Best Directed Anime
by YiannisEd | created - 09 Sep 2013 | updated - 14 Nov 2019 | PublicDirection is a difficult Art
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1. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex (2002–2005)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Crime
The futuristic adventures of a female cyborg counter intelligence agent and her support team.
Stars: Shirô Saitô, Atsuko Tanaka, Osamu Saka, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Votes: 20,287
2. Mushi-Shi (2005–2014)
TV-14 | 25 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Ginko is an expert travelling around to investigate a primeval life-form, the "Mushi," and helping people with Mushi-related supernatural problems.
Stars: Yûto Nakano, Travis Willingham, Kôjun Itô, Jennifer Seman
Votes: 14,032
3. Blood-C (2011)
TV-MA | Animation, Action, Fantasy
Saya is a seemingly normal girl living with her father in a shrine. During the day she goes to school and spends time with her friends at a local cafe. But when night falls Saya is called upon to protect her village from strange monsters.
Stars: Alexis Tipton, Lydia Mackay, Todd Haberkorn, Robert McCollum
Votes: 1,835
4. Paranoia Agent (2004– )
TV-MA | 25 min | Animation, Drama, Horror
Seemingly unconnected citizens of Tokyo are targeted for bludgeoning by a boy with a golden baseball bat. As detectives try to link the victims, they discover that following the assaults, the victims' lives have improved in some way.
Stars: Mamiko Noto, Shôzô Îzuka, Toshihiko Seki, Michelle Ruff
Votes: 13,033
5. Serial Experiments Lain (1998)
TV-14 | 316 min | Animation, Drama, Horror
Strange things start happening when a withdrawn girl named Lain becomes obsessed with an interconnected virtual realm known as "The Wired".
Stars: Kaori Shimizu, Bridget Hoffman, Dan Lorge, Randy McPherson
Votes: 15,334
6. Ghost in the Shell Arise: Alternative Architecture (2015)
275 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A recompilation of the 4 original Ghost in the Shell: Arise movies plus 2 episodes that tie in the story with Ghost in the Shell: The New Movie (2015).
Stars: Miyuki Sawashiro, Maaya Sakamoto, Ken'ichirô Matsuda, Yôji Ueda
Votes: 882
7. Elfen Lied (2004)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Drama
Two university students come across a seemingly harmless girl named Lucy, unaware that she's actually a mutant serial killer with a split personality.
Stars: Sanae Kobayashi, Chihiro Suzuki, Mamiko Noto, Sam Saletta
Votes: 34,982
8. Boogiepop Never Laughs: Boogiepop Phantom (2000)
TV-14 | 24 min | Animation, Drama, Horror
A light in the sky, followed by a strange aura and grisly murders. Each character tells their own connection to the event and to a similar murder spree 5 years ago. All of the different ... See full summary »
Stars: Kaori Shimizu, Crispin Freeman, Rachael Lillis, Bill Rogers
Votes: 1,009
9. Claymore (2007)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
In a world rife with deadly creatures called "youma", a young silver eyed woman, Clare, works on behalf of an organization that trains female youma halfbreeds into warriors with the ability... See full summary »
Stars: Todd Haberkorn, Stephanie Young, Houko Kuwashima, Cherami Leigh
Votes: 14,396
10. Memories (1995)
PG-13 | 113 min | Animation, Sci-Fi, Thriller
An animated science fiction anthology from the visionary anime director, Katsuhiro Otomo.
Directors: Kôji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura, Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Marc Swint, Robbie Daymond, Frank Todaro, Laura Post
Votes: 19,780
11. Mind Game (I) (2004)
Not Rated | 103 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After a deadly encounter with two yakuza, a loser with a crush on his childhood girlfriend goes to heaven and back, embarking on a psychedelic self-discovery experience with her and his friends.
Directors: Masaaki Yuasa, Kôji Morimoto | Stars: Kôji Imada, Sayaka Maeda, Takashi Fujii, Seiko Takuma
Votes: 10,094 | Gross: $0.04M
12. Perfect Blue (1997)
R | 81 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
A 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.
Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura
Votes: 84,076 | Gross: $0.78M
13. Blood-C: The Last Dark (2012)
TV-MA | 107 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
Six months after the massacre at her faux hometown, Saya has set out on a mission to exact revenge on Fumito, who had since then become a powerful dictator enforcing censorship throughout Japan.
Director: Naoyoshi Shiotani | Stars: Atsushi Abe, Masumi Asano, Keiji Fujiwara, Misato Fukuen
Votes: 1,251
14. Attack on Titan (2013–2023)
TV-MA | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
After his hometown is destroyed and his mother is killed, young Eren Jaeger vows to cleanse the earth of the giant humanoid Titans that have brought humanity to the brink of extinction.
Stars: Josh Grelle, Bryce Papenbrook, Yûki Kaji, Yui Ishikawa
Votes: 413,431
15. Ping Pong the Animation (2014)
TV-14 | Animation, Drama, Sport
Five ping pong prodigies learn to navigate the harsh climate of competitive sport and the even more frightening realm of self realization.
Stars: Kôki Uchiyama, Aaron Dismuke, Micah Solusod, Alan Chow
Votes: 4,281
16. Girls' Last Tour (2017– )
TV-14 | 25 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Two girls wander a world destroyed by war.
Stars: Inori Minase, Yurika Kubo, Cat Thomas, Juliet Simmons
Votes: 1,316
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