The beginning of the movie starts out like a typical love story where two young adults meet in a college classroom. They spend time together and eventually become attracted to each other, when things begin to move rapidly. Hana, the young woman, discovers her new lover is actually a shapeshifting wolf and from then on things progress rapidly. Hana discovers she is pregnant and quits school in order to raise her child while her lover works ever harder to support her. Yuki is born and Hana quickly becomes pregnant again. When her second child Ame is born, her lover goes out on the hunt to feed his ever growing family, but never returns. Hana quickly finds out that he will never return and resolves herself to raise her two unique children who have inherited their father’s strange power without being discovered. Wolf Children is a story about personal growth and how the decisions we make lead us to where we are and to who we become. Even with its fantasy elements, this movie speaks to the soul and forcing viewers to ask questions about who they really are and are they happy with the decisions they have made to get there. Both Yuki and Ame must dig deep to discover their paths just as their mother decided to set her own needs aside for those of her children. Motherhood is one of the central elements of the movie, showing just how hard young mothers try to give everything to their children to the best of their abilities. Wolf Children is heartwarming and will leave viewers not only questioning themselves, but thanking their mothers for getting them to where they are today.

Based on the manga of the same name, Beserk is not for the faint of heart. This action packed movie contains blood, gore, sexual violence, and plenty more, but beyond this lies an excellent story about revenge and betrayal. Set in a medieval fantasy world, the story revolves around Guts, a mercenary for hire accompanied by his large sword. When he encounters Griffith, the leader of a band of mercenaries, on his travels he is defeated in combat and forced to join their ranks. Befriending Griffith over time, Guts becomes his right hand man as they gain more glory from their victories and are eagerly sought after. For those who love a good action anime, this anime is for you. For those who love drama, this anime is for you. For those who love fantasy, this anime is for you. This movie is amazing and has powerful storytelling. The characters each have their own grim backstories and there are elements of mystery tying them together. While this is a fantasy movie, the writers don’t try to hide the grisly details of survival in such a world even going so far as to address feminine hygiene at one point. While there is only one movie named here, there are currently three out and more being made in order to continue the story. If you like Game of Thrones, you will love this.

Taking place somewhere between Fishman Island and Punk Hazard, Film Z further explores the idea of justice taken too far in an era where Akainu has control over the Marine forces. Centering on the mysterious “Z” character, the Strawhat crew are caught off guard when they end up rescuing him at sea. Z believes pirates are an absolute evil and is willing to destroy the entire New World, including innocents, in order to rid the seas of them. While the Strawhats are able to survive, they are left with a young Nami, Chopper, and Robin (also Brook). Luffy, determined to get his crewmates back to normal and settle the score, sets out in search of “Z’ and discovers his true identity, the ex-Admiral Zephyr. While this movie does require some familiarity with One Piece, it’s still a fun adventure that is one of the few incredibly well written and animated movies based around a major shounen franchise. The plot is believable within the canon timeline and even eludes to current events in the manga giving the story more believability and weight. Luffy is also surprisingly emotional during the majority of the film and viewers are able to see his internal struggles as he often questions if he is strong enough to protect those he cares about. On top of a fantastic story, the animation sequences put the anime series to shame. Fight sequences are composed of beautifully blended animation and CG, leaving viewers with the jaws agape.

A psychological thriller, Perfect Blue will leaver viewers scratching their heads and wondering what they just watched. The movie revolves around Mami, the lead in an Akihabara idol group, who wishes to become an actress. Her fans disagree with her move and she is opening ostracized and ripped apart. One fan takes things too far when she lands a role on a TV crime drama. Writers and directors go missing and weird letters are left around for her to find. Mami is frightening and begins to question even her own surroundings wondering if she really is who she things she is. Perfect Blue perfectly displays Japan’s idol culture where fans rule these young women’s personal lives lest their popularity decline. The film touches on very real issues that idols have faced in the past and does not shy away from the harassment received by these idols for even dating. The character Mami is persistent in her dreams and is undeterred by the warnings of her managers, but quickly begins to fall apart once the pressure of succeeding is forced upon her. The movie does a great job jerking viewers around and always keeping them on their toes.

Two young girls named Mei and Satsuki move to the countryside with their father, leaving their mother behind in a hospital to recover from a long-term illness. While they wait for their mother’s recovery, the girls explore the local forest and befriend a local deity who Mei deems to be “Totoro” or troll in Japanese. Together, they play and go on adventures in the forest until one day Mei becomes lost. Satsuki sets on in search of her younger sister with the help of Totoro and all is set right. My Neighbor Totoro is a classic in its own right and is a must see for anime lovers across the world. Miyazaki captures the magic and wonder of Japanese folklore and beautifully ties it to the modern world in a heartwarming tale about childhood and growing up. The music provided by resident Ghibli composer Joe Hisaishi is whimsical and lovely, while the amazing hand drawn animation captures every detail. There is a reason that Totoro is more popular than Mickey Mouse in Japan.

In a world where online activity is require for everyday interactions, Kenji has a promising future as an admin and is quite gifted with mathematics and programming. When he runs into a classmate Natsuki, she invites him to her grandmother’s birthday party where Kenji is introduced as her fiancé. With both parties surprised, Kenji leaves and meets Natsuki’s uncle who happens to be a computer genius. Little does he know how much trouble this uncle will cause? Kenji receives a mysterious email with a mathematical equation that he is determined to solve, but once he does a mysterious computer virus hacks his online account and begins to hijack other accounts causing chaos in both the virtual and real worlds. While technology can be useful to solve everyday problems, perhaps mankind may rely too heavily on machines that anybody with bad intentions can easily overturn and wreak havoc. Summer Wars seems to encourage a healthy balance between the two and shows what gets lost when control of our creations is taken away. There are boundaries that are never meant to be crossed and many times humans forget this in their pursuit of knowledge. Natsuki eats from the forbidden fruit and must rectify his error lest more is taken away from him. Action-packed and an all-out fun film, Summer Wars won’t disappoint.

Makoto Konno mysterious gains the power to leap through time after she comes across a strange walnut shaped object inside her classroom. After narrowly escaping death, she decides to continue using her power for small things, such as passing exams and arriving on time places, but things take a turn when her best friend Chiaki confesses his love for her. She jumps back in time to avoid him and begins to understand that her actions have consequences. After discovering she has a limited amount of jumps left, Makoto sets out to set things right and reverse all the damage she cause with her previous jumps. An answer to everyone’s favorite fantasy of reversing time to avoid undesirable situations, this movie is based on a novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui. When a person can change their decisions at will, morals are blurred since the user can easily change outcomes. Makoto realizes that the thrills she gained from fixing mundane habits in her life quickly wore off so she began upping the stakes. Time travel became a drug and power quickly rose to her head until she realized she was only given limited power and her new world that she created was not one she wanted to live in. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time is an adventure and drama filled ride giving viewers a taste of something they will never have.

Researchers discover a path to helping patients through their dreams, but little do they know how far down the rabbit hole goes. One of the research doctors, Atsuko Chiba, takes on an avatar she names “Paprika” and begins to treat patients outside the facility she works for and against regulations. Paprika begins treating a detective by the name of Toshimi Konokawa who has an incomplete dream giving him a bad case of anxiety. He is given information for the physical offices where the dream machines are stored and told to come in secret, since Atsuko does not want her secret getting out. Soon the machines are stolen and it is revealed that they do not have restrictions on who a person can access, leaving everyone as fair game. Paprika was directed by the amazing Satoshi Kon who also directed Perfect Blue and was taken from us too soon in 2010. The movie has similar elements to the live-action film Inception who many loyal fans claim to have stolen Paprika’s plot. As in most of Kon’s work, the movie can be slightly hard to follow and might require several viewings before all of its secrets are revealed, but it’s a fun ride attempting to catch all of the tiny details Kon has packed into this movie. The art and color palette are spectacular as well as the animation. Viewers who are looking for something different, look no further than Paprika.

When a simple bamboo cutter discovers a magical glowing bamboo stalk in the bamboo forest, he finds a tiny young baby girl inside its bloom and brings her home with him. He and his wife quickly realize that she is no ordinary child as she grows at an astonishing rate and attracts the attention of the local children she befriends. The bamboo cutter returns to the forest and begins to find gold and silk cloth in the bamboo he cuts. Taking this as a sign of what his adoptive daughter must become, he sets out to the capital in order to establish a residence and a name for her. He returns to their village and brings the young girl back to the new palace he had built where she further draws the affections of five of the highest ranking men in the country. Unsatisfied with all of them, she sets them to do impossible tasks in order to remain free. Nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the Academy Awards, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is loosely based on one of the oldest Japanese folktales in existence called, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. The movie is gorgeously animated in the style of traditional Japanese brush strokes and is a feast for the eyes. In addition to its visuals, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya has an amazing story that touches on the treatment of women during feudal Japan. Kaguya is often complimented and valued because of her looks, which men often wish to own as a form of accomplishment. Kaguya quickly realizes this and therefore realizes that the only way to remain free is to escape a life amongst the nobles. The movie is heartbreaking and will leave an audience in tears.

During World War II, many Japanese families were displaced and innocent children were often left to fend for themselves. Sirens were commonplace and fear was rampant. Seita and his younger sister Setsuko found themselves caught in a firebombing and while they survived, their mother was not so lucky. With their father away on a war ship, they are shipped off to their aunt’s house who is upset she has to share rations with her nephew and niece. Seita becomes fed up with his aunt’s behavior and decides him and Setsuko and fend for themselves inside one of the many bomb shelters. He is sorely wrong and both begin to starve. Seita tries everything in his power to find food and survive with the hope that one day their father will return from war. Probably one of the most depressing movies of all time and a rare movie that requires a chaser film afterwards, there isn’t even an ounce of happiness in this film. The subject of the movie isn’t meant to be light-hearted though and the writers wrote the story with extreme care making sure not to sugar-coat the suffering of the innocent Japanese citizens during the fire bombings of World War II. Grave of the Fireflies is powerful and is often heralded as one of the greatest war films ever made, just make sure tissues are available upon viewing this film.