12 Best Anime Movies on Netflix You Need to Watch

Best Anime Movies on Netflix.

Netflix is the largest and most paid streaming service in the world and one of the best ways to enjoy watching anime legally. There are a variety of anime movies that are popular among both Japanese and foreigners. In Japan, the word “anime” is simply Japanese for animation, no matter its origin.

But outside of Japan, the word is associated specifically with animation produced in Japan or by Japanese creators. With Netflix now becoming a powerhouse in the anime industry, things get even more complicated, as they have shows made by Western creators like Castlevania also available on Netflix UK and Seis Manosbut but are marketing them as anime.

For this particular list, we’ve decided to go for the best anime movies on Netflix, choosing from the movies listed within their own anime category, no matter their origin.

• 5 Centimeters Per Second
• A Whisker Away
• Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
• Spirited Away
• Godzilla: The Earth Eater
• Flavours of Youth
• The Summit of Gods
• My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
• The End of Evangelion
• Mirai
• Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack 
• A Silent Voice 

There is something in this list for everyone, from youngsters being introduced to the anime world, anime movies aimed at a young adult audience, complex or franchise titles not recommended for newbies, to critically acclaimed classics for all audiences.

Whether you’re a long-time fan or just looking to get into the medium, there is something for everyone. Before heading to the main post, I recommend you equally check out our post on 10 great anime series on Netflix.  

5 Centimeters Per Second

The film is graphically resplendent and one of the most-watched anime. The animation is fluid and beautifully coloured. The images are beautiful and their quality is a real treat. In all this beauty we find two inseparable childhood friends, Takaki Tôno and Akari Shinohara.

Unfortunately, Akari’s parents have been transferred and the two friends have to face their reality. From then on, there was no more contact between them. Months later Akari tries to reconnect and writes a letter to Takaki but despite the feelings that exist between them, the separation is felt.

When Takaki learns that his family is moving to Kagoshima, he decides to go see Akari, as the move will further distance them. He will prepare a letter for Akari, revealing his true feelings. However, during the trip, he will lose it, and a violent snowstorm will delay his trip for several hours. The two lovers will eventually meet and have a long discussion. Will their love be able to conquer the distance separating them?

Watch 5 Centimeters Per Second on Netflix

A Whisker Away

Looking for anime movies on Netflix with a rather funny storyline?? A Whisker Away is for you. Miyo Sasaki is in love with her classmate Kento Hinode. She tries desperately to let him know but despite her efforts, she can’t.

One day, Miyo obtains a mask with strange powers. The mask allows anyone wearing it to transform into a cat. Miyo sees in this mask an opportunity to get closer to her lover easily. Being transformed into a cat, Kento effectively gives her the attention she has always sought without knowing what her true identity is. She enjoys it but does not know that this mask can also have its drawbacks.

Watch A Whisker Away on Netflix

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

It is one of the best anime movies of all time and recommend anime to watch

Everything takes place in 2071, in the crater of Alba City on Mars by the explosion of a tanker truck by terrorists. The government suspects a bioterrorist attack and puts many people under medical surveillance. But although people are sick, no trace of the virus is found. A huge reward is therefore promised for the capture of the evildoers.

The Bebop’s bounty-hunting team takes the opportunity to bail out their finances. They identify the author of the attack: Vincent Volaju, a former soldier. The section members had been the subject of a scientific experiment involving nanorobots. Vincent was the only survivor, thanks to the anti-nanobots present in his blood. His memory had been erased as a result of this experience, and he was considered dead.

He launches a massive attack on Halloween day, by blowing up giant pumpkins filled with nanobots. Having guessed his intentions, the Bebop team embarks on the adventure to stop him and unravel the mystery behind this virus. Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is one of the best anime movies on Netflix that you should absolutely watch.

Spirited Away

Our little Chihiro Ogino’s family has decided to move and Chihiro is annoyed because she doesn’t want to leave her house or even abandon her school. While trying to reach their new home, they get lost at the end of a winding road and arrive in front of a tunnel.

Going through the tunnel they see what they think is an abandoned theme park. The parents investigate and find a deserted stall piled with food. They start eating but Chihiro has a bad feeling about it and refuses the food. 

Chihiro explores the park and meets a boy, Haku, who tells her to leave before nightfall. She runs back to her parents and finds they have become pigs and as the night falls she is gradually becoming transparent. Haku forces her to eat some food from the spirit world to prevent her from completely disappearing.

She’s trapped in this world, she will have to survive in it and find a solution to get out. This is one of the greatest all-time anime movies on Netflix and we highly recommend you watch it. It’s one of the best anime movies of all time and on Crunchyroll

Related: Spirited Away Anime Locations in Japan

Godzilla: The Planet Eater

It is the 34th film in the Godzilla series and acts as the sequel to 2018’s Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle, and also as the final instalment in the animated Godzilla trilogy. In this last film, humanity’s last survivors return to Earth to find that millennia have passed on Earth.

After two failed attempts to defeat Godzilla, the survivors’ numbers are gradually decreasing, and in-fighting has begun between humanity and its alien allies. But little do they know that their final challenge is approaching: a monster that not even Godzilla can defeat is coming to eat the world whole. 

Watch Godzilla: The Planet Eater on Netflix

Flavours of Youth

Flavours of Youth is among the anime movies on Netflix with particular scripts. Indeed the anime tells three different tales in urban China but in different cities.

i) The Rice Noodles

Centred on a young employee working in Beijing, called Xiao Ming. He reminisces about his memories with his grandmother through his love for San Xian noodles.

ii) A Little Fashion Show

Shows orphan sisters living in Canton; the eldest earns her living as a model to enable her sister to study. 

iii) Love in Shanghai

Li Mo has a friendly relationship with Xiao Yu. After Xiao Yu got injured trying to go back home, Li Mo carried her on his back to her apartment. Since Xiao Yu could not go to school due to her injury, she asked Li Mo to record the lessons on cassette tapes so she could listen to the tapes and learn what she missed. Xiao Yu later responds back to Li Mo via cassette tapes and the two develop a romantic relationship with each other.

Watch Flavors of Youth on Netflix

The Summit of the Gods

Makato Fukamachi, a Japanese photojournalist, accompanies mountain climbers to take pictures. He complains about the lack of determination in the climbers affecting the quality of his pictures. Someone approaches him and offers him the camera of George Mallory, a mountain climber who attempted to scale to the summit of Mount Everest in 1924, well before the first recorded success in 1953.

Since he died on the mountain, nobody knows whether he was successful or not. However, it was impossible to say whether he succeeded, unless someone could get their hands on his camera. Thinking of it as a joke, Fukamachi shrugs him off.

He later encounters a mysterious mountain climber named Habu Joji, in whose hands he thinks he sees Mallory’s camera, which might reveal if Mallory and his companion really were the first to climb Everest to find more information on Habu as he revisits his past and the people involved in his life.

Gradually he becomes more involved with Habu, to the extent that he ultimately finds himself joining him on Everest to record Habu’s own attempt to reach the peak. Where will all this lead him?

Watch The Summit of the Gods on Netflix

My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising

An unmissable story is full of passion!! In this movie, Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, Ochaco Uraraka, Shoto Todoroki and all the other members of Class 1-A will appear! That is something to delight fans of one of the top My Hero Academia movies.

Even though All Might was admired by many around the world, it was with a heavy heart that he had to give up his hero role as a symbol of peace. Because of this, a dark force that was moving behind the scenes, a villain named Nine, makes his appearance and is considered the greatest villain to date.

MHA Heroes Rising is one of the top anime movies on Netflix to watch. It showcases the quirks and strengths of each of the students of Class 1-A. All the 20 students get their time to shine rather than just the main trio getting screen time.

Related: 15 Epic Quotes for My Hero Academia Series

The End of Evangelion

The End of Evangelion is the concluding film to the Neon Genesis Evangelion series, of which it offers an alternative ending, the last two episodes of the anime have been very controversial. The film takes place right after the events of Episode 24 and is split into two parts (Episode 25′: Love is Destructive and Episode 26′: ONE MORE FINAL: I Need You) featuring a version of Episodes 25 and 26 of Neon Genesis Evangelion, final episodes of the series that have generated many reactions of dissatisfaction among fans. 

The film is thus chaptered into two parts: the first is centred on the Nerv, the man, and the angels; and the second part, is centred on Shinji Ikari and the complementarity plan.

Mirai

Kun, a young boy, lives a happy and fulfilling life until the birth of Mirai, his little sister. Kun feels left out as all the parent’s love and attention is now on Mirai. At the bottom of his garden, where he often takes refuge, is a magic tree.

Kun is propelled into a fantasy world where the past and future will mingle. In this fantastic world, he meets the different members of his family at different ages of their lives: his mother as a little girl, his great-grandfather in his youth and his teenage little sister.

Kun embarks on an initiatory journey that will lead him to marry the figure of the big brother he must become. This film teaches all children who find themselves in the same situation as Kun, important lessons about family and love.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Char’s Counterattack

UC 0093, Neo Zeon led by the red comet of Zeon “Char Aznable himself, returns with a new army mounted under the nose and beard of the Federation. Meanwhile, the AEUG is disbanded, it is replaced by Londo Bell, whose goal is similar to the Titans: prevent any attack from Neo Zeon. Veteran Bright Noah was put in charge, and they also recruited other veterans, such as Amuro Ray.

Char attempts to take possession of the asteroid Luna 5 during the Battle of Gryps. Mission successful, he managed to have it launched on Lhassa, in Tibet, where the new headquarters of the Federation was. Adenauer Paraya, a politician sent by the Federation, is on a mission to secretly negotiate with Char Aznable so that there is no more conflict. The negotiation turns to Char’s advantage, who buys back the asteroid Axis with a very large sum of gold.

His plan, project Axis to Earth to wipe out all life on it and accelerate humanity’s evolution into NewTypes. Bright Noah, Amuro Ray, and all the members of Londo Bell will then have to do everything to prevent this catastrophe.

A Silent Voice

Being one of the best anime that deals with depression, Silent Voice is equally one the best anime movies of all time and also centres around romance

Shoko Nishimiya has been deaf since birth and has a hearing aid. Despite this, she does everything she can to understand what is happening around her. Frightened by this handicap, her father ended up abandoning her, leaving her mother to raise her alone.

When Shoko is transferred to a new school, she tries to overcome her difficulties but, despite her efforts to integrate into her new environment, nothing helps persecution multiply. Intrigued, fascinated, and then finally exasperated by this young girl who does not know how to communicate with her voice, Shoya, the leader of his class, decides to devote all his energy to making her life impossible.

Psychological and then physical, the aggression of the young boy became more and more violent until the day when too much bullying provoked a complaint from Shoko’s family, as well as the school’s director’s intervention. At this moment, everything changes for Shoya: his comrades, who until then had not missed an opportunity to torment the young girl either, will turn against him and designate him as the sole responsible.

Here comes the end of the top anime movies on Netflix we recommend to you. However, you equally check out these great anime series still on Netflix