20 Must-Watch Anime Movies for Every Fan: A Comprehensive Guide
Anime is now one of the most beloved entertainment genres that has spread all over the world. So, if you are curious about animes, what should you definitely watch? Let this list be a compass for you on your adventure in the anime world, here you go!
20. Porco Rosso (1992):
IMDb: 7.7
Summary: In the 1930s, an Italian soldier, a World War I hero, is cursed and turns into a creature that is a mixture of a human and a pig.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Shuichiro Moriyama, Tokiko Kato, Bunshi Katsura Vi
19. Cowboy Bepop: The Movie (2001):
Summary: As a result of a terrorist attack, a deadly virus is released that threatens the lives of all people on Mars. As always, it will be up to Bepop and his team to catch this cold-blooded terrorist.
Director: Shin'ichiro Watanabe
Cast: Koichi Yamadera, Unsho Ishizuka, Megumi Hayashibara
18. Tokyo Godfathers (2003):
IMDb: 7.8
Summary: On New Year's Eve in Tokyo, three homeless people find a baby in a garbage dump. Three people who have set themselves the task of finding the family of this unidentified baby are waiting for adventures they did not expect.
Director: Satoshi Kon
Cast: Toru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto
17. Ninja Scroll (1993):
IMDb: 7.8
Summary: Jubei is a very strong swordsman. An evil clan that has decided to defeat the Tokugawa Shogunate must enlist the help of a ninja girl and a government agent.
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Cast: Koichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono
16. Ghost in the Shell (1995):
IMDb: 7.9
Summary: In this anime set in the distant future, a cyborg policeman and his partner go on a hunt for a mysterious hacker named Puppet Master.
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Cast: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Otsuka
15. Wishper of the Heart (1995):
IMDb: 7.9
Summary: A cute love story between a girl who loves reading books very much and a boy who has previously borrowed all the books that she likes. There is also a mysterious cat involved.
Director: Yoshifumi Kondo
Cast: Yoko Honna, Issey Takahashi, Takashi Tachibana
14. Jujutsu Kaisen 0: The Movie (2021):
IMDb: 7.9
Summary: He decides to start training to deal with a cursed spirit that haunts the head of one of his three friends. Meanwhile, Jujutsu experts who are aware of their powers will keep an eye on Okkatsu.
Director: Seong-Hu Park
Cast: Chinatsu Akasaki, Aya Endo, Kana Hanazawa
13. Akira (1988):
IMDb: 8.0
Summary: A secret military project endangers the whole of Neo-Tokyo and turns a member of a motorcycle gang into a psychopathic psychic. Only a young boy and his biker friends will be able to stop this emerging danger.
Director: Katsuhiro Omoro
Cast: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama
12. Perfect Blue (1997):
IMDb: 8.0
Summary: A young woman who is a singer in a Japanese pop group quits singing and continues to pursue her acting career. Starting to be followed by an obsessive admirer, the young woman gradually begins to lose touch with reality.
Director: Satoshi Kon
Cast: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji
11. Castle in the Sky (1986):
IMDb: 8.0
Summary: In order to explore and defend a mysterious flying fortress, an ordinary boy from Earth and a girl who fell from space with a magical crystal have to fight against pirates.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Mayumi Tanaka, Keiko Yokozawa, Kotoe Hatsui
10. Barefoot Gen (1983):
IMDb: 8.0
Summary: This film, which is really a very effective criticism of the nuclear attack, tells how an atomic bomb affects the lives of a young child and the people around her.
Director: Mori Masaki
Cast: Issei Miyazaki, Yoshie Shimamura
9. A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016):
IMDb: 8.1
Summary: A girl who was bullied enough to move in with one of her classmates embarks on a journey to make amends years later.
Director: Naoko Yamada
Cast: Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yuki
8. Wolf Children (2012):
IMDb: 8.1
Summary: A young woman who unexpectedly lost her werewolf husband while hunting has to take care of her two werewolf children alone. Various difficulties await the woman who wants to keep both the identities of her children secret and to provide them with a happy life.
Director: Mamoru Hosada
Cast: Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, Haru Kiroki
7. My Neighbor Totoro (1988):
IMDb: 8.1
Summary: Two little girls meet forest spirits in the village where they moved to be closer to their mother, and they go through various adventures.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto
6. Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train
IMDb: 8.2
Summary: Tanjiro Kamado, whose family was slaughtered by a demon and whose sister was turned into a demon, has embarked on a brand new struggle as a demon slaughterer. Various difficulties await Tanjiro, who is fighting for revenge and to make his sister human again, on the Mugen train.
Director: Horuo Sotozaki
Cast: Natsuki Hanae, Akiri Kito, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka
5. Howl's Moving Castle (2004):
IMDb: 8.2
Summary: When a young girl who lacks self-confidence is cursed by a witch, she learns that the only way to lift the curse is a wizard who is as insecure as she is, but just as charismatic.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashuin
4. Princess Mononoke (1997):
IMDb: 8.4
Summary: Ashitaka, who is on a quest to find a solution to Tatarigami's curse, finds herself in the middle of a war between forest spirits and Tatara.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Yoji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yuko Tanaka
3. Your Name (2016):
IMDb: 8.4
Summary: A young girl living in a rural town wants to be a boy living in Tokyo in her next life. However, he realizes that he should be careful what she wishes for when a child enters her life, between whom a strange connection is established.
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiarishi, Ryo Narita
2. Grave of the Fireflies (1988):
IMDb: 8.5
Summary: In the Japanese city of Kobe, it is about the struggles of two brothers to survive in the last months of World War II.
Director: Isao Takahata
Cast: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiriashi, Akemi Yamaguchi
1. Spirited Away (2001):
Summary: A little girl named Chiro is the main character of this film. Chiro enters the world of spirits named Kami. Chiro's parents, who have stepped into a world full of witches, spirits and monsters, have been turned into pigs by a witch. Little Chiro strives to bring her family back to the world of people.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Rumi Hiigari, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki
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