Ever since Demon Slayer popularized the recent trend of moviefying episodes of the upcoming season with Mugen Train, it feels like the art of the anime movie has started to lose its sheen. As much as I enjoyed DanDaDan: Evil Eye, it’s just an extension of the series, whereas the best anime films use the medium to tell wholly unique stories that captivate audiences and suck them into a new world for an hour and a half. However, all is not lost, as there is still a plethora of amazing anime films to enjoy that capture the true essence of what draws people to the medium. So step into a new realm as we journey through Prime Video’s catalog to find the anime films that will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first frame to the last.
For more recommendations, check out our ranked list of The 8 Best Anime Shows That Can Be Called Masterpieces on Netflix and 10 Animated Movies That Are Amazing From Start to Finish.
Disclaimer: These titles are available in the US.
‘Look Back’ (2024)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.8/10
If you had told me that the maker of Chainsaw Man and Fire Punch would make a one-shot manga that would become one of the most touching and emotionally gripping movies in decades, I would have laughed in your face, but here I am singing the praises of Tatsuki Fujimoto and Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s adaptation of his beautiful story of friendship, passion, and loss. Look Back feels like a meta-view of the competitiveness and obsession that can come with being a manga artist, but instead of following a stand-in for the renowned creator, Fujimoto instead focuses on two young girls — one a popular artist making comics for their school paper and the other a talented illustrator secluded in her home — who connect because of the role that drawing plays in their lives. It’s a delightful slice of life that will cut your heart to pieces.
‘Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.4/10
Writer Mari Okada comes crashing out of the gate with a dynamic fantasy film as her directorial debut, and she nails it on her first try. Having written for series like Fate/Stay Night and Fractale, then working her way up to the anime equivalent of being a showrunner for shows like Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, Okada is no stranger to grand worlds with complex characters. She takes everything she’s learned from decades of world-building and character-driven storytelling and puts it into this original film following a young woman from a long-lived humanoid species as she moves through time alongside the human boy she adopts. Any fans of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End will love the way Maquia: When The Promised Flower Blooms shows the development of the kingdom over the years while never losing focus on the people that are growing in and around it.
‘The Princess and the Pilot’ (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% | IMDb: 7.0/10
The Princess and the Pilot
- Release Date
-
October 1, 2011
- Runtime
-
99 minutes
- Director
-
Jun Shishido
-
Haruka
Juana del Moral (voice)
-
Ryunosuke Kamiki
Charles Karino (voice)
-
Daisuke Ono
Carlo Levamme (voice)
-
Takeshi Tomizawa
Takeo Chijiwa (voice)
You know we couldn’t leave out the film where Madhouse studio brings Koroku Inumura and Haruyuki Morisawa’s light novel to life with a combination of stunning action and charming, windswept romance. The Princess and the Pilot is a heart-pounding adventure through a war-torn land that tells the story of a mercenary pilot tasked with flying a princess through enemy territory after her father is killed in a devastating bombing. There is almost a Han Solo and Princess Leia feel to the reluctant duo as the vast gap between their status becomes a hurdle they both must overcome to survive this journey. However, director Jun Shishido makes it very easy to root for them as he and Madhouse use fluid animation to create big setpieces balanced with softer, intimate moments to ingratiate the audience to these archetypes that are more than what they present on the surface.
‘In This Corner of the World’ (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes: 97% | IMDb: 7.8/10
Co-writer and director Sunao Katabuchi has been working with and around Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli for almost 30 years, which explains why In This Corner of the World feels like it would live comfortably in their filmography. The film has a similar setting to Grave of the Fireflies, taking place in a rural town outside of Hiroshima during WWII, and although it shares an unflinching look at the horrors of war, Katabuchi makes sure to focus on the people living their lives, while infusing the darker moments with a throughline of hope. Many war movies tend to lean on the spectacle of explosions and gunfire while underselling the human cost, but this film reminds us that beneath every bomb are people with full, vibrant lives and hopes for a future they will never get to see.
‘Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time’ (2021)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 8.0/10
Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time
- Release Date
-
December 6, 2022
- Runtime
-
155 Minutes
- Director
-
Hideaki Anno, Mahiro Maeda, Kazuya Tsurumaki, Katsuichi Nakayama
-
Megumi Ogata
Shinji Ikari
-
Yûko Miyamura
Asuka Shikinami Langley
-
Maaya Sakamoto
Mari Illustrious Makinami
-
Megumi Hayashibara
Rei Ayanami
A creator rarely gets to revisit their magnum opus to tell a new story that reflects their growth, but Hideaki Anno seems like the perfect person to do it. Back with a bigger budget and more creative freedom, Anno’s Rebuild of Evangelion film series has resurrected the story while introducing new lore to the franchise. Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time is the big conclusion of the alternate timeline that ties everything together, allowing Anno to finally give the series the ending he’s always wanted. (Being familiar with the history of the series and all the issues leading up to this film, I absolutely love that for him.) Of course, I recommend watching the previous films before jumping into this one, but once you’re caught up, get ready for the ride of your life.
‘Penguin Highway’ (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.1/10
- Language
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Japanese
- Studio
-
Studio Colorido
- Run Time
-
1 hr 58 min
- Director
-
Hiroyasu Ishida
- Release Date
-
August 17, 2018
- Actors
-
Kana Kita, Yū Aoi, Rie Kugimiya, Megumi Han
This film adaptation of Tomihiko Morimi’s award-winning sci-fi novel feels like a lovely mash-up of Beyond from The Animatrix, a little bit of Tales from the Loop, with the flavor of a much less horny and irreverent FLCL. Penguin Highway is a slightly deceptive title, as the appearance of penguins in a Japanese town is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of strange happenings that connect the young 10-year-old protagonist, Aoyama, to a mysterious woman who seems to be the source of the penguin invasion. But the mysteries are only part of the equation, as the story also explores the feeling of dealing with one’s first crush and the coming-of-age moments of trying to fit in while still being true to yourself.
‘Ghost in the Shell 2.0’ (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes: 100% | IMDb: 7.8/10
Ghost in the Shell
- Release Date
-
December 8, 1995
- Runtime
-
83 Minutes
- Director
-
Mizuho Nishikubo, Mamoru Oshii
Speaking of The Matrix, we have to include one of the biggest influences that led The Wachowskis to create the box office sensation that completely changed the film industry moving forward. Ghost in the Shell 2.0 does what George Lucas wished he could have accomplished with the Star Wars re-releases, as it modernizes the imagery and dialogue of the original film while keeping the heart and soul of the story intact. The re-released version enhances the quality for higher-def viewing while shifting the older CGI components to more up-to-date 3D animation so you can enjoy Motoko Kusanagi and her crew hunting down a dangerous hacker on the biggest television you can find.
‘Memories’ (1995)
Rotten Tomatoes: 82% | IMDb: 7.5/10
Memories
- Release Date
-
December 23, 1995
- Runtime
-
113 minutes
- Director
-
Katsuhiro Otomo, Koji Morimoto
-
Koichi Yamadera
Miguel Costrela (voice)
-
Tsutomu Isobe
Heinz Beckner (voice)
-
Shozo Iizuka
Ivanov (voice)
-
Shigeru Chiba
Aoshima (voice)
Based on manga shorts by Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo, this sci-fi anthology film brings together titans of the industry to tell three stories in the style of visionary directors. (Think of it like the original Star Wars: Visions.) Lending their talents to this film are the late, great Satoshi Kon, Darker than Black creator Tensai Okamura, and director of the aforementioned Beyond entry of The Animatrix, Kōji Morimoto. They each bring a unique flavor to Otomo’s shorts, though Otomo doesn’t slack off, as he shows off his own skills with the super cool long shot that makes up the last short. Fans of detailed, hand-drawn sci-fi animation and old-school storytelling are going to have this anthology on repeat all summer.