Ben mentioned, not too long ago, that he still wanted to ask me for some recommendations when it came to anime movies. i was flattered, seeing as how Ben is THE movie buff in my books. i was also a little nervous. true, i love anime – but i’m no buff by any stretch of the imagination.
anyway, he got me thinking about it and,after a little research, i can finally present what i believe to be the Top 10 Anime Movies:
10: 5CM Per Second (2007)
the movie is really three stories that deal with love between people separated by distance. kids might not get the subject matter – but Makoto Shinkai’s amazing artistry (best.scenes.ever.) makes this one of the best anime films out there.
9: Cowboy Bebop (2001)
based on the hit tv-series Cowboy Bebop (which has had a cult following since the invention of the term),the movie lives up to all expectations and is a great introduction to newbies.
8: Tokyo GodFathers (2003)
Satoshi Kon’s masterpiece is really a social comment on Tokyo’s urban minorities. the story follows three homeless friends, who find a baby in a dumpster and try to return it to its parents. did I mention that one of the friends is pre-op M2F?
7: Princess Mononoke (1997)
Princess Mononoke was Hayao Miyazaki’s breakthrough movie in the Western world. take whatever you know about the genre, go to your warm and fuzzy place and prepare to be enchanted.
6: Paprika (2006)
you’ve heard of vivid imaginations, right? prepare to experience a visual orgasm. the plot is centered around a “dream machine” — which allows doctors to see a patient’s dreams — that is stolen by a thief who uses it to enter people’s dreams. Paprika and her team set out to recapture the device. shifting between reality and dreamworld continuously, you’ll definitely want to watch it again to get all the details.
5: Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
Miyazaki’s second film on the list was developed from the book by Diana Wynne Jones. a girl is cursed with a spell that makes her look old. her only hope of becoming young again lies with a wizard and his giant, walking castle.
4: Ghost in The Shell (1995)
the Watchowski brothers reportedly showed Ghost in The Shell to producer Joel Silver and told him, “We wanna do that live action”. then they made the Matrix. enough said.
3: Grave of The Fireflies (1988)
the film that made everyone realize that anime can be used to tell serious, heart felt stories. It centers on a boy and his young sister who struggle to survive in WW2 Japan after their mother dies during a US bombing. Roger Ebert called it “the most powerful anti-war movie of all time”. newly remade as a live feature film, it’s a gift that keeps on giving.
2: Akira (1988)
the movie that pretty much defined the whole genre: from its art style, to its realistic portrayal of violence, to its ability to tell several stories at once. Akira is the hallmark of anime for the past 20 years.
1. Spirited Away (2001)
in all probability Miyazaki’s masterpiece. this is the story of a girl who stumbles into a land where witches, gods and spirits rule. she struggles to keep her own spirit, while fighting to release the spirits of her parents. the film won dozens of awards, including an Oscar for best animated feature. it even surpassed Titanic to become the highest grossing move of all time in Japan. that in itself is enough to make me grin like an idiot ;0)
so… the next time movie night comes around, why not grab a few of these? it’s guaranteed to delight, inspire and educate.
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