We are all happy whenever new anime movies are announced. Whether they are a new story addition to one of our favorite anime series or an all-new, original story, we’ll be scrambling to get to theaters to see them. Spring 2020 has a nice combination of both kinds of films, and while some of them are obviously things that we have been excited to get to watching, others have flown a little bit under the radar but are just as promising. Here are five anime films everyone is excited to see and five that no one is talking about.
10 Everyone’s Excited: Fate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feel III. Spring Song
Fate/Stay Night is one of our favorite anime. Even after more than a decade since its release, and after so many other entries in the Fate universe, this is still one that we return to eagerly. So, the Heaven’s Feel film trilogy, which follows Sakura Matou as a main character, really scratches an itch for us. Spring Song is the third film of the trilogy, and it focuses more heavily on Shirou and the end of the Holy Grail War, drawing to a close the story told in the Fate/Stay Night visual novels.
9 Not Getting Enough Love: Violet Evergarden
Violet Evergarden follows the story of an Auto Memory Doll, who is essentially a ghostwriter for those who aren’t able to write for themselves. She was once a soldier and is now learning to live back in regular society and learning what love is.
While we don’t know a lot about the plot of the film yet, we can assume it will probably follow along these same themes. We also imagine that we can expect to see even more of the gorgeous animation that the anime was known for, at an even grander scale.
8 Everyone’s Excited: Given
The Given anime series broke our hearts, had us rocking out, and then fixed us with its sweet romance between two boys in a band who are just trying to make it to a live performance and maybe learn to be in a relationship along the way. The series has a pretty wrapped-up ending, with main characters Ritsuka and Mafuyu deciding to try their hand at being a couple as well as bandmates. The movie is expected to focus more on their other bandmates and the sadder love story that they’re all trapped in.
7 Not Getting Enough Love: Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop
We’re surprised more people aren’t talking about Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop. The original anime film is being produced by Flying DOG and has an incredible line-up of people working on it, who have all worked on other extremely popular anime and movies.
Director Kyohei Ishiguro and character designer Yukiko Aikei both worked on Your Lie in April and screenwriter Dai Sato has worked on series like Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo. This slice of life love story features two awkward teenagers who use technology to try to connect with each other.
6 Everyone’s Excited: Psycho-Pass 3: First Inspector
The Psycho-Pass 3 film is actually already out in Japan, but we’re excited to finally get to see it in other parts of the world. This psychological, sci-fi thriller is one of our favorite recent anime series, set in a futuristic Japan in which the authorities are run by the Sibyl System, a computerized program that can read whether or not someone is a criminal or likely to become one. The film will likely give us yet another perspective on how this system works and doesn’t work, with a lot of violence and fun to go along with it.
5 Not Getting Enough Love: Love Me, Love Me Not
While big fantasy epics and sci-fi adventures are all well and good, we’re also excited about the quieter movies that focus on more slice-of-life tales. Love Me, Love Me Not is a story about two young girls who live in the same apartment building, who become friends by chance.
The film explores ideas of love and friendship and how those concepts can differ between two people. The film is based on a manga of the same name that started in 2015 and is still ongoing. We’re definitely looking forward to this shojo romance.
4 Everyone’s Excited: Crayon Shin-chan: Crash! Rakuga Kingdom And Almost Four Heroes
We’re all obsessed with Shin-chan, so we’re definitely ready to see our favorite rambunctious kid get into even more shenanigans on the big screen. This will be the series’ 28th film, but we’re definitely not tired of seeing him just yet. We don’t know a lot about the details of the plot just yet, but we have no doubt it’s going to be a good time. And with a title like Crash! Rakuga Kingdom and Almost Four Heroes, we have a feeling it’s going to have all the chaos we know and love from Shin-chan.
3 Not Getting Enough Love: Princess Principal: Crown Handler
The Princess Principal anime series ran for 12 episodes in 2017, and we haven’t heard much from it since then, besides the announcement of a six-film deal to continue the story.
The plot of the films, which involves girls posing as spies and a princess who’s in on the fun in order to take control of the monarchy, continues where the anime left off. Crown Handler is the first film in the series, finally coming out three years after the end of the anime. We’re definitely excited to see what our favorite spies have been up to since then.
2 Everyone’s Excited: Detective Conan: The Scarlet Bullet
We’ve never met a Detective Conan (or Case Closed, for those in the know) anime that we didn’t like, and this newest film is no exception. The Scarlet Bullet is the 24th film in the Conan franchise, close to giving Shin-chan a run for its money, and has an all-new mystery for our favorite kid detective to solve. The film is pretty appropriate for the times, taking place at the World Sports Games in Japan, with a release date in the same year Tokyo was slated to host the Summer Olympics.
1 Not Getting Enough Love: Happy-Go-Lucky Days
We were surprised to hear that there was a film adaptation of Happy-Go-Lucky Days set to hit theaters in 2020, since publication of the original illustrated books began almost 20 years ago. But that does not mean we are not excited about it, especially considering the updated art style that makes the movie look modern and sleek. As for the subject matter, stories of people falling in love never go out of style, and this bittersweet exploration of relationships is just the thing we’re looking for in our springtime movies.