Best 16 Japanese Animated Films

Famous Detective Conan is a mystery manga series created by Aoyama Gōshō. It was first serialized in Weekly Shōnen Sunday magazine by Shogakukan in 1994 and has been compiled into 99 tankōbon volumes as of April 2021. The story revolves around high school detective Kudo Shinichi, who is transformed into a child while investigating a mysterious organization and solves various cases while pretending to be the childhood friend of his close associates and other characters.

The animated series Famous Detective Conan is produced by Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation and TMS Entertainment, debuting in January 1996. It is accompanied by anime-themed movies, original video animations (OVAs), video games, soundtracks, and live-action films. Funimation licensed the anime series for North America in 2003 under the title Case Closed with character names Americanized. The anime aired on Adult Swim but was discontinued due to low viewer ratings. In March 2013, Funimation began streaming their licensed episodes, and Crunchyroll simulcasted them in 2014. Funimation also dubbed the first six movies, while Discotek Media dubbed special crossovers with Lupin III, subsequent films, and selected recent films, starting with Detective Conan Episode One. Meanwhile, Viz Media localized the manga, using Funimation's changed character names and titles. Shogakukan Asia localized the English version of the manga using Japanese names and the original Japanese title. In Vietnam, the animated series was broadcast on HTV3 with Vietnamese dubbing.

Produced by Toei Animation, the animated series One Piece premiered in Japan on Fuji TV on October 20, 1999, and continues to be broadcasted. However, the anime was temporarily suspended along with Digimon Adventure from April 26, 2020, to June 21 of the same year due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, over 900 episodes have been aired.

In the United States, prior to 2006, the animated series was dubbed and premiered as well as released on DVD by 4Kids Entertainment. However, due to issues with censorship and significant edits compared to the original anime, 4Kids had to discontinue the broadcast. On April 12, 2007, Funimation Entertainment announced that it had acquired the distribution license for One Piece and continues to release DVD sets containing both English dubbed and Japanese audio with subtitles, each set consisting of 13 episodes.

One Piece was previously published in Vietnam under the name Đảo Hải Tặc, a manga series for adolescents created by Oda Eiichiro, serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine, debuting in issue number 34 on July 19, 1997. The tankōbon version of the manga was released by Shueisha with the first volume on December 24, 1997. One Piece tells the story of Monkey D. Luffy, the captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, and his companions as they search for the mysterious sea where the world's greatest treasure, One Piece, is hidden, with the goal of becoming the Pirate King.

Nausicaa – Princess of the Wind Valley is an adventurous animated film set in a post-apocalyptic era directed by Miyazaki Hayao, based on his earlier manga series. Takahata Isao contributed to the filmmaking at Top Craft. It's one of Japan's highly acclaimed handcrafted animated films. The movie premiered on March 11, 1984, in theaters.

The story unfolds 1000 years after humanity's industrial civilization collapsed, giving rise to giant warriors and a destructive weapon that burned the world in just seven days. A new world emerged, with a unique forest teeming with gigantic insects threatening human existence. The plot centers around Nausicaä, the young princess of the Wind Valley, a skilled wind glider with a dream of humans coexisting with and surviving alongside the colossal insects in the enchanted forest. She is also able to communicate with these insects. However, survivors from other nations have different plans, aiming to destroy the forest and the Wind Valley. To execute their plan, they awaken a dormant giant warrior nearby, and Nausicaä must thwart their intentions. The film was a commercial success, drawing millions of viewers to theaters during its debut, with long queues of people waiting to see it.

5 Centimeters Per Second is an anime film directed by Shinkai Makoto and produced by CoMix Wave. The film premiered on March 3, 2007, at a theater in Shibuya, Tokyo. The story revolves around the relationship between a boy named Tōno Takaki and a girl who have been friends since their school days in the 1990s to the present, but there is always a distance between them, and they usually only communicate from afar through letters or phone calls.

5 Centimeters Per Second won the prestigious Lancia Grand Prize at the Future Film Festival for its outstanding visuals and effects. The film also received the award for Best Animated Film at the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The limited edition DVD of the film ranked third in sales on the Tohan chart from July 18 to July 24, 2007, while the regular version ranked seventh. The film ranked fourth in the list of the most popular anime in 2008.

Grave of the Fireflies is a Japanese animated film produced by Ghibli in 1988, written and directed by Takahata Isao. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Nosaka Akiyuki, originally written as a semi-autobiographical apology to the author's younger sister. Like other Ghibli works, the film gained attention for its high artistic and visual quality. In the film's conclusion, the audience witnesses a B-29 bomber flying over the city, believed to be the Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. In reality, the Enola Gay was part of a three-plane squadron.

Some film critics, including Roger Ebert, consider Grave of the Fireflies to be one of the most powerful anti-war films ever made. Animation historian Ernest Rister has compared this film to Steven Spielberg's Schindler's List, stating, 'This is the most humane animated film I have ever seen.' For the Japanese audience, the film is often seen as a parable of self-respect rather than an anti-war sentiment.

Earning its title as the king of Japanese animation, the enchanting touch of director Miyazaki Hayao once again brought success to the film The Wind Rises, released in 2013. The Wind Rises is an historical anime that achieved the highest box office sales in Japan during its debut year and received nominations at numerous film festivals and prestigious categories.

The Japanese Academy and the Oscars both deemed The Wind Rises worthy of the title 'Best Animated Film.' Additionally, the film received the Golden Globe Award for 'Best Foreign Language Film.'

The story revolves around Jiro, the main character. A young man with a passionate love for the sky, he aspires to become a pilot conquering the skies. However, Jiro cannot fulfill his dream due to severe nearsightedness. Caproni, an Italian aviation engineer, inspires Jiro and introduces him to a new passion. Jiro becomes an aircraft engineer, creating fighter planes, some of which Japan used in World War II, and he also finds the love of his life, Naoko.

A Letter to Momo is an animated film written and directed by Hiroyuki Okiura, produced by Production I.G. The film follows an 11-year-old girl, Momo, who is struggling to adapt to her new life after her father's sudden death in a work accident. Her father left an unfinished letter with only two words for her, and Momo tries to understand their meaning while adjusting to life in the countryside, away from the bustling city of Tokyo where she used to live. Momo's life becomes even more chaotic when three yōkai appear, sent to protect her. Each yōkai has its own personality, causing more confusion than help. However, Momo gradually realizes that the presence of these three yōkai is related to the letter she is trying to decipher.

In 2014, at the Japan Film Festival 'A New Wind Blows Back! Japanese Stories and Animation 2014,' the film was officially screened under the Vietnamese title A Letter to Momo. The film received the Excellence Award at the Japan Media Arts Festival in 2011 in the anime category. It has also been translated into multiple languages for distribution in various countries.

The film tells the body-swapping story of two teenagers, Mitsuha, a high school girl living in a small town in Itomori, and Taki, a lively high school boy in bustling Tokyo. Mitsuha is bored with her mundane life and dreams of being a handsome young man living in the city. Meanwhile, Taki regularly finds himself waking up in the body of a girl from the rural area. Their dreams come true when a comet appears on Earth, causing them to switch bodies at random intervals.

After its release, Your Name – What's Your Name? received enthusiastic praise for its plot and visuals. Alongside director Makoto and the Radwimps music group, it earned numerous nominations and awards in Japan and worldwide, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Animated Film and the 2016 Japan Academy Prize for Outstanding Screenplay.

The film became a cinematic phenomenon in Japan, achieving the highest box office revenue in 2016, ranking as the fourth-highest grossing film in Japanese history, and holding the record for the highest-grossing anime film globally until Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away premiered in China in 2019. It also became the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time in markets such as China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Thailand, earning the title of the box office dominator in Asia in 2016.

The film marks the 8th collaboration between Miyazaki Hayao and Studio Ghibli, presenting Ponyo, the Little Mermaid (Gake no Ue no Ponyo). The Japan Academy awarded the film the 'Best Animated Film of the Year' in 2008. Meeting expectations, Ponyo secured the 9th position on the list of 'highest-grossing films in the first week of release' in the United States.

The story revolves around a golden fish named Polumisharudin, the daughter of the sea king, who desires to become human and escapes from the ocean. She is discovered by a boy named Sousuke. While trapped in a bottle at sea, Sousuke renames her Ponyo. Ponyo heals a wound on Sousuke's hand and is taken in by the boy. When Ponyo's sea king father learns that his daughter has escaped, he tries to bring her back. During his absence, Ponyo asks for help from her siblings to escape and find Sousuke. Accidentally consuming human blood while healing Sousuke's wound, Ponyo gradually transforms into a human. However, at the same time, Ponyo's magical abilities start to fade away...

Shape of Voice is a Japanese animated film produced by Kyoto Animation, directed by Naoko Yamada, and written by Reiko Yoshida. The main story revolves around two central characters, Ishida Shōya and the congenitally deaf Nishimiya Shōko – their relationship paints a picture of human connection and the disappointments in communication. The film is based on the manga of the same name written and illustrated by Yoshitoki Ōima. The original manga has been licensed by Tre Publishing House under the official Vietnamese title, Shape of Voice.

Shape of Voice received several award nominations, including a nomination for 'Best Animated Film' at the 40th Japan Academy Prize, winning the Animation category at the 26th Japanese Film Critics Awards, and a nomination at the 20th Japan Media Arts Festival. The film is recommended by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology. It has had numerous screenings for the deaf community worldwide.