A lot of quality anime films have come out with audiences who love the genre over the past few decades, allowing the audience to understand that cartoons are not just for children. These anime show a special depth with thrilling stories, complex characters, deep meanings and reflections on different issues in the world. IMDb has ranked the best anime films of all time, with many coming from Studio Ghibli. Audiences of all ages can now appreciate these top-rated films. Let's see what immortal works this article will mention.
1 Grave of the Fireflies (1988) - 8,5
Grave of the Fireflies - the classic anime that makes viewers cry. Image source: TinAnime
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
The Oscar-winning animated film completely changed Japanese anime production. Image source: Pinterest
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
A film worthy of the Oscar. Image source: VietnamPlus
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
Mononoke Hime - One of the animated masterpieces of 1997
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
Howl's Moving Castle - The current movie is still very attractive to those who are new to Anime. Image source: Pinterest
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.
6 My Neighbor Totoro (1988) - 8,2
My Neighbor Totoro - Gentle footage of childhood memories. Image source: Pinterest
Movie trailer
My Neighbor Totoro is a 1988 Japanese animated fantasy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten. The film tells the story of a professor's two young daughters and their interactions with friendly wood spirits in rural postwar Japan.
My Neighbor Totoro received critical acclaim worldwide and was a huge hit worldwide in the years following its release. The film has grossed over $41 million at the worldwide box office as of September 2019, in addition to an estimated $277 million from video sales and $1.142 billion from licensed sales.
7 The silent voice (2016) – 8.1
The silent voice - An emotional anime temple from the land of cherry blossoms. Image source: Pinterest
Movie trailer
The silent voice is a 2016 Japanese animated television series produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Naoko Yamada and written by Reiko Yoshida, with character designs by Futoshi Nishiya and music by Kensuke Ushio. It is based on the manga of the same name written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima. The film includes elements of adolescence and psychology , dealing with themes of bullying, disability, forgiveness, mental health, suicide and pure love, where it follows the story with compassion and understanding related to being once a social outcast, He decided to reconnect and befriend the deaf girl who had been his victim years ago.
The film premiered in Tokyo on August 24, 2016. It was released in Japan on September 17, 2016 and worldwide from February to June 2017 and has grossed over $31.6 million worldwide.
8 Wolf Children (2012) - 8,1
Wolf Children - Uncalculated love between two different individuals. Image source: Pinterest
Movie trailer
Wolf Children is a 2012 Japanese animated film directed and co-written by Mamoru Hosoda. It is director Hosoda's second original feature film and the first to be written by him. The central theme of the story is the family theme, depicting 13 years of the life of a young girl Hana, who falls in love with a werewolf while in college, and after his death, she has to raise her 2 half-human, half-wolf children, Ame and Yuki, people who grow up and find themselves.
The film had its world premiere in Paris on June 25, 2012 and had its theatrical release on July 21, 2012 in Japan. It was licensed by Funimation Entertainment in North America and released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 23, 2013. It premiered in the United Kingdom in late October 2013 with a DVD and Blu-ray/DVD Deluxe edition from Manga Entertainment following on December 23, 2013.
9 The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010) - 8,1
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya - one of the super anime products of 2010
Trailer
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is a 2010 Japanese animated film based on the fourth Haruhi Suzumiya light novel of the same name written by Nagaru Tanigawa. It was produced by Kyoto Animation, written by Fumihiko Shimo and directed by Tatsuya Ishihara and Yasuhiro Takemoto. It was released in Japanese theaters on February 6, 2010 and on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 18, 2010.
It has been licensed by Bandai Entertainment in North America and Manga Entertainment in the UK.
10 Akira (1988) - 8
Akira. Image source: Pinterest
Trailer
Akira is a 1988 Japanese post-apocalyptic cyberpunk anime film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, Ryōhei Suzuki and Shunzō Katō, and written by Otomo and Izo Hashimoto, based on Otomo's 1982 manga of the same name. The film had a production budget of 700 million yen (US$5.5 million), making it the second biggest-budget anime series at the time.
Set in 2019, Akira follows the life of Kaneda Shotaro, the leader of a bōsōzoku gang whose childhood friend Tetsuo Shima accidentally grasps motivation after a motorcycle accident, becoming an unpredictable threat to the entire military amid chaos and turmoil in a similar megacity Neo-Tokyo messy fantasy hybrid.
11 Perfect Blue (1997) - 8
Perfect Blue - The film exposes the dark secrets of Showbiz. Image source: Pinterest
Movie trailer
Perfect Blue is a 1997 Japanese animated psychological thriller film directed by Satoshi Kon. It is based on the novel Perfect Blue: Complete Metamorphosis by Yoshikazu Takeuchi, with a screenplay written by Sadayuki Murai. The plot is about a member of a Japanese idol group who retires from music to pursue an acting career. When she becomes a victim of stalking, gruesome murders begin to occur. . The plot presents life as going to the protagonist's personal hell, where a difficult and cruel story goes beyond mere spectacle. The excellent Anime work becomes an unparalleled work of art.
12 Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa (1986) - 8
Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa - The film expresses the surreal dreams of humanity. Image source:Pinterest
Movie trailer
Tenkuu no Shiro Laputa, released in the United Kingdom and Australia, is a 1986 Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. The first film produced by Studio Ghibli, it was produced for Tokuma Shoten. Set in fantasy in the late 19th century, it follows the adventures of a boy and girl trying to keep a powerful crystal from the military, a group of secret agents, and a family of pirates, while searching for a legendary floating castle.
The series won the Animage Anime Grand Prix in 1986. In Japanese polls asking about the best animated works, it was voted the second best animated film at the 2006 Japan Media Arts Festival and voted in first place in the 2008 Oricon audience poll. The film has been considered an influential classic in the steampunk and dieselpunk genres.
13 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - A place to purify the heart. Image source: Pinterest
Trailer
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is a 1984 Japanese animated film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on his 1982 manga and distributed by Toei Company. Set in a futuristic post-apocalyptic world, the film tells the story of Nausicaä, the young princess of the Valley of the Wind. She gets caught up in the struggle with Tolmekia, a kingdom that tries to use ancient weapons to eradicate a dense forest full of giant mutant insects.
It was released in Japan on March 11, 1984. The film received critical acclaim, with praise for its plot, themes, characters, and animation. It is the highest-ranked Japanese anime in a survey published by the Japan Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2007.
