Best Japanese Animated Movies
by oliver-t-1971 | created - 02 Feb 2017 | updated - 02 Feb 2017 | PublicThe 20 Best Japanese Animated Movies of All Time apanese animated film, or “anime” as it is commonly known, has been part of the mainstream entertainment in Japan since the 80s, when they experienced a boom in production. In the following decades, anime became a global phenomenon, and currently over 430 production companies are involved in an industry that has a total market value of $13.5 billion. Almost exclusively based on manga, their print equivalent, anime entail a plethora of genres and elaborate animation, despite being in their majority, at least partially hand-drawn. Here is a list with the best movies of the category, in chronological order. Read more: http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/the-20-best-japanese-animated-movies-of-all-time/
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1. Tatsu no ko Tarô (1979)
75 min | Adventure, Family, Fantasy
A young boy has to make a voyage to a distant lake to save his mother, who has been turned into a dragon.
Directors: Kiriô Urayama, Peter Fernandez | Stars: Jun'ya Katô, Mîna Tominaga, Kazuo Kumakura, Kazuo Kitamura
Votes: 917
2. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya
Votes: 182,623 | Gross: $0.50M
3. Vampire Hunter D (1985)
Not Rated | 80 min | Animation, Action, Fantasy
When Doris Lang is chosen as the next bride for the vampire Count Magnus Lee, she will hire a mysterious vampire hunter known only as D in an attempt to escape her ill-gotten fate.
Director: Toyoo Ashida | Stars: Kaneto Shiozawa, Michie Tomizawa, Seizô Katô, Satoko Kifuji
Votes: 17,530
4. Wings of Honneamise (1987)
Unrated | 121 min | Animation, Drama, Sci-Fi
In an alternative Earth, a young astronaut participates in a controversial fledgling space program.
Director: Hiroyuki Yamaga | Stars: Leo Morimoto, David Thomas, Mitsuki Yayoi, Heidi Lenhart
Votes: 5,761 | Gross: $0.06M
5. Akira (1988)
R | 124 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath who can only be stopped by a teenager, his gang of biker friends and a group of psychics.
Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo | Stars: Mitsuo Iwata, Nozomu Sasaki, Mami Koyama, Tesshô Genda
Votes: 205,342 | Gross: $0.55M
6. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Not Rated | 89 min | Animation, Drama, War
A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara
Votes: 310,645
7. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
G | 103 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi
Votes: 165,646
8. Ninja Scroll (1993)
Not Rated | 94 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A vagabond swordsman is aided by a kunoichi and a spy in battling a demonic clan of killers - led by a ghost from his past - who are bent on overthrowing the Tokugawa Shogunate.
Director: Yoshiaki Kawajiri | Stars: Kôichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Osamu Saka
Votes: 40,738
9. Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993)
TV-14 | 113 min | Animation, Action, Drama
When a terrorist attack is blamed on the Air Force, Special Vehicle Unit 2 gets caught in the middle of a growing political conflict.
Directors: Mamoru Oshii, Mizuho Nishikubo | Stars: Mîna Tominaga, Briony Glassco, Julie Ann Taylor, Toshio Furukawa
Votes: 4,598
10. Ghost in the Shell (1995)
TV-MA | 83 min | Animation, Action, Crime
A cyborg policewoman and her partner hunt a mysterious and powerful hacker called the Puppet Master.
Directors: Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Atsuko Tanaka, Iemasa Kayumi, Akio Ôtsuka, Kôichi Yamadera
Votes: 156,970 | Gross: $0.52M
11. Perfect Blue (1997)
R | 81 min | Animation, Crime, Drama
A pop singer gives up her career to become an actress, but she slowly goes insane when she starts being stalked by an obsessed fan and what seems to be a ghost of her past.
Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Junko Iwao, Rica Matsumoto, Shinpachi Tsuji, Masaaki Ôkura
Votes: 95,641 | Gross: $0.78M
12. Princess Mononoke (1997)
PG-13 | 134 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Billy Crudup
Votes: 433,956 | Gross: $2.38M
13. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (1999)
R | 102 min | Animation, Action, Drama
A traumatized member of an elite para-military police force falls for the sister of a female terrorist courier who died in front of him on duty.
Directors: Kenji Kamiyama, Hiroyuki Okiura | Stars: Michael Dobson, Yoshikazu Fujiki, Sumi Mutoh, Moneca Stori
Votes: 18,763 | Gross: $0.09M
14. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 849,966 | Gross: $10.06M
15. The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004)
TV-PG | 90 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
In an alternate postwar timeline, Japan is divided into the Union-controlled North and the US-controlled South.
Directors: Makoto Shinkai, Yoshio Suzuki | Stars: Hidetaka Yoshioka, Masato Hagiwara, Yuka Nanri, Unshô Ishizuka
Votes: 15,142
16. Mind Game (I) (2004)
Not Rated | 103 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After a deadly encounter with two yakuza, a loser with a crush on his childhood girlfriend goes to heaven and back, embarking on a psychedelic self-discovery experience with her and his friends.
Directors: Masaaki Yuasa, Kôji Morimoto | Stars: Kôji Imada, Sayaka Maeda, Takashi Fujii, Seiko Takuma
Votes: 10,707 | Gross: $0.04M
17. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)
TV-PG | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A high-school girl named Makoto acquires the power to travel back in time, and decides to use it for her own personal benefits. Little does she know that she is affecting the lives of others just as much as she is her own.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida, Mitsutaka Itakura, Ayami Kakiuchi
Votes: 70,886
18. Paprika (2006)
R | 90 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
When a machine that allows therapists to enter their patients' dreams is stolen, all hell breaks loose. Only a young female therapist, Paprika, can stop it.
Director: Satoshi Kon | Stars: Megumi Hayashibara, Tôru Emori, Katsunosuke Hori, Tôru Furuya
Votes: 96,986 | Gross: $0.88M
19. 5 Centimeters per Second (2007)
TV-PG | 63 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Told in three interconnected segments, Takaki tells the story of his life as cruel winters, cold technology, and finally, adult obligations and responsibility converge to test the delicate petals of love.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Kenji Mizuhashi, Yoshimi Kondou, Satomi Hanamura, Ayaka Onoue
Votes: 63,801
20. Summer Wars (2009)
PG | 114 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
A student tries to fix a problem he accidentally caused in OZ, a digital world, while pretending to be the fiancé of his friend at her grandmother's 90th birthday.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Nanami Sakuraba, Mitsuki Tanimura, Takahiro Yokokawa
Votes: 31,788 | Gross: $0.08M
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