The best anime are able to create thrilling stories that would be impossible to tell in any other medium. There are a wide range of genres and tropes that anime explores, but anime feature films often make a bigger impression than television series. There's a level of prestige that accompanies anime movies along with an inherent advantage when telling moving, self-contained stories.
A lot of anime movies are suitable for all ages, but a number of films have a bigger impact when they're viewed as an adult. There are certain emotional throughlines and heavier storytelling that fall flat on children but can be overwhelming for adults.
10 Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna Closes The Book On Childhood
Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna functions as the final story with the original characters from the first Digimon Adventure anime, now all grown up. Last Evolution Kizuna operates as a standard Digimon movie that anyone can appreciate, but its intended audience is clearly the older generation that grew up with these characters. They're the people who will likely be most moved by saga's conclusion and the film's more introspective nature.
9 Akira's Nihilistic Vision Of The Future Is A Depressing Sight
Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira is more than 30 years old but it's still lauded as one of the best anime movies ever made. The attention to detail in Akira's hand-drawn animation elevates its content to a level of visual excellence. The aspects audiences tend to focus on are Akira's cyberpunk elements, intense action sequences, and Tetsuo's iconic body horror transformation. All of that is worthy of celebration, but older audiences are likely to get depressed by the movie's nihilism and oppressive depiction of the government.
8 The Garden Of Words Pushes Audiences To Examine Their Own Regrets
Makoto Shinkai has a powerful reputation as the anime auteur responsible for some of the most emotionally draining movies of the 2010s. Shinkai's works are likely to evoke tears and The Garden of Words is an especially sensitive and concise character study. The movie examines an awkward teenager and a lonely older woman who slowly form an honest connection together.
The Garden of Words isn't flashy. Instead, it presents shockingly photo-realistic depictions of nature. The Garden of Words is likely to make more of an impression on older audiences who can connect with the internal malaise and loneliness that the film presents.
7 Mirai Deconstructs What It Truly Means To Be A Family
Mamoru Hosoda is one of the biggest names in anime and the majority of his movies are great adventures that showcase young protagonists that feel neglected in the regular world. Mirai is great for a younger crowd, but it becomes a very different movie when viewed by an adult. Mirai leans into time travel as an enlightening way for young Kun to come to terms with his new little sister, both by looking at her future and his mother's past. Mirai is excellent for any child with a sibling on the way, but it leaves a greater toll on those with their own children.
6 Millennium Actress Is All About The Collective Accumulation Of Someone's Life
Satoshi Kon has a reputation for unflinching psychological horrors like Perfect Blue, but he's also responsible for some delicate movies about the joys of life. Millennium Actress is structured around a filmmaker's documentary about a legendary actress who's living out her final days as a recluse. The actress' recollection of her life and what's brought her to seclusion navigates different eras of Japan's history while paying homage to cinema. Those who have lived their own full lives will get more out of Millennium Actress and what it has to say about a person's legacy.
5 The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl Benefits From The Audience's Own Messy Nights Out
Masaaki Yuasa is an absolutely brilliant visionary in the anime industry and every single one of his movies and series are visual spectacles and staggering accomplishments. A lot of Yuasa's feature films skew younger, but The Night is Short, Walk on Girl plays with the random and chaotic nature of drunken nights out on the town that get out of hand in poetic ways. The Night is Short, Walk on Girl features innocent characters, musical numbers, and typical hero tropes that will entertain younger audiences, but there's also a remorseful, reflective attitude that adults will pick up on.
4 The Wind Rises Presents A Human Story That's Reflective Of An Entire Lifetime
Studio Ghibli films and the works of Hayao Miyazaki are often acceptable for the whole family, even if plenty wrestle with adult themes. The Wind Rises is one of Miyazaki's more mature and grounded movies that doesn't embrace fantastical creatures and concepts like a lot of Ghibli fare.
The movie explores Miyazaki's fascination with aviation and looks at the complex idea of someone's joyful creations being turned into weapons of destruction. The Wind Rises is hardly inaccessible to children, but adults will better understand the pain of reflective hindsight and a life of compromise.
3 Colorful's Positive Message Is Steeped In Depression
Colorful is is like if Pixar's Soul was made for an adult audience and predicated on the bleakest ideas. Colorful centers around a lost soul that wakes up in the body of a suicide victim. They're left to figure out why this fragile individual got pushed to this decision while also examining their own guilty past and why they've gone through this reincarnation. Colorful is utterly gorgeous and ultimately an optimistic and life-affirming story, but its look into depression, adultery, and other dark material is all rooted in problems that plague adults.
2 I Want To Eat Your Pancreas Is A Harder Watch For Those That Have Experienced Loss
I Want To Eat Your Pancreas wears its heart on its sleeve and it's no surprise that the movie's a tearjerker. The way that Sakura's terminal condition softens Haruki and helps him better himself as a person is something that everyone should experience, but an adult with life experience will be able to fully understand this type of loss.
1 Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' On Heaven's Door Looks At PTSD & Biological Warfare
Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door takes place before the anime's conclusion and makes for an excellent return to Bebop's beloved characters. The movie's visuals and music are incredible, but the movie's villain is a tragic figure who loses his grip on reality due to war trauma and unleashes a biological virus on society. These heavy issues resonate more with adults, especially those that have their own trauma.