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The 20 Amazing Japanese Anime Movies
Japanese anime movies has its fair share of cinematic masterpieces that should not be skipped over by movie enthusiasts, Although many great movies have come from American superpower businesses such as Hollywood, Warner Brothers, and Disney.
If you are interested in learning the Japanese language, watching TV shows is a great way to improve your listening skill.
Anime is a popular choice; it comes in many genres, and there are many English versions for more popular shows such as Pokemon, Attack on Titan, Naruto, Death Note, Bleach, and others.
However, watching an entire anime series takes up a lot of time.
Therefore, why not check out a movie instead? We recommend spending your weekend with these 20 fantastic animated movies.
These japanese films are not just movies produced by the well-known Anime Studio Ghibli, but also from many others studios.
They have been selected for their great storylines, popularity, and the writer’s personal experience.
Are you excited?
Hence, These 20 anime movies below are ready for you to watch with both Japanese and English subtitles that can be found easily!
20. The Cat Returns (2002)
- Studio Ghibli
- IMDb: 7.3
- Director: Hiroyuki Morita
The movie is about Haru, an unfortunate girl in most aspects of her life.
After helping a cat that got stuck in a lorry, she finds herself involuntarily engaged to a cat prince in a magical world where her only hope of freedom lies with a dapper cat statuette, which also comes to life in the story.
While the movie doesn’t have the beauty and depth of some others from Ghibli, it’s still a breezy and entertaining film with a fun, adventurous plot that children would love. This is a great film to check out with your family, and for cat lovers, too!
19. A Letter to Momo (2011)
- Production I.G.
- IMDb: 7.3
- Director: Hiroyuki Okiyura
Since her father’s recent death, a little girl named Momo and her mother move from the crowded town of Tokyo to the remote island of Shio.
While still confused by an unfinished letter of her father’s, Momo also has to get used to the new living environment and make new friends.
At that time, bizarre events occur inside Momo’s house, including strange whispers come from the attic.
Because of her mother’s refusal to believe these strange events, Momo throws herself into an odd adventure to discover the source of the weirdness, which leads her to the trio of troublesome spirits and together, she and those spirits figure out that her moving to this island is somehow connected to her father’s unfinished mysterious letter.
The movie depicts a lovely story of friendship. It also has high quality visual effects and sound editing.
Also, It has a slow pace at the beginning, some humorous moments in the middle, and really touching scenes at the end that could make you shed some tears while watching!
Read Also: 10 Best Japanese Anime Movies with an English Dubbed Version
18. From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
- Studio Ghibli
- IMDb: 7.4
- Director: Goro Miyazaki
Unlike many other Miyazaki movies, this film has no trace of sparkling fantasy, though it still keeps the flawless visual effects that Studio Ghibli is so well-known for.
It also has a simple story about a group of Yokohama students looking to save their school’s clubhouse from the wrecking ball in preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
I personally think elderly people will have nostalgic feelings when watching this movie, as it reflects the lives of Japanese students as well as other residents during the years of 1963-1965.
17. Children Who Chase Voices From Deep Below (2011)
- CoMix Wave Film
- IMDb: 7.3
- Director: Shinkai Makoto
This coming-of-age story involving young love and mysterious music coming from a crystal radio left as a memento by an absent father, that leads a young heroine deep into a hidden world.
Although the rating is not what I expected, the storyline about the characters who have to deal with difficult issues (for instance, loss of loved ones, independence, and life-changing decisions) make it interesting.
This movie is another product of the same producer of Five Centimeters Per Second‘, therefore, it’s easy to understand how they achieved the stunning beauty of the animation!
16. The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
- CoMix Wave Film
- IMDb: 7.3
- Director: Makoto Shinkai
The story takes place in an alternate postwar period, where Japan is divided into the Soviet Union-controlled North and the US-controlled South.
An enormously tall tower was built on Hokkaido, which could even be seen from Tokyo.
In the summer of 1996, three middle-school students make a promise that they’ll cross the border and unravel the tower’s secret, but their project was abandoned after one girl, Sayuri Sawatari, became mysteriously ill and was transferred to Tokyo.
Years later, on the brink of another war, a boy named Hiroki Fujisawa finds out that Sayuri had been in a coma since then, and he asks Takuya Shirakawa to help him find a way to wake her up, so as to fulfill the promise between the trio.
The film’s pace is a romantic reflection of loneliness and bittersweet affection.
Even though the romance was not impressive to critical viewers, the music and storytelling style made up everything else.
It is a fascinating dystopic look at the postwar era and definitely worth a watch.
Read Also: Here are The Amazing New Romance Anime Series of 2019 to watch
