Hanbun no Tsuki ga Noboru Sora

Well, actually this is a series but there are only 6 episodes. So totally (after substracting intros, outros and previews) it's not much longer than a movie.

It's a sad yet optimistic love story. Don't wanna tell much more than the genre to avoid spoilers...

Princess Mononoke or any other movie directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Miyazaki's movies usually don't have a big story to tell. Instead they focus all effort on the development of their lead characters. They're also famous for soundtrack and artistic value.

The Girl who leapt through time

Actually, I think this one's the best to get in touch with animes. As the title suggests it's about a girl who accidentally discovers a way to travel through time.

TrangOul said

The Girl who leapt through time

Actually, I think this one's the best to get in touch with animes. As the title suggests it's about a girl who accidentally discovers a way to travel through time.

Truly agree - I really enjoyed this movie.

Titles that I would recomennd:

Bakemonogatari

[12 eps, mystery&puzzle]

Fresh anime, about boy who just become human again, after being vampire. Now he's facing other mysteries cases and try to puzzle them (with help of specific homeless friend). Now it sounds schematic, but believe me - absolutely it's not. One of most non-schematic anime I've ever seen - story, music and especially visual style is really innovative.

Samurai Champloo

[26 eps, katana&hip-hop]

It doesnt matter if you like hip-hop or you dont. This is story about Japan in samurai's period mixed up with some of nowadays culture. Must-see.

Maybe later I'll add some other. I'd like to ask other people to do replies in this style so all recomendation were straight and clear to all reading this topic.

Ive only seen like ? anime/manga movies.

1.) Ninja Scroll - Original

2.) Princess Mononke

3.) Bearfoot Jin - sad sad movie

4.) Ghost in a Shell

5.) Akira

6.) Gundam Wing Endless Waltz

Ive seen a few DBZ movies but I wont count these as full fledged anime movies

The other 2 I cant remember. I remember one ending to one. Main guy was paid by a village to help kill off these soldiers another guy was also a hired killer but the story didn't really focus on him but they showed scenes of him killing people through out the movie, well they meet at the end and that one guy tells the main guy I can tell you have much blood on your hands. The main guy replied yes...you as well...let us be glad it is not our own and they went there separate ways.

The other all I can remember is this guy would i guess power up and call out something and all the Asian symbols would appear all around him.

These last two were pretty old

I might edit this alot my memories are starting to come back

Akira...

It's kind of a standard, though the animation is beautiful, I've never cared much for the story.

Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door.

The series also kicks ass.

Anything Hayao Miyazaki, like Trang said.

Grave of The Fireflies.

WWII orphans, realistic and serious, but extremely good.

Ninja Scroll.

That animation's great, but don't expect a serious story. It is also a massive influence on other anime, like Naruto, which sometimes blatantly steals from it.

Ghost in the Shell.

The Blackjack movie was pretty good.

A Detective Conan (Case Closed) movie. They're all pretty good.

-_- Crap. I only know series...

Princess Mononoke is a great film, and Spirited Away is similar in theme if not in tone or pace.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence is not really a sequel- it works on its own and is, I think, easier to watch than the original GitS. If you like it, I would highly recommend you look into the TV series, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.

I'd also recommend Jin-Roh, though it has more weight if you know (the gist of) the political unrest from Japan's left-wing in the 60s and how those issues were 'resolved.' Grave of the Fireflies, as mentioned, is a really well done and incredibly sad movie.

Millenium Actress made some tears well up, but that's more 'emotional' than 'depressing.' The same director made Perfect Blue, a seminal psychological thriller.

Vampire Hunter D is a classic, they used to run it a lot on Sci-Fi along with the Fatal Fury movie(s). If you're going to watch just one 'retro' anime movie though, it should be AKIRA.

I can't remember many other movies that stand out to me right now. For series, I would recommend Cowboy Bebop (or Samurai Champloo), serial experiments: lain, and FLCL.

I definitely recommend watching FLCL at some point (only 6 episodes!) but it probably isn't a great place to start. NieA_7 is another great show that may not be super accessible at first and lain is a cyberpunk mind-fuck.

Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming. I've seen Spirited Away, Akira, and Grave of the Fireflies. I thought Spirited Away was awesome. Akira was wild.. but to be honest I didn't really "get it". I might have to watch it again (sober). I didn't like Grave of the Fireflies that much. I found it hard to connect with the characters. All I could think about was how much of an ungrateful brat the little girl was, and how much of a dumbass her brother was.

Samurai X OVA 1-6

There's something special about watching an entire person's life unfold from beginning to end. I teared up.

Jin-Roh

The human aspect in this movie is so overwhelming it's terrifying. I felt drained and empty after it was over.

Ninja Scroll

Old School.

If your into some furry action, Stormy Night (Arashi no Yoru ni), is a perfect choice ;D.

You need to watch:

*Saint Seiya: The Legend of Crimson Youth

*Saint Seiya Heaven Chapter: Overture (Tenkai Hen Overture)

*You Are Under Arrest The Motion Picture

*The 3 Fatal Fury Movies

*AKIRA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Centimeters_Per_Second

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one yet. If you plan on watching this, make sure you get a HD file, or you'll be missing out on Makoto Shinkai's amazing animating.

Love the piano pieces in it too ^^

I feel utterly silly for forgetting a movie I loved enough to make an arrangement of the main theme. <<;

Maikoi92 said

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5_Centimeters_Per_Second

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one yet. If you plan on watching this, make sure you get a HD file, or you'll be missing out on Makoto Shinkai's amazing animating.

Love the piano pieces in it too ^^

I'm more suprised no one has mentioned this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUUPIkib5I0

Epic movie. One of the most memorable anime movies.

You should rent the DVD and watch it in a bigh HD screen with a home theather.

VizardAnshin said

SalemJeanette said

I'm more suprised no one has mentioned this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUUPIkib5I0 (SF2: The Animated Movie) Epic movie. One of the most memorable anime movies.

You know, I was embarrassed to admit that I liked this movie. But now that it's out there, I will say that this movie was pretty bad-ass as a 13-year old taping to VHS from Starz! or whatever channel ran it.

The fact that Sony did the US release makes the music a factor- Ken races down the highway listening to Alice in Chains. Vega (claw) fights Chun-Li to KMFDM. It's so 90s it's absurd.