10 Best Anime Movies of the 2010s and 2020s

By Vlad Zakh · November 10, 2025

Anime movies stopped being a niche import sometime in the last decade, and Demon Slayer: Mugen Train briefly became the highest-grossing film in Japanese history. This list covers the run that got it there. In Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021): A prequel following a cursed teenager, tighter and more focused than most franchise tie-ins. Just as strong is In This Corner of the World (2016): A quiet domestic drama set in Hiroshima right up to the day the bomb fell.

Ride Your Wave (2019)

TMDB ★ 7.3

A surfer's drowned boyfriend keeps appearing in any body of water she sings near.

Directed by Masaaki Yuasa · 1h 35m

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent: Google Play Movies, YouTube · Buy: Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

TMDB ★ 7.5

Three vignettes about a childhood connection slowly drifting out of reach.

Directed by Makoto Shinkai · 1h 03m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Belle (2021)

TMDB ★ 7.4

A shy teenager becomes a virtual pop star, and the story goes stranger than the premise implies.

Directed by Mamoru Hosoda · 2h 01m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel, Philo, HBO Max · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)

TMDB ★ 7.8

A wheelchair-using woman and the student who starts caring for her, tender without being precious.

Directed by Kotaro Tamura · 1h 38m

Where to watch

Stream: Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Garden of Words (2013)

TMDB ★ 7.7

A rain-soaked, almost wordless romance between a shoemaking student and an older woman.

Directed by Makoto Shinkai · 0h 46m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: HiDive

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)

TMDB ★ 7.8

An ageless woman raises a human child, and the years pass unevenly for each of them.

Directed by Mari Okada · 1h 55m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Shout! Factory Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Suzume (2022)

TMDB ★ 7.8

A door-closing quest across Japan that turns into a real reckoning with disaster and loss.

Directed by Makoto Shinkai · 2h 02m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021)

TMDB ★ 8.0

A prequel following a cursed teenager, tighter and more focused than most franchise tie-ins.

Directed by Sunghoo Park · 1h 45m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Netflix Standard with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

In This Corner of the World (2016)

TMDB ★ 7.9

A quiet domestic drama set in Hiroshima right up to the day the bomb fell.

Directed by Sunao Katabuchi · 2h 10m · Rated PG-13

Where to watch

Stream: Amazon Prime Video, Crunchyroll, Crunchyroll Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020)

TMDB ★ 8.2

A single train-set arc expanded into a feature, and it still escalates constantly.

Directed by Haruo Sotozaki · 1h 57m · Rated R

Where to watch

Stream: Crunchyroll Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix, built to fix a specific annoyance: most recommendation sites are just algorithm-driven noise. Our lists are researched and organized by who's in a film, where it's from, and the mood you're actually in tonight.

10 Best Anime Movies of the 2010s and 2020s

Ride Your Wave (2019)

5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

Belle (2021)

Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (2020)

The Garden of Words (2013)

Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)

Suzume (2022)

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 (2021)

In This Corner of the World (2016)

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020)

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