Looking for something different than the usual Hollywood fare? Anime movies are a great place to start! It’s no secret that the Japanese art of animation is home to some of the most imaginative and innovative films ever made, with a style and sense of humor that’s completely unique.
The anime industry consists of over 430 major production studios, including the most memorable names like Studio Ghibli, Gainax, and Toei Animation. Studio Ghibli has been at the forefront of Japanese animation since it was founded by Miyazaki, Takahata, and producer Toshio Suzuki in 1985. It pioneered a kind of hand-drawn animation that is instantly recognizable for its sweeping panoramas, evocative watercolor backdrops, and soft pencil lines that give the impression of watching a moving painting.
Are anime movies a rare treat for you? Do you want to watch one but are not sure where to start? Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered! If you want something that catches your fancy, check out our list of the best anime movies with the highest-rated entries in the genre.
From the touching moments of Your Name to the thrilling adventures of Princess Mononoke, there are plenty of great anime movies to choose from!
#1 Spirited Away
2001 | 2h 5m
Hayao Miyazaki’s classic fantasy anime movie about a young girl who gets lost in a world of spirits. Spirited Away has been the highest-grossing film in Japanese history for a long time, having earned over $395 million worldwide. It has been recently surpassed by Demon Slayer: Mugen Train, released in 2020. Spirited Away is also the only Japanese movie to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
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#2 Your Name
2016 | 1h 47m
If you’re an active member of the anime community, there’s a 100% chance that you’ve heard about this movie. It depicts a high school student in Tokyo and a high school girl in the Japanese countryside who suddenly and inexplicably begin to swap bodies and live each other’s lives. This top anime movie has everything you can look for: outstanding graphics, a catchy soundtrack, a breathtaking plot, and of course, the tears.
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#3 Howl’s Moving Castle
2004 | 1h 59m
This is one of Studio Ghibli’s most beloved films and for a good reason. The story follows Sophie, a teenage girl who spends time at her late father’s hat shop. After meeting Howl, a powerful wizard, she ends up cursed by a witch to look like an old woman. Howl will use all his talent to return Sophie to her former youth and beauty.
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#4 My Neighbor Totoro
1988 | 1h 26m
When two young girls move to the country to stay with their sick mother, they meet the magical spirits who live in the nearby forest. The film is partially autobiographical. When Hayao Miyazaki and his brothers were children, his mother suffered from spinal tuberculosis for nine years and spent much of her time hospitalized. He once said the movie would have been too painful for him to make if the two protagonists were boys instead of girls.
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#5 Princess Mononoke
1997 | 2h 13m
There are a lot of good anime movies out there, but Princess Mononoke is still a representative work from Ghibli Studio and one of the most acclaimed anime movies. On a journey to find the cure for a curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war. In this quest, he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime. With its epic story and breathtaking visuals, Princess Mononoke is a landmark in the world of animation.
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#6 A Silent Voice
2016 | 2h 10m
A Silent Voice follows a former bully turned outcast who decides to reconnect and befriend the deaf girl he had tormented when he was a kid. The movie covers some heavy themes like suicide, disability, bullying, social alienation, and the pursuit of redemption. A Silent Voice is a little gem among the new anime movies and deserves all its recognition.
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#7 Kiki’s Delivery Service
1989 | 1h 43m
During her mandatory year of independent life, a young witch finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service. When she begins questioning herself and loses her magic abilities, she must overcome her self-doubt to get her powers back. This ’80s anime represents a heartwarming, gorgeously rendered tale of a girl discovering her place in the world.
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#8 Castle In The Sky
1986 | 2h 5m
Another one of Hayao Miyazaki’s works of art. Two kids with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle. Castle in the Sky thrillingly encapsulates Studio Ghibli’s unique strengths with a storytelling palette as rich and brilliant as its animation.
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#9 Grave Of The Fireflies
1988 | 1h 29m
Towards the end of WWII, the American army is terrorizing the local population of Kobe. 14-year-old Seita sees his mother dying in front of his eyes, in agony from the extensive burns on her body. With no parents to take care of him, he’ll have to survive through the end of the war while also becoming a parental figure for his 4-year-old sister. Grave Of The Fireflies is based on the author’s personal experience during the Kobe firebombing in 1945. It was written as a personal apology to Keiko, his little sister, who he failed to save from starvation.
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#10 Ponyo
2008 | 1h 41m
Five-year-old Sosuke meets Ponyo, a young goldfish princess who longs to become human after falling in love with him. Hayao Miyazaki drew most of the sea and wave imagery himself, experimenting and making it as expressionistic as possible. The opening twelve seconds, involving vast schools of fish and undersea creatures, required 1,613 pages of conceptual sketches to develop.
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#11 Wolf Children
2012 | 1h 57m
Best Animation Film at the Japanese Academy Awards of 2013. After her werewolf lover dies in an accident while hunting for food, a young woman is left alone to raise their werewolf children while keeping their real nature hidden from society. A heart-wrenching must watch anime that shows how strong a parent can become for the sake of their own children.
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#12 Akira
1988 | 2h 4m
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo by turning a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath. This is one of the first Japanese anime films to have the characters’ voices recorded before they were animated. While this is the typical practice in American animation, the animation is generally produced first in Japan. The movie takes place in 2019 and depicts Neo-Tokyo creating a new Olympic stadium. Coincidentally, Tokyo was scheduled to host the 2020 Summer Olympics before the pandemic delayed them until 2021.
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#13 The Secret World Of Arrietty
2010 | 1h 34m
The Clock family members are four-inch-tall people who live hidden in another family’s residence, borrowing simple items to make their home. Life changes for the Clocks when their teenage daughter, Arrietty, gets discovered by a human boy. As always, Studio Ghibli never ceases to amaze with the number of small details: in the Borrowers’ home, there are three cups with playing card symbols (heart, diamond, and club). The only symbol they do not have is the spade, which in many cultures is considered to be bad luck.
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#14 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
2006 | 1h 38m
Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time and uses it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as her own. This coming-of-age comedy drama has mad inventiveness to spare! An imaginative and thoughtfully engaging anime film with a highly effective visual design.
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#15 Perfect Blue
1997 | 1h 21m
Perfect Blue is one of those anime movies to watch without thinking twice. It follows the story of a pop singer who gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past. The film was supposed to be a live-action feature but became an anime when several backers abruptly pulled out in pre-production.
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#16 Whisper Of The Heart
1995 | 1h 51m
A love story between a girl who loves reading books and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she picks. Some of the backgrounds, clouds, and flying islands were painted by the artist Naohisa Inoue. Inoue sent an invitation to Hayao Miyazaki for one of his exhibitions since he was a huge fan. He didn’t expect anything, but Miyazaki showed up, and after buying one of Inoue’s paintings, Miyazaki asked him if he wanted to work for Ghibli’s next movie.
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#17 Garden Of Words
2013 | 46m
A teenage boy and a woman find an unlikely friendship in the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Without arranging the times, the two start to see each other over and over again, but only on rainy days. According to the animator Makoto Shinkai, the movie is a love story about people who feel lonely or incomplete in their social relations but don’t feel that they need to fix this loneliness.
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#18 The Boy And The Beast
2015 | 1h 59 m
When an orphan living on the streets of Shibuya stumbles upon a fantastic world of beasts, he’s taken in by the fierce warrior beast Kumametsu, who’s looking for an apprentice. Despite the slow start, The Boy And The Beast is one of the most beautiful stories about the inner journey towards maturity.
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#19 Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
2001 | 1h 55m
2071. A terrorist explosion releases a deadly virus on the masses, and it’s up to the bounty-hunting Bebop crew to catch the cold-blooded culprit. The full English title of the film is Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. However, supposedly due to copyright disputes over the subtitle Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, same as the famous song by Bob Dylan, the name was shortened to just Cowboy Bebop: The Movie for its release in the United States.
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#20 From Up On Poppy Hill
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#21 The Cat Returns
2002 | 1h 15m
After helping a cat, a teenage girl is involuntarily engaged to a cat prince in a magical world. This was originally going to be a short straight-to-video project. Still, producer Toshio Suzuki was so impressed with director Hiroyuki Morita’s storyboards, especially the main character Haru, that he encouraged Hayao Miyazaki to give this a cinematic release. So far, this is Studio Ghibli’s only spin-off or sequel feature film.
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#22 Ghost In The Shell
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#23 5 Centimeters Per Second
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#24 When Marnie Was There
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#25 Summer Wars
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#26 The Tale Of Princess Kaguya
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#27 Ninja Scroll
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#28 Paprika
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#29 Porco Rosso
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#30 Children Who Chase Lost Voices
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#31 Weathering With You
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#32 I Want To Eat Your Pancreas
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#33 Nausicaä: Valley Of The Wind
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#34 Final Fantasy Vii: Advent Children
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#35 Demon Slayer – Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train
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#36 Vampire Hunter D
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#37 Tales From Earthsea
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#38 The Wind Rises
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#39 My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
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#40 A Whisker Away
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#41 Blood: The Last Vampire
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#42 Ghost In The Shell: Stand Alone Complex – The Laughing Man
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#43 Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
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#44 Lupin The Third: The Castle Of Cagliostro
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#45 Steamboy
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#46 The End Of Evangelion
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#47 Fist Of The North Star
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#48 Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal
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#49 Origin: Spirits Of The Past
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#50 Pokémon: The First Movie
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#51 Trigun: Badlands Rumble
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#52 Metropolis
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#53 Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star Of Milos
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#54 The Animatrix
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#55 The Disappearance Of Haruhi Suzumiya
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#56 Appleseed
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#57 Afro Samurai: Resurrection
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#58 Memories
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#59 Dragon Ball Z: The History Of Trunks
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#60 Stand By Me Doraemon
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#61 Tokyo Godfathers
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#62 Patema Inverted
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#63 Bleach: Memories Of Nobody
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#64 Fullmetal Alchemist The Movie: Conqueror Of Shamballa
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#65 Only Yesterday
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#66 Pom Poko
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#67 Inuyasha The Movie 3: Swords Of An Honorable Ruler
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#68 Beyond The Clouds The Promised Place
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#69 My Hero Academia: Two Heroes
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#70 Bleach The Movie: Fade To Black
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#71 Dragon Ball: The Path To Power
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#72 Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
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#73 Wicked City
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#74 Sailor Moon R: The Movie
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#75 Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie: Pyramid Of Light
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#76 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
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#77 Death Note Relight 1: Visions Of A God
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#78 Ghost In The Shell: Solid State Society
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#79 Ah! My Goddess: The Movie
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#80 Dragon Ball Z: The Return Of Cooler
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#81 Belle
#82 In This Corner Of The World
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#83 Sword Of The Stranger
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#84 Voices Of A Distant Star
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#85 Mirai
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#86 Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence
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#87 Cardcaptor Sakura: The Movie
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#88 Astro Boy
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#89 Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie
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#90 Neon Genesis Evangelion: Death & Rebirth
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#91 Tenchi Muyo! In Love
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#92 Dragon Ball Z: Fusion Reborn
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#93 Pokémon Ranger And The Temple Of The Sea
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#94 Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’
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#95 Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale
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#96 Barefoot Gen
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#97 Millennium Actress
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#98 Ride Your Wave
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#99 Tekkonkinkreet
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#100 Naruto Shippuden: The Movie
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#101 Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash In The Land Of Snow
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#102 Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Blood Prison
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#103 Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
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#104 Dragon Ball Z: Battle Of Gods
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#105 Pokémon: Jirachi Wish Maker
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#106 Pokémon 3: The Movie – Spell Of The Unown
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#107 Naruto The Movie: Legend Of The Stone Of Gelel
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#108 Death Note Relight 2: L’s Successors
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#109 Dragon Ball Z: Cooler’s Revenge
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#110 Pokémon: The Rise Of Darkrai
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#111 Cardcaptor Sakura: The Sealed Card
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#112 Pokémon: Arceus And The Jewel Of Life
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#113 Dragon Ball Z: The Tree Of Might
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#114 Pokémon: Destiny Deoxys
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#115 Royal Space Force – The Wings Of Honneamise
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#116 A Letter To Momo
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#117 Redline
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#118 Escaflowne: The Movie
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#119 One Piece Film: Strong World
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#120 Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
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#121 Inuyasha The Movie 4: Fire On The Mystic Island
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#122 Evangelion 1.11: You Are (Not) Alone
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#123 Bleach: The Diamonddust Rebellion
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#124 Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works
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#125 Naruto The Movie: Guardians Of The Crescent Moon Kingdom
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#126 Digimon Adventure (Movie)
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#127 Pokemon: Pikachu’s Vacation
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#128 Sailor Moon S The Movie: Hearts In Ice
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#129 Hello World
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#130 Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie Part III: Rebellion
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#131 Jujutsu Kaisen 0
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#132 The Anthem Of The Heart
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#133 Tamako Market
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#134 16. Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Do You Remember Love?
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#135 Inuyasha The Movie: Affections Touching Across Time
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#136 Inuyasha The Movie 2: The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass
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#137 Clannad
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#138 Digimon: The Movie
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#139 Evangelion: 3.0 You Can (Not) Redo
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#140 Little Nemo: Adventures In Slumberland
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#141 Colorful
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#142 Her Blue Sky
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#143 Penguin Highway
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#144 Patlabor 2: The Movie
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#145 Belladonna Of Sadness
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#146 Mind Game
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#147 Naruto Shippuden The Movie: Bonds
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#148 Evangelion: 2.0 You Can (Not) Advance
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#149 Neo Tokyo
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#150 Panda And The Magic Serpent
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