Top 5 anime movies of all time?

[Shostakovich]

This is an objective list so get ready...



The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

A stunning sonata of love and friendship. I cried a lot.



Promare

This movie did more for LGBT rights than any other movie in anime history besides Yu Yu Hakusho: The Movie



A Wind Named Amnesia

Saw this on Cartoon Network late at night almost twenty years ago... I don't remember the plot but I remember being shocked by the level of senseless violence. But sometimes art can be shocking.



Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

This has a 5/5 on Crunchyroll and is the best out of all the Naruto movies so it had to be mentioned.



Perfect Blue

Pretty good movie about how hard it is to adjust to sudden stardom.

[stufte]

I'm too lazy to format my response.

Akira
Ninja Scroll
Ghost in the Shell
Spirited Away
The Girl Who Lept Through Time

Perfect blue is up there for me too.

[Don Rumata]

Millenium Actress.
Akira.
Patlabor 2.
Jin Roh.
Princess Kaguya or Only Yesterday.

Not in order.

[Himu]

From a former anime head that doesn't give a shit anymore.

5. Mind Game



4. Ghost in the Shell



3. Perfect Blue



2. Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro



1. Rurouni Kenshin: Trust and Betrayal



Technically an OVA but the directors cut turns it into a film.

Honorable mentions:

Patlabor 1 and 2
Macross: Do You Remember Love?
Grave of the Fireflies
Galaxy Express 999
The Restaurant of Many Orders
Akira
Vampire Hunter D
Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnemaise
Memories
Steamboy
Whisper of the Heart
Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin On Heaven's Door
Princess Mononoke
Roujin Z
Nausicaa
Metropolis
Summer Wars
Voices of a Distant Star
Golgo 13: The Professional
Angel's Egg
Mobile Suit Gundam trilogy
;etc etc.

[Akala]

Macross Plus
Ghost in the Shell
My Neighbor Totoro
Akira

Either Castle of Cagliostro, End of Eva, or Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer for last spot

[Tasty]

Perfect Blue
Spirited Away
The End of Evangelion
Princess Mononoke
Yu-Gi-Oh! The Dark Side of Dimensions

[Tasty]

Honorable mentions: Millennium Actress, Akira, Paprika, Ghost in the Shell

[pancakesandsex]

Limiting myself to movies that stand alone:

1. Princess Mononke


The ghibli movie that resonates with me most.  Naussica is a close second.  Never liked the more children oriented ones.

2. Perfect Blue


It used to be fun making folks who had no idea what they were in for watch this.  It probably wouldn't fly nowadays, but witnessing many a mind melt is forever etched in my mind.

3. Space Adventure Cobra


An absolute blast.  Schlocky 70's style action.  Cobra is super charismatic as a character.

4. Redline


A boy meets girl love story stuck inside of Anime wacky races.  Steps on the gas early and never lets up.  Visually a feast.

5. Promare


While I can appreciate the LGBT angle, the movie spoke to me in other ways.  It's an incredibly positive film, and worth the time of anyone mildly curious.

Some honorable mentions:

Mobile Suit Gundam Trilogy


Equal parts history lesson and interesting military fantasy about robots and space psychics.

Akira


Seminal dystopian "don't create and abuse your super psychics" cartoon.  Everyone should experience it at least once.

Utena the Movie


Full of bizarre visual metaphor, great looking action, and powerful messaging.

Wings of Honneamise


The origin of gainax. Follows some very flawed pioneers as they cobble together a space launch in a fantasy land.

Macross Frontier - The False Diva and Wings of Goodbye


Arguably the best Macross films.  Unlike Do You Remember Love, these stand alone, and recontextualize and clean up the bullet points from the messy tv version.

[paprikastaude]

Porco Rosso!

[Great Rumbler]

[Tasty]

"Your monster can't use its abilities!"

"It's no monster. 𝙄𝙏'𝙎 𝘼 𝙂𝙊𝘿"

[Joe Molotov]

[Joe Molotov]

Tfw people take my shitpost seriously 

tfw you think people need a good excuse to list warz

[Great Rumbler]

Tfw people take my shitpost seriously 

I don't know about the Naruto movie, since I've never seen, but the other ones you listed are pretty great.

[Don Rumata]

Tfw people take my shitpost seriously 

I scrolled over the OP barely looking at the pictures and just posted my list, leaving immediately after.
Then occasionally coming back to the thread to look at my own list thinking "yeah... killer taste".
Just normal list-thread etiquette.

[Great Rumbler]

When you also listed the disappearance of haruhi suzumiya, it damn near killed me

It's actually a really good movie and I'll stand by it.

[Himu]

The hidden message of the OP is that Perfect Blue is way, way overrated!

I felt the same about Millennium Actress. Good concept, but the investigators getting involved in the story took me out of it. I preferred Tokyo Godfathers.

[Don Rumata]

The hidden message of the OP is that Perfect Blue is way, way overrated!

I felt the same about Millennium Actress. Good concept, but the investigators getting involved in the story took me out of it. I preferred Tokyo Godfathers.

Investigator, you mean the TV crew?

[Tasty]

[Don Rumata]

Also "overrated" is a vague, meaningless term, as it's completely contextual to your own social circle.

Most people around the world never even heard of Perfect Blue, you already have to dig quite deep into people who watch animation to even get to someone who has watched the movie, let alone someone who thinks it's a masterpiece.

[Himu]

The hidden message of the OP is that Perfect Blue is way, way overrated!

I felt the same about Millennium Actress. Good concept, but the investigators getting involved in the story took me out of it. I preferred Tokyo Godfathers.

Investigator, you mean the TV crew?

Yeah them.

[Don Rumata]

The hidden message of the OP is that Perfect Blue is way, way overrated!

I felt the same about Millennium Actress. Good concept, but the investigators getting involved in the story took me out of it. I preferred Tokyo Godfathers.

Investigator, you mean the TV crew?

Yeah them.

I see.
I liked their inclusion in the retelling of the events, as it's kind of the point of fiction and storytelling, to be able to inhabit a tale, and have it become part of you, as you become part of it.

[Himu]

The hidden message of the OP is that Perfect Blue is way, way overrated!

I felt the same about Millennium Actress. Good concept, but the investigators getting involved in the story took me out of it. I preferred Tokyo Godfathers.

Investigator, you mean the TV crew?

Yeah them.

I see.
I liked their inclusion in the retelling of the events, as it's kind of the point of fiction and storytelling, to be able to inhabit a tale, and have it become part of you, as you become part of it.

Yeah well they take me out of the story. I actually fell asleep watching Millennium Actress the first time. I was so disappointed especially after loving Paranoid Agent and Perfect Blue.

[curly]

https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/2cec2be4196b2bf2fb2e5eb6b09db66f.webm

https://www.sakugabooru.com/data/9f0fee5295bd951f21b9b53acdda63ef.webm

Princess Kaguya man

click those links

[Steve Contra]

Millennium Actress doesn’t work without the tv crew. It’s also pure brilliance.

[Tasty]

I kinda agree. The interview format works well.

[Himu]

They should just interview her, not be a part of her memories.

[curly]

up curly's alley:

That was cool. Makes me want to rewatch Mononoke (the tv series)

[Don Rumata]

They should just interview her, not be a part of her memories.

They're not memories, they're stories about her memories.

[bork]

[bork]

Riding Bean dub is on Youtube in 720P:

[stufte]

I feel like I can tell who is my age by the Anime they list.

[Steve Contra]

They should just interview her, not be a part of her memories.

If that were the movie it would just be a story about a dying actress. The interviewers are stand ins for Satoshi Kon. The stories themselves are already a blend of the biographical details of the actresses life and the roles she played in the movies. By inserting the interviewers in we get to see the relationship of the main interviewer with an actress he only knew through her roles she played that meant so much to him. The whole things came across to me as a very personal love letter to Japanese cinema.

[bork]

Never saw Redline.  Is it on any streaming services?

[Great Rumbler]

It's on Amazon, but you gotta pay for it.

[Beezy]

I haven't seen most of these. And I can't really remember the older ones that I saw as a kid. I can cosign Mononoke, Ninja Scroll, and Redline though.

Western streaming services haven't been very good about getting anime movies.

[remy]

I thought Promare was gonna be garbage but it was a pleasant Redline/Dead Leaves wild ride type movie. Had some decent gags, which always surprises me in anime. Great music too.

I kinda wanted maybe one more escalation in the final battle though? Like maybe it went to space or the other planet? I guess that would have destroyed earth tho

[Don Rumata]

Never saw Redline.  Is it on any streaming services?

Animation masterpiece, but tbh it gets kind of boring in spots.
They probably could've cut 15 minutes+ off of it and save months of work for a better end result. 

My real list:

Ninja Scroll
Akira
End of Evangelion
Jin Roh
Redline

I saw NS as a kid (on an awful VHS  ) back in the day, and admittedly thought it was the coolest shit back then, but rewatching it recently, aside from the "gore-rape-titty" trinity of that era of anime, it wasn't all that interesting.
I think i'd stick to Wicked City, for my depraved anime of choice.

[Rahxephon91]

Not going to have stuff like End of Eva because as much as I may like it, it dosen't stand on it's own. There's also no real order.

Ninja Scroll-Besides the rape, it's a really well paced and entertaining action movie. Surprisingly competent. It has lots of things I like. A MGS like boss unit as antagonists for one that are pretty memorable and fun to watch. Love the look of it as well.

Ghost in the Shell-Just one of the best anime movies ever honestly. I don't have much to say beyond I still find it to pose interesting questions. Oshi's direction is also top noth.

Princess Mononoke-Just an awesome story.

Redline-A real fever dream of animation.

Cowboy Bebop The movie-It's Bebop! But I also think it works as a perfect summerization of the show's vibe.


Other things I like:
Macross Plus the Movie-Macross Plus is one of my favorite anime ever and the movie is a good version of it.

Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt-Not really a movie, but this edit is the way most people will see this. One of the few Gundam things that does actually feel like it's for adults.

Promare-Really liked this and also felt like Trigger's vibe all summed up.

Macross DRYL-It just looks amazing.

Akira-I mean it looks amazing and while it's story of teen angst and political uncertainty can be confusing, it still feels biting and serious and like a real film in a way few anime achieve.

Space Adventure Cobra-The best anime to watch high.

Vampire Hunter D:Bloodlust-The 2nd best anime to watch high and man the character artwork is beautiful.

Jin Roh-It's just good.

BLAME!-Honestly, easier to follow then the manga and a decent adventure story based on it.

Sword of the Stranger-Like Ninja Scroll without the filth and grit. Still enjoyable.

Utena The Movie-Amazing soundtrack and a good "epilogue" for the tv show.

Spriggan-Dumb ass movie, but amazing sound design and great action.

X The movie-Ok this movie is actually bad, but man does it look amazing. Captured Clamp's art in a way nothing else ever has. I really want a fucking HD version.

[Great Rumbler]

CTRL-F

'akira'

9 results

I've got about 20 movies in my top 5, but decided to only post 5 of them.

[chronovore]

The ones that influenced me the most:

Mononoke Hime
Lupin III: Castle Cagliostro
Angel's Egg
Ranma ½
Gatchaman/Battle of the Planets

[bork]

I'd list Ranma, but the movies aren't really what I'd call the best.  Teenage me marked out hard when Viz released them, though.  I was a giant Ranma stan back then.   

[bork]

Ninja Scroll is a much better Samurai Shodown than the Samurai Shodown anime was.  They shared some of the same character designers.

[paprikastaude]

Wish the battles in Ninja Scroll were longer to show off all the special powers better.

[Don Rumata]

I'd list Ranma, but the movies aren't really what I'd call the best.  Teenage me marked out hard when Viz released them, though.  I was a giant Ranma stan back then.   

Ranma had movies? Ranma was my favorite cartoon as a kid, by a large margin, Hokuto No Ken was probably the only one getting close.

[bork]

Ranma had movies? Ranma was my favorite cartoon as a kid, by a large margin, Hokuto No Ken was probably the only one getting close.

Ranma had:

38 manga volumes
Seven TV seasons
Three theatrically-released movies
12 OVAs

In the States, they took the third movie, which was much shorter than the other two, and sold it as an OVA instead, so looking up stuff can be kind of confusing.  The TV series ended in 1992, but the OVAs/movies came out through 1996.  The twelfth OVA came out in 2008 alongside new Inu-Yasha and Urusei Yatsura OVAs. 

The first two movies are pretty similar to each other in that the plot for both is "Akane gets kidnapped by martial arts guy and his crew to be his bride and Ranma and friends go save her."  I want to say that the third one is taken directly from one of the manga stories.


Viz had a weird release schedule and they put out the first volume of the TV series (dubbed only), then the first two OVAs as the next tape.  There was a huge difference in the animation quality and art style between the two, lol.  Things have changed so much, but at one point in the early-mid 90s, Ranma 1/2 was the biggest anime out there in the USA.  Anime was also way less popular at the time.

I never did finish this series despite how huge into it I was in the 90s.  I stopped buying the VHS tapes because they were endless (two episodes per tape) and expensive, and then they took so long to finish releasing the manga in English that I never did read the last couple of volumes.  I need to go back and do this already but can't remember where I left off!

[bork]

There was a live-action TV movie, too!

[Great Rumbler]

There was a live-action TV movie, too!

(Image removed from quote.)

The less said about that the better, I'd imagine.

[Beezy]

Never saw Redline.  Is it on any streaming services?

It's on Amazon, but you gotta pay for it.

It's free on tubi, as are about 60-70% of the titles listed in this thread

Tubi has dubs only and no HD? Or do I need to register?

[Great Rumbler]

It's been mentioned before, I think, but RetroCrush has a really good selection of older anime [and it's free]:

https://www.retrocrush.tv/

[naff]

Millennium Actress doesn’t work without the tv crew. It’s also pure brilliance.

qft

perfect blue overrated is also hilarious.

"Pretty good movie about how hard it is to adjust to sudden stardom."

woosh

[naff]

i figured it was a shit post reading that but goddamn, i fell hard at the hand waive of one of the greatest portrayals of trauma's effect on the psyche and the debilitating effects of mental illness. aronofsky gtfo

[naff]

legit just scrolled past and took your list at face value thinking "oh, well, he's young"

[naff]

didn't use for nothing

[Akala]

It's been mentioned before, I think, but RetroCrush has a really good selection of older anime [and it's free]:

https://www.retrocrush.tv/

OH MY

  otaku no video 


  project a-ko 

[chronovore]

I'd list Ranma, but the movies aren't really what I'd call the best.  Teenage me marked out hard when Viz released them, though.  I was a giant Ranma stan back then.   

I didn’t read carefully enough, again. I’m not talking about the movies in that case, but rather the series. Same for Gachaman.

[Joe Molotov]

It's been mentioned before, I think, but RetroCrush has a really good selection of older anime [and it's free]:

https://www.retrocrush.tv/

OH MY

  otaku no video 


  project a-ko 

Project A-ko is also on Amazon Prime. They've got a dozen-ish pretty decent anime movies on there: Robot Carnival, Urusei Yatsura 2, Space Adventure Cobra, Demon City Shinjuku, Galaxy Express 999, A Wind Named Amnesia, Lily Cat, and Arcadia of My Youth.