Animation
by ArthouseMaria | created - 20 Apr 2018 | updated - 08 Jun 2021 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Mirai (2018)
PG | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A young boy encounters a magical garden which enables him to travel through time and meet his relatives from different eras, with guidance by his younger sister from the future.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Rebecca Hall, Daniel Dae Kim, Koji Yakusho, John Cho
Votes: 18,108 | Gross: $0.81M
2. Patema Inverted (2013)
Not Rated | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A young girl, from a civilization that resides in deep underground tunnels, finds herself trapped in an inverted world and teams up with a resident to escape and return home.
Director: Yasuhiro Yoshiura | Stars: Yukiyo Fujii, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Shintarô Ôhata, Shin'ya Fukumatsu
Votes: 10,218
3. The Anthem of the Heart (2015)
119 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A young girl had her voice magically taken away so that she would never hurt people with it, but her outlook changes when she encounters music and friendship.
Director: Tatsuyuki Nagai | Stars: Inori Minase, Kôki Uchiyama, Sora Amamiya, Yoshimasa Hosoya
Votes: 6,346
4. Mary and the Witch's Flower (2017)
PG | 103 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
Based on "The Little Broomstick" by Mary Stewart, a strange flower grants a girl magic powers.
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi | Stars: Hana Sugisaki, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Yûki Amami, Fumiyo Kohinata
Votes: 16,192 | Gross: $2.42M
5. Flavors of Youth (2018)
TV-PG | 74 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
Three different stories of youth set in different cities of China.
Directors: Haoling Li, Yoshitaka Takeuchi, Xiaoxing Yi | Stars: White-K, Taito Ban, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Matt Fowler
Votes: 8,650
6. 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: 70,889
7. Children Who Chase Lost Voices (2011)
TV-14 | 116 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
A coming of age story involving young love and a mysterious music, coming from a crystal radio left as a memento by an absent father, that leads a young heroine deep into a hidden world.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Hisako Kanemoto, Miyu Irino, Kazuhiko Inoue, Junko Takeuchi
Votes: 17,020
8. 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: 15,143
9. Ocean Waves (1993 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 76 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
As a young man returns home after his first year away at college he recalls his senior year of high school and the iron-willed, big city girl that turned his world upside down.
Director: Tomomi Mochizuki | Stars: Nobuo Tobita, Toshihiko Seki, Yoko Sakamoto, Yuri Amano
Votes: 20,432
10. Only Yesterday (1991)
PG | 119 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
A twenty-seven-year-old office worker travels to the countryside while reminiscing about her childhood in Tokyo.
Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Miki Imai, Toshirô Yanagiba, Yoko Honna, Mayumi Izuka
Votes: 37,265 | Gross: $0.45M
11. Angel's Egg (1985 Video)
Not Rated | 71 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A mysterious young girl wanders a desolate, otherworldly landscape, carrying a large egg.
Director: Mamoru Oshii | Stars: Mako Hyôdô, Jinpachi Nezu, Keiichi Noda
Votes: 12,015
12. Piano no mori (2007)
101 min | Animation, Drama, Family
The son of a prostitute and the son of a professional musician develop a bond of friendship through their love of playing the piano.
Director: Masayuki Kojima | Stars: Aya Ueto, Ryunosuke Kamiki, Hiroyuki Amano, Mayuko Fukuda
Votes: 1,749
13. Mai Mai Miracle (2009)
95 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Inspired by her grandfather's stories, young Shinko embarks on wild flights of fancy about the history of the little town she lives in. But dreams can't fend off the realities of growing up.
Director: Sunao Katabuchi | Stars: Masao Agawa, Chisa Bandai, Romy Beckman, J. David Brimmer
Votes: 1,199
14. Colorful (2010)
TV-14 | 126 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A sinful spirit is granted the opportunity to prove worthy for rebirth, inhabiting the body of a student who killed himself.
Director: Keiichi Hara | Stars: Kumiko Asô, Chris Ayres, Greg Ayres, Clint Bickham
Votes: 7,049
15. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
PG-13 | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.
Directors: Shôgo Furuya, Satoshi Kon | Stars: Tôru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Shôzô Îzuka
Votes: 46,778 | Gross: $0.13M
16. 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: 95,647 | Gross: $0.78M
17. Millennium Actress (2001)
PG | 87 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
A TV interviewer and his cameraman meet a former actress and travel through her memories and career.
Directors: Satoshi Kon, Kô Matsuo | Stars: Miyoko Shôji, Shôzô Îzuka, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa
Votes: 32,087 | Gross: $0.19M
18. Someone's Gaze (2013)
7 min | Animation, Short
A futuristic story about a newly independent female and her maturation into independence. The narrator details the effect her development is having on her relationship with her father.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Fumi Hirano, Satomi Hanamura, Shinji Ogawa, Rina Endô
Votes: 1,970
19. A Silent Voice: The Movie (2016)
Not Rated | 130 min | Animation, Drama
A young man is ostracized by his classmates after he bullies a deaf girl to the point where she moves away. Years later, he sets off on a path for redemption.
Directors: Taichi Ishidate, Naoko Yamada | Stars: Miyu Irino, Saori Hayami, Aoi Yûki, Kenshô Ono
Votes: 101,395
20. Weathering with You (2019)
PG-13 | 112 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Set during a period of exceptionally rainy weather, high-school boy Hodaka Morishima runs away from his troubled rural home to Tokyo and befriends an orphan girl who can manipulate the weather.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Kotaro Daigo, Nana Mori, Tsubasa Honda, Sakura Kiryu
Votes: 55,669 | Gross: $7.80M
21. In This Corner (and Other Corners) of the World (2016)
PG-13 | 129 min | Animation, Drama, Family
A spirited 18-year-old woman is married off to a man she barely knows as she combats the daily struggles of living in Hiroshima during World War II.
Director: Sunao Katabuchi | Stars: Non, Ava Pickard, Kenna Pickard, Karen Strassman
Votes: 12,457 | Gross: $0.17M
22. Wolf Children (2012)
PG | 117 min | Animation, Drama, Family
After her werewolf lover unexpectedly dies in an accident while hunting for food for their children, a young woman must find ways to raise the werewolf son and daughter that she had with him while keeping their trait hidden from society.
Director: Mamoru Hosoda | Stars: Aoi Miyazaki, Takao Osawa, Haru Kuroki, Yukito Nishii
Votes: 49,516
23. The Garden of Words (2013)
TV-14 | 46 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
On a rainy morning in Tokyo, 15-year-old Takao, an aspiring shoemaker, decides to skip class to sketch designs in a beautiful garden. This is where he meets Yukari, a beautiful yet mysterious woman. They strike an unlikely friendship.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Miyu Irino, Kana Hanazawa, Fumi Hirano, Gou Maeda
Votes: 52,626
24. 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: 96,989 | Gross: $0.88M
25. When Marnie Was There (2014)
PG | 103 min | Animation, Drama, Family
Anna, a shy 12-year-old girl, is sent to spend time with her aunt and uncle who live in the countryside, where she meets Marnie. The two become best friends. But Anna gradually discovers that Marnie is not quite who she appears to be.
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi | Stars: Sara Takatsuki, Kasumi Arimura, Nanako Matsushima, Susumu Terajima
Votes: 47,959 | Gross: $0.77M
26. Miyori's Forest (2007 TV Movie)
107 min | Animation
Director: Nizô Yamamoto | Stars: Yû Aoi, Hiroyuki Amano, Etsuko Ichihara, Kyôko Sasaki
Votes: 235
27. To the Forest of Firefly Lights (2011)
45 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Hotaru is rescued by a spirit when she gets lost in a forest as a child. The two become friends, despite the spirit revealing that he will disappear if he is ever touched by a human.
Director: Takahiro Ômori | Stars: Kôki Uchiyama, Ayane Sakura, Shinpachi Tsuji, Izumi Sawada
Votes: 21,717
28. 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
29. Your Name. (2016)
PG | 106 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Two teenagers share a profound, magical connection upon discovering they are swapping bodies. Things manage to become even more complicated when the boy and girl decide to meet in person.
Director: Makoto Shinkai | Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Mone Kamishiraishi, Ryo Narita, Aoi Yûki
Votes: 320,675 | Gross: $5.02M
30. Miss Hokusai (2015)
PG-13 | 93 min | Animation, Biography, Drama
The life and works of Japanese artist and ukiyo-e painter Katsushika Hokusai, as seen from the eyes of his daughter, Katsushika O-Ei.
Directors: Keiichi Hara, Stephanie Sheh, Michael Sinterniklaas | Stars: Yutaka Matsushige, Anne Watanabe, Erica Lindbeck, Richard Epcar
Votes: 3,504 | Gross: $0.22M
31. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)
Not Rated | 115 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Escaping war, an immortal girl blessed with Eternal Youth finds a lone surviving infant and decides to raise him as her son.
Directors: Masakazu Hashimoto, Jong Heo, Tadashi Hiramatsu, Tatsuyuki Nagai, Mari Okada, Toshiya Shinohara | Stars: Manaka Iwami, Miyu Irino, Yôko Hikasa, Hiroaki Hirata
Votes: 8,406
32. From Up on Poppy Hill (2011)
PG | 91 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
A group of Yokohama teens look to save their school's clubhouse from the wrecking ball in preparations for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
Director: Gorô Miyazaki | Stars: Sarah Bolger, Chris Noth, Anton Yelchin, Christina Hendricks
Votes: 52,053 | Gross: $1.00M
33. Okko's Inn (2018)
PG | 94 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
After losing her parents in a car accident, Okko starts living in the countryside with her grandmother who runs a traditional Japanese inn. While she prepares to be the next owner of the inn, Okko can somehow see friendly ghosts.
Director: Kitarô Kôsaka | Stars: Seiran Kobayashi, Nana Mizuki, Satsumi Matsuda, Rina Endô
Votes: 2,315 | Gross: $0.13M
34. Liz and the Blue Bird (2018)
90 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
Best friends in their last year of high school realise there is no such thing as being together forever.
Directors: Tatsuya Ishihara, Yasuhiro Takemoto, Naoko Yamada | Stars: Atsumi Tanezaki, Nao Tôyama, Miyu Honda, Konomi Fujimura
Votes: 2,261
35. Violet Evergarden: The Movie (2020)
140 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy
After the aftermath of a war, a young girl who was used as a 'tool' for war learned to live. With the scars of burns, she goes back to her past to feel the true feelings of the Major's, "I love you."
Director: Taichi Ishidate | Stars: Yui Ishikawa, Daisuke Namikawa, Takehito Koyasu, Hidenobu Kiuchi
Votes: 10,237
36. The Stranger by the Beach (2020)
TV-14 | 59 min | Animation, Drama, Romance
Two men meet on a beach in Okinawa and are romantically attracted to each other.
Director: Akiyo Ôhashi | Stars: Yurina Amami, Bryn Apprill, Justin Briner, Jessica Cavanagh
Votes: 2,651
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