Top 5000 movies
Establishing the best anime movies can be tricky. After all, despite now being one of the most ubiquitous cultural properties of the 21st century, anime, thanks to over a century’s worth of the medium’s evolution and reinvention, is especially difficult to define. From the five-minute shorts of Oten Shimokawa in 1917, to the feature-length animations produced during World War II, to the pioneering production cycles of Tezuka in the ’60s and the auteurist innovations of the likes of Miyazaki and many others towards the latter half of the last century, anime has morphed through countless phases. Amateur efforts, nationalist propaganda fodder, niche cultural export turned eventual global phenomenon: Each iteration conforms to the shape of the times in which it was produced. Television expanded the medium during the 1960s, birthing many of the essential genres and subgenres that we know today and forming the impetus for the anime industry’s inextricable relationship to advertising and merchandising from the 1970s onward. The arrival of home video catapulted anime to its commercial and aesthetic apex, fanning outward from island nation of Nippon to the far shores of North America and back, before again being revolutionized by the unprecedented accessibility of the world wide web throughout the ’90s and early aughts. Anime film owes much to the evolving means of production and distribution throughout the late 20th century, the breadth and audacity of the medium’s content widening and contracting along with its running time to cater to the emerging palettes of audiences both new and old, at home and abroad. But where does one begin to tackle the aesthetic and historical precedent that anime film has left on pop culture and global entertainment in the last century?
This list is an attempt to do just that: to create a primer of 100 of the most influential and essential films that Japanese animation has produced, and to offer a thorough aesthetic, technical and historical breakdown of why these film matter. With that aim in mind, Paste is proud to enlist the curatorial talents of Jason DeMarco, on-air creative director of Adult Swim and co-creator of Toonami, whose unique role in anime’s emerging popularity in the West has helped to hone this list. Given the shared evolution between anime film and television and the aforementioned significance of the home video revolution, this list includes not only traditional features but also original video animations made for home video (OVAs) and anthology films— with the stipulation of each entry having at some point premiered in theaters. It is our hope that in creating this list we have created an entry point for both the expert and the layperson to trace the rich history of anime’s legacy on both film and popular culture, and to offer newcomers a comprehensive guide through to learn, rediscover, and explore the fullness that the genre of Japanese animation has to offer now and into the future.
Source: https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/01/the-100-best-anime-movies-of-all-time.html?a=1
Andrew Osmond provides an entertaining and illuminating guide to the endlessly diverse styles, cultures, and visions of the genre, with entires on 100 of the most interesting and important animated films from around the world, from the 1920s to the present day.
Source: http://shop.bfi.org.uk/books/100-animated-feature-films-book.html#.Wgyw3GhSzIU
Honorable Mention: In February, 1914 at the Palace Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, cartoonist Winsor McCay (1869-1934) premiered "Gertie the Dinosaur", (containing 10,000 drawings with backgrounds), in an interactive cartoon where he (in person) seemed to step into his animated cartoon by walking behind the screen at the right time and showing up as part of the animation. Many consider this the first 'successful' animated cartoon (others being considered just novelty acts).
In November, 1914, "Gertie the Dinosaur" was released to theaters around the country, being the first animated film viewed by movie goers at the time.
I think everyone should at least watch these once no matter what genre you like. Some movies may have a bad rating, that doesn't mean there's not something worth watching in them.
Mostly English or Adult
Items to be updated. Please don't like the list. It's just for use with a script as I'm still too lazy to implement the auth just for this. Thank you.
Building on and bringing up to date the material presented in the first installment of Directory of World Cinema: Japan, this volume continues the exploration of the enduring classics, cult favorites, and contemporary blockbusters of Japanese cinema with new contributions from leading critics and film scholars. Among the additions to this volume are in-depth treatments of two previously unexplored genres—youth cinema and films depicting lower-class settings—considered alongside discussions of popular narrative forms, including J-Horror, samurai cinema, anime, and the Japanese New Wave.
Accompanying the critical essays in this volume are more than 150 new film reviews, complemented by full-color film stills, and significantly expanded references for further study. From the Golden Age to the film festival favorites of today, Directory of World Cinema: Japan 2 completes this comprehensive treatment of a consistently fascinating national cinema.
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The list is based on the contents of the Book, sorted by chapters:
Film of the Year
Alternative Japan
Anime / Animation
Chambara / Samurai Cinema
Contemporary Blockbusters
J-Horror / Japanese Horror
Jidai-geki / Period Drama
Nuberu Bagu / The Japanese New Wave
Seishun eiga / Japanese Youth Cinema
Shomin-geki / Lower Class Life
Yakuza / Gangster
More information on this is also aviable on http://worldcinemadirectory.co.uk/!
List for the 1st edition: http://trakt.tv/user/sp1ti/lists/directory-of-world-cinema-japan
Yeah, these weird Japanese ones for kids. I'm still shocked by the amount of people who still just ignore the medium. There is a huge variety of genres to choose from for all ages and it's not just like school girls, tentacle rape, or Dragonball. If you like film I urge you to give these a go!
I deceided against a "Top 10" and limited the choices to one movie per director. Most of these guys have a rich body of work worth checking out.
(And no, these are not obscure, it just takes a lot more to make an animated film than some indie movie..)
-The End of Evangelion – dir. Hideaki Anno:
He is not only a great anime director but has also made some great live-action ones aswell. To enjoy the despair ahead you'll have to watch the TV series though. No worries, not only is it great but you will be rewarded with one of the most striking animated films to date. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCLoNOYcVQU
-Princess Mononoke – dir. Hayao Miyazaki:
Having seen most of his films, Mononoke was the first for me and it stuck with me the most. I guess it is a bit different than his usual works given the setting. The struggle between living with nature in harmony or taking control over it is a lot more than just good versus evil. A beautiful epic for sure. Luckily the now retired master has made some other great films aswell so there is one for everyone.
Grave of the Fireflies – dir. Isao Takahata:
Except for this Takahata doesn't seem to enjoy the same fame or popularity as his Studio Ghibli Co-Funder friend Miyazaki which is a shame really. His movies are a lot more grounded and you know what you're at. I thought about including the terribly underwatched Gauche the Cellist but this sucker is just such a tear jerker that it should depress about everyone (and it's based on a true story).
Millennium Actress – dir. Satoshi Kon:
I'm still saddened by Kon's death. Not one of his works isn't exceptional. Just watch them all! MA was his love letter to the actress Setsuko Hara which I'm sure you recognize if you saw her on screen once, such a captivating presence (best known for Tokyo Story).
Ghost in the Shell – dir. Mamoru Oshii:
I'm still amazed by how many people love The Matrix but have not seen Oshii's manga adaptation despite the Wachowski being quite open about it's influence. The second movie is great aswell and so is Stand Alone Complex. The score from Kenji Kawai makes it even so much better. The man also directed the first OVA series ever and some other good ones like Angel's Egg and Patlabor 2. When it comes to live action, Avalon is not bad either but he can sometimes be a hack and make something like Assault Girls... Try to find the basset hounds.
Summer Wars – dir. Mamoru Hosoda:
The director started out with some credits on Digimon before he found success in 2006 with The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. The virtual world found in Summer Wars is very much an extension of a movie he did for the show. While it's though for me to pick between this and Wolf Children I found the story here quite touching in regards of multiple generations in the family coming together where as the other is more about the mother.
Akira – dir. Katsuhiro Ohtomo:
Akira was one of the first anime movies I saw when I was younger. If you like scifi and action there is no reason for you not to see it. The maniac Kaneda became with his powers is still referenced (intentional or not) in other movies today. A balanat rip-off of the exploding Tokyo is also shown in Resident Evil Afterlife. It just became 25 years old this year and predicted the 2020 Olympic's in Tokyo ;). It was also the reason for a (short-termed) hype for anime in the US. Just go and watch it ffs!
As for other works by Ohtmo I would say watch Steamboy if you want some steampunk (and pretty animated ice) or Rojin Z for a more slice of life scifi.
A Letter to Momo - dir. Hiroyuki Okiura:
A suprisingly overlooked movie. It took Okiura over seven years to create together with (mainly) Production I.G. doing the hand-drawn art. It features a loveley color palette and has a story similar to what you find over at Ghibli. While it drags a bit early on it works as a whole (and is yet another touching story). The other movie credit the director has is the more well known Jin-Roh (created by the guy abit further above, Oshii) where I can see why people enjoy it a lot (a darker red riding hood) it isn't one of my favorites and is an extreme opposite to Momo.
Ninja Scroll - dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri:
It's basicly the Sex, Drugs & Rock 'n' roll of chanbara cinema and for exactly that reason it was quite popular not too long ago at least among teens. My opinion might be still based from when I was younger but it's a fun and stylish action flick with lots of ultra violence. Kawajiri contributed a short to Animatrix so you might have seen something of his. Wicked City is also one of the more well known oldschool anime movies where you will see a "human" venus trap in action ;P.
Time of Eve: The Movie - dir. Yasuhiro Yoshiura:
Science-fiction authors (and the Japanese) have always been interested in relations between humans and androids. This movie looks at this in a great setup: Having a café with one simple rule; No discrimination between humans and robots. Inside, human looking androids are indistinguishable by appearance (they are forced to have indicators on their heads outside) and can act independently from their owners. Since I'm a sucker for the kinds of stories where the line between man and machine is blurred I enjoyed this a lot and I think it's a strong sci-fi movie even outside the medium of anime (if you're not just an action guy).
(FYI: The movie is an extended version of an OVA series by the same name)
As for other works by Yoshiura: I'm not really a fan of the other short ones, Patema Inverted however looks pretty great.
The best anime out there, highly worth watching.
Building on and bringing up to date the material presented in the first installment of Directory of World Cinema: Japan, this volume continues the exploration of the enduring classics, cult favorites, and contemporary blockbusters of Japanese cinema with new contributions from leading critics and film scholars. Among the additions to this volume are in-depth treatments of two previously unexplored genres—youth cinema and films depicting lower-class settings—considered alongside discussions of popular narrative forms, including J-Horror, samurai cinema, anime, and the Japanese New Wave.
Accompanying the critical essays in this volume are more than 150 new film reviews, complemented by full-color film stills, and significantly expanded references for further study. From the Golden Age to the film festival favorites of today, Directory of World Cinema: Japan 2 completes this comprehensive treatment of a consistently fascinating national cinema.
The list is based on the contents of the Book, sorted by chapters:
More information on this is also aviable on http://worldcinemadirectory.co.uk/!
List for the 1st edition: http://trakt.tv/users/sp1ti/lists/directory-of-world-cinema-japan
The J-Film Pow-Wow has been going for nearly four years now and during that time we've reported on the annual Top Ten lists put out by various online and print sources and Chris, Bob, Marc, Matt and Eric have spent our fair share of time scouring and critiquing other people's Top 100 lists of Japanese films. It got to the point where we thought we'd put ourselves out there with our own list, something beyond our monthly Top Ten lists. With that in mind we pooled our collective movie-going experiences and have come up with the J-Film Pow-Wow's own Top 100 Japanese Films list.
Now, before you read on you should keep something in mind. This list was tabulated by all five of the Pow-Wow crew making lists of their own favorite Japanese films - not films we felt were historically important and not films that parroted other lists that have created the present canon of Japanese cinema. Our main concern was to come up with films that we held a real heartfelt love for. Once we drew up our lists we ranked them, assigned a points system and cross referenced all five to come up with this Top 100 list. There are some obvious picks ranking in obvious positions, there are some critically-favoured films in the Japanese film canon that didn't fare as well, and there are a lot of surprises. Those are the films on the list we're all most excited about.
Source: http://jfilmpowwow.blogspot.ch/2011/01/toronto-j-film-pow-wow-top-100-favorite.html
Updated Jan 2022
List of animes i've watched
anime
by remi89210