Interest Stacks

Don't be intimidated by the "Prequel" in the Related Anime section- you absolutely do not need to watch anything else before this.

Vampire Hunter D (2000) is a gorgeous, gothic romp through a post apocalyptic landscape. Intensely stylized and brooding, the movie tells a simple story exceedingly well. Anyone with interest in vampires, 90s animation, or post-apocalyptic storytelling should watch this immediately.

Make sure to watch the 2000 edition, not the 1985.

Jin-Rou, more than any other film on this list, is iconic. Literally- its Wolf Brigade armor is an icon of anime film, yet surprisingly few have seen it.

Jin-Rou is not realistic in the sense of a documentary. Yet, it is a convincing facsimile, a reflection of how our world could be if we were one or two or three timelines away. It is, as with many other 90s and early 00s films on this list, visually stunning, but in a way less magical than the others. The flash of gunfire on water: the turning of a page in a book: the cycling of a belt magazine: these dominate the screen.

This is a powerful, gripping movie. It does not romanticize rebellion, nor wallow in darkness and edginess. Anyone who enjoys cinema, and not even anime, should watch Jin-Rou.

Disclaimer: I am only referring to the first entry of this anthology series, "Magnetic Rose".

Magnetic Rose is absolutely the cream of the crop when it comes to horror anime. It's unsettling, enthralling, and perfectly paced. Its 37-minute run time is nearly flawless, and it's hard to find a better time-to-quality ratio anywhere on this website.

The first Garden of Sinners movie has approximately 440,000 MAL members, which means nearly half dropped before this one...

Which is a shame, because movies 5 and 7 are easily the strongest of the bunch. I quite enjoy all the Garden of Sinners films, but if you are someone who dropped a previous one, I highly encourage picking them back up. The stories are told in anthology form, and so it is not necessary to watch 1-4 before this one, though encouraged.

The Garden of Sinners' greatest strength is how it blurs the line between the supernatural and the merely awful, where the limits of human nature push against what lies beyond. Nowhere is this more present than in the fifth film, which is a fantastical, trippy, thriller. At once a crime drama, sci-fi retrospective, and a magic battle, it never loses momentum through its many twists and turns.

Come on, guys. It's Millennium Actress.

Seriously, though, Satoshi Kon works his magic once again, weaving dreams and reality around eachother into a beautiful tapestry of a life. If you enjoyed Paprika or Perfect Blue, both by the same director, Millenium Actress is a must-watch.

This is a pretty dumb movie, in the best way possible.

Grotesque villains? Unnecessary nudity? Crazy gore? Corny romance? Oh yeah, we've got the whole squad together. You, this movie, and a six-pack can spend a fun evening together.

With 304,000 members currently, this is my cheat. Please forgive me.

Patema Inverted is a story that's been told a thousand times. Boy meets girl, who's a little different, but ends up changing his life. Only thing is, here, she's upside down.

Truly exceptional background work makes this movie what it is, as well as the memorable way in which literal perspective changes mimic the mental perception differences in our main characters. While not brilliant, Patema Inverted is unique enough to warrant a watch.

Maboroshi takes an interesting premise and attempts to reach the stars with it, perhaps not quite getting there but landing in the clouds anyways. The gorgeous animation focused on industry, rather than nature, was fascinating to see, and the story has some excellent moments and is altogether satisfying. Maboroshi is a better edit away from being a classic.

Warning: This movie will have you cringing in a corner.

Aura, essentially the Sparknotes version of Love, Chunibyou, and Other Delusions, is not particularly technically impressive, and its story is not unieuq or particularly well executed. However, Aura has a genuineness and passion behind it that makes many of these issues fall to the back of your mind. In 83 minutes, it can stir emotions in ways a full season of some anime can't.

As the name implies, this is a very summer-coded film. It's nice looking, and many of the more supernatural sequences are quite striking. I have to recommend to read the book first , though, as the plot is much stronger in written form. Unfortunately, many plot events, and entire characters, were cut, which weakens the story. It's still above average, though it could have been great.

Hal is short feature, yet impactful none the less. I enjoyed its world, and thought that the ending elevated the film.