The 40 Best Anime Movies (in Chronological Order)
To keep the list short, very few titles are based off existing manga or TV series, unless historically significant.
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40 titles
- DirectorTaiji YabushitaStarsHisaya MorishigeMariko MiyagiVirginia BlackmanThe adventures of a cute little panda, a dragon god and an evil serpent.
- DirectorYûgo SerikawaWilliam RossStarsMorio KazamaYukiko OkadaChiharu KuriPrince Susano's mother dies; when his father tells him she has gone to another place, he sets off in search of her. He builds a boat and goes to see, first, his brother, in his crystal palace in the land of night (where he causes much damage to the palace, but his brother still gives him a magic ice crystal). Next, he fights the fire god, who gives him a magic bird after Susano defeats him, with help from the magic crystal and his little rabbit sidekick. Susano also picks up another traveling companion, a large but dim villager. Next, he goes to his sister, in the land of light. As with his brother, though, he causes much unintentional damage; his sister, who also happens to be the sun, goes off to hide in a cave. The frantic villagers stage a party (in the original legend, an orgy) outside the cave and trick her into coming outside again. Finally, Susano finds a little princess whose land is being threatened by an 8-headed dragon. With the help of a flying horse (who we later learn was sent by his sister) and his sidekicks, they get the dragon a bit drunk and take out one head at a time (mostly, though two of the last three take each other out).
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsMikijirô HiraEtsuko IchiharaEijirô TônoA boy with a mythical sword wants to protect a Norse village from an evil ice wizard and his minions, who destroyed his family's village. However, the villagers don't fully trust him and a mysterious girl with a dark secret befriends him.
- DirectorKimio YabukiStarsSusumu IshikawaToshiko FujitaRumi SakakibaraWhile being on the run for saving a mouse, the famous Puss in Boots, Pero, helps a young peasant boy win the heart of a lovely princess, while trying to rescue her from an evil wizard.
- DirectorMasami HataStarsHitoshi TakagiMinori MatsushimaAkira KamiyaAn innocent lamb learns about life and death when he seeks revenge upon the wolf who slaughtered his mother.
- DirectorRintarôStarsMasako NozawaMasako IkedaYôko AsagamiThe adventures of a brave young boy who travels from planet to planet in a determined quest to avenge his mother's death.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYasuo YamadaEiko MasuyamaKiyoshi KobayashiA dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsSumi ShimamotoMahito TsujimuraHisako KyôdaWarrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
- DirectorGisaburô SugiiStarsMayumi TanakaChika SakamotoJunko HoriTwo kittens go on a metaphysical journey on a magical railroad train.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsMayumi TanakaKeiko YokozawaKotoe HatsuiA young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
- DirectorHiroyuki YamagaStarsLeo MorimotoDavid ThomasMitsuki YayoiIn an alternative Earth, a young astronaut participates in a controversial fledgling space program.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsHitoshi TakagiNoriko HidakaChika SakamotoWhen two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsTsutomu TatsumiAyano ShiraishiAkemi YamaguchiA young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
- DirectorKatsuhiro ÔtomoStarsMitsuo IwataNozomu SasakiMami KoyamaA secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsKirsten DunstMinami TakayamaRei SakumaA young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsMiki ImaiToshirô YanagibaYoko HonnaA twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsShûichirô MoriyamaTokiko KatôBunshi Katsura VIIn 1930s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot is cursed to look like an anthropomorphic pig.
- DirectorIsao TakahataStarsShinchô KokonteiMakoto NonomuraYuriko IshidaA community of magical shape-shifting raccoon dogs struggle to prevent their forest home from being destroyed by urban development.
- DirectorMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
- DirectorYoshifumi KondôStarsYoko HonnaIssei TakahashiTakashi TachibanaA love story between a girl who loves reading books, and a boy who has previously checked out all of the library books she chooses.
- DirectorYoshio TakeuchiStarsMasane TsukayamaChieko BaishôTomoko IshimuraThe story of Leo, the lion emperor and his family, and their struggles to protect the jungle from intruders bent on recklessly mining the a precious stone.
- DirectorHayao MiyazakiStarsYôji MatsudaYuriko IshidaYûko TanakaOn a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsJunko IwaoRica MatsumotoShinpachi TsujiA pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.
- DirectorKenji KamiyamaHiroyuki OkiuraStarsMichael DobsonYoshikazu FujikiSumi MutohA traumatized member of an elite para-military police force falls for the sister of a female terrorist courier who died in front of him on duty.
- DirectorRintarôStarsToshio FurukawaScott WeingerYuka ImotoKenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban must find the mystery behind robot girl Tima.