Top 13 Best Anime of All Time According to IMDb Reviews

1

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) - 8,5

Grave of the Fireflies Anime

Grave of the Fireflies is a 1988 Japanese war drama anime film based on the 1967 semi-autobiographical short story of the same name by Akiyuki Nosaka. It was written and directed by Isao Takahata, and produced an animated version by Studio Ghibli for manga publisher Shinchosha Publishing (making it the only Studio Ghibli film owned by Tokuma Shoten without their involvement). Set in the city of Kobe, Japan, the film tells the story of siblings Seita and Setsuko and their desperate struggle to survive in the final months of World War II. Grave of the Fireflies received critical acclaim and has been ranked as one of the best war films of all time and is recognized as a major work of Japanese animation.

2

Spirited Away (2001) - 8,6

Film synopsis

Spirited Away is a 2001 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The film follows Chihiro Ogino, a ten-year-old girl who, while moving to a new neighborhood, enters the world of Kami (spirits in Japanese Shinto folklore). After her parents were turned into pigs by the witch Yubaba, Chihiro took a job working in Yubaba's bathhouse to find a way to free herself and her parents and together they returned to the human world.

Originally released in Japan on July 20, 2001 by distributor Toho, the film received a standing ovation, grossing $395.8 million at the worldwide box office. Accordingly, it also became the most successful and highest-grossing film in Japanese history with a total of 31.68 billion yen ($305 million). The film held the record for 19 years until it was surpassed by Demon Slayer - Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train in 2020. But to be precise, the film's gross is one of the second highest. in the film world at that time.

3

Your Name (2016) - 8.4

Trailer

Your Name is a 2016 Japanese animated romantic fantasy film produced by CoMix Wave Films and distributed by Toho. It depicts a high school boy in Tokyo and a high school girl in rural Japan who begin to swap bodies suddenly and inexplicably.

It premiered at the 2016 Anime Expo in Los Angeles on July 3, 2016, and was released theatrically in Japan on August 26, 2016, and in the United States on April 7, 2017. The film was critically acclaimed, with praise praised for its animation, music, visuals, and emotional power. The film grossed over 41.44 billion yen (US$380.15 million) worldwide, breaking numerous box office records, including becoming the third highest-grossing animated film of all time.

4

Mononoke Hime (1997) - 8,4

Movie trailer

Mononoke Hime is a 1997 Japanese animated historical fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network and Dentsu, and distributed by Toho. The film is set in the late Muromachi period of Japan (c. 1336 to 1573 CE), but is composed of bogus fantasy elements. The story is about a young Emishi prince named Ashitaka, and his involvement in the struggle between the gods of the forest and the human consumption of its resources. The term mononoke is not a name, but a Japanese word for supernatural, shape-changing beings that possess people and cause a lot of suffering, disease or death.

The film was released in Japan on July 12, 1997 and in the United States on October 29, 1999. This was considered a blockbuster and became a movie. The film greatly increased Ghibli's popularity and influence at home and abroad.

5

Howl's Moving Castle (2004) - 8,2

Movie trailer

Howl's Moving Castle is a 2004 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by British author Diana Wynne Jones. The film is produced by Toshio Suzuki, animated by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho. The film is set in a fictional kingdom, where both magic and technology of the early twentieth century prevailed, against the backdrop of a war with another kingdom. It tells the story of Sophie, a young girl who is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She meets a wizard named Howl and is drawn into his resistance to fight for the king

The film premiered at the 61st Venice International Film Festival on September 5, 2004, and was shown in theaters in Japan on November 20, 2004. The film went on to gross $190 million domestically. Japan and $236 million worldwide, making it one of the most commercially successful Japanese films in history.