There have been some good anime films out over the past decade. The website GOO! Ranking as an occasion to ask your users which film impressed them the most so, here are Top 20 Anime Films voted by their users.
Over 10,000 Fans Voted
A total of 10,314 Japanese anime fans took part in the survey. There was a choice of all films that do not belong to a TV series, i.e. are not a compilation or sequel film, but which can be watched without prior knowledge.
The ranking includes numerous titles that are also very popular in this country, such as “Your Name.” And “Weathering With You”. With “Karafuru” and “Dou Kyu Sei” there are also works that one might not have expected.
What do you think of the taste of the Japanese fans? Which anime film has impressed you the most in the past ten years? Let us know in the comments!
Top 20 Anime Films
20. Children of the Sea (200 votes)
20th place is the fantasy adventure movie “Children of the Sea”. Ryuka, a clumsy junior high school girl who is not good at expressing her feelings in words, meets the “brothers raised in the dugong”, a story of the sea and the sky, and the fantastic development that develops in the second half is a topic! There is also a dynamic and powerful visual beauty, Joe Hisaishi’s “Music to Listen”, and it is a work that shines on the big screen and sound of the movie theater!
19. Karafuru (204 votes)
The 19th place is the drama/fantasy movie “Colorful”. It is a story in which the main character, “I”, who should have died once, reincarnates into a junior high school student named “Makoto Kobayashi” who has just committed suicide and begins his life again. The setting is fantastic, but the scenario is quite hard due to the fact that it deals with the theme of suicide and the heavy settings of the characters surrounding him. However, the warmth of the family, the unexpected ending, and the message are highly evaluated.
18. Dou Kyu Sei – In love with my classmate (208 votes)
The 18th place is the romance movie “Classmate”. Hikaru Kusakabe, who is popular among girls as a guitarist in a high school band, and Rihito Sajo, who attends the same high school and has excellent grades and seriously wrote a picture. It’s a boy’s love story in which two boys who never met get intimate with a certain kick. It is a pure love between men who live in a sensitive period, and the conflict of homosexuals is drawn in a gentle and delicate atmosphere, and it is a work that can be enjoyed as a pure youth thing!
17. The Garden of Words (257 votes)
The 17th place is the romance/drama movie “The Garden of Words”. It is a delicate love story that depicts the love between Takao Akizuki, a high school student who aims to become a shoemaker, and Yukino Yukino, a high school teacher, in the unique atmosphere of Shinjuku Gyoen in the rain. Like Makoto Shinkai’s work, it has a reputation for its beautiful depictions of nature such as rain and light, and it can be said that it is a work in which various beauty and emotional transitions can be seen in the short screening time of 46 minutes.
16. Your Voice: Kimikoe (260 votes)
16th place is the drama / fantasy movie “I want to hear your voice”. Set in Shonan, Kanagawa Prefecture, this work is drawn with the keywords of the bonds and youth patterns of high school girls, including the main character Nagisa, and the spirit of “the soul that dwells in words.” There is no flashy development in the story, but the “small miracle” that occurs in a realistic style moved the viewer’s heart. After watching this work, it makes me want to make a wish … It makes me feel like that!
15. Garakowa -Restore the World- (266 votes)
The 15th place is the science fiction fantasy movie “Garakowa: Broken World”. The stage is the world after the destruction of humankind. The story begins when Dual and Dorothy, anti-virus programs that fight to protect the virtual world “Box of Knowledge”, and Rimo, a program girl discovered in a state of amnesia, meet. The story, which is a fusion of the style drawn with a magical girl-like taste and the SF elements where computer terms are lined up, is spectacular, and the slightly heavy setting and the original story impressed me!
14. Ride Your Wave (267 votes)
14th place is the romance / fantasy movie “Ride Your Wave”. It’s a love story between Hinako Mukaimizu, a female college student who likes surfing, and Minato Hinageshi, a serious firefighter, who got to know each other in the wake of a certain event. A turning point … The style is packed with frustration and sadness, and it can be said that it is a movie that you can feel the work of director Masaaki Yuasa, who has a reputation for a unique world view!
13. Her Blue Sky (270 votes)
13th place is the love / fantasy movie “Her Blue Sky”. Aoi Aio, a high school girl who died 13 years ago due to an accident and now lives in Chichibu, and Akane Aio, a sister who works at the city hall. In front of these two people, Shinnosuke Kanemuro, who became Akane’s ex-girlfriend and bandman, will return from Tokyo, but at the same time, Shinnosuke Kanemuro, 18 years old, who is still in high school, also appears … …! ?? It is a youth story that includes various elements such as music, love, and fantasy, and it is regrettable that Mr. Tatsuyuki Nagai, who was the director of “We do not yet know the name of the flower we saw that day” (that flower). It became a moving product that was demonstrated without any problems!
12. Yoyo & Nene – The Magic Sisters (276 votes)
The 12th place is the fantasy movie “Witch Girl Sisters Yoyo and Nene”. This work was produced as an original story animation using the settings of the manga “Curly Shop” series by Hirarin. Yoyo and Nene, the witches who can use magic and curses, ran a “curse shop” in the land of demons, but they were sent to another world by taking advantage of a certain event …? It’s like an orthodox magical girl fantasy, and the homage-like scene of the witch anime that you saw somewhere is also a point of interest! The beautiful drawing by Ufotable, an animation production company that has been in the limelight in the “Kimetsu no Yaiba” and “Fate” series, is also highly evaluated!
11. A Whisker Away (285 votes)
The 11th place is the fantasy anime “I want to cry, I wear a cat”. Miyo Sasaki, who is cheerful, energetic and a little strange, is a junior high school girl who falls in love with her classmate Kento Hinode. It was a day when the wise man didn’t deal with him at all, but she became able to go back and forth between people and cats by getting a special mask that she could turn into a white cat. The story that unfolds in a mysterious world view is highly evaluated as a pure story full of fantastic and youth elements! Also pay attention to the musical aspect created by director Junichi Sato, who was in charge of the anime “ARIA” and “Keroro Gunso” series, and Mina Kubota, who has been involved in song composition for those works. End song too. Popular Yorushika!
10. The Anthem of the Heart (306 votes)
The 10th place is the fantasy drama anime “The Anthem of the Heart”. Originally a girl who loved to talk, the main character, high school girl Naruse, was cursed by the fact that “a certain event” that she experienced when she was young was sealed off by a kick and caused a stomachache when she spoke words. order. A dramatic story of a youth ensemble of young people who have been hurt somewhere in their hearts, centered on her. It became one of the “Chichibu trilogy”. Compared to the other two works, the style emphasizes the human drama side, and the theme song “I have someone I want to talk to now” that Nogizaka46 was in charge of, and the wonderful musical side such as the musical scene are also supported!
9. Maquia: An Immortal Love Story (307 votes)
9th place is the fantasy movie “Let’s hold the promised flower on the morning of goodbye”. This work depicts Makia, a girl of Iolph, a race of immortality and longevity, and Erial, a human baby she will raise. Mari Okada, who is known for the script such as “We do not yet know the name of the flower we saw that day,” served as the first director (and of course the script), and the scenario that makes you cry like Mari Okada is still alive in this work. .. However, the entanglement of human relationships and the depiction of youth and romance that are often seen in the work in charge are thin, and elements such as parent-child love and the time that shifts due to the difference in life span have become a hot topic as a moving story that sticks to a wide range of generations!
8. Love Me, Love Me Not (319 votes)
8th place is the romance/drama movie “Omoi, Omoware, Pretend, Touched”. An animated version of the manga of the same name by Io Sakisaka, this is a youth ensemble drama centered around two high school girls and two high school boys. Yuna Ichihara and Akari Yamamoto, who have completely different values on the romantic side, want to cheer when they see their bond and grow up, and at the same time, they feel a little nostalgic when they remember their young romance. …… There was a voice saying that it was a movie that made me feel like that! The live-action movie in which Minami Hamabe and Takumi Kitamura appeared at almost the same time as the animation became popular as a highly complete work, and the rare news that the animation & live-action will be screened at the same time became a hot topic. !!
7. To Hotarubi no Mori (321 votes)
7th place is the love / fantasy movie “Hotarubi no Mori e”. This is an animated version of Yuki Midorikawa’s manga “Hotarubi no Mori e”, known as the author of “Natsume Yujincho”, and the staff of “Natsume Yujincho” was in charge of the production, so the atmosphere is similar. This work. The encounter and farewell between a 6-year-old girl, Firefly Takekawa, and a boy, Gin, who is neither a human nor a youkai, was depicted in the “Yamagami no Mori” where she got lost. To express that style in one word, “royal road fantasy”. The story of stimulating the lacrimal glands with a straight ball and the lonely atmosphere of the end of summer were condensed into a short screening time of 44 minutes, which impressed me. This work is recommended not only for “Natsume Yujincho” fans but also for those who are looking for a sad love story!
6. The Boy and the Beast (463 votes)
6th place is the fantasy movie “The Boy and the Beast”. The main character, Lotus, got lost in a different world, “Shibuten-gai,” when he was a child. There, he was picked up by Kumatetsu, a bear-faced monster, and named Kyuta, and he was raised as a child of a monster … There are many highlights such as how Kyuta, who has a dark background, and Kumatetsu, who was a lonely existence, grow up, and how they develop after finding a way to return to the human world by chance! In addition, Mr. Children’s theme song “Starting Over” which flows at the ending is also highly evaluated as being very good! It can be said that it is a work that you can feel a lot of Mamoru Hosoda’s uniqueness such as family love and beast elements!
5. A Silent Voice (519 voices)
The fifth place is the drama movie “A Silent Voice”. This work depicts a girl with a congenital hearing impairment, Nishimiya Glass, and a boy, Shoya Ishida, who once bullied her and caused her to be bullied as well. Youth ensemble Although it is a dramatic story, it is a heavy work that deals with difficult themes such as disability, bullying, school refusal, suicide, etc. that are not often touched on in the creation. The depiction of realistic human relations makes the viewer’s heart flutter, and you may think that the events in the play are not a little intimidating. However, there were voices saying that because of such a scene, the emotions that came to the end of the game couldn’t be suppressed and they cried!
4. Weathering with You (561 votes)
The fourth place is the love/fantasy movie “Weathering with You”. This work depicts a high school student, Hodaka Morishima, who has run away from a remote island to the mainland of Tokyo, and a junior high school girl, Hina Amano, who he met, “a sunny woman who can make the weather 100% clear by praying.” However, by using the ability of Harujo, there are some “disadvantages” …? Like Makoto Shinkai’s work, the depiction of nature and the city has drawn with beautiful drawings is very attractive, but not only that, the boy meets girl scenario involving fantasy elements is also highly evaluated! It is a masterpiece filled with pure and refreshing beauty, including the development of a climax that has caused various surprises and excitement!
3. Ame & Yuki – The Wolf Children (709 votes)
Third place is the drama / fantasy movie “Wolf Children’s Rain and Snow”. A human woman, Hana, who fell in love with the half-beast man “Wolf Man”, a descendant of the Japanese wolf, and gave birth to her child. The werewolf dies in an accident, but it is a story of a flower struggling to raise the siblings of the snow and rain.
Because of the characteristics of a half-beast man, snow and rain are forced to make various choices as they grow up, and flowers are worried about raising children. Mother’s love, child’s growth … Furthermore, it is a story that is especially piercing for those who have children, such as separation from parents and children, and the last that leaves a sadness and lingering sound compared to other director Mamoru Hosoda’s works was also impressive!
2. In This Corner of the World (1,185 votes)
Second place is the history / drama movie “In This Corner of the World”. Set in Hiroshima and Kure during the Pacific War, this work depicts the days of Shusaku Hojo and Suzu Urano, who became a married couple through a marriage. The bright and cheerful Suzu San, who was in charge of the voice of Non (former stage name: Rena Nonen), makes me feel relaxed when I watch it, but the footsteps of the war, which is becoming more intense, are approaching.
There is also a fierce depiction in the latter half of the story, and the feature of this work is that it is not an “ordinary everyday thing depicting the Showa period”.
However, even in the harsh times of wartime, not only is it painful, but I am also impressed by the appearance of people who find joy in a little happiness and live strongly, and at the same time, I feel a universal message that can be used regardless of the times. It is a masterpiece that is full of highlights as a historical object and a human drama depicting a home, such as the state of the city drawn based on careful historical evidence!
1. Your name. (2,085 votes)
Of the total votes of over 10,000, the romance/fantasy movie “Your Name” won first place with 2085 votes.
One day, Taki Tachibana, a high school boy living in central Tokyo, and Mitsuha Miyamizu, a high school girl living in a rural town in Gifu, suddenly changed their bodies and spirits, and they began to enjoy the changing life they visit from time to time. However, those days suddenly end… The sci-fi fantasy element and the romance element are firmly intertwined, and beautiful drawing is added to it, which has been supported by a wide range of generations as a highly complete entertainment!
With a box office revenue of over 25 billion yen, the name of director Makoto Shinkai, who was known only to anime fans until then, ran all over Japan in no time! It’s arguably one of the most famous anime directors today!
NOTE: The placements were determined by voting. It is not the opinion of the Awesome One editorial team.
