There are many movies that left a long lasting impact on the history of animation for one another reason. I watched Silent voice a year ago and your name soon after that. People talk about these movies very much. So I am going to share some best anime movies that you should watch.
This is not ranking and i won’t pretend there is any way to decide if Spirited away is better than Grave of fireflies. I am just going to recommend you Best anime movies to watch because they are all very good movies.
1.Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
Well Mari Okada all right. She is known for her emotional stories and this one indeed enters the category fine .The movie feels very long in a good way. The story, the world and places , the character development , the sub plots. All these elements add up and fill the ensemble brim giving the impression to have lived and discovered a lot of characters.
Everything is well rounded and the difference of pace in the various plot elements do not leave any space to get bored. There is a very good balance of emotions, intense action and everyday life organized in a non generic narrative structure which is refreshing.
The theme is relationship between mother and child. It is not a very common subject developed in detail and I enjoyed depth and various angles that movies take to treat the subject.
For the characters, Akihiko Yoshida character designer on Final Fantasy and Granblue Fantasy did a great job in creating the various types of characters. Even with the adaptation done for animation, you still see his strong influence, especially on the astounding work done on the clothes that are very stylish, diverse and inspired.
The resulting chara design is very simple and round on the faces which can be a bit unsettling at the beginning but very cute nonetheless.
I am not gonna go in too much detail here because I don't wanna spoil the story but once again the characters are very well made, the vast majority of them are very logical in their motives, development and thought processes.
The whole focus of the movie is obviously Maquia and Erial (or Ariel whatever) and their relationship. So much so that you may feel that some secondary characters / subplots are not developed enough... Well it is indeed an argument but remember: It is the story of Maquia and Erial, so it is good the movie doesn't delve too much in various directions.
2.Sword of the Stranger
A lone ronin finds himself drawn into a perilous journey when he agrees to protect a young boy named Kotarou pursued by enemies. The story line has a good flow and strong structure. It follows both characters in a good manner and helps understand them and get to know each other in a short period of time.
The background scene is enough to hint and show what characters have been through up until now without being nonsense and without being stuck too much at one place. Where the plot tries to pull both characters into the future instead of their past.
Though, I have to say the main plot- the sacrifice ritual does not give much information and does not help much with understanding what drives the opposing force in this anime.
While on the surface it seems like a maniacal wish it clearly never shows what would or could happen if they succeed. The plot itself focused on bond between Nanashi and kotarou instead on the reason like “why is this coming from?” , on this note you would need better knowledge on Japan-Chinese history.
Nanashi and Kotarou are typical characters. One is a lone samurai, who has done something wrong in the past and is trying to redeem himself. The other, a feisty kid with a lot of opinion who does not take “No” for an answer. While I would find characters like these annoying and not very pleasant.
But the kid was well written and showed intelligence for his age. He was naive and a kid which made the character more real. He finds himself looking at Nanashi as a Big Brother figure.
Tobimaru was there just to be part of key points to plot. While being a loyal companion and listed as Main Character there isn’t much to this dog as while it seems trained it was still shown more realistically – as a normal dog that can even die.
Luo Lang was a rather strange villain with no actual resolve on his hand than just trying to find a person worthy of his sword skills and a good rival. He doesn’t care about authority and would rather kill his mates in order to be able to battle with the best swordsman he has encountered.
Personally, I found the Chinese used by his character and his comrades rather laughable. The voice actors weren’t good at Chinese and it was way too obvious. In a case like this it would just be more appropriate to go with your own language and not try to add random 5 lines of bad Chinese in there, it just takes away from the enjoyment.
The voice acting was good. Soundtracks were very well made. The background tracks go very well and don’t distract.
Art, this is where movie win. The art and especially battle scenes were ahead of their time and delight to watch. They themselves were worth watching even if you don’t like the plot.The anime doesn’t lack blood and violence but in very well measured matters and this adds very well to the overall feeling of it.
Overall, On the matter if this should be considered in the list of best anime movies to watch if not a classical movie – While this is an extremely good movie it just doesn’t have a ground for it to be a classic. This doesn’t set any new stones nor does it show something new and unseen before 2007.
3.Summer Ghost
This movie is trying to do a lot of things in 40 minutes and I think it does a good job telling a pretty evocative story with marvelous visuals but I think it does not do a justice to characters with the limited time it has.
There is something deeper here for leads . Characters are close to death in different ways and yet we barely get to explore more than a surface level of understanding of where they are coming from before the credits roll. It does not help that much of the interactions deepen.
so even though that makes certain moments pop, it leaves the rest feeling a little drained of emotion, and moments that could have been huge sometimes feel strange or even suggestive of a pretty horrific scene (e.g. dropping a certain suitcase off at a certain person's door at the end with no note or explanation).
I think the concept was interesting , even education leaves something to be desired. Maybe few characters would have helped .
The artwork and sound is great, and I especially like some of the writing and voice acting. It's crisp with colors and quality work, although its not mind-bendingly so like some of the Shinkai-type movies. It's a refreshing short movie to watch, and a reminder of why Anime can carry unusually wonderful messages worth your time. Highly recommended in list of best anime movies to watch.
4.5 Centimeters per Second
A movie that tells a story of two childhood friends and how they try to keep their relationship going through hardships that life throws at them. Through three small stories. We told a tale of how they grow up further away from each other.
The movie tells a story of love that is slowly torn apart because lovers move further away both in heart and home. Its underlying themes are beautifully incorporated into the story about growing up , letting go of an unreachable past and taking control of one's own life.
The character we follow throughout the movie is Takki Tohno. We get to see how he looks on events that unfold as a child, as a teenager and finally as an adult. We see how he develops throughout three stages of life and how it all relates to his childhood friend and love Akari Shinohara.
The emotions are portrayed in an incredibly beautiful and realistic way. How they portray love between Akari and Takaki, how the girl who has a crush on Tonho during high school years, Kanae Sumida, and finally, how they portray their development from children to adults all makes them characters you'll place your heart with. They're characters you'll love, feel sad with, and you'll wish for them to live happily.
The animation quality is astounding , from detailed background effects camera angles that help bring the mode of scenes to a different level from most anything.
5 cm per Second is a movie easily fit in the list of best anime movies that takes a story of growing up and makes it into something that cannot be described as anything less than a masterpiece, with astounding themes, storytelling, art and sound. If someone told me I could watch one movie before I died, I'd undoubtedly choose this one.
5.The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Our protagonist , Makoto, is having a bad day. She woke up late. She flunked a quiz . She got into an accident while trying to cook tempura, another student was tossed into her , sandwiching her between other two students for while she heard strange sounds when turning in some questionnaires only to find no one was in the next room.
Things take the worst turn when her bike brake fails and she tossed in front of an upcoming train. That’s when she finds herself in the past before some time of accident. Her aunt tells her it was a time leap, but Makoto does not believe such a thing is possible until after some experiments she discovers how it works.
The cast is bland, one of them is interesting , And while character movements are fluid, the designs themselves are a bit lackluster, and should have been more detailed. The soundtrack which follows on top is equally beautiful, with serene piano tracks accompanying the at times laughter-provoking and at times melancholy story, and a somewhat expected, yet beautiful ending theme.
Toki wo Kakeru Shojo is a beautiful movie, which is good for many things, but especially its underlying hints about looking towards the future and accepting that the present will change as well as the simple message that every act has a consequence you can easily add this movie into your list of best anime movies to watch.