The popularity of anime is increasing as the animation and plotlines keep getting better. With the arrival of streaming services, anime has reached an audience far and wide, unlike previously. If you’re looking for good anime movies to watch, then make sure to go through the list.
Good anime movies to watch with friends
Anime consists of various rich genres to stimulate all kinds of emotions. From folklore to dark fantasy adventure, viewers can engage in whatever story they want. So we bring you the best that Japanese animation has to offer by listing the best anime movies to watch.
Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train (2020)
Tanjiro Kamado joins hands with Inosuke Hashibira and Zenitsu Agatsuma to help Kyojuro Rengoku, the flame pillar. Together, they have to defeat a demon aboard the Infinity Train. Inosuke wears a boar’s head as he was always around boars since birth. Meanwhile, Zenitsu can only display his full powers while he’s asleep.
This ragtag group has to face the demon who has been killing other fellow slayers and tormenting the passengers. The film is gorgeous as the animation is exceptional in almost all the scenes. Mugen Train is one of the best anime movies to watch.
Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: The Conqueror of Shamballa (2005)
Edward Elric and Alphonse are close brothers who will do anything for each other. To save Alphonse, Edward willingly gave away his body and soul as sacrifices. Now, he is all over Munich. His life isn’t easy as he is in a foreign world suffering from an economic crisis after World War 1.
Unable to return home, Edward doesn’t give up despite being lonely. He continues to find a method to escape from the prison alongside the people alongside him. German citizens are growing dissent towards living conditions and unrest in neighboring nations.
Alphonse, meanwhile, tries his best by delving into alchemy to investigate his brother’s disappearance and try to reunite with him one day.
Cowboy Bebop: Knocking on Heaven’s Door (2001)
The crew of Bebop lives their lives out of chasing one bounty after another. Their daily schedule hits a bump when Faye, sees the explosion of a giant oil tanker leading to mass hysteria. Casualties keep increasing because of a strange illness coming from the smoke of the blast. Three hundred million woolong is the bounty set to catch the person responsible.
The Bebop crew begins investigating the incident with so much money on the line and their lives at stake. Upon reaching Alba City, Spike, Jet, Edward, and Faye follow different clues. After thoroughly investigating, they realize it was all a cover-up to save a pharmaceutical company. Slowly, they discover a plot that’s far deeper than once could think of.
Into The Forest of Fireflies Light (2011)
During a visit to her uncle, Hotaru Takegawa becomes lost in an ancient forest. With no idea how to get out of there, Hotaru gets desperate and finds Gin, a masked forest spirit. The boy tells Hotaru not to touch him as he will disappear and warns her about never coming up again.
Hotaru kept coming back every summer despite the long-distance, paying no attention to his word. Eventually, they become close friends; however, the only rule of not touching tests their resolve when romantic feelings develop within both.
‘Into The Forest of Fireflies Light’ tells the tale of friendship and ultimate sacrifice as fate brings two people together.
Sword of the Stranger (2007)
Set during the Sengoku period in Japan, the plot follows Kotarou, an orphan, and Tobimaru, his dog, who steal from the villagers to survive. However, Kotaru is always on the run because China’s Ming Dynasty sent assassins to hunt him for some mysterious reasons.
They discover a ronin, Nanashi, who lives in seclusion in a small temple. The samurai rescues them from the attackers but feels no need to involve himself further. However, he changes his mind upon receiving a rare gem as payment to be their bodyguard till their destination.
The three depart on their journey only to realize that their path isn’t easy as the Ming Dynasty is hell-bent on capturing Kotaru.
Dragon Ball Z: Broly – The Legendary Super Saiyan (1993)
A group of Saiyan survivors lures Vegeta to a new planet in hopes that he’ll rule the new world. But upon realizing their true goal, Vegeta and Z warriors engage in a fight with the legendary super Saiyan, Broly.
The introduction of each character is on point, and the fights are enough to get the adrenaline going. In addition, the plot is well thought out as each character’s past connects to form meaning. All of this makes ‘Dragon Ball Z: Broly’ one of the best anime movies to watch.
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004)
When a string of gruesome murders involving faulty gynoid, everyone is in a frenzy. Section 9’s Batou gets the task of investigating as Major Motoko Kusanagi is missing. However, Batou gets suspicious about the cause of their malfunctions when a faulty gynoid leaves him a cryptic message. Batou and Togusa, his partner, soon get drawn into a web of political conspiracy making their task even more dangerous.
As they go deeper into their investigation, the line between man and machine is blurred. While confronting dangerous foes, they explore the future world of humanity full of machines and no humans.
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
Shinji Ikari is inconsolable after the death of his friend as his son finds it mentally challenging to control Evangelion Unit-01, the humanoid robot. A race takes place between Gendou Ikari’s Nerv and SEELE of the shadow organization to enact the final plan. SEELE wants to merge souls with an Evangelion unit to create God’s lie beings. At the same time, Gendou wants to send humanity back to being a primordial being so he can reunite with Yui, his dead wife.
SEELE launches an all-out attack on NERV headquarters using military forces as SEELE continues destroying and killing Asuka Langley Souryuu in a desperate attempt to pilot Evangelion Unit-02. Shinji finds himself hiding deep within the headquarters as the battle ensues. With the fate of the world in his hand, what will Shinji do?
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
Makoto Konno is about to graduate from high school and has difficulty thinking about what she wants to do in the future. However, one day while killing time with her best friends and handling the pressure of the teacher, Makoto discovers an ability. It allows her to jump between times.
A young girl named Makoto discovers her new powers in ‘The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.’ Though she knew it the hard way, her actions have consequences, and time is not something one can play with.
A Silent Voice (2016)
Shouya Ishida is in elementary school and often finds ways to kill his boredom in the cruelest ways possible. For example, when Shouko Nishimiya transfers school, the whole class and Shouya start making fun of her as she is deaf.
However, her mother notifies the school, ann, Shoya is found guilty upon investigation. He is left at the mercy of his classmates as Shouko is transferring from the school. Throughout his elementary and middle school, everyone, including the teachers, turned a blind eye towards Shouya.
In his final year, Shouya still faces problems because of his actions as a young boy. Regretting all that he did, Shouya sets out on a journey to find Shouko and make amends. ‘A Silent Voice’ tells the story of Shouya and Shouko and the heartwarming tale of one’s redemption.
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
It’s Christmas Eve; Gin and Eve, along with Miyuki, are going through heaps of garbage for presents when they stumble upon a baby all alone. Hana, a female, couldn’t leave the baby alone because of her maternal instincts and wanted to find the birth mother to explain.
Together they name the baby Kiyoko and begin searching using the clues left behind. Finally, they come across a note and a mysterious key. However, their plans face unimaginable hurdles due to a series of unfortunate events.
‘Tokyo Godfathers’ follows the trio as they embark on a journey together and pray for a Christmas miracle to get Kiyoko home.
Your Name (2016)
The plot follows a high school girl Mitshua Miyamizu who wants to experience living life as a boy in Tokyo. However, the dream is quite contradictory to her present life, where she lives in the countryside. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, a high school student Taki Tachibana juggles his school and part-time job while hoping to succeed in architecture.
On a fateful day, Mitsuha awakens to find herself in the body of Taki, living her dream life. But, on the other hand, Taki awakens to find himself living in the countryside in the body of Mitsuha. So, to find answers, they begin their search for each other.
‘Your Name’ revolves around the lives of Mitsuha and Taki as their actions have a massive impact on the other.
Spirited Away (2001)
The plot follows Chihiro, a young girl who is sad as her parents are moving to the countryside in Japan. While moving to their new home, her father takes a wrong turn leading to a dead-end down a lonely road. Her parents decide to explore the area and stop the car.
Upon searching the tunnel, they find an abandoned amusement park and a small town. Since there was no staff present, her parents decide to eat and pay later at a restaurant with great-smelling food. However, Chihiro isn’t hungry and instead explores the park.
While exploring, Chihiro meets Haku, a young boy who warns her about her parents being in danger. She returns to find that her parents are now pigs.
Akira (1988)
Set in the backdrop of Japan in 1988, the plot follows a young boy who causes an explosion with psychic powers and tears through Tokyo. The havoc he creates ignites the spark for World War III. However, the boy is caught and taken into custody to prevent further damage.
The year is 2019, and the city is rebuilt and named neo-Tokyo. The new city is a place full of terrorism and gangsters in place of a government. ‘The Capsules’ are a group of misfits led by Shoutarou Kaneda who ride large bikes and have constant conflicts with the Clowns, their rivals.
One of Shoutarou’s best friends, Tetsu Shima, gets into an accident with an esper during one of their rivalries. The esper is a fugitive from a government institution. Tetsuo soon begins showing mysterious abilities as the government is cracking down on psychics to avoid the previous disaster.
Ninja Scroll (1993)
Jubei Kibagami is a swordsman-for-hire and thus roams around feudal Japan. Still reeling from a past betrayal due to which he is still masterless, Jubei has lost all patience for the schemes of politicians. However, his political ideologies clash with his past when he saves Kagero, a female ninja, from a man with a unique ability.
As the sole survivor of her clan, Kagero intends to continue her mission of investigating a plague responsible for killing her entire village. Jubei wants to stay away from all this; however, the man with unique abilities and the Devils of Kimon, ninjas with supernatural powers, make it hard for him to stay away.
To make his life even more complicated, a government spy poisoned him and ordered him to uncover the truth behind the actions of the Devils of Kimon. His investigation uncovers a plot more extensive than one can imagine.
Weathering With You (2019)
With the unexpected rain showers, everyone in Tokyo seems to be in disarray. Hodaka Morishima is a runaway high school student who arrives during the downpour and has trouble supporting herself financially. Finally, however, she finds a small job at a nearby publisher. Hina Amano, an orphan, at the same time tries her best to find work to support her brother and herself.
They both have a fateful encounter when Hodaka tries rescuing Hina from shady men. Together, they run away. Slowly Hodaka finds out that Hina has a strange capability. She can call out the sun whenever she prays. Seeing Tokyo’s current state, Hodaka believes Hina has the potential to become the sunshine girl.
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Ashitaka is a young prince of a tribe who puts his life on the line when his village gets attacked by a fierce demon boar. While dying, the beast put a curse on the arm of the prince, giving him demonic powers while eating away at his life force.
His Elders send him towards the west to find a cure. On his journey, he arrives at the Iron town, Tatara, and finds himself in the middle of a conflict. Lady Eboshi of Tatara wants to cut off all the trees while Princess San and the sacred spirits wish to protect the forest and are furious at the humans.
As the two opposing forces begin confronting each other, Ashitaka tries to have peace between the two factions while battling the demon inside him. ‘Princess Mononoke’ is one of those anime movies about technology and nature and how mutual acceptance can bring harmony.
Vampire Hunter D (1985)
Set in the far-off future when the world is quite different from what we know. While monsters roam about freely, humans live a humble life with high-tech weapons to defend themselves. The plot is about a small hamlet where monsters attack frequently, and the ruler of the land is Count Magnus Lee.
The Count is a powerful vampire who has been ruling for more than a thousand years. However, things get a little frantic when Magnus bites a young girl to make her his plaything. The girl somehow manages to escape and asks for help from a stranger, D. As it happens, D is quite a mighty vampire hunter and vows to end the Count’s brutal rule.
Paprika (2006)
The world of dreams is an incredible place to go deep into the psyche to bring about one’s deepest desires. To monopolize this, one tech lab is constantly pursuing to create DC Mini, the world’s first device that can look into others’ dreams. Atsuko Chiba and Kosaku Tokita work endlessly as they are hopeful of curing the psychological problems of their patients.
However, holding such power comes with immense responsibilities. With this machine, terrorists can wage psychological wars and break down their enemies. Their biggest fear comes true when the technology gets stolen, and it becomes clear that people around them are behaving strangely. So they began searching for the device with the help of an officer who was receiving the experimental therapy.
Roujin Z (1991)
The Z Project was an ambitious one as it gave the younger generation a break from caring for the old. Initially, the intention was to create a machine that could directly give care without intervention. In the beginning, everyone gave their approval as it was excellent. But Haruko begins questioning the procedure from the hospital when Mr. Takazawa becomes the first subject for the machine. With all the odds against her, what will Haruko do when she finds that the devices have a chip that takes on a new personality.
The Wind Rises (2013)
Jirou Horikoshi dreams of becoming a pilot, but his nearsightedness prevents him. Regardless, he enrolls himself at Tokyo Imperial University to study aeronautical engineering. He plans to design planes like his hero, Giovanni Battista Caproni, an Italian aircraft pioneer.
His arrival coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he was able to save the life of a maid working for Naoko Satomi. The disaster marks World War II’s beginning, spanning over two decades leading to Japan’s eventual surrender.
For Jirou, his time will be pretty tricky till his infamous Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter aircraft takes to the skies and passes with flying colors. While witnessing the gruesome reality of war, Jirous begins questioning his dream and how far he is willing to go. This is one of the must-try anime movies for any newbie to anime.
Wrapping Up
Good anime movies often leave a lasting impact on the viewers, be it popular friendship animes or good friendship movies; there’s one for everyone. We hope that new anime fans will rise through this list as well.
If you like this list, then make sure to go through some of the anime movies and shows as well: