creatures like a huge piece of dirt and a faceless monster and many more.
Seeming fable-ish, fantasy anime, the movie is in fact the expression of Japan after the World War II, where they were losing touch spiritually and their roots due to the rise of capitalism and consumerism.
A visual masterpiece of a movie touches the point that is so prevalent and dwells in not only Japanese culture but throughout the world today. This list is not in any specific order, but if it were, Spirited Away would be the first of the top anime movies to watch.
The pinnacle of storytelling, breathtakingly beautiful, the most authentic and original piece of artwork, Spirited Away, is the best anime movie of all time.
Grave Of The Fireflies (1988)
Director: Isao Takahata
Writers: Akiyuki Nosaka (novel), Isao Takahata
Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi
The thing about the art of movie-making is:
If you were an art lover and would love to have Mona Lisa hang on your wall you would not be able to do that since only the very rich art lovers can afford it.
However, with moving pictures or anime movies, anyone can afford to enjoy the best anime movies for a few bucks, or absolutely free sometimes.
Grave of the Fireflies falls in the category of best anime movies of all time that can be compared to Mona Lisa or whatever else is considered to be the best painting.
This anime movies’ anti-war theme is, in fact, such a trope and the overused topic of the 20th century. And one that follows a teenage boy’s striving to survive the aftermath of the bombing of his town.
Such an incredible story told through a proud teenage boy is not one for kids, although it was made for kids, it encompasses a mature tone.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
Directors: Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Writer: Hideaki Anno (screenplay)
Stars: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yûko Miyamura
Since I am writing about the best anime movies, it is hard to say this is the best anime movie and that is it.
Because these anime movies in fact have so much to offer the audience, apart from a visual masterpiece and superb storytelling. For example, the ending is something that no one expected yet loved.
If you have your own theories about the ending and how it should have been finished, as do most of its fans even today after 20 years, you can leave them in the comments, just make sure to prove them 😉.
As an anime, watching Neon Genesis is not easy if you have not been following through the series before the anime movie itself came out.
It still is one of those good anime movies to get into this amazing world of anime. The reason this is a great movie to get started is that you would be discovering what anime can do, and the depth and the length it can go in exploring a topic and expressing it.
Ghost In The Shell (1995)
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Writers: Shirow Masamune (based on the manga by) (as Masamune Shirow), Kazunori Itô (screenplay)
Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka
Before you heard the mixed review of Scarlett Johanson’s version of the movie, or maybe read 😄, there used to be the Ghost in the Shell. Anime movie that was widely popular in Japan, and it was about a cyborg policewoman fighting the crime lord called the Puppetmaster, classic hey 😉.
The original anime is full of incredible storytelling and graphics and of course, computer-generated boobs to service some of the fans.
Because it was written 15 years ago, they assumed all these and other shenanigans that happen in the anime movie would be happening by 2029, which seems like a long shot in 2020.
However, we are not here to discuss the reality of the possibility of its events, so if we take this out of the way, it is one heck of a good anime to watch.
In fact, it is one of the best anime movies contenders and is included in the top anime movies list.
The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
Director: Isao Takahata
Writers: Isao Takahata (story), Isao Takahata (screenplay)
Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen
The thing that makes the Tale of the Princess Kaguya such a masterpiece and one of the best anime movies is that it is hand-drawn and produced during a 10 year period.
The anime movie takes a Japanese folklore tale of a tiny nymph being born out of a bamboo tree who grows to be very beautiful.
Just to think that it took such a long time gives me goosebumps and shivers my skin, knowing how much passion and effort, especially love, was poured into this fantasy anime movie.
If you ever wondered what anime should I watch, then this should be on your top anime movies list. Because this one of those rare, good anime movies that you can get to appreciate the art and the making of anime.
Your Name (2016)
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Writers: Makoto Shinkai (based on his novel), Makoto Shinkai (screenplay)
Stars: Ryûnosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Ryô Narita
Your name has everything an anime lover expects, a visually impressive film, with a unique story and strong characters and plots twists and turns, it’s basically like a love note for a romantic or a very enticing cheap offer for a discount shopper.
If you ever wondered what it would be like if you swapped your body with someone random, you get your answer from this anime movie. It is more than a story of coming of age, it is romance, adventure, comedy, and time-travel anime.
I have not been talking about their reviews and rating on popular critics sites because each and every one of these top anime movies are rated way above average.
In the case of Your Name, it was rated 98% fresh on RT, which is certainly something to respect. I see it as a sign of successful storytelling, and as one of the best anime movies.
Millennium Actress (2001)
Director: Satoshi Kon
Writers: Satoshi Kon (original story), Sadayuki Murai (screenplay)
Stars: Miyoko Shôji, Shôzô Îzuka, Mami Koyama
Millennium Actress is directed by the same person who directed Perfect Blue, another one of his masterpieces and popular animes, the only difference here is that he did better all the things he could not with Perfect Blue.
Anime has never been considered a serious work of art outside Japan until like the late 90s or 2000s, and it probably started to become mainstream due to works like this.
This anime is filmed documentary-style exploring the life and career of an ex-actress. It is something that has never been done before in the 2000s, and if anyone could do it, it probably would have been Kon.
The brilliance of this anime is that it has so many depictions and definitions to it, you could easily say its a romantic anime, while you would also argue it is more about Japanese history, perhaps you could even easily say its an imaginary biography.
The list goes on, and no matter what category of filmmaking it falls under, or can even be considered it is about filmmaking and films in general, Millennium Actress is one of the best anime movies of all time. And one of the best anime movies examples which gained a massive audience for the anime genre itself.
Akira (1988)
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo
Writers: Katsuhiro Ôtomo (screenplay), Izô Hashimoto (screenplay)
Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama
Just like many other anime and their allegory to a period of time in Japan, Akira is in fact an expression of post World War 2 Japan set in the anime world in the future.
Because it explores such an important time in Japan and their struggles, Akira was a legendary success which transferred into the western world as well. It is kind of ironic that it became so popular in the west since their focus was mainly on Japan and their fears of westernization.
As an action anime, it has one of the best graphics of the 1980s, in fact, Akira was produced in1988, and it shocked the world with its accomplishment in visual storytelling because the technology was so limited then compared to now.
The funny thing is it takes place in 2019, proving the optimistic and futuristic nature of anime cinematography. I don’t know if Akira was ahead of its time or if we could not catch up technologically. It still is one of the best anime movies.
Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writers: Eiko Kadono (novel), Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)
Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma
If you are living with your parents and still cannot afford to be independent, do not watch this anime movie. It is going to make you hate yourself and probably cry your way out to your independent life.
Another one of the legendary accomplishments of anime cinematography and one of the best anime movies come from the late 80s. However, it is not the time period that defines this anime but its incredible anime aesthetic, strong characterization, and beautiful visuals, and its emphasis on independence and friendship.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is more than coming of age story for teens, it’s about an aspiring artists type struggles and their difficulties in making it in the field they desire the most. A film made in 1989 could not resonate more with today’s problems than any other contemporary movie.
It is for that reason alone this is one of the best anime movies and something that everyone should consider watching.
My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto
After watching so many of the legendary anime movies from the 80s something tells me that the 80s throughout the 90s to 2000s, were a period when anime went global and very popular. The best anime movies are for that reason come from that period, and My Neighbor Totoro is an excellent example of one.
It has two main protagonists, girls who encounter magical creatures called Totoros in the forest.
While the meaning and the symbolism of this legendary anime could go a long way, in short, it is about overcoming fears or thinking about them as children.
It is this age-old question and the topic about fears and overcoming them, but when you feature it Miyazaki style in Japanese anime with beautiful designs, it easily becomes one of the best anime movies.
Princess Monokone (1997)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writers: Hayao Miyazaki, Neil Gaiman (adapted by: English version)
Stars: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka
It is not the first time Miyazaki is talking about the environment nor is it the first anime movie I said was one of the best anime movies.
There are a number of explanations as to why the environment is so prevalent and appears time and again in Miyazaki’s films. Although not always as ferociously and explicitly as a war between nature and humankind like in the princess Monokone.
The main one I believe is Shinto religion which has close ties to nature and views it as part of the whole natural spirit rather than a separate being or entity that has to serve humankind as we do in the Judeo-Christian, or Abrahamic religions.
Princess Monokone takes this concept literal and animates a movie on it, with a literal war between humans and the nature.
Miyazaki’s masterpiece Princess Monokone is another one of the best anime movies of all time that deserves more than one watch.
Silent Voice (2016)
Director: Naoko Yamada
Writers: Yoshitoki Oima (manga: “Koe no katachi”), Reiko Yoshida (screenplay)
Stars: Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yûki
I have shown some of the best anime movies directed by Miyazaki who is like a household name in Japan and in the west. But this comes from a director as talented as him and someone who has been trying to fill in the void of Miyazaki’s retirement.
A Silent Voice proves he gave his best shot and it comes as close as being the type of masterpiece Studio Ghibli produces except in some parts it is even better.
Yamada’s attempt to show the side of the bully and the struggles he goes through due to the fact that he has been bullied has probably never been shown before.
Of course, we have all seen the bullied perspective and how successful or happy they became later in life.
However, never a side of the bully becoming sad and facing the consequences. It can get very sad and emotional at times because of the nature of the philosophy or topic they chose to explore but never boring for a minute.
It might not be Miyazaki’s best anime movies style but it is still one of the best Studio Ghibli produced.
Ponyo (2008)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Writer: Hayao Miyazaki
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Matt Damon, Liam Neeson
You know something up with a Studio or a person if everything he touches keeps on turning into gold. And that something you could assume, perhaps is a structure or a cheat, maybe a talent.
I would personally say it is a mixture of talent and a deep understanding of human nature with structural moviemaking. But regardless of whatever that is, Studio Ghibli has given us the majority of the best anime movies featured in this piece.
Ponyo comes from this very Studio and the very director who was on rodder on the ships of all others.
I could go on and on with this one again, talking about storytelling and visual beauty and stuff, however, one very specific thing that stands out more than anything else here is the soundtrack.
I am sure you have heard of the soundtrack even if you did not realize it was from this animated movie, it is performed by Daft Punk “One More Time”.
I knew about the song and had been listening to it for years until recently I discovered it was from Ponyo.
In The End
The substance for creativity and imagination can be found in various mediums of art, but none can provide it in the easiest and the most entertaining way possible as the anime genre and the best anime movies do.
Anime has also historically been the medium through which directors were able to tell stories that they could not in no other storytelling platforms. Since anime does not limit our imagination nor hinder it.
It is truly incredible how well, you can tell a story in this visual animated movie making.
