10 best anime movies you can watch on Netflix

Netflix has a wide range of heart-warming dramas, emotional romances, thrilling action films, and so much more – so here are the 10 best anime movies you can stream right now.

Anime’s global popularity is only increasing every year, with countless new series and movies being added to online streaming services. They play a significant role in helping people discover something new to watch.

Beginners who may not want to commit so much time to a series would often find themselves browsing through anime movies instead. Netflix has commissioned a number of anime projects, both serialized and film-based and has acquired the rights to a number of other features.

Unlike the countless number of series being released every year, we only get a handful of movies. Hence, good anime movies are often more difficult to come by. Luckily, Netflix’s collection provides an accessible entry point to help you find new and classic anime movies.

10. Flavors of Youth

Flavors of Youth is a heartwarming anthology anime movie about the simple pleasures and loves of young people in China, following three entirely different scenarios and characters: The Rice Noodles, A Little Fashion Show, and Love in Shanghai. The movie makes you nostalgic about your childhood and highlights the challenges of growing up.

9. Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop

Centering around two insecure and nervous teenagers, this anime movie is an adorable love story centering around Cherry and Smile. Cherry expresses himself by posting haiku on the internet, while Smile is a budding influencer who always wears a mask. After their accidental encounter, the duo finds themselves on a hunt to help an old man find the rare record he wants to listen to once more before he dies. 

8. Bubble

Tetsuro Araki, also the director of Attack on Titan, creates this fascinating film set in Tokyo. The city is attacked by bubbles and is now destroyed and isolated from the rest of the world. With both gravity and the city broken terribly, Tokyo transforms into a parkour battlefield. The story follows two young people who unexpectedly meet during a reckless jump. However, their meeting is more fortuitous than they realize.

7. A Whisker Away

This anime movie is a love story about two teenagers struggling with family issues. Unable to accept her father’s second marriage, Miyo Sasaki tries to get the attention of her crush, Kento Hinode, after transforming into a cat using a magical mask from a mysterious salesman. However, Miyo realizes her mistake too late and races against time to regain her human form.

6. When Marnie Was There

When Marnie was There follows supernatural themes amid beautiful animation. The Studio Ghibli movie follows Anna Sasaki, who stays with her relatives in a town in the Kushiro wetlands in Hokkaido. When Anna stumbles onto an abandoned home nearby, she encounters Marnie, an enigmatic girl. Marie begs her to swear to keep their secrets a secret from everyone. As Anna spends more time with Marnie during the summer, she discovers the truth about her family and foster care.

5. The Wind Rises

The Wind Rises, also from Studio Ghibli, is a fictionalized biographical film that follows the story of Jiro Horikoshi. He dreamt of flying, but he chose to be a Japanese airplane designer. He was the designer of the Mitsubishi A5M fighter aircraft and its successor, the Mitsubishi A6M Zero. It was used by Japan during World War II. The movie is an adaptation of Miyazaki’s manga of the same name.

4. Only Yesterday

Only Yesterday is one of the most underrated Studio Ghibli movies. Although released in 1991, the movie didn’t get a US release date until 2016. The story follows Taeko Okajima, a 27-year-old city dweller, as she journeys to the countryside by train and reflects on her childhood. It explores themes such as work, finding love, and the sense of nostalgia that comes with getting older.

3. Whisper of the Heart

Whisper of the Heart is an enchanting tale about two teenagers. Shizuku enjoys reading fiction enough to neglect her studies. She notices a boy named Seiji always issuing the same books as her and becomes curious to find his identity. She sees a strange cat on a train, decides to follow it, and discovers an intriguing antique store. Shizuku also meets Seiji and befriends him. Seiji’s passion for violin-making inspires Shizuku to follow her dreams.

2. Howl’s Moving Castle

Howl’s Moving Castle is a magical romance movie exploring themes of war. The protagonist is an average young woman named Sophie Hatter, who the Witch of the Waste curses after meeting with Howl. As a result of the curse, Sophie finds herself looking like a 90-year-old woman. Stuck in a feud between a witch and a wizard, all Sophie can do is leave home without getting discovered by her mother.

1. Spirited Away

Spirited Away is a Studio Ghibli classic that was released in 2001 and stands among one of the greatest anime ever. The story is about Chihiro, whose parents are turned into pigs, and she then wanders into the world of Yokai to find a way to save them. However, the world is scarier than she realizes since it’s ruled by a witch who turned those who disobey her into animals.