Best Japanese animated films (excluding Ghibli films)
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- DirectorMizuho NishikuboMamoru OshiiStarsAtsuko TanakaIemasa KayumiAkio ÔtsukaA cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
- DirectorShôgo FuruyaSatoshi KonStarsTôru EmoriYoshiaki UmegakiAya OkamotoOn Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsKenji MizuhashiYoshimi KondouSatomi HanamuraTold in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.
- DirectorMamoru OshiiStarsRinko KikuchiRyô KaseShôsuke TaniharaThe Kildren, a group of eternally young fighter pilots, experience the sudden loss of innocence as they battle the enemy in astonishing dogfights above the clouds.
- DirectorTaichi IshidateNaoko YamadaStarsMiyu IrinoSaori HayamiAoi YûkiA young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.
- DirectorHideaki AnnoKazuya TsurumakiStarsMegumi OgataMegumi HayashibaraYûko MiyamuraConcurrent theatrical ending of the TV series Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995).Not watchable without watching the anime.
- DirectorKenji KamiyamaHiroyuki OkiuraStarsMichael DobsonYoshikazu FujikiSumi MutohA traumatized member of an elite para-military police force falls for the sister of a female terrorist courier who died in front of him on duty.
- DirectorYoshiaki KawajiriStarsAndrew PhilpotJohn Rafter LeePamela AdlonA legendary dhampir competes with a motley family of bounty hunters to return a young woman, who has been seemingly abducted by a vampire, to her family.
- DirectorKôji MorimotoTensai OkamuraKatsuhiro ÔtomoStarsMarc SwintRobbie DaymondFrank TodaroAn animated science fiction anthology from the visionary anime director, Katsuhiro Otomo.
- DirectorMasayuki KojimaHiroshi SaitôStarsRabbe SmedlundJyrki KovaleffElina SaloMoomin, Sniff and My set out to stop a comet approaching the Moomin valley. Along the way they meet Snusmumriken, the beautiful Snorkfröken, Snorken and a Hemul, who join them in their quest.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsAoi MiyazakiTakao OsawaHaru KurokiAfter her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident while hunting for food for their children, a young woman must find ways to raise the werewolf son and daughter that she had with him while keeping their trait hidden from society.
- DirectorSatoshi KonStarsMegumi HayashibaraTôru EmoriKatsunosuke HoriWhen a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.
- DirectorNoboru IshiguroShôji KawamoriKatsuhito AkiyamaStarsArihiro HaseMari IijimaMika DoiEarth braces for an invasion of giant male bionoids and their enemy, giant female bionoids.
- DirectorHiroyuki OkiuraStarsKaren MiyamaYukaDaizaburo Arakawa11-year-old Momo moves with her mother to a small island town after her father dies. When she arrives, she encounters three goblins that others cannot see who try to help her to cope with the loss of her father and the changes in her life.
- DirectorMasahiro AndôStarsTomoya NagaseYuri ChinenKôichi YamaderaA swordsman from a strange land is caught in a struggle between morality, righteousness, and devotion as he reluctantly agrees to take a raggedy boy and his dog to a remote, Buddhist temple.
- DirectorNoriyuki KitanoharaKazuya SakamotoNoriko TakaoStarsAya HiranoTomokazu SugitaMinori ChiharaA week before Christmas, Kyon wakes up in a world where the SOS Brigade doesn't exist. Mikuru and Yuki don't recognize him, and Haruhi and Itsuki seem to have vanished.Requires you to watch the tv series.
- DirectorKeiichi HaraStarsKumiko AsôChris AyresGreg AyresA sinful spirit is granted the opportunity to prove worthy for rebirth, inhabiting the body of a student who killed himself.
- DirectorKatsuhiro ÔtomoStarsMitsuo IwataNozomu SasakiMami KoyamaA secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
- DirectorYoshiaki KawajiriStarsKôichi YamaderaEmi ShinoharaTakeshi AonoA vagabond swordsman is aided by a kunoichi and a spy in battling a demonic clan of killers - led by a ghost from his past - who are bent on overthrowing the Tokugawa Shogunate.
- DirectorMasaaki YuasaKôji MorimotoStarsKôji ImadaSayaka MaedaTakashi FujiiAfter 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.
- DirectorSunao KatabuchiStarsNonAva PickardKenna PickardA spirited 18-year-old woman is married off to a man she barely knows as she combats the daily struggles of living in Hiroshima during World War II.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsRyunosuke KamikiMone KamishiraishiRyo NaritaTwo teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.
- DirectorHiroshi NegishiStarsMasami KikuchiAi OrikasaYuri AmanoThis film takes a more serious turn from the Tenchi TV series and movies. One day, Tenchi disappears in the forest near his house. Six months later, Ayeka and Ryoko locate Tenchi living in a city, but with a mysterious woman. What's more, Tenchi appears to have aged several years. Whenever Ayeka and Ryoko catch up to him, he disappears into thin air, apparently existing in a fabricated alternate dimension where he has no knowledge of his past. An attempt to rescue Tenchi from the mysterious woman is mounted by Ayeka, Ryoko, Washu and the others.Requires you to watch the tv series.
- DirectorGisaburô SugiiStarsEiji BandôKaba ChanShôzô HayashiyaAfter meeting on a stormy night, a goat Mei and a wolf Gabu become sworn friends. However, trouble sets afoot among the two unlikely friends after their secret gets out, putting them in a perilous yet amazing adventure.
- DirectorSunao KatabuchiStarsHouko KuwashimaTsuyoshi KoyamaMinami TakayamaConfined in the castle tower by her father, Princess Arete spends her days watching the world outside her window. Sometimes she sneaks out. Prospective suitors are sent on quests to collect magic treasures to win her hand in marriage.
- DirectorTatsuyuki NagaiStarsInori MinaseKôki UchiyamaSora AmamiyaA young girl had her voice magically taken away so that she would never hurt people with it, but her outlook changes when she encounters music and friendship.
- DirectorMasaaki YuasaStarsGen HoshinoKana HanazawaHiroshi KamiyaIn this comedy about one epic night in Kyoto, a college sophomore goes on a series of surreal encounters with the local nightlife, all the while unaware of the romantic longings of her classmate Senpai.
- DirectorToshio HirataStarsIssei MiyazakiMasaki KôdaKei NakamuraThree years after the Hiroshima bombing, a teenager helps a group of orphans to survive and find their new life.The first one was is weaker film but it should be watched first.
- DirectorYoshinobu YamakawaAmber Lee ConnorsStarsMisato FukuenMiyuki SawashiroDaisuke KishioAmagane Rinne, an upbeat schoolgirl, has died. But even dead, she still has to attend school in the underworld.
- DirectorMasakazu HashimotoJong HeoTadashi HiramatsuStarsManaka IwamiMiyu IrinoYôko HikasaEscaping war, an immortal girl blessed with Eternal Youth finds a lone surviving infant and decides to raise him as her son.
- DirectorMotonobu HoriKenji KamiyamaStarsMitsuki TakahataShinnosuke MitsushimaJamison BoazIn the near future, a high school senior discovers that events in her waking life begin to parallel events in her dreams.
- DirectorAkinori NagaokaStarsRena TakahashiGô KatôFumie KashiyamaDuring World War II, a teenage Jewish girl named Anne Frank and her family are forced into hiding in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.
- DirectorShunsuke TadaStarsSusumu ChibaKeiji FujiwaraKana HanazawaPrequel to Book Girl (2010) that pictures Toko's backstory.
- DirectorTatsuya IshiharaYasuhiro TakemotoNaoko YamadaStarsAtsumi TanezakiNao TôyamaMiyu HondaBest friends in their last year of high school realise there is no such thing as being together forever.The movie does reference event's happening on season 2 of eupho but the movie feels completely different than the TV series and i would say that it works better without watching it because the tone of it clashes with the series.
- DirectorYutaka UemuraStarsSusumu AkagiTakatsugu AwazuChôTanya Degurechaff continues her misadventures, avoiding death and being sent to hell, while battling the forces of the Republic Army.Doesn't work as a standalone product
- 20191h 30mNot Rated7.8 (5.3K)DirectorTakaomi KanasakiStarsJun FukushimaSora AmamiyaRie TakahashiKazuma's party is suddenly alerted by an outrageous letter delivered by Yunyun. The letter requested that they come to the Crimson Demon Clan's village, that is facing a threat that could mean it's ending.
- DirectorMakoto ShinkaiStarsKotaro DaigoNana MoriTsubasa HondaSet during a period of exceptionally rainy weather, high-school boy Hodaka Morishima runs away from his troubled rural home to Tokyo and befriends an orphan girl who can manipulate the weather.
- DirectorTatsuyuki NagaiStarsKen MatsudairaYou TaichiAtsumi TanezakiSecond-year high school student Aoi Aioi is an aspiring musician. Her older sister Akane's ex-boyfriend Shinnosuke Kanomura is a struggling guitarist. Aoi and Akane's parents passed away in an accident 13 years ago, and Akane gave up her ambition of going to Tokyo with Shinnosuke to take care of Aoi. Since then, Aoi has felt indebted to her older sister. One day, she is invited to perform at a music festival as a session musician by a famous en singer named Dankichi. At the same time, Shinnosuke returns to Aoi and Akane's town after a long time away. Then, Shinno mysteriously appears- who is actually Shinnosuke from 13 years ago after traveling from the past to the present-and Aoi falls in love for the first time.
- DirectorMakoto BesshoKôichi ChigiraMahiro MaedaStarsTakako MatsuEiji WentzJoe CappellettiWhen eleven-year-old Wataru is told he can change his destiny by entering a magic gateway into another world, he jumps at the chance. But on his quest to find the Tower of Fortune and be granted any wish, he must conjure up all his bravery to battle a world of demons, his own friends and ultimately himself.Sadly this is bit of a mess story wise because it so does show that they cramped long book into a less than two hour movie and it doesn't work. The reason i'm still recommending is because it has wonderful world and the movie look's great. I still very much enjoyed even though the story falled flat.
- DirectorToshio HirataStarsKatsue MiwaToshiko FujitaKei TomiyamaA golden apple is stolen from the King's garden. The King orders his three sons to guard the apples in turn and to find out who is the thief. When the youngest son, Hansu, presents a feather that he got from the golden bird that stole the apple the king sends his three sons to bring this bird to him and so Hansu journey begins.
- DirectorGisaburô SugiiStarsMayumi TanakaChika SakamotoJunko HoriTwo kittens go on a metaphysical journey on a magical railroad train.
- DirectorKyohei IshiguroStarsSomegorô IchikawaHana SugisakiMegumi HanA meeting and romance starts between two people with communication issues - a boy who wears headphones and uses haiku poems, and a girl who wears a mask and only does online videos.
- DirectorMamoru HosodaStarsKaho NakamuraRyo NaritaShôta SometaniSuzu is a shy high school student living in a rural village. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. But when she enters "U", a massive virtual world, she escapes into her online persona as Belle, a globally-beloved singer.
- DirectorKenji IwaisawaStarsShintarô SakamotoRen KomaiTomoya MaenoA trio of delinquent schoolkids form a music band.
- DirectorLoundrawStarsKyla CarterClifford ChapinDavid Errigo Jr.An urban legend speaks of a summer ghost, a spirit girl who appears when fireworks are set off.