Paste's The 100 Best Anime Movies of All Time
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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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104 -1
Kidô senshi Gundam F91
1991 — a.k.a. Mobile Suit Gundam F91, in 1 top list Check -
103 -1
Ongaku
2019 — a.k.a. On-Gaku: Our Sound, in 1 top list -
102 -1
Aa! Megamisama! The Movie
2000 — a.k.a. Ah! My Goddess!: The Movie, in 1 top list Check -
101 -1
Darosu
1983 — a.k.a. Dallos, in 1 top list Check -
100 -1
Omoide no Mânî
2014 — a.k.a. When Marnie Was There, in 2 top lists Check -
99 -1
Gekijôban Furandaasu no inu
1997 — a.k.a. The Dog of Flanders, 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 -
97 -1
Chumon no ooi ryori-ten
1992 — a.k.a. A Well-Ordered Restaurant, in 1 top list Check -
96 -1
Golgo 13
1983 — a.k.a. Golgo 13: The Professional, in 1 top list Check -
95 -1
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust
2000, in 2 top lists Check -
94 -1
Short Peace
2013, in 1 top list Check -
93 -1
Momotarô: Umi no shinpei
1945 — a.k.a. Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors, in 1 top list Check -
92 -1
Vinasu senki
1989 — a.k.a. Venus Wars, in 1 top list Check -
91 -1
Neko no ongaeshi
2002 — a.k.a. The Cat Returns, in 1 top list Check -
90 -1
Jobanni no shima
2014 — a.k.a. Giovanni's Island, in 1 top list Check -
89 -1
End of the World
2002, in 1 top list Check -
88 -1
Kigeki
2002 — a.k.a. Comedy, 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 -
86 -1
Garakuta no Machi
2006, in 1 top list Check -
85 -1
Higan
2002, 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 -
83 -1
Genius Party
2007, in 1 top list Check -
82 -1
Samâ uôzu
2009 — a.k.a. Summer Wars, in 2 top lists Check -
81 -1
Kaze no na wa amunejia
1990 — a.k.a. A Wind Named Amnesia, in 1 top list Check -
80 -1
Gake no ue no Ponyo
2008 — a.k.a. Ponyo, in 3 top lists Check -
79 -1
Evangelion Shin Gekijôban: Jo
2007 — a.k.a. Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone, in 1 top list Check -
78 -1
Hotarubi no mori e
2011 — a.k.a. To the Forest of Firefly Lights, in 1 top list Check -
77 -1
Stranger: Mukô hadan
2007 — a.k.a. Sword of the Stranger, in 1 top list Check -
76 -1
Hokuto no Ken
1986 — a.k.a. Fist of the North Star, in 2 top lists Check -
75 -1
Yôjû toshi
1987 — a.k.a. Wicked City, in 1 top list Check -
74 -1
Karafuru
2010 — a.k.a. Colourful, in 1 top list Check -
73 -1
Tenshi no tamago
1985 — a.k.a. Angel's Egg, in 3 top lists Check -
72 -1
Momo e no tegami
2011 — a.k.a. A Letter to Momo, in 1 top list Check -
71 -1
Gyo
2012 — a.k.a. Gyo: Tokyo Fish Attack, in 1 top list Check -
70 -1
Kidô keisatsu patorebâ: Gekijô-ban
1989 — a.k.a. Patlabor: The Movie, in 1 top list Check -
69 -1
Kaguya-hime no monogatari
2013 — a.k.a. The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, in 8 top lists Check -
68 -1
Supurigan
1998 — a.k.a. Spriggan, in 1 top list Check -
67 -1
Gekijouban Makurosu Purasu
1995 — a.k.a. Macross Plus Movie Edition, in 1 top list Check -
66 -1
Hi no tori 2772: Ai no kosumozôn
1980 — a.k.a. Phoenix 2772, in 1 top list Check -
65 -1
Blood: The Last Vampire
2000, in 1 top list 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 -
63 -1
Mimi wo sumaseba
1995 — a.k.a. Whisper of the Heart, in 4 top lists Check -
62 -1
Suzumiya Haruhi no shôshitsu
2010 — a.k.a. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, in 2 top lists Check -
61 -1
Ginga-tetsudô no yoru
1985 — a.k.a. Kenji Miyazawa's Night on the Galactic Railroad, in 2 top lists Check -
60 -1
Gunnm
1993 — a.k.a. Battle Angel, in 1 top list Check -
59 -1
Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro
1979 — a.k.a. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro, in 3 top lists Check -
58 -1
Sen'ya ichiya monogatari
1969 — a.k.a. One Thousand and One Nights, in 1 top list Check -
57 -1
The Animatrix
2003, in 1 top list Check -
56 -1
Shin Kido Senki Gundam Wing Endless Waltz
1998 — a.k.a. Gundam Wing: The Movie - Endless Waltz, in 1 top list Check -
55 -1
Byôsoku 5 senchimêtoru
2007 — a.k.a. 5 Centimeters per Second, in 1 top list Check
Last updated on Nov 15, 2023 by Fergenaprido; source