Anime movies are short (usually around 2 hours long) unlike the anime series which may stretch for many episodes.
These are the anime movies I highly recommend:
Akira
It was directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. It involves two orphans who are in a biker gang in Neo-Tokyo and their involvement with some children who have psychic powers. Issues about whether to use one’s special powers for good or evil are introduced. It is a good movie to do a comparison with the anime from Studio Ghibli.
Black Jack
“Black Jack” is about a doctor called Black Jack who goes about saving people and has a kid who mothers him. The idea of super humans is introduced as achievable. However, the super humans die horrible deaths and Black Jack is coerced to be involved to race to find the cure for them. In the end, one feels sympathetic for the bad person who dies as she only wants to give ordinary people a chance to excel and be happy, something that she never had.
Blue Submarine Number 6
“Blue Submarine number 6” is a story about a mad scientist who wants to flood the world & allow the sea creatures (some of them are his offspring) a chance to live against the humans. It is a battle between those who live on the land and those who live in the sea. It is made very real by all those dialogue about running a submarine in the movie. However, the characters are not as well developed as some anime that I had watched before.
Ghost in the Shell
This movie’s special effects and deep storyline makes it unusual. One has to think about what the story is trying to portray and explore the psychology of the main character “Motoko Kusanagi”. Her soul is the “ghost” in the shell of her machine body. It is the only real part of her.
Metropolis
This anime is based on the manga comic by Osamu Tezuka. Osamu Tezuka is called the “God of Comics” as he pioneered the modern Japanese story comic form. The screenplay is by Katsuhiro Otomo who also did “Akira”. It is directed by Rintaro. It explores a world where robots and humans co-exist. The survival of the world depends on their interactions, their ability to understand each other and to live together. This movie can be contrasted with the movie “Animatrix”. “Animatrix” tells the story of how robots and humans could not live together in the world as the humans sought to dominate the world. Therefore the robots fought back, fighting for their very survival resulting in the matix.
Vampire Hunter D
The “Vampire Hunter D” is a different ball game altogether. It’s artwork is great although the story is a little on the dark side. It is about a vampire hunter called “D” who is a half vampire, half human. He is paid to hunt down a vampire who kidnapped a young beautiful woman. He risks his life to rescue the lady. The twist is that the lady and the vampire are in love. They want to escape to a place where they will be free to live together.
Reflections of Seto 