netflix might notThe absolute dominance of HBO Maxat Studio Ghibli, but the streaming service's anime movie deals are still worth your while if you haven't clicked on a Crunchyroll subscription yet. There are still plenty of mechas, transformations, and even Miyazaki (thanks,Lupine III!) to enjoy, and it's even more exciting that some are Netflix originals. Watching the company invest in its own movies has been politely hit or miss, but its foray into anime has been largely a positive.
While Netflix shines best with its sheer number ofAnime series, there are still many anime movies to enjoy after bingingJoJosoDemon Hunter. We've ranked the 10 best anime movies on Netflix, including well-known franchises, anthologies, originals, and hard-to-find favorites. The streamer's library is constantly changing, and anime movies suffer badly in sales, but this list will be updated for July 2021.
Here are the top 10 anime movies currently on Netflix:
10a mustache removed
Year:2020
Director:Junichi Sato, Tomotaka Shibayama
Close:Mirai Shida, Natsuki Hanae, Hiroaki Ogi, Koichi Yamadera, Minako Kotobuki
Valuation:tv show
Duration:104 minutes
Movies have done scarier things than magically transform into a cat to get closer to your crush, but those are few. It's not exactly in front of a window with a boombox. But with directors Junichi Sato and Tomotaka Shibayamaa mustache removedEven this crazy premise offers beauty and heartwarming romance. Mari Okada's script deftly skips the anime through some emotional loops, winds it through crumpled toy tunnels, and finally lands on its silly premise, filled with a squad of anxious and depressed high school kids, with emotional honesty. A touch of Miyazaki's canonical otherworldly magic (a hulking cat with faces and a whole world of invisible cats) pairs well with some candid dives into his characters' mental health issues (not as deep and dark asNeon Genesis Evangelion, but with an equally elegant style). While the characters are a bit annoying when you get to know them—they are high school students, after all—the truth behind the writing manages to shine through as it impresses us with its realistic animal animations and impressive depictions of the small town of Tokoname. life.-Jakob Oller
9.humble heroes
Year:2019
Director:Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Yoshiyuki Momose, Akihiko Yamashita, Takuya Okada
Close:Fumino Kimura, Rio Suzuki, Masaki Terasoma, Machiko Ono
Valuation:PG
Duration:53 minutes
Short film anthologies are some of the most impressive examples of visual storytelling pushing the envelope in animation, let alone Japanese animation. A cursory look at the anime anthologies produced in the last 30 years is enough: from the 1987 film by Masao Maruyama and Rintaromaze stories(known in the West asNeo-Tokio) by Katsuhiro Otomos 1995 filmregards, to the American-Japanese co-production in 2003animatriz, anthologies have proven to be not only milestones in anime history, but also a key venue for facilitating the introduction of exciting new talent into the animation industry. With this in mind, director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, along with former Ghibli animators Yoshiyuki Momose (The Story of Princess Kaguya) of Akihiko Yamashita (Howl's Moving Castle), have combined their considerable creativity to create a new installment in the storied line of prestigious anime anthologies:humble heroes, the first volume of Studio Ponoc's series of animated shorts. "Kanini & Kanino," directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, is the first and most "Ghibli-esque" of the three shorts in the anthology. Based on the story of two anthropomorphic baby crabs living at the bottom of a river bed, the short film could be interpreted as a sort of revival of Yonebayashi's 2010 directorial debut.Arrietty's Secret World, but this time conceived and written entirely by himself. The second short in the anthology, directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, is the most moving part of the book and possibly the true namesake ofhumble heroes. Life Ain't Gonna Lose follows a young mother and hers son Shun, a happy and humble boy who was born with a debilitating food allergy to eggs. Life Ain't Gonna Lose sets a high bar for the future of cinema, but the latest short in the anthology, Invisible, manages to meet and even exceed those expectations. Directed by Akihiko Yamashita, who is not only known for his preparatory workHowl's Moving Castle, but also as a character designer in Yasuhiro ImagawaGiant Theft: The Day the Earth Stood Still, "Invisible" follows the story of a man who struggles with a condition that makes him go completely unnoticed by everyone he meets.humble heroesis a satisfying second work from Studio Ponoc, a collection of short films that together convey the sentiment of that joyous and courageous adage made famous by the likes of Rod Serling: "...there is nothing more powerful than the meek."Toussaint Egan
8.The Witcher: The Wolf's Nightmare
Year:2021
Director:Kwang II Han
Close:Theo James, Lara Pulver, Graham McTavish, Mary McDonnell
Valuation:TV-MA
Duration:83 minutes
Series the NetflixThe Wizardwas a smash hit for the streaming platform in 2019, introducing mainstream audiences everywhere to the dangerous world of Geralt of Rivia, a magically enhanced professional monster hunter known as the Witcher. Like many prequels, the animated filmthe nightmare of the wolfhe can often be more interested in setting the table for the next season of the live-action series than telling a standalone story. Your mileage will likely vary depending on whether you think it's a good idea or not: hardcore fans will be delighted by the frequent insults and increased violence that lead up to the series' return, while casual viewers will wonder what the problem is. . any of this butthe nightmare of the wolfIt works because it shamelessly doubles down on a lot of what makes the original series so compelling, namely the rich lore surrounding the existence of warlocks in general. And in doing so, the original series feels like something much bigger than one man's story, expanding his world in ways that make almost every aspect of it seem more complex and interesting than before. The film is technically an origin story for Vesemir, but it's also a crash course in how warlocks came to be, from the harsh conditions in which they were created to the awkward position they occupied in the politics and cultural consciousness of the world they occupy. the continent. But mainly,the nightmare of the wolfkeep muddying the moral waterssorcereruniverse and created complex characters in every conceivable shade of gray.the nightmare of the wolfThe larger message of how often we create the monsters we fear the most is certainly not new. But those familiar beats ultimately help us see the world of the live-action series, and Geralt's place in it, differently than before, justifying the continent's mistrust of warlocks and deepening our understanding of why. these remaining men have decided to stay. fighting anyway. —Lacy Baugher Milas.
7.moon on the wall
Year:2018
Director:masaaki yuasa
Close:Kanon Tani, Shota Shimoda, Christine Marie Cabanos, Michael Sinterniklaas, Stephanie Sheh
Valuation:PG
Duration:107 minutes
GKids distributor soldmoon on the wallas "family-friendly" what it is, a harmless and offbeat alternative to the conventional computer-animated joints typically found in modern multiplexes. But there are "peculiar" and "strange" andmoon on the wallventures well beyond the first and into the second before director Masaaki Yuasa wraps the opening credits. Hardly a moment passes before we get close to reality: Even its most human heartbeats, those precious clues to relatable qualities that nurture our empathy, are elongated, distorted, and rendered almost unrecognizable by exaggeration.moon on the wallIt's not a movie that takes itself seriously, and for the average moviegoer, that's a quality worth tapping into. The plot is both simple and not: teenager Kai (voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas), who recently moved from Tokyo to the sleepy fishing village of Hinashi, spends his days doing what most teenagers do, cringing. fear in his room and isolating himself from the world. As Kai struggles with his self-imposed isolation, he befriends Lu (Christine Marie Cabanos), a maniacal mermaid with miniature pixie dreams. What is a lonely emo guy supposed to do in a literal and figurative fish-out-of-water conspiracy backed by xenophobic undertones?moon on the wallcombines joy with political allegory with vibrant color palettes with storytelling magic, plus some real magic, plus too many happy musical interludes to count. Calling the film simply "creative" feels like an insult to its inspired lunacy.—Andy Crump
6.Debt!
Year:2017
Director:Hiroyuki Seshita
Close:Sora Amamiya, Kana Hanazawa, Takahiro Sakurai
Valuation:TV-14
Duration:105 minutes
When it comes to gritty industrial sci-fi, Tsutomu Nihei is a visionary. Trained as an architect before pursuing a career as a manga writer, Nihei's art is both sparse and labyrinthine, his work defined by an obsession with connecting with invented spaces. Byzantine factories with gothic accents stretching over impossible chasms, populated by bow-legged Synthoids and creepy predators boasting jagged bone swords and throbbing gristle pistols. The first and best known series of him,Debt!, is considered a key text in Nihei's aesthetic legacy, going so far as to inspire everything from video games to music, art and fashion. Attempts have been made in the past to adapt the series into an anime, but none have been successful. That is, until now. With the support of Netflix, Polygon Pictures' Hiroyuki Seshita has delivered the long-awaitedDebt!Movie. In a land in the distant future being consumed by a massive, self-replicating superstructure called The City,Debt!follows Killy, a taciturn loner who wanders the layers of the planet in search of a human possessing the "terminal network gene", an elusive trait believed to be the only means of stopping the ongoing enemy expansion of the city. With a script by Sadayuki Murai, famous for writing series likeBebop of the cowboyy Satoshi Konsperfect blue, and curated by Nihei himself, Seshita's film shortens many of the manga's early chapters and simplifies the story into a more narrative and action-oriented affair. Art director Hiroshi Takiguchi deftly replicates Nihei's distinctive aesthetic, achieving in color what was previously only monochrome, while Yuki Moriyama deftly enhances the consistent character designs of the original, giving cast members distinct features and silhouettes and easily identifiable characters that greatly improve the readability of the story.Debt!it is as faithful an adaptation as possible and as fitting an introduction to the series as the manga itself.Debt!makes a strong argument for not only being one of the most conceptually entertaining anime movies in recent memory, but also one of, if not the best, original anime movies to grace Netflix in a long time.—Toussaint Egan
5.the end of evangelion
Year:1997
Director:Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Close:Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yuko Miyamura, Kotono Mitsuishi, Fumihiko Tachiki, Yuriko Yamaguchi
Valuation:TV-MA
Duration:87 minutes
The last two episodes ofNeon Genesis Evangelionare notorious among fans of the series. Titled do you love me? and "Take Care of Yourself," the two-part finale that infamously displaced the final climax of the series' central conflict, instead choosing to take place entirely offline in the subconscious of series protagonist Shinji Ikari as he fought . with contempt for himself and dissolve the hatred that has tormented him throughout history. The unconventional and unsatisfying nature of this conclusion led angry fans to issue death threats on Anno's life and deface the Gainax building with graffiti. In response, Anno set to work on an alternate ending to the series that would be produced and broadcast in theaters in two parts. If you were looking for a light, cheesy and festive finish,end of evangelismIt's not this movie. Instead, fans were treated to perhaps one of the most fatalistic, edgy, and strangely life-affirming anime series finales ever produced. In short, it is the best and the worst of everything there is.Evangelioncombined to create a movie unlike anything that came before. Despite its relentless darkness,end of evangelismstays true to the ethos of its subtitle that the joy of death lies in the act of rebirth.—Toussaint Egan
4.a silent voice
Year:2016
Director:Naoko Yamada
Close:Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yuki, Kensho Ono, Yuki Kaneko, Yui Ishikawa, Megumi Han, Toshiyuki Toyonaga, Mayu Matsuoka
Valuation:TV-14
Duration:129 minutes
In a medium that too often feels constrained by the primacy of male aesthetic sensibilities and saturated with hypersexualized portrayals of women known colloquially as "fanservice," Naoko Yamada's presence is a welcome breath of fresh air, not to mention inimitable quality. of his movies. Inspired by artists such as Yasujiro Ozu, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Sergei Parajanov, Sofia Coppola and Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Yamada is a quintessential director, able to capture attention and melancholy and bittersweet catharsis through delicate compositions with skillful sound, rapid editing and ephemeral colors. they evoke palettes and characters with a rich inner life filled with knotted, relatable combat.a silent voice, adapted from Yoshitoki Oima's manga of the same name, is a prime example of all of these sensibilities. When Shoya Ishida meets Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf transfer student, in elementary school, she relentlessly bullies him much to the amusement of her classmates. One day, when Shoya goes too far and, fearing for his own safety, forces Shoko to change again, his classmates brand him an outcast and he retreats into a state of self-imposed isolation and self-loathing. Years later, Shoya is reunited with Shoko, now a teenager, and tries to undo the damage she did to him as she struggles to understand her own motivations.a silent voiceis a film of tremendous emotional depth, a moving portrayal of youth abuse, reconciliation and forgiveness for the harm caused by others and by ourselves.—Toussaint Egan
3.The pinnacle of the gods
Release date:24. November 2021
Director:patrick imbert
Close:Lazare Herson-Macarel, Eric Herson-Macarel, Damien Boisseau, Elisabeth Ventura, Kylian Rehlinger, François Dunoyer
Valuation:PG
Duration:95 minutes
Based on Jiro Taniguchi's early 2000s manga, which enhanced Baku Yumemakura's 1998 novel with stunning environmental art and sharp, shadow-heavy character designs.The pinnacle of the godsis a testament to self-motivation through the intertwining stories of two men: mountaineer Joji Habu (Eric Herson-Macarel) and journalist Makoto Fukamachi (Damien Boisseau). Director Patrick Imbert's French anime sees both ways thanks to a legendary Kodak Vestpocket camera owned by George Mallory, the English mountaineer who may or may not have summited Everest in the 1920s. Fukamachi sees Habu with the camera and then he loses it. Fukamachi wants a bullet; Habu wants to be left alone while he prepares for his own ascension. In his quest to find the hermit, Fukamachi pieces Habu's life together and builds his obsessive arc event by event through unearthed news clippings. With this structure IntercutThe pinnacle of the godsis both a great journalistic film and a great mountaineering film, each with a series of technical steps that carry emotional weight and are impossible to fully explain to an outsider. Why do you seek the summit? Why dedicate yourself to finding all the details of a story? These solitary goals are both personal and professional. The end result is clear, but the reasoning behind it quickly turns dark and existential upon closer inspection. The clarity of the animation backs up these big questions with simple answers. The majestic, fuzzy colors of nature - bright blues and purples - contrast with everyday life in condominiums, pubs and city streets that have lost all romance. The latter are utilitarian in their details, so rich in realismStuffto dull you with familiarity. The film then takes you to the expeditions through the eyes of the people who live for it. The climbing sequences feature shots so stark and overlaid with mud and sunbeams that their painterly abstraction will blow you away in the snow. And yet, on a moment-to-moment level, it's a detailed crunch of rock on stone, clever knotting of rope, and the muscular friction of hands and feet, performed by characters moving with conscious intent whose animations are sufficiently heavy to walk footprints and small avalanches of pebbles.The pinnacle of the godsIt's a subtle film told in shades of white and silence, but its passion burns beneath the icy frost. The complex storytelling and compellingly beautiful vistas make its philosophical case well: whether you're risking everything to reach a climax, get to the bottom of a mystery, or craft labor-intensive animation, you're lucky to have something you love. .—Jakob Oller
2.Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack
Year:1988
Director:yoshiyuki tomino
Close:Toru Furuya, Shuichi Ikeda, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Maria Kawamura, Nozomu Sasaki, Koichi Yamadera
Valuation:TV-14
Duration:119 minutes
FirstGundamTheatrical film and final chapter of the original saga released in the 1979 Universal Century TimelineGundam mobile suitT.V. series,char's counterattackit has the weight of three television seasons behind it. Yoshiyuki Tomino, creator of theGundamseries, directed and wrote the film, faithfully adapted it from his novel,hello streamer. Widely considered the best film in the world.GundamFranchise,char's counterattackhe is most successful in ending the 14-year rivalry between Earth Federation "hero" Amuro Ray and Neo-Zeon leader Char Aznable. The story includes a classic.GundamDilemma: Char's Neo-Zeon squadron is attempting to drop a nuclear-armed asteroid onto Earth, which would free the colonies from the yoke of oppression at the hands of their rivals, the Earth Federation, while killing everyone on Earth. Earth in the process. as with all the bestGundamStories, Tomino approaches the story from a harsh sci-fi perspective, clearly laying out the science behind things like giant mobile suits and "neutypes" (humans who evolved to gain psychic abilities). Tomino carefully lays out the reasons for Char and Amuro's passions and hatred without allowing the viewer to choose a clear side.GundamThe shows have always been poised to engage in discussions about the horrors of war and how, despite all of humanity's advances, it never seems to break free of humanity's most base instincts.char's counterattackHe also tries this, but it's mostly about ending the rivalry between Amuro and Char, and in that sense he's overwhelmingly successful. With beautiful, suspenseful space combat sequences, an excellent soundtrack by Shigeaki Saegusa, and some of the most critically acclaimed Gundam designs in franchise history, the film is undoubtedly one of the pinnacles of the Gundam universe. On the downside, unless you have the investment to spend hundreds of TV episodes with these characters, the plot can be confusing and the Char/Amuro ending probably won't resonate as much. Nevertheless,char's counterattackremains a key moment in theGundamUniversum, which is still worth a visit almost 30 years later. Hail, Zeon!—JD
1.Mirai
Year:2018
Director:Mamoru Hosoda
Close:Moka Kamishiraishi, Haru Kuroki, Gen Hoshino, Kumiko Aso, Mitsuo Yoshihara, Yoshiko Miyazaki, Koji Yakusho, Masaharu Fukuyama
Valuation:PG
Duration:98 minutes
Most, if not all, of Mamoru Hosoda's original films produced over the last decade function to some degree as autobiographical exercises.summer war, save for a more or less recycled premise from Hosoda's 2000 directorial debutDigimon Adventure: Our War Game!, was the oft-removed story of how Hosoda met his wife's family. 2012Wolfsbanehe was inspired by the death of Hosoda's mother, animated in part by the fears and longings he faced at the prospect of his own impending parenthood. 2015the boy and the beastit was completed shortly after the birth of Hosoda's first child, the product of his own questions about the role a father should play in his son's life.Mirai, the director's seventh film, is not inspired by Hosoda's own experiences, but by his firstborn son's experiences meeting his brother for the first time. Told from the perspective of Kun, a little boy who feels left out and insecure after the birth of his sister Mirai.Miraiis a beautiful fantasy adventure drama that takes viewers on a dazzling odyssey through Kun's entire family tree, culminating in a moving conclusion that emphasizes the beauty of what it means to love and be loved.MiraiIt's Hosoda's highest-grossing film, the winner of the first Academy Award nomination for an anime film not produced by Studio Ghibli, and it's an uplifting and rewarding experience.—Toussaint Egan