The innovations that continue to happen within the anime industry are truly remarkable, and the medium of storytelling has reached an unprecedented level of artistry that was previously impossible. There’s always going to be acclaim over the latest mainstream anime series successes, but there’s often an extra level of reverence that accompanies anime feature films as if they’re a more sophisticated endeavor.
There have been some incredible cinematic anime contributions from the past decade, with more promising projects ahead, but it’s also important to look back to the past and acknowledge former triumphs. The audience for anime has grown so much that there are now many anime films that initially flew under the radar, only for them to slowly grow into celebrated cult classics that are getting the attention that they deserve.
10 Belladonna Of Sadness Feels Like Witchcraft That’s Enchanted the Viewer
Belladonna of Sadness is a staggering work of artistic expression that's a clear distillation of passion. The 1973 anime movie is highly irregular in practically every regard. The movie is inspired by Jules Michelet's non-fiction text, La Sorcière, which chronicles the dangers of witchcraft during an uncivilized period of unrest. Belladonna of Sadness is a psychedelic and surreal descent into dark subject matter, which makes it even more unusual that it's produced by Osamu Tezuka's studio. It's a spectacle in every regard and demands to be seen.
9 Redline Celebrates The Most Extravagant Space Race Of All Time
Redline is another anime feature film that's relatively recent and not much more than a decade old, but it's slowly proven itself to be one of this decade's biggest cult classics after its popped up on numerous non-anime streaming services. Redline's plot is very simple, and the movie is basically just an excuse to put together a fast-paced car race with eclectic extraterrestrial racers. Redline doesn't struggle with its scant story, and it instead leans into dazzling visuals that put Speed Racer to shame and make it an easy comfort watch.
8 Steamboy Crafts An Endlessly Detailed World That Thrives On Imagination
There's nearly a 20-year gap between Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira and his cinematic follow-up, Steamboy, but the anime auteur hasn't lost anything over these two decades. Steamboy doesn't have nearly as much of the acclaim that Akira has, but it's still a testament to Otomo's work ethic and how far he tries to push the medium.
Steamboy was in production for a decade, and it's only found a larger audience with each passing year, especially as a pivotal and subversive piece of steampunk storytelling. Steamboy deserves the same level of celebration as Akira, even if it's a very different type of narrative.
7 Tokyo Godfathers Provides A Powerful Dose Of Humanity When It’s Needed The Most
Satoshi Kon is another anime auteur where each of his contributions to the medium, like Perfect Blue, Paprika, and Paranoia Agent, are mandatory watches and genre triumphs. Tokyo Godfathers is easily Kon’s most gentle and empathetic feature film, which may fall flat for some, but it’s full of genuine moments of human connection. Three optimistic vagrants encounter a lost baby on Christmas, and true magic follows. An upgraded and remastered anniversary edition of the movie, along with a new English dub, has brought a lot of attention back to this unsung anime classic and reminded audiences of its powerful message.
6 Castle of Cagliostro Is An Early Showcase Of Hayao Miyazaki’s Imagination
Lupin III is one of the most popular and longest-running series to come out of Japan. However, the franchise wasn't nearly as popular during the early 1990s, and the cinematic Lupin adventures from this time period were polarizing with the fanbase. Castle of Cagliostro has since become one of the most celebrated of Lupin's stories, and a high mark that they’ve tried to recreate on several occasions. Much of this has to do with how the Lupin film is Hayao Miyazaki's debut feature, and it's much easier to recognize his greatness now as opposed to when fantasy elements were a lot more unheard of in Lupin III.
5 Mind Game Is A Visual Experiment Like No Other That Requires Repeated Viewings
Mind Game is an anime movie that is hard to define, and it's much more of an energy than anything else. The movie bombards its audience with dizzying visuals as disparate stories randomly connect together and use chaos as connective tissue.
Mind Game is a movie that prides itself on how it bucks conventions and embraces stylistic risks, but it's recently found more of an audience due to the gonzo experiment airing on Adult Swim's Toonami block as an April Fool's joke. Masaaki Yuasa's unique visual flourishes are exactly in line with the dadaist animated series that excite Adult Swim's core audience.
4 Golgo 13: The Professional Mixes Fast-Paced Action With Heightened Horrors
Golgo 13: The Professional is a clear winner when it comes to its simple premise, and it's hard to not get caught up in its magic. The only problem is that audiences need to know that it exists. Coming from the early 1980s, Golgo 13 is a fast-paced revenge story that pits a top-notch assassin against hordes of powerful superhumans who want him dead. Golgo 13: The Professional also features some very early uses of CG animation, which were groundbreaking back in 1983, but can be viewed with an even greater level of appreciation now.
3 Angel's Egg Is A True Anime Art Film On Loss And Rebirth
Mamoru Oshii remains a revered name in the anime industry thanks to pivotal works like Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor, but Angel's Egg is one of the director's more unknown pieces of work. Angel's Egg feels incredibly reflective of Oshii's other masterpieces as it presents a tight 71-minute story about a broken world and the undying belief in hope. Angel's Egg is a triumph in minimalism, and it accomplishes so much without dialogue and merely through haunting visuals of this desolate existence. The image of an innocent girl who longs to fix this mess is just beautiful and heartbreaking.
2 Wicked City Throws Its Audience Into A Horrifying World Of Darkness
Yoshiaki Kawajiri's Wicked City from 1987 is highly representative of its decade and the types of lurid and violent anime feature films that would make it to the corners of rental stores. Accordingly, Wicked City almost feels a bit like a parody of the blood-soaked mature anime movies of the era, but it still deserves credit for what it accomplishes. The disturbing beasts and the way in which man and monster blend together are Wicked City's strengths. It still holds up more than three decades later, even if its goal isn't to be high art.
1 Tekkonkinkreet Is A Kaleidoscopic Ride Through Crime And Chaos
Tekkonkinkreet only came out in 2006, but it's managed to fly under the radar until recently. One of the most interesting details behind the exaggerated anime movie is that its director, Michael Arias, is not Japanese, but Tekkonkinkreet is such a loving and accurate representation of the genre. Two plucky orphans try to keep their city safe from oppressive Yakuza forces, but Tekkonkinkreet excels when it comes to its bright color palette and fluid use of motion. The film's style and energy are unlike anything else, which makes it a must-watch oddity.