Fantasy is one of the top genres of movies and television since the creation of film as a medium. Across the world, these forms of entertainment take on unique forms often reflective of the host culture of the show. Korean dramas, for example, have heavily relied on local mythologies along with some broader ones from the West to create television shows that are dramatic and fun to watch. As a genre, fantasy encompasses a broad range of storylines, characters, and tropes that are all unique and keep audiences coming back for more.
Anime, too, has continued to innovate in recent years. Japanese anime as a mainstream form of consumption globally is a rather new phenomenon, but now, more than ever, its popularity holds steady. Anime is a rather broad term that encompasses many different genres under one umbrella they are animated, and fantasy anime, like Bleach and Death Note, have accumulated some pretty dedicated fans over the years. Some fantasy anime movies, like Your Name and Studio Ghibli films, have smashed ceilings and garnered English dubbing and adaptations. With that in mind, these are the anime movies you should watch next.
12 Redline
Gastonia
The animated film Redline took over seven years to make, as it includes over 100,000 hand-drawn frames to tell the story. It did not do well when it was originally released, but has now become a cult classic among its most devoted fans. Set on a planet called Dorothy, a race takes place. The protagonist, Sweet JP, is taking part in this race as it is the preliminary to the galaxy’s top one. However, a mafia boss decides to meddle with the results and sets off a bomb, but, through a strange series of events, JP makes it to the final race anyway. However, this is just the beginning and the risks are getting higher.
11 Metropolis
Bandai Visual Company
2001’s Metropolis is based on a 1949 Manga by Osamu Tezuka, one of the biggest Manga artists of his era. Metropolis is directed by Rintaro. In a city called Metropolis, humans and robots live alongside one another, but humans are dissatisfied with this. They believe that the robots took away their opportunities, leaving them suffering and unemployed. Several storylines then come into the fold: the ruler of the town decides to capitalize on this, while a private detective hunts down a scientist who hasn’t done research in good faith or ethically.
10 Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale
A-1 Pictures
Sword Art Online was a popular Manga series when it ran from 2002 to 2008, and when the anime series came out, it escalated the series’ popularity even more around the world. Sword Art Online: Ordinal Scale hit movie theaters in 2017, and takes place between seasons two and three of the anime show. Set in 2026, a new version of a game, Augma, is released and players can now play a game called Ordinal Scale. The protagonists of the series learn about it and encourage Kirito to join in, especially after hearing about what it entails.
9 Wolf Children
Studio Chizu
Mamoru Hosoda’s Wolf Children came out in 2012 and utilizes werewolves as a central point of its story. A young college student in Tokyo falls in love with a man who can shift into a wolf, and together they have a daughter and a son. Tragedy soon strikes the family, the woman is now left a single mother, and she struggles with helping her children as they often shift back and forth between wolf and human. As they beg to go out into the real world and live their lives, it may change everything forever for the family.
8 Ghost in the Shell
Manga EntertainmentShochiku
7 Weathering With You
CoMix Wave Films
From the creator of Your Name, Makoto Shinkai, Weathering With You follows similar aesthetics to its predecessor. A high schooler, Hokada, runs away from his home and finds new struggles in working and surviving on his own. When he meets an orphan girl with the ability to control the weather, the two of them decide to become partners and start a business based on her peculiar abilities. But when Hokada’s parents report him missing and the police start to search for him, their time together may only be brief.
6 Howl’s Moving Castle
Toho
Studio Ghibli movies are considered some of the most iconic Japanese anime movies around the world, and Howl’s Moving Castle is one of the best in their lineup. The 2004 film is adapted from a British novel, and its protagonist, Sophie, is cursed by a witch and becomes a 90-year-old woman due to it. She leaves her home to try and reverse the curse, and a scarecrow leads her to Howl’s Moving Castle. There, she convinces Howl to hire her as a cleaning maid, and the nations surrounding them go to war, further complicating things.
5 Kiki’s Delivery Service
Toei Company
Kiki’s Delivery Service is about Kiki, a young witch in training who, upon coming of age, takes her black cat and magical broomstick to learn about the world. She flies to a coastal town and befriends the local people there, landing a job at a bakery to deliver goods. Kiki decides to open up her delivery service, and there is a steep learning curve for her as she realizes that making it on her own is a lot more difficult than simply saying she is going to do it. A local boy also befriends her, helping her unlock the extent of her powers.
4 Your Name
When Your Name was released in 2016, it became a smash hit globally. Mitsuha, a girl living in the Japanese countryside, dreams that in her next life, she will be a Tokyo boy. On the other hand, an actual Tokyo boy named Taki works as a waiter at night while attending school. The two wake up one morning and discover they have switched bodies, forcing them to adapt to the new circumstances at hand. They leave each other messages and alter each other’s relationships, but when it comes to finding each other in real life it might not be that easy.
3 Princess Mononoke
Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke takes historical Japanese elements and bends them through the lens of fantasy. It is inspired by a Japanese period of history that occurred from the mid-1300s to the late-1500s. A demon attacks a village in rural Japan, leaving the last prince of the kingdom cursed and doomed to die after he protects his people. Following the advice of a village elder, he embarks on a journey to try and find a cure, but he finds himself in the middle of conflicts between the gods and humans. A haunting echo of how humans exploit the environment, Princess Mononoke has become a classic.
2 My Neighbor Totoro
My Neighbor Totoro has spawned a lot of merchandise in popular culture, as its lovable character Totoro has been a fan favorite throughout the years. The movie, which came out in 1988, ranked alongside Spirited Away on the Sight & Sound Best Films of All Time list. Two sisters and their father move to a new house, so they can be with their mother, who is sick in the hospital. One of the sisters, Mei, follows spirits residing in the home of a hollow tree, where she meets a large spirit named Totoro. Mei and Totoro become good friends, but no one else can see him but her.
1 Spirited Away
Toho Co., Ltd.
One of the best-known Studio Ghibli movies, Spirited Away can owe part of its accessibility to the fact it was distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Many consider Spirited Away to be Miyazaki’s best movie so far. A young girl is moving with her parents when they stumble upon an unfortunate fate: her parents are turned into pigs when they stop at an abandoned amusement park on the way. When a mysterious boy named Haku advises her what to do, she realizes she is stuck in the spirit world and must rescue her parents and herself before it is too late.
