Japanese animation comes in all shapes and sizes: epic, multi-season anime series spanning hundreds of episodes, tight 12-episode seasons, and seemingly endless possibilities for options in between. But sometimes, the thing that really hits the spot is a movie –– a full-on, well-animated story told end-to-end in two hours, give or take. Feels good, right? It also helps that they tend to feature some seriously high production values and attract top talent from around the industry.
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For the ultimate cinematic anime experience at home, here are 17 titles available to stream right now, sorted into categories for easy perusal.
The Black Clover anime, based on the manga by Yūki Tabata, ran for a whopping 170 episodes from 2017 to 2021. But only in 2023 did Asta and his comrades make the leap to the big screen with Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King — and what a glow-up it is. Aside from some intense battles on a massive scale, Sword of the Wizard King also introduces new lore to the series, including four evil wizard kings from the past. With a story penned by Tabata himself, this is a continuation of the Black Clover saga you won’t want to miss.
The latest from Studio Ponoc (Mary and the Witch’s Flower) and director Yoshiyuki Momose, a longtime animator at Studio Ghibli, The Imaginary adapts a beloved British children’s book about a young girl named Amanda and her imaginary friend Rudger. As it turns out, invisible friends are more real than anyone realizes, and Rudger is being hunted by a creepy man who literally consumes imaginary friends as food. Yikes.
Meanwhile, the young Amanda must navigate her difficult relationship with her recently widowed mother. The Imaginary brings Amanda’s rich imagination to life through impressively animated sequences, and its themes of friendship and family will resonate with those of all ages.
In Japanese, maboroshi means vision or illusion. Sounds about right to describe this mysterious 2023 film from acclaimed director and screenwriter Mari Okada (see also: A Whisker Away). The film centers around a Japanese mill town that’s stuck in time. The seasons don’t change, and no one ages. Amid this ennui, middle school student Masamune comes across a peculiar girl with the body of a teenager but the mind of a toddler who might be the key to this whole puzzle. In addition to its mysterious plot, maboroshi features some eye-popping animation from the folks at MAPPA (Jujutsu Kaisen) and all the painfully relatable teen angst for which Okada is famous.
Studio Ghibli vibes are also front and center in Mary and the Witch’s Flower, the debut film from Studio Ponoc (whose latest, The Imaginary, is coming to Netflix later this year). Ponoc was founded by former Ghibli folks, and it shows in this fantasy based on the novel The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart. Mary (the character, not the author) is a young girl in England who happens to pick up a flower that gives her magical powers, and before she knows it, she’s enrolled in a Hogwarts-style college for witches. What ensues is a great adventure full of broomsticks, transformations, and more than a few feels along the way.
Also penned by Mari Okada, this cute teen fantasy was co-directed by Junichi Sato, known for his work on a little show called Sailor Moon. It centers around a sensitive eighth-grader named Miyo who just can’t seem to get close to her crush, Hinode — until she transforms into a cat. From there, Miyo and Hinode embark on a feline-filled adventure with some serious Studio Ghibli vibes. Animated at Colorido, a young studio known for its cute, cozy films, A Whisker Away is great for cat lovers and teen dreamers alike.
Based on the manga of the same name by Tsutomu Nihei (Knights of Sidonia), BLAME! takes place in a giant megastructure about a million miles in diameter. Main character Killy wanders this structure, searching for a way to access its control network. With all that square mileage, easier said than done — but at least Killy is equipped with a weapon called a Gravitational Beam Emitter. BLAME! has atmosphere to spare and is great for fans of gritty, dystopian sci-fi like Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell.
The Mobile Suit Gundam franchise first hit Japanese airwaves back in 1979, and it’s still going strong with this recent cinematic entry. Taking place in the year UC 0105, 26 years after the original series, the film centers around Hathaway Noa, a young man with a terrible secret: He’s actually the leader of a group of rebels who will use any means to take down the corrupt Earth government. This Gundam isn’t for kids: Aside from political intrigue, it also features realistic scenes of violence and adult relationships. It is for those who like their anime dark, smart, and propulsive. Oh, and don’t forget the thumping soundtrack by Hiroyuki Sawano (Attack on Titan).
A group of elementary school students stand on the roof of an old apartment building when a flash flood hits. Before they know it, the building is floating in the middle of the sea, and they must work together to try to find a way home. That’s the fantastic premise behind Drifting Home, this coming-of-age film by director Hiroyasu Ishida at Studio Colorido (A Whisker Away). The movie pairs its improbable premise with huge attention to detail — director Ishida even lived in an apartment similar to one in the film to get its look and feel just right.
An oni is a mythical Japanese demon, typically depicted as a giant, hulking beast with a taste for murder. My Oni Girl takes this idea and turns it on its head, as sensitive high school student Hiiragi meets Tsumugi, a cute oni girl searching for her mother in the human world, and the oil-and-water pair (he’s a people pleaser, she does whatever she likes) join up for an adventure that will transform them both. The film, produced by Studio Colorido (Drifting Home), features the studio’s signature heartwarming style, and the soundtrack includes a song by popular group Zutomayo.
There are few anime that pull on the heartstrings quite like Violet Evergarden. The series, which aired back in 2018 (and is available on Netflix) was set in a steampunk-adjacent alternate-universe Europe and traced the life of Violet, an ex-soldier who’s trained for war since she was a child. After the war, she becomes a typist, and along the way, begins to unlock her buried emotions. The film provides the capstone for the series, giving Violet an emotional sendoff that’ll have you sniffling, if not bawling. Stunning animation by Kyoto Animation and a touching soundtrack by Evan Call (Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End) seal the deal.
What do you get when you pair up-and-coming Chinese animators and CoMix Wave Films, the studio behind the works of Makoto Shinkai (Your Name)? Try Flavors of Youth, a collection of three shorts about the way food, fashion, and music can bring back memories of long-lost moments in time. From a story of small-town beef noodle shops to one about childhood secrets recorded to cassette tape, this film will make you feel pangs of nostalgia whether or not you’ve ever set foot in China — and will likely have you searching for your nearest noodle shop. You’ve been warned.
Another entry from the impressive animators at Studio Ponoc (Mary and the Witch’s Flower), Modest Heroes is a set of three shorts centered around the kind of heroism that doesn’t always stick out. Our heroes include freshwater crab siblings who embark on their first adventure without their parents, a young boy who’s allergic to eggs, and a man who finds himself rendered invisible to others. The three shorts are helmed by directors with long ties to Studio Ghibli who are legends in their own right, making for a modest but heroic effort that all wraps up in less than an hour: a perfect pick for a quick bite of anime.
Pokémon has been around so long now that multiple generations of anime fans know and love it, and Mewtwo Strikes Back is a great pick for kids and adults alike. That’s because it’s a modern, computer-animated remake of the very first Pokémon film (which still holds the record as the highest-grossing anime film of all time in the US). Kids will thrill at discovering the big-screen adventures of Ash, Pikachu, and the man-made Pokémon Mewtwo, and adults of a certain age will feel nostalgic experiencing it all over again in modern form.
Doraemon, the robotic cat from the future, is a staple in Japanese households, and Stand by Me Doraemon is a great introduction to the icon. Co-directed by Takashi Yamazaki (Godzilla Minus One), this computer-generated film is a Back to the Future–style romp in which protagonist Nobita’s great-great-grandson comes back in time to repair his ancestor’s timeline — and brings the iconic Doraemon with him, naturally. A number of Doraemon’s whimsical gadgets, including Memory Bread (just eat to memorize whatever’s written on it!), also make an appearance in this funny yet sentimental romp.
Fans of the ’90s psychological sci-fi classic Neon Genesis Evangelion will already know that its finale, while fascinating in its own right, left room for much more. The success of the series brought director Hideaki Anno the resources to helm this big-budget cinematic redo of the finale, released in 1997 to massive acclaim. (Anno would then go on to redo the whole series again in a series of reboot films, but that’s another story.) End of Evangelion combines high-octane action with serious themes that bring it to the level of high art. The scene where Asuka goes up against the mass-produced Evangelion units features some truly unforgettable animation by Mitsuo Iso, who went on to direct The Orbital Children.
After its initial 43-episode run in 1979, giant robot series Mobile Suit Gundam was re-edited into three feature films with brand-new animation and effects. Now considered the definitive version of the original series, this trilogy is also a great way to get caught up on where the 45-year-old franchise got its start. What is a mobile suit, anyway? Who’s this Amuro Ray kid, and why doesn’t he want to pilot the Gundam? Watch and learn — and find out where so many of those sci-fi anime tropes came from in the first place.
