Most people are familiar with Studio Ghibli and its dominant presence in the anime movie scene. While Studio Ghibli films are animated beautifully and give viewers a sense of missing a home they've never been to, there are other anime movies that accomplish this.
Netflix recently acquired an immense library of anime TV series and movies. This has struck a nostalgia chord with many longtime anime fans. There's no better time than now to wind down and watch these feel-good and emotionally provoking films.
10 Mirai Is A Futuristic Film For Families
Mamoru Hosoda directed the 2018 hit film Mirai. There are elements of fantasy, adventure, and comedy throughout this movie. Mirai made history as the first non-Studio Ghibli anime film to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.
Mirai focuses on the life of four-year-old Kun and his newly arrived baby sister, Mirai. Kun is overly jealous of how much attention his parents give Mirai and begins to mistreat her. Angrily, Kun goes to the garden and meets a Mirai from the future. Kun and future Mirai work together to prevent Mirai from marrying old by putting traditional dolls away. Kun meets a younger version of his mother and his recently deceased great-grandfather along the way.
9 Get The Tissues For Violet Evergarden: The Movie
Violet Evergarden: The Movie is the second animated film based on the light novel series by Kana Akatsuki. The novels were first developed into an anime series in 2018 and even won an award for Best Animation at the 2019 Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
The film focuses on the life of an auto-memory doll, Violet Evergarden. Auto-memory dolls are tasked with writing letters for people who are unable to convey their emotions well in words. This job seems daunting to Violet at first because she herself is emotionless. Violet was once a soldier and is still searching for her commander, Major Gilbert.
8 Watch Friendships Blossom In A Silent Voice
A Silent Voice was released in 2016 and produced by Kyoto Animation. The film follows the life of a high school student named Shoya Ishida and features many flashbacks to his youth. Shoya was planning on killing himself at the beginning of the film, but decides against it to correct some wrongs he committed in the past.
The student body ostracizes Shoya at his high school for how badly he bullied a deaf girl named Shoko in elementary school. Shoya would endlessly tease Shoko and even broke her hearing aids multiple times. Shoko and Shoya eventually reconcile, and Shoya begins to connect with his classmates again.
7 Everybody Wants To Be A Cat In A Whisker Away
A Whisker Away was released on Netflix in 2020, followed by the English dub in June 2021. The film follows the life of Miyo Sasaki, a depressed middle school student. Miyo lives with her stepmom because her real mother abandoned her sometime ago.
Miyo has a case of unrequited love with her classmate, Kento Hinode. Kento repeatedly rejects Miyo, so she resorts to transforming into a cat to learn more about him. Miyo spends so much time in cat form that she is losing the ability to turn back into a human. Miyo and Kento must work together on the secret island of cats to ensure that she isn't stuck as a cat forever.
6 Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop Features An Unlikely Friendship
Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is a romantic comedy anime film released on Netflix in July 2021. The film follows the lives of two teenagers, Cherry and Smile. Cherry struggles with socializing, but excels in expressing his feeling through haikus. Smile runs an online video blog, but is super insecure about her buck teeth and new braces.
Cherry and Smile are set on an adventure to find an old man's missing record. Smile manages to find the record, and the old man is overjoyed. She is distraught when she finds out Cherry is moving, but they reunite at the fireworks festival while dancing to the music of the once missing record.
5 Fireworks Had Alternate Timelines Throughout The Film
Fireworks is a romance anime film released on Netflix in 2017. The story begins with a group of students betting on whether fireworks are round or flat when they explode in the sky. One of the students is the film's protagonist, Norimichi Shimada.
Norimichi has a huge crush on his fellow classmate, Nazuna Oikawa. Nazuna is mistreated by her mother, and Norimichi notices this when strolling through town. He throws a marble during this scene, and he is transported to an alternate timeline. Norimichi and Nazuna continue to travel through time together throughout the film.
4 Lu Over The Wall Is A Little-Mermaid-Like Film
Lu Over The Wall is a fantasy anime film released in 2017 by Science Saru. Lu Over The Wall is centered on the life of misanthropic Kai Ashimoto, the leader of the rock band SEIRÈN. Kai is bored one day and explores Merfolk Island. That is where he encounters a mermaid named Lu.
Kai discovers Lu can transform her fins into human legs when she listens to music. Not everyone supports the idea of merfolk in the town, however. The town wants to destroy the merfolk by burning them with sunlight, but Kai saves the day with his family's umbrella business.
3 Children Of The Sea Is Another Ocean-Themed Film
Children Of The Sea is a 2019 anime film based on the manga of the same title by Daisuke Igarashi. The story follows the life of 14-year-old Ruka Azumi, who is having trouble getting along with her mother and fellow classmates. Ruka doesn't have anything to do during summer vacation, so she decides to spend time at the aquarium where her father works.
Ruka meets brothers Umi and Sora at the aquarium, and her father tells her dugongs raised them. Ruka befriends Umi and Sora and bond over their connection to the ocean. The music score of Children Of The Sea is magical and was done by Joe Hisaishi, who previously worked on Studio Ghibli's A Tale of Princess Kaguya.
2 In This Corner Of The World Is The Longest Animated Film
The extended cut of the 2016 wartime animated film, In This Corner Of The World, made history when it became the longest animated film in history. The film is based on the manga of the same name by Fumiyo Kono. In This Corner Of The World follows the life of Suzu, a young and recently married girl from Eba, a town near Hiroshima. Suzu and her new husband, Shukaku, join his family in Kure City as the dangers of the war start to affect the townspeople.
When the atomic bomb drops on Hiroshima, Suzu is frightened for her family's safety. She notices her sister, Sumi, on a visit to her grandmother's, and Sumi informs Suzu of the devastating tragedy that the atomic bomb caused.
1 Flavors Of Youth Has 3 Different Stories
Flavors of Youth is an anthology animated film divided into three separate storylines featuring teenage characters: The Rice Noodles, A Little Fashion Show, and Love In Shanghai. The Rice Noodles details the life of Xiao Ming and his cherished memories of eating rice noodles with his grandmother.
A Little Fashion Show revolves around the lives of two sisters. Yi Lin is a model and Lulu is a fashion design student. Lulu becomes angry when Yi Lin wants to learn how to sew, but the two reconcile at the end. Love In Shanghai is about two students who fall in love by communicating via cassette tapes.