Paste's The 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time
An official iCheckMovies list (adopted from DulceDoes).
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Establishing the best anime movies can be tricky. After all, despite now being one of the most ubiquitous cultural properties of the 21st century, anime, thanks to over a century’s worth of the medium’s evolution and reinvention, is especially difficult to define. From the five-minute shorts of Oten Shimokawa in 1917, to the feature-length animations produced during World War II, to the pioneering production cycles of Tezuka in the ’60s and the auteurist innovations of the likes of Miyazaki and many others towards the latter half of the last century, anime has morphed through countless phases. Amateur efforts, nationalist propaganda fodder, niche cultural export turned eventual global phenomenon: Each iteration conforms to the shape of the times in which it was produced. Television expanded the medium during the 1960s, birthing many of the essential genres and subgenres that we know today and forming the impetus for the anime industry’s inextricable relationship to advertising and merchandising from the 1970s onward. The arrival of home video catapulted anime to its commercial and aesthetic apex, fanning outward from island nation of Nippon to the far shores of North America and back, before again being revolutionized by the unprecedented accessibility of the world wide web throughout the ’90s and early aughts. Anime film owes much to the evolving means of production and distribution throughout the late 20th century, the breadth and audacity of the medium’s content widening and contracting along with its running time to cater to the emerging palettes of audiences both new and old, at home and abroad. But where does one begin to tackle the aesthetic and historical precedent that anime film has left on pop culture and global entertainment in the last century?
This list is an attempt to do just that: to create a primer of 100 of the most influential and essential films that Japanese animation has produced, and to offer a thorough aesthetic, technical and historical breakdown of why these film matter. With that aim in mind, Paste is proud to enlist the curatorial talents of Jason DeMarco, on-air creative director of Adult Swim and co-creator of Toonami, whose unique role in anime’s emerging popularity in the West has helped to hone this list. Given the shared evolution between anime film and television and the aforementioned significance of the home video revolution, this list includes not only traditional features but also original video animations made for home video (OVAs) and anthology films— with the stipulation of each entry having at some point premiered in theaters. It is our hope that in creating this list we have created an entry point for both the expert and the layperson to trace the rich history of anime’s legacy on both film and popular culture, and to offer newcomers a comprehensive guide through to learn, rediscover, and explore the fullness that the genre of Japanese animation has to offer now and into the future.
Originally published in January 2017. Last updated October 23, 2023.
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102 -1
Aa! Megamisama! The Movie
2000 — a.k.a. Ah! My Goddess!: The Movie, in 1 top list Check -
1 -
Akira
1988, in 22 top lists Check -
57 -1
The Animatrix
2003, in 1 top list Check -
37 -1
Appurushîdo
2004 — a.k.a. Appleseed, in 1 top list Check -
65 -1
Blood: The Last Vampire
2000, in 1 top list Check -
55 -1
Byôsoku 5 senchimêtoru
2007 — a.k.a. 5 Centimeters per Second, in 1 top list Check -
17 -1
Chôjikû Yôsai Macross: Ai Oboeteimasuka
1984 — a.k.a. Super Space Fortress Macross, in 1 top list Check -
97 -1
Chumon no ooi ryori-ten
1992 — a.k.a. A Well-Ordered Restaurant, in 1 top list Check -
84 -1
Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no tobira
2001 — a.k.a. Cowboy Bebop the Movie: Knockin' on Heaven's Door, in 1 top list Check -
87 -1
Dan Petory Kyoushu no Yuutsu
2002 — a.k.a. Professor Dan Petory's Blues, in 1 top list Check -
101 -1
Darosu
1983 — a.k.a. Dallos, in 1 top list Check -
51 -1
Deddo ribusu
2004 — a.k.a. Dead Leaves, in 2 top lists Check -
64 -1
Dragon Ball Z: Moetsukiro!! Nessen Ressen...
1993 — a.k.a. Dragon Ball Z: Broly - The Legendary Super Saiyan, in 1 top list Check -
89 -1
End of the World
2002, in 1 top list Check -
79 -1
Evangelion Shin Gekijôban: Jo
2007 — a.k.a. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, in 1 top list Check -
80 -1
Gake no ue no Ponyo
2008 — a.k.a. Ponyo, in 3 top lists Check -
86 -1
Garakuta no Machi
2006, in 1 top list Check -
98 -1
Gekijô-ban hagane no renkinjutsushi: Shanbara...
2005 — a.k.a. Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa, in 1 top list Check -
99 -1
Gekijôban Furandaasu no inu
1997 — a.k.a. The Dog of Flanders, in 1 top list Check -
67 -1
Gekijouban Makurosu Purasu
1995 — a.k.a. Macross Plus Movie Edition, in 1 top list Check -
83 -1
Genius Party
2007, in 1 top list Check -
46 -1
Ginga tetsudô Three-Nine
1979 — a.k.a. Galaxy Express 999, in 1 top list Check -
61 -1
Ginga-tetsudô no yoru
1985 — a.k.a. Kenji Miyazawa's Night on the Galactic Railroad, in 2 top lists Check -
96 -1
Golgo 13
1983 — a.k.a. Golgo 13: The Professional, in 1 top list Check -
60 -1
Gunnm
1993 — a.k.a. Battle Angel, in 1 top list Check -
71 -1
Gyo
2012 — a.k.a. Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack, in 1 top list Check -
15 -1
Hadashi no Gen
1983 — a.k.a. Barefoot Gen, in 2 top lists Check -
22 -1
Hakuja den
1958 — a.k.a. Panda and the Magic Serpent, in 1 top list Check -
52 -1
Hauru no ugoku shiro
2004 — a.k.a. Howl's Moving Castle, in 18 top lists Check -
14 -1
Heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko
1994 — a.k.a. Pom Poko, in 2 top lists Check -
66 -1
Hi no tori 2772: Ai no kosumozôn
1980 — a.k.a. Phoenix 2772, in 1 top list Check -
85 -1
Higan
2002, in 1 top list Check -
54 -1
Hôhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun
1999 — a.k.a. My Neighbors the Yamadas, in 1 top list Check -
76 -1
Hokuto no Ken
1986 — a.k.a. Fist of the North Star, in 2 top lists Check -
49 -1
Hoshi no koe
2002 — a.k.a. Voices of a Distant Star, in 1 top list Check -
4 -1
Hotaru no haka
1988 — a.k.a. Grave of the Fireflies, in 21 top lists Check -
78 -1
Hotarubi no mori e
2011 — a.k.a. To the Forest of Firefly Lights, in 1 top list Check -
50 -1
Innocence
2004 — a.k.a. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, in 3 top lists Check -
40 -1
Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar...
2003, in 3 top lists Check -
48 -1
Jin-Rô
1999 — a.k.a. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade, in 1 top list Check -
90 -1
Jobanni no shima
2014 — a.k.a. Giovanni's Island, in 1 top list Check -
23 -1
Jûbê ninpûchô
1993 — a.k.a. Ninja Scroll, in 2 top lists Check -
69 -1
Kaguya-hime no monogatari
2013 — a.k.a. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, in 8 top lists Check -
19 -1
Kanashimi no Beradonna
1973 — a.k.a. Belladonna of Sadness, in 3 top lists Check -
74 -1
Karafuru
2010 — a.k.a. Colourful, in 1 top list Check -
81 -1
Kaze no na wa amunejia
1990 — a.k.a. A Wind Named Amnesia, in 1 top list Check -
25 -1
Kaze no Tani no Nausicaä
1984 — a.k.a. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, in 10 top lists Check -
7 -1
Kaze tachinu
2013 — a.k.a. The Wind Rises, in 4 top lists Check -
70 -1
Kidô keisatsu patorebâ: Gekijô-ban
1989 — a.k.a. Patlabor: The Movie, in 1 top list Check -
9 -1
Kidô keisatsu patorebâ: The Movie 2
1993 — a.k.a. Patlabor 2: The Movie, in 1 top list Check
Last updated on Nov 15, 2023 by Fergenaprido; source