11 Best Anime Movies of All time and Synopsis

While South Korea has K-dramas, Japan has anime movies that make people all over the world love this country. Anime is described as an animated movie that is drawn specifically from Japan. Based on its appearance, it looks similar to a cartoon. What makes anime movies different compared to cartoons is the painting style. They have different and distinctive painting styles.

Just like K-dramas, anime movies are also widely known. Some of them even received international awards. It is not really surprising how popular they are as they have a distinctive style, interesting storyline, and stunning visuals.

If you started to get interested in anime and have no idea where to start, you may want to consider 11 best anime movies of all time and synopsis recommended by katadata.co.id below:

1. Spirited Away (2001)

A lot of people would agree that Spirited Away by Hayao Miyazaki is the best anime movie of all time. This movie is about a little girl named Chihiro. She and her parents come across a mysterious place. The place looks like an amusement park. Unlike the other amusement parks that are usually noisy and crowded, it is quiet and no other ones aside from them are seen on the site. Apparently, it is not a normal place. This place is known as a spirit bath.

When the family is wandering around, they see some shops with lots of food. As they feel starving, both of Chihiro’s parents start to eat foods on the table of a store without giving a fuck about the surrounding, just like how pigs eat their foods. In just a second, her parents turn into pigs due to their greediness.

As a child, Chihiro wants both of her patents to be returned to human form. With a number of new friends and thrilling adventures, she makes a plan to save her parents and to go back to the human world.

Spirited Away is such an excellent movie produced by the well-known Studio Ghibli. This one teaches lessons about friendship, love and courage. From the movie, you can learn that greed never results in a good thing. Besides, you should also keep in mind to help people in need without asking them to pay you back.

2. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

If you are into dark movies, Grave of the Fireflies is a must to watch. This background of the movie is World War II. It follows a story of two children named Seita and Setsuko. Both of them lose their mother due to bomb dropped by United States. As for their father, he has to work as a marine.

Without their parents, Seita and Setsuko have to live without a house and support from the others. Actually, they live with their aunt for a while but due to some circumstances they decide to move out of her house. Fortunately, they find asylum inside an abandoned bomb shelter. As lighting, they release the fireflies inside. The following day, Setsuko finds that all the fireflies have died. Then she creates graves for them in the ground.

Seita and Setsuko are running out of rice and food. They have no work or other means to live their life. Due to pressure, Seita is forced to steal from a house belonging to a local farmer. He does it during air raids. Due to starvation and lack of medical care, Setsuko is ill and dies. A few weeks later, Seita follows his sister by having his last breath at Sannomiya Station.

Grave of the Fireflies is such a dark movie. It covers the various difficulties faced by the victims of war. Surprisingly, it does not involve much action. Do not miss it if you are into this kind of movie.

3. Your Name (2016)

Your Name is one of the most popular movies of all time. This one is about a teenager from Tokyo named Taki and a girl from a village named Mitsuha. One day, these two wake up in swapped bodies. Surprisingly, they always forget the whole day while swapping bodies, including their names. This strange thing continues throughout the movie and these two start to bond with a strange feeling as if they had met before.

Suddenly, Taki no longer switched bodies with Mitsuha. His life is back to normal. However, there is something in his heart, so he decides to meet Mitsuha. By using his optimism and the image he paints from his memory, he arrives in Itomory City to find Mitsuha.

When he arrives in Itomory City, Taki is shocked when he sees the city has been destroyed by a falling comet. All the people died, including Mitsuha. Fortunately, he refuses to give up and visits a secluded shrine on a mountain where he once put sake while swapping bodies with Mitsuha. He drinks the sake and switches bodies again with Mitsuha the day before the comet falls.

In Mitsuha’s body, Taki tries hard to evacuate Itomory City. Luckily, the entire population is saved and Taki returns to his body. Just like what happened before, he forgets all the things when switching bodies. Several years have passed and Taki is looking for work as an architect. He is still haunted by the feeling of longing for someone he has never met.

4. Princess Mononoke (1997)

The setting of Princess Mononoke is in Japan during the Muromachi period. The movie follows a woman named San who is raised by wolves and a prince named Ashitaka. Ashitaka is injured while trying to stop the cursed boar. As a result, his arm is hit by a curse that slowly kills him. On his journey in search of a cure, he comes to Tatara City where Lady Eboshi reigns. The lady wants to cut down the forest to expand her weapons business. However, the forest is full of mighty ancient gods. There is also San who wants to protect the forest and tries his best to block Lady Eboshi.

On the other hand, Tatara City becomes the source of income of its residents. As for the forest, it has become an important habitat for animals. For years, the lady wants to destroy the Shishigami Forest Spirit who becomes the king, but always fails. Meanwhile, San keeps fighting back by sneaking and attacking Tatara City. There is a terrible war between humans and animals protecting the forest. Ashitaka tries to mediate and to find the solution.

5. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)

Howl’s Moving Castle is the movie based on the same name by Diana Wynne Jones. It is set in a time and place in a war-torn kingdom where magic and machines work together. The story of the movie follows the adventures of a hatmaker named Sophie who turns into an old woman after meeting a witch. She begins to find the witch and lift the curse. Her journey takes her to Howl Castle.

There, Sophie meets a fire spirit named Calcifer. These two make a pack saying that if she could free him from his contract with Howl, he would lift her curse. During that time, Sophoe has to stay at Howl Castle. Sophie gets the chance to meet Howl and they fall in love after the meeting. She helps Howl to confront the terrors of his gripping past with her love and kindness.

6. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

My Neighbor Totoro tells about two girls, Satsuki and Mei. These girls, along with their father, move to a house located in the countryside to be closer to the hospital where their mother is hospitalized. In the new place, the girls discover that the nearby forest is inhabited by magical creatures called Totoros. They become best friends with these creatures and go on several magical adventures, including when Mei goes missing. Thanks to Totoro’s help, Mei is able to be found.

7. Perfect Blue (1997)

The anime movie called Perfect Blue raises sensitive themes about mental health and sexual violence. It tells the story of a girl named Mima who left the idol group called CHAM to pursue her dream as an actress. Her journey to become an actress is full of challenges. She appears as a rape victim and poses naked for magazines. Her reality starts to crumble when she is stalked by an obsessed fan while being haunted by reflections of her past.

8. A Silent Voice (2016)

The story of A Silent Voice revolves around an elementary school girl named Shoko Nishimiya who had a hearing loss. She transfers to a new school where she gets bullied by her classmates, especially by a boy named Shoya Ishida.

Due to the case, she gets transferred to another school. As for Shoya Ishida, he has a hard time as he is ostracized with no friends to talk to and no plans for the future. In the end, he bullies himself. Years later, he places himself on the path of redemption.

9. Whisper of the Heart (1995)

Whisper of the Heart tells a story of a teenage girl named Shizuku who lives a simple life. The girl spends most of her life with stories and writing. One day, she finds out that all the books that she borrowed from a library are also borrowed by a boy named Seiji Amasawa. She is curious and wants to know about the boy

Then, Shizuku meets a boy her age that she finds annoying. Surprisingly, the boy is Seiji Amasawa, the one that she is looking for. Over time, these two get closer and Shizuku finds out that the reason why Seiji wants to read the books that she has read is because he wants to find out about her.

Seiji tells Shizuku that he has a dream to become a violin maker in Italy. Upon hearing his dream, Shizuku realizes that she has no clear path in life. Knowing that she is good at writing, she tests her talent by writing a story about the Baron, a cat statue that belongs to Seiji’s grandfather.

10. Wolf Children (2012)

In the anime movie called Wolf Children, there is a young woman who attends a university while working part-time at the launderette. Her name is Hana. One day, she meets a young man who is not in college. After having a conversation with him, they started dating. One day, the man reveals that he can turn into a wolf. However, it does not make Hana scared and they still love each other. After a while, Hana becomes pregnant and gives birth to a daughter named Yuki and in a few years their second child, Ame, comes to the world.

One day, the man goes somewhere to look for food. Unfortunately, he does not come home and Hana starts to worry and looks for his loved one. She looks surprised when she finds out her man died in the form of a wolf.

Upon the death of the man, Hana continues her life with her two children who also can turn into wolves just like their father. To look after them, she moves to a remote village. She feels exhausted as she has to hide the true identity of her children. Nevertheless, she refuses to give up and keeps loving all her children with all of her heart.

11. A Whisker Away (2020)

A Whisker Away follows a story of a middle school girl named Miyo Sasaki who falls in love with her classmate named Kento Hinode. She tries everything to catch his attention, including turning herself into a cat. However, at some point, the line between her and the cat becomes ambiguous.

From A Whisker Away, you will be able to learn about the issue of depression and self-discovery. Not only that, the movie also teaches that it is okay to show sadness. In addition, the film also covers some other issues, including about first love, bullying, and solving family issues.

These are the 11 best anime movies of all time and synopsis. Which one do you think is the best?