Your top anime movies

[M.Steiner]

Thought it'd be fun to see what everyones favourite anime movies of all time are. Hopefully it'll give us some ideas for movies to check out which we haven't seen yet. - I know we have the recommendations thread but some of the posts in there will be outdated by now and so probably won't reflect what everyones current lists for movies may be.

Anyway post your top movies here folks (top 25, 10, 5.. whichever you prefer). I'm going with 25 since they're easier to narrow down, same for not listing them in order heh. Gives people more to pick from anyway as I'm sure a few of these are movies which most people have seen or plan on doing.
Feel free to bunch a few of them together if they're part of the same series too btw. I am lol.

In no particular order:
Grave of the Fireflies
Ghost in the Shell / Solid State Society
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
The End of Evangelion / Rebuilds
Castle in the Sky
Sword of the Stranger
Kara no Kyoukai
Howl's Moving Castle
Summer Wars
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
The Sky Crawlers
Perfect Blue
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
House of Small Cubes
Tokyo Godfathers
5 Centimeters Per Second
Princess Mononoke
King of Thorn
Eve no Jikan
Barefoot Gen
Metropolis
Millennium Actress
Whisper of the Heart
Redline

[Anubis]

1. Macross Frontier Itsuwari no Utahime
2. Akira
3. Initial D Third Stage
4. Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer
5. Mobile Suit Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz
6. GITS (original)
7. GITS: Solid State Society
8. Cowboy Bebop: Tengoku no Tobira

I think that is all the ones I have watched. Not really a huge fan of movies tbh

[Whizbang]

Hmmmm...favorite movies. Let's go top 10 since it's easier to just list 10. This isn't definitive as that would be impossible. But these cover what I consider Top 10 material.

Grave of the Fireflies
Princess Mononoke
Spirited Away
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
Patlabor: The Movie
Golgo 13: The Professional
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
Perfect Blue
My Neighbor Totoro
Ghost in the Shell

[M.Steiner]

There's 2 of your listed movies which I haven't seen yet, Mech. Patlabor & Golgo 13: The Professional. Do like the sound of the latter, will look into getting that to watch inbetween my shows

I think that is all the ones I have watched. Not really a huge fan of movies tbh

Doubt I'll end up seeing the Initial D movie if I'm honest. Redline was pretty great as a one off movie but I can't see myself getting through 2 stages of a series before the movie without it becoming repetitive as cars & racing aren't something I'm usually big on. I do plan on trying some Gundam at some point in the near future too so should I like that franchise I will inevitably see both movies at some point. Seen the others ^^

As for not being a huge fan mate. To be fair all but 1-2 movies (Akira & the original GITS) you've listed have some kind of series attached to them. Whether it be linked in as a sequel/prequel/retelling or just in the same universe. You've not really seen any standalone anime movies to judge upon really. Sure there's some shite out there, some are purely entertainment and aren't very deep or send a message but there are plenty others which are the complete opposite and are some of the best anime out there, imo. Jin-Roh is a good example. Some real gems and just as good as a decent show tbh. You just haven't seen em is all . And the same can be said for series.
Maybe you will change your mind once you've seen some more. I do think it'd be a good idea to drop a movie or 2 into your schedule when you finish a show, before you move onto the next but I think I've said that in the past hehe. The Ghibli movies for example. I know not everyone will view Miyazaki as the godfather of anime and I'm not saying that every single piece of his work is a masterpiece or anything but I'm sure most will consider movies of his like Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke & Nausicaa as anime classics which every anime fan should be expected to see.
I think you'll be surprised

[Kon]

Ghost in the Shell
Rurouni Kenshin: Trust & Betrayal
The End of Evangelion


Nothing else is really even in the same league as those three.

[Anubis]

As for not being a huge fan mate. To be fair all but 1-2 movies (Akira & the original GITS) you've listed have some kind of series attached to them. Whether it be linked in as a sequel/prequel/retelling or just in the same universe. You've not really seen any standalone anime movies to judge upon really. Sure there's some shite out there, some are purely entertainment and aren't very deep or send a message but there are plenty others which are the complete opposite and are some of the best anime out there, imo. Jin-Roh is a good example. Some real gems and just as good as a decent show tbh. You just haven't seen em is all . And the same can be said for series.
Maybe you will change your mind once you've seen some more. I do think it'd be a good idea to drop a movie or 2 into your schedule when you finish a show, before you move onto the next but I think I've said that in the past hehe. The Ghibli movies for example. I know not everyone will view Miyazaki as the godfather of anime and I'm not saying that every single piece of his work is a masterpiece or anything but I'm sure most will consider movies of his like Castle in the Sky, Princess Mononoke & Nausicaa as anime classics which every anime fan should be expected to see.
I think you'll be surprised

Don't get me wrong, when I say I'm not fond of movies I don't mean just anime movies. I've not a fan of movies as a medium in general.

The reason that those movies I've seen are generally attached to series is because I feel movies that are standalone are handicapped stories. The time constraints they are under simply leave them unable to develop the richness and depth of characters and plot that series can. Both 'real' movies and anime movies that I have seen confirm that, where so many corners have to be cut in a narrative sense because it's just not possible to do things properly in 120 or so minutes.

I choose to avoid movies because I think that, and am generally am proven right whenever I DO watch movies, I'd get more enjoyment out of spending 120 minutes watching a series than a movie. Because series are invariably deeper and invariably better as a result - able to pull you in deeper, and hook you into it more as a result.

Maybe it's just me that feels that way, but that's just how I am

[Fenavian]

My favourites:

1) Space Battleship Yamato the 2011 live action movie. (Yes I know it's not an anime but since it's based off the anime I wanted to include it.)
2) Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex: Solid State Society.
3) Ninja Scroll.
4) Origin: Spirits of the Past.
5) Jin-Roh.
6) Princess Mononoke.
7) Macross Plus.
8) Patlabor. (Both 1 & 2.)
9) Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust.
10) Macross: Do You Remember Love.
11) Afro Samurai: Resurrection.