The other day I made this list to play in my fangirling account. Not that many joined, though, but I think I’ll put it here in case you need some recommendation for anime movies to watch ๐ These all are movies, not series; I don’t even put One Piece, my most favorite anime series, even though I know they do have great movies ๐ Warning: There might be a lot of spoilers ahead, so if you hate spoilers, you can just read the title ๐ PS: The number doesn’t indicate the order of which I like the most and the least, except number 1, I really love itโค๐โค
1. Kimi no Nawa I haven’t watched Tenki no Ko yet, so I can’t tell which one is better, i.e. by the time I am drafting this post, Kimi no Nawa is by far my most favorite anime movie. I don’t know. As you might have known, I am always fascinated by the concept of time. But this story is really really more than what I expected. I mean, a movie about switching bodies or switching places with someone is not something new, but adding a concept of time to those switches is beyond brilliance, i.e. it’s really a work of a genius. If you haven’t, I’d really recommend that you watch at least this one anime movie ๐โค๐
2. Tekkonkinkreet I found this when I felt like I had watched all the anime movies I knew were quite well-known and somehow I found someone mentioned this anime movie so I looked it up, was interested and decided to watch it. It’s not bad. And I think it’s quite great. To be more precise, maybe it’s underrated. It’s not like the typical Japanese anime movies. The animation is kinda different. I’m not an expert at animation so I can’t quite explain, but it just feels different to me. But I love the story. About two brothers. Yup, maybe that’s why. But please give a watch if you want to watch something different. It can be quite sad, though โน
3. Sword of the Stranger Of course I have to include this one! ๐๐โ๐ Chinen Yuri actually became a voice actor of the main kid character in this movie. He’s so cute and adorable. Please check it out ๐
4. Grave of the Fireflies This is a very sad movie, makes you feel how unfair this world is. (Yes, I know it’s never fair; still,…) Anyway, some actually warn that this movie can be very depressing so maybe you’d want to take some precaution before watching this movie. But it’s a really great movie for me. At least it can teach you some sympathy and empathy.
5. In the Corner of this World This is also an old movie. But I think the story is “sweet.” Well, maybe some of you will get mad, but overall I think it’s sweet. Not everyone can fall in love and fight for the love of their life. For some, love simply means acceptance and grows slowly for them.
6. From Up on Poppy Hill Another old and sweet movie. Major spoiler: two people fell in love with each other but thought they were actually siblings that were separated due to some kind of circumstances so they thought they couldn’t be together. Were they actually siblings? Well, watch it yourself to find the answer ๐๐โ But, ugh, when I listen to the closing song, it kinda makes me feel sad โน
7. Hotarubi no Mori e I really love Gin’s voice! It’s perhaps how I realized that I loved Kouki Uchiyama and decided that he’s one of my favorite seiyuu (voice actor) ๐โค
8. Patema Inverted The idea of this movie is also great! Man, I really admire those who can think of ideas like that in this movie. Like, I really respect them. The idea? Well, try to imagine that the gravity basically pulls you onto the opposite direction. Like, we’re used to being pulled onto the ground. Now imagine, that the gravity actually pulls you toward the sky, won’t it feel like a very steep and bottomless ravine or an endless abyss?
9. 5 Centimeters per Second I watched this when I was still an undergraduate in college. I couldn’t really remember the story, but people always mention this movie, so I guess it’s worth watching? I might need to rewatch this so I can remember the story. Hhe
10. The Girl who Leapt through Time Again, I love movies that involve the concept of time. This one is actually more about “romance”? Major spoilers: Well, imagine chasing someone you thought you were in love with only to realize that the very person that really cared about you was someone else, and by the time you realized that you actually loved and needed him, it’s just too late? Well, more or less it’s like that.
11. Koe no Katachi/A Silent Voice Major spoilers: Someone got bullied, she moved to another school. One of the bullies felt guilty and actually got bullied himself. He tried to make amends…
12. The Anthem of the Heart About a girl who came to be bad at talking because when she was a kid, something bad happened and she thought it was because she chattered too much. Hence, she learned to shut herself up. Then, her friends helped her to voice her feelings through singing…
13. Kimi to, Nami ni Noretara (Ride Your Wave) This is relatively recent. I watched it firstly because I found out that Katayose Ryota actually voiced the main lead, and secondly because when I read the synopsys, I was interested in it. The movie itself was not satisfactory (’cause I had already had high expectation), but it’s still nice. I love the song, too. I guess I love Ryota’s voice ๐
14. The Boy and the Beast About a friendship of a human boy and a beast coming from and living in two different worlds? Somehow the boy came to the beast’s world ๐
15. Wolf Children Another movie about how great parents’ love can be ๐
16. Castle in the Sky Guess what? Mayumi Tanaka, the one who voiced Monkey D. Luffy in One Piece, actually voiced the main character in this movie!
17. Tonari no Totoro You must have heard about this one, so I don’t think I need to explain ๐
18. Colorful It’s a good movie. About a boy who was given another chance for life and reborn into another body to find out what kind of boy he was before he died, if there was any regret he had, if he wished to change, etc. And guess whose body he was reborn in? You need to watch it yourself to find the answer ๐๐โ
19. Zutto mae kara suki deshita This one is so sweet. Haha A girl pretended to practice confessing to her best friend, but the guy that she loved was actually that very best friend himself. She was just worried that the guy perhaps wouldn’t return her feelings and that it might ruin their friendship. Hence, she pretended it was just a practice just so she could say “I like you.” LoL The guy himself actually loved her, but he wanted to be that kind of supportive best friend and didn’t tell her how he actually felt because he wanted her to be happy. Jeez The entire time I was really mad at the guy. How could he have not noticed and let the girl do all of that? ๐๐๐ But, by the way, I heard that there was actually a series of this movie, so maybe you can try to watch it ๐
20. Maquia Sad. Falling in love with someone who can age when you yourself don’t age and are immortal? You watched the person you’re in love grew old, and yet you stayed young…
21. Lu over the Wall Gosh! I ended up loving the song sang by Shota Shimoda, the voice actor of the main lead, at the end of the movie ๐ The story is beautiful, though. You know, about hating or being scared of something just because the old people told you some kind of folktales? Yup, more or less.
22. Spirited Away This is also one of those well-known anime movies, so I guess I don’t need to explain ^^
23. Summer Wars This one is interesting.
24. Okko’s Inn This is sad but also sweet ๐ It’s more about friendship and family, I guess? ๐
25. Mirai The first anime I watched at American cinema. And of course all by myself. Haha I had expectation when I was about to watch this one, but of course it made it kinda not satisfactory because it’s less than I expected. It’s not that great great, but I think it’s still good. About having kids, the feelings of the older kid and the younger one, and stuff. It’s interesting. And, my, I really want my house to kinda be designed like that in this movie! It’s compact but nice ๐
Well, at first I thought I wouldn’t be able to list this until 25, but at the end I ended up having to remove some titles. Imagine how much time I spent watching all of these movies! LoL But, oh, maybe I can save some of the others for another post ๐
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