Summary

• Anime movies have become increasingly popular and receive just as much praise and attention as TV shows, if not more.
• The best anime movies can be part of a franchise or stand-alone stories, and both can be equally excellent.
• Anime movies like "Akira," "Ghost in the Shell," and "Perfect Blue" are considered iconic and have had a significant impact on the medium and even on Western films.

Anime has never been limited to just TV shows, with the best anime movies standing out as some of the finest films ever made. That idea has become even more apparent in recent years as anime movies make their way to theaters and streaming in greater and greater frequency, and as such, they tend to receive just as much praise and attention as TV shows, if not more so.

Anime movies have long since established themselves as an essential part of the medium, and the best anime movies are ones that every fan of the medium should watch. Some of the best anime movies are part of various franchises, whether it be adaptations of manga and light novels or anime-original stories, while others are completely standalone stories ed entirely by the staff and studio behind them.

10 The First Slam Dunk Is The Perfect Conclusion To The Legendary Sports Anime

Based on the Manga Created By Takehiko Inoue

As the name would imply, The First Slam Dunk is based on the legendary sports manga Slam Dunk, and it serves as the long-awaited adaptation of the final match between Shohoku and Sannoh. Interwoven with all of that is an original story about Ryota Miyagi that delves into his history with basketball and what drives him as a person, all of which is completely original to the film.

It might be relatively recent, but Takehiko Inoue's The First Slam Dunk has already earned its place among the anime industry's best films. In addition to animating the final arc of Slam Dunk with incredible visuals and animation, The First Slam Dunk's music and shot composition allowed Slam Dunk’s story to rise to even greater heights than before. All of this was thanks to series creator Takehiko Inoue's writing and direction, and it all shows just how timeless Slam Dunk’s writing has managed to be.

9 Akira Is Still One Of Anime's Most Iconic Films After Over 30 Years

Based on the Manga Created By Katsuhiro Otomo

The classic dystopian film Akira centers around Kaneda and Tetsuo, two kids in a biker gang whose run-in with the military one night leads to Tetsuo being kidnapped and experimented on. Tetsuo would find himself awakening to powerful psychic abilities, and how he and Kaneda deal with it quickly escalates into a conflict that can mean the end of the world.

In direct contrast to The First Slam Dunk, Akira is a classic that's aged exceptionally well. Just like The First Slam Dunk, Akira’s original creator, Katsuhiro Otomo, wrote and directed the film, and in his hands, Akira became a gripping cyberpunk story with writing, animation, and voice acting that still more than holds up against modern anime. Akira is often cited as one of the major reasons that anime took off in the West, and with how much love and care is put into every scene, it’s easy to see why that would be the case.

Watch On Crunchyroll

8 Ghost In The Shell Is Still A Marvel Of Science Fiction

Based on the Manga Created By Masamune Shirow

Another older anime film that was of high enough quality to leave an impact on the entire medium was 1995’s Ghost in the Shell. In the near future, Major Motoko Kusanagi works in Public Security Section 9 to weed out terrorist threats in Japan whenever they arise. The latest of these threats is a dangerous hacker known as the Puppet Master, and dealing with him is made even more challenging for the Major as she's forced to confront the idea of whether or not she can still be considered human with all of her cybernetics.

It's very easy to see why Ghost in the Shell has such a good reputation after almost 30 years. Ghost in the Shell features amazing art, animation, and direction that have hardly aged in the almost 30 years since its original release, and when paired with its thought-provoking story about humanity, it makes for an anime film that easily stands out as one of the best. The Wachowskis and James Cameron cited it as a major influence on The Matrix and Avatar, respectively, so its overall quality and impact on film cannot be understated.

Watch On Prime Video

7 Persona 3's Final Film Ended Its Story In Incredible Fashion

Based on the Video Game Series Created By Atlus

2016's Persona 3 The Movie: #4 Winter of Rebirth covers the final portion of Persona 3's story in which SEES, after learning about Nyx and the Fall, contemplates what to do when death appears to be an inevitability. Naturally, Makoto is the most troubled by everything, and everything he's learned about friendship and the importance of life becomes necessary for deciding everyone's fate in the final act.

The Persona 3 tetralogy is a rare example of a good video game adaptation, and the best showing of that was with the final film, Persona 3 The Movie: #4 Winter of Rebirth. The animation is just as good as the previous films, but more importantly, Winter of Rebirth's direction makes the drama and catharsis from its resolution hit even harder than the original game, thus creating a perfect conclusion to Makoto’s character arc. The Persona 3 movies are a perfect substitute for the original game, and the stellar direction of Winter of Rebirth perfectly sells that.

Rent On Prime Video

6 Perfect Blue Was An Amazing Debut For One Of Anime's Greatest Directors

Based on the Novel Created By Yoshikazu Takeuchi

Over a decade since his ing, Satoshi Kon is still hailed as one of anime's greatest directors, and one of the films that best exemplifies that is Perfect Blue. Perfect Blue tells the story of Mima Kirigoe, a former idol who recently retired from singing to become an actress, despite the protests from her fans. As Mima struggles to find success, she's forced to do more and more degrading work to survive, and the toll it takes on her mental health causes the line between delusion and reality to become increasingly blurred for her.

Perfect Blue was Satoshi Kon's directorial debut, but it's easily one of his best works. In addition to brilliantly exposing the darker elements of the entertainment industry, Perfect Blue tells a surreal and dramatic story of identity and how easy it is for someone to lose control of their life and their entire grasp on reality, altogether. Perfect Blue is as haunting as it is engaging, and it, and the rest of Kon’s resume, shows how he could leave such an impact, even after his ing.

Watch On AMC+

5 Gurren Lagann's Second Film Might Sur The Original Anime

Based on the Anime Series Created By Studio Gainax

Anime compilation films have a reputation for being largely unnecessary, but one movie that perfectly refutes that idea is Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars. Also known as Lagann-hen, The Lights in the Sky Are Stars adapts the second half of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, which covers the various revelations of the setting and the conflict with the Anti-Spirals. Like its predecessor, Gurren Lagann The Movie: Childhood's End, the film makes a variety of changes to the story, although said changes are far more substantial, by comparison.

An anime as big as Gurren Lagann warranted an equally big film to close it out, and Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars more than delivered. Not only does the film fix the weaker elements of Gurren Lagann’s second half, but it makes the final battle both more technically impressive and more over-the-top than the original anime. In a lot of ways, Gurren Lagann The Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars sures the original anime in of both visuals and storytelling, and that makes it well worth anyone's time.

4 Grave Of The Fireflies Is Studio Ghibli's Most Haunting Film Of All Time

Based on the Short Story By Akiyuki Nosaka

Grave of the Fireflies stars the siblings Seita and Setsuko who, as shown in the opening scene, are both dead by the end of World War II. Everything else in the film is an exploration of how that happened, with everything following their mother's death being a continuing escalation of misfortune and tragedy from start to finish.

Though Max is the streaming home of almost every single Ghibli movie, distribution rights prevent Grave of the Fireflies from appearing on the streaming service.

Almost 40 years later, Grave of the Fireflies is still a beautifully haunting film. The semi-autobiographical tale immediately establishes that there won’t be a happy ending for the protagonists, and everything that explains that is appropriately depressing. Even so, there’s a certain beauty to be found in how Grave of the Fireflies refuses to shy away from the horrors of living through World War II, so as dark as it might be, it's still a beautiful film that shows just how much variety there has always been to Studio Ghibli.

3 Madoka Magica: Rebellion Was A Brilliant Sequel To The Hit Anime

Based on the Anime Series Created By Magica Quartet

It’s very common for an anime-original series to have its story continued with a movie, and a great example of that is Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion. Madoka Magica: Rebellion starts with the main cast all working to balance their double life of being regular girls and protecting the city from Nightmares. Only Homura seems to realize that doesn't make any sense, however, and her efforts to uncover the truth of what's going on provide her with bigger revelations than she could have possibly imagined.

There was definitely a lot of pressure on Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion to succeed, and it did so on all fronts. Not only did Madoka Magica: Rebellion improve on the already creative and gorgeous animation of the original anime, but it did so through a story that masterfully built off of the anime to create an incredible twist that completely changed the franchise, forever. Rebellion more than holds up a decade later, and seeing how the long-awaited sequel, Madoka Magica: Walpurgisnacht: Rising, continues the story will be great to see.

Rent On Prime Video

2 Belle Is Easily Mamoru Hosoda's Greatest Film Yet

Original Anime Film Created By Studio Chizu

Mamoru Hosoda has become one of anime's most noteworthy directors in recent years, and the film that best represents his abilities is 2021’s Belle. In a world where nearly every person in the world makes use of the virtual world "U", the awkward and depressed Suzu finds herself rising to fame in U as the beautiful singer Belle. Suzu's career as Belle, however, leads to her meeting the mysterious Dragon, and when Suzu finds herself mysteriously drawn to him, the two form a relationship that leads them both on an incredible journey of self-discovery.

It's hard not to look at Belle and see it as anything short of a masterpiece. The stellar visuals and storytelling that are common in Hosoda’s work are on full display in Belle, and not only does Belle being a musical add a lot of originality, especially with the incredible quality of the songs, but that aspect is perfectly used to carry Suzu’s character arc of regaining her self-worth. Whether it’s a moment of big spectacle or human drama, every scene in Belle is a sight to behold, and it all comes together for a truly fantastic film.

1 Watch On MaxThe Disappearance Of Haruhi Suzumiya Was The Perfect Sendoff To The Hit Anime

Based on the Light Novel Series By Nagaru Tanigawa & Noizi Ito

The last great anime film to discuss is 2010’s The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. The movie continued the story of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya with what initially seemed to be an innocuous story of the SOS Brigade planning a Christmas party. However, everything changes when Kyon suddenly finds himself in a world without Haruhi, and he needs to figure out the cause before his new reality becomes permanent.

Overall, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is as perfect a follow-up to the anime. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is a story of existential dread that did a great job of delving into Kyon’s character and his relationships with the rest of the cast, and it did so with animation and direction that still stands out as among the best of anything Kyoto Animation has ever put out. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya perfectly lived up to the legacy of the original anime, and that's a big part of why it's one of the best anime movies of all time.

Watch On Crunchyroll