For decades, being a fan of anime meant maintaining a certain level of dedication. You didn’t necessarily need to learn Japanese (shout out to the subs), but you certainly needed to be in certain areas of the country, or classic anime films like Ninja Scroll or Vampire Hunter D would simply never enter your periphery. With the rise of the internet, and streaming services like Hulu and Netflix, it has become easier to appreciate anime, especially with the breadth of new series and films from the aforementioned streaming giants. That said, the best anime films will always rise to the top; names like Satoshi Kon and animation houses like Studio Ghibli have been so revered for their pioneering visuals and emotional stories that have captivated audiences looking for mind-blowing animated tales for years.
From ferocious vampire tales and heart-warming romantic epics to dystopian nightmares, here are the 20 best anime films of all time.
20.Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)
Director: Shinichirō Watanabe
Starring: Kōichi Yamadera, Megumi Hayashibara, Unshō Ishizuka, Aoi Tada, Ai Kobayashi, Tsutomu Isobe, Renji Ishibashi, Mickey Curtis
One of the hallmarks of the anime medium is the ability for a concept to transition seamlessly from series to silver screen. With a series like Cowboy Bebop, an offbeat take on a band of space bounty hunters (set to a beautiful jazz score), the creators took care in making the film. Released roughly two years after the 26-episode anime series ended, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie felt like an extended episode of the show (although some critics argued that the film may have been a bit too long). When you have a Spike Spiegel leading this eccentric group hot on the heels of a terrorist (itself a hot-button storyline given the film premiered 10 days before 9/11), all that was needed was to stick to the script, giving fans an extended note to remember this groundbreaking anime with.
19.Royal Space Force: The Wings Of Honnêamise (1987)
Director: Hiroyuki Yamaga
Starring: Leo Morimoto, Mitsuki Yayoi
Seen as a box office failure at the time due to its high production costs (it only made under ¥400 million on a ¥800 million budget), Hiroyuki Yamaga’s Japan Anime Award-winning film Royal Space Force: The Wings Of Honnêamise is lauded for its ambitious story, worldbuilding, and visual beauty, taking its cues more from comic books than traditional anime production. The film was considered challenging and unconventional upon release, and received mixed reviews int he mid-90s when it finally was released in the United States. However, legendary film critic Roger Ebert summed it up best in his review: “If you’re curious about anime, The Wings Of Honnêamise…is a good place to start.”
18.Redline (2009)
Director: Takeshi Koike
Starring: Takuya Kimura, Yū Aoi, Tatsuya Gashūin, Yoshinori Okada, Kanji Tsuda, Yoshiyuki Morishita, Akemi, Takeshi Aono, Kōsei Hirota, Unshō Ishizuka, Kenta Miyake, Kōji Ishii, Chō, Kenyu Horiuchi, Tadanobu Asano
A modern anime cult classic, Redline is the result of seven years and 100,000 hand-drawn frames of innovative filmmaking. It also proves that some of the best stories involve minimal plot, especially when paired with a plethora of mind-blowing animation not intended for younger viewers. Similar to John Wick, where a man seeks to retrieve his stolen car and avenge his dog’s death, Redline’s protagonist, JP, simply aims to win the Redline race. That’s…it. The beauty lies in the journey from the starting line to the finish. Redline is for speed enthusiasts itching to see their most vivid racer dreams brought to life (in technicolor).
17.Robot Carnival (1987)
Director: Hidetoshi Ōmori, Hiroyuki Kitakubo, Hiroyuki Kitazume, Katsuhiro Otomo, Koji Morimoto, Mao Lamdo, Takashi Nakamura, Yasuomi Umetsu
As we march towards our AI-led future, it’s heartwarming to recall that four decades ago, a group of anime creators aligned to produce Robot Carnival, an anthology of nine shorts all centered on robots. The genres vary, with some pieces taking a more serious tone compared to the more obviously humorous shorts. Each has its own unique feel and was created by individuals with minimal to no industry experience. It’s the type of project that probably wouldn’t make it to theaters in today’s landscape, serving as a testament to the bold decision-making of anime’s history.
16.Promare (2019)
Director: Hiroyuki Imaishi
Starring: Kenichi Matsuyama, Taichi Saotome, Masato Sakai
From Studio Trigger, the creative minds behind Kill la Kill, comes 2019’s Promare, a visual feast for fans of mechs engaging in combat. The beauty of a film like Promare, where in a mysterious group of fiery individuals known as the Burnish are terrorizing the citizens of a futuristic Japan is its self-awaredness. Promare embraces its absurdity, wearing its quirks like badges of honor, and is unafraid to poke fun at itself for comedic effect. It’s the thrill ride you can’t wait to run back for its impetuous style and epic mech battles.
15.Suzume (2022)
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Starring: Nanoka Hara, Hokuto Matsumura, Eri Fukatsu, Shota Sometani, Sairi Ito, Kotone Hanase, Kana Hanazawa, Matsumoto Hakuō II, Ryunosuke Kamiki
Being the end of Makoto Shinkai's disaster trilogy (which started with 2016’s Your Name and continued with 2019’s Weathering With You), Suzume stuck the landing, earning a Best Animated Feature nomination at the Academy Awards (and becoming the fourth-highest grossing film of 2022 in Japan). Young Suzume is determined to use her abilities to stop the end of Japan, leading her on a trek to close a series of mysterious doors. Blending the real world earthquake and tsunami that hit Tōhoku in 2011 into the film is a powerful touch, adding emotional depth to an adventure that is already jam-packed with feels.
14.Chainsaw Man—The Movie: Reze Arc (2025)
Director: Tatsuya Yoshihara
Starring: Kikunosuke Toya, Reina Ueda, Fairouz Ai, Tomori Kusunoki, Shogo Sakata
As anime is primarily consumed in series format, a natural progression has been to produce feature-length films that continue the story from the anime series. In 2025, Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc followed that formula, but instead of simply delivering an oversized episode of television, The Reze Arc intensifies the violence and emotion of the series, offering fans with a bloody spectacle of destruction that also happened to be one of the best romcoms of 2025. An uncommon approach for an anime of this caliber, but it is essential for the medium to thrive.
13.The Boy and the Heron (2023)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Soma Santoki, Masaki Suda, Aimyon, Yoshino Kimura, Shōhei Hino, Ko Shibasaki, Takuya Kimura
Released a decade after the great Hayao Miyazaki announced his retirement, The Boy and the Heron proves that Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli continue to be a shining force in the anime genre. Dropping relatively out of the blue in 2023 (after being in production for almost six years), The Boy and the Heron tells the tale of Mahito Maki, a boy grieving the loss of his mother around the time that he befriends a talking heron. For a man who was set to retire, Miyazaki’s tale earned him his second Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and is currently the sixth-highest grossing Japanese film worldwide. Not bad for an anime legend who was set on hanging it all up.
12.Your Name (2016)
Director: Makoto Shinkai
Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi
The first of Shinkai’s disaster trilogy, Your Name is a film that received massive international acclaim, with critics and fans alike praising the fantasy tale (which involves two people who have never met that randomly start to swap bodies) for its handling of the awkwardness of youth in a dramatic tale like this, allowing the story to be humorous when it needed to be. Surprisingly, Shinkai urged fans not to see Your Name, as he felt the film was unfinished, citing that two years (and a lack of proper funds) was not enough to make the film he wanted to make. “Honestly, I really don’t want Miyazaki to see it because he will see all its flaws,” Shinkai told The Japan Times. Judge for yourself if this is the creator being too harsh on his work, as Your Name is seen as a great current example of universally-beloved anime filmmaking in the modern era.
11.Millennium Actress (2001)
Director: Satoshi Kon
Starring: Miyoko Shōji, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa, Shōzō Iizuka, Shōko Tsuda, Hirotaka Suzuoki, Hisako Kyōda, Kōichi Yamadera, Masane Tsukayama
One of the great techniques utilized by the late Satoshi Kon in his work was the trompe l'oeil, which blended the realms of reality and fiction to great effect. In his masterpiece Perfect Blue, this effect created a sense of paranoia in its protagonist, while in Millennium Actress, the technique is used to create a much more fanciful, adventurous vibe. The film follows Chiyoko Fujiwara, a legendary actress who is being followed by two documentarians set to tell the story of the reclusive actress. At times, her tales take on lives of their own, and while that is a beautiful way to walk in Chiyoko’s shoes, the real story here is about a life focused on finding that one lost love. A touching tale from one of cinema’s top tier talents.
10.Vampire Hunter D (1985)
Director: Toyoo Ashida
Starring: Kaneto Shiozawa, Michie Tomizawa, Seizō Katō, Keiko Toda
Vampire Hunter D is one of the earliest entries into the more mature side of the anime genre. The film follows D, a half-human, half-vampire vampire hunter (shout out Blade) hired by a woman for protection from the vampires in a post-apocalyptic world, and is some of the darkest anime that the genre had seen at the time. Drawing from European horror mythology, it satisfied a bloodlust that many films weren’t tapping into back then. In more modern eyes, Vampire Hunter D may elicit yawns compared to what’s seen on screen today, but it is an important tentpole for the sons and daughters that spawned after.
9.Metropolis (2001)
Director: Rintaro
Starring: Yuka Imoto, Kei Kobayashi, Kōsei Tomita, Norio Wakamoto, Junpei Takiguchi, Masaru Ikeda, Takaya Hashi, Toshio Furukawa, Shigeru Chiba, Masashi Ebara, Takeshi Aono, Shun Yashiro, Norihiro Inoue, Kōki Okada, Taro Ishida
One of the more obscure anime films to be released in the 21st century is also one of the most visually stunning. Metropolis is a cyberpunk tale that focuses on humanoid laborers and the displaced humans living among them in a future Tokyo. The film is written by Katsuhiro Otomo, aka the creator of Akira, and if none of those names mean anything to you, keep reading this feature, then run Akira and Metropolis immediately. It’s a film that pays close attention to detail while telling a story that challenges important topics we are dealing with today: the rights of robots (AI) in society, life, love, labor, and much more.
8.Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Director: Satoshi Kon
Starring: Tōru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto
Quite possibly the only anime film you will see that’s both inspired by a John Wayne film and is a lowkey Christmas tale, Tokyo Godfathers follows three homeless individuals (a teen runaway, an alcoholic, and a transgender woman) on the streets of Tokyo. While searching through the garbage, they find an abandoned newborn with a note containing clues to the parents identity, and decide to go on a search for this baby’s family. Surprisingly, with a film that opens like this, you’d think this would be one of Kon’s darker tales, but it is a much more traditional film, telling a straightforward story about these people without including any reality-bending elements in the delivery. It also highlights a trend in anime that put more emphasis on the creation of radical familial units due to shifts in Japanese society, although we wouldn’t recommend putting a newborn baby into any of the hijinks depicted in Tokyo Godfathers.
7.Ninja Scroll (1993)
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri
Starring: Koichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gōri, Toshihiko Seki, Shūichirō Moriyama
During the international anime boom of the ‘90s, Ninja Scroll was a standout title. Alongside Akira and Vampire Hunter D, Ninja Scroll was among the early examples of excellence in anime filmmaking, showcasing the intense battles of mercenary swordsman Jubei Kibagami against the evil supernatural ninjas known as the Eight Devils of Kimon, all within a feudal Japan setting. While the plot feels thin, similar to great episodes of Dragon Ball Z, the moments between the action a) make the characters look cool while b) setting up the next swordsman showdown. Ninja Scroll perfectly captured the spirit of the time and pushed the boundaries of what anime could achieve.
6.Spirited Away (2001)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Rumi Hiiragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takashi Naito, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Tsunehiko Kamijō, Takehiko Ono, Bunta Sugawara
Spirited Away is Miyazaki operating on that S tier. The film tells the story of a 10-year-old girl on a mission to find her parents, who were turned into pigs by a witch, and free them from a mysterious world of spirits. It became a beacon for anime storytelling, being the first hand-drawn, non-English animated film to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. It was also the highest-grosing film in Japanese film history until Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Mugen Train’s massive box office success in 2020. Spirited Away an essential work, both in anime and in cinema overall. It is an unforgettable fairy tale filled with images and emotions that stay with you long after the film’s end.
5.Perfect Blue (1997)
Director: Satoshi Kon
Starring: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shiho Niiyama, Masaaki Okura, Shinpachi Tsuji, Emiko Furukawa
Kon at his most Hitchcockian, Perfect Blue excels at psychological horror. The film follows Mima, a J-pop star determined to leave her group, CHAM!, to pursue her dream of acting. Met with skeptisim from her fans, Mima is soon contacted by a stalker, calling themselves Me-Mania, as well as an online diary called "Mima's Room" that is open to the public and seemingly written from Mima’s perspective, although she knows she didn’t write it. Kon’s gift of blending reality with intense dream-like states heightens the paranoia Mima feels throughout the film, exposing how the entertainment industry treats stars like Mima, forcing them to expose themselves to the darker sides of the industry to advance. It’s an intense ride from the start, intent on making you just as confused as Mima. And it works.
4.The End of Evangelion (1997)
Director: Hideaki Anno, Kazuya Tsurumaki
Starring: Megumi Ogata, Megumi Hayashibara, Yūko Miyamura, Kotono Mitsuishi, Fumihiko Tachiki, Yuriko Yamaguchi, Motomu Kiyokawa, Akira Ishida
Not only do anime series have films that further storylines, but in the case of 1997’s The End of Evangelion, these films provide an opportunity to create what they originally intended to. This film is the fuller realization of how Neon Genesis Evangelion could have ended, compared to Rebirth, which was essentially a 25-minute demo for the full ending that is End of Evangelion, which couldn’t originally be done due to budget issues. After its release, a large debate sparked amongst the Evangelion viewership. It was a phenomenal time, with anime being dicussed in mainstream papers like never before. The debate on how the series ended also provides a stellar look at creators being able to revisit the world they built and turn in the work they originally wanted to produce. In the end, the Evangelion fanbase was ecstatic, and the genre as a whole received another shining example of excellence at work.
3.Princess Mononoke (1997)
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Yōji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yūko Tanaka, Kaoru Kobayashi, Masahiko Nishimura, Tsunehiko Kamijō, Akihiro Miwa, Mitsuko Mori, Hisaya Morishige
At the time, Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke was the most expensive animated film ever produced, with its ¥2.35 billion budget funding a project Miyazaki had been considering since 1980. The film is set in Japan’s Muromachi period, but its underlying theme of advancing technology and its impact on the natural world remains relevant today. Princess Mononoke is a sweeping tale told through gorgeous animation, a blend of hand drawn and CGI animation techniques. The film received numerous awards for Best Film and Best Director in Japan, and while it was submitted for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, it did not receive a nomination, nor did it do well at the U.S. box office, making it a true cult classic in the States.
2.Ghost In The Shell (1995)
Director: Mamoru Oshii
Starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Otsuka, Iemasa Kayumi
Ghost in the Shell was a technical marvel. The film questions what it means to be a human mind (the “ghost”) that voluntarily uploads itself into the “shell” of a cyborg hunting the Puppet Master, a hacker looking to find its own shell to control. It’s the cyberpunk gem that inspired the Wachowskis to create The Matrix; it’s a film bold enough to point out the parallels between human DNA and a computer program. Ghost in the Shell draws you into its world and turns things on their head as it progresses, but it may not be until repeat viewings (which you’ll enjoy them, trust me) that the deeper themes of the film resonate with viewers.
1.Akira (1988)
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Starring: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Taro Ishida, Tesshō Genda, Mizuho Suzuki, Tatsuhiko Nakamura, Fukue Itō, Kazuhiro Shindō
There are great anime films, and then there is Akira. It’s fair to say that anime would have eventually grown outside of Japan, but it’s hard to say which film would have sparked international intrigue in the genre like Akira did. In the early ‘90s, it was the cult popularity of Akira that set the tone for franchises like Dragon Ball and Pokémon to gain pop culture acceptance. A one of the greatest Japanese cyberpunk films ever, Akira has influenced everything from games like Final Fantasy VII to anime like Ghost in the Shell, as well as artists like Michael Jackson and Kanye West, who have incorporated and been influenced by Akira in their music (respectively). Hell, slide Kaneda does on his bike is so iconic, you can still see it pop up in films like Nope. Akira was unabashedly cool, full of grotesque malformations to human appendages and unrelenting murder on whoever stood in Tetsuo’s way. There’s Akira, and then there’s everything else.