I. Tokyo Godfathers ~ My favourite movie period, and the last movie I saw in Theatres before COVID strike actually. Essentially perfect, love it.
II. Dragon Ball Battle of Gods ~ Perfectly mixes nostalgia with new. Manages to exist as a love-letter to the series while also propelling it forward in a new direction.
III. Millennium Actress ~ The beginning's kind of bumpy and the plot get's pretty repetitive in the second act but the it all comes together so beautifully that it makes up for it. The last several
minutes of the film are among the best of anything I've seen, on the verge of tears for most of it.
IV. Neon Genesis Evangelion: End of Evangelion ~ The most surreal experience I had while watching anime, and outside of that one of the more interesting movies to analyze and decipher.
V. Tsumiki no Ie ~ A 12-minute short film told with only visuals and music. One of the most emotional pieces of media I've seen.
VI. A Silent Voice ~ Has issues namely with it's supporting cast, but the emotional core of the story speaks to me strongly.
VII. Perfect Blue ~ One of the best twists I've seen and I don't think anything's every messed with my mind quite as well.
VIII. One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island ~ Hosoda's art-style & surprisingly dark take makes this the most distinct & memorable One Piece film.
IX. The Garden of Sinners Chapter 5: Paradox Paradigm ~ Takes the franchises anachronistic release structure as the plot structure and it's awesome. Because it's not told chronologically, you can actually pick up minor details in brief scenes that reveal major plot twists well in advance, and it's so satisfying. Besides that, the new main character introduced in the movie had a great character arc.
X. Weathering With You ~ Gorgeous film, the most thematically interesting of Shinkai's film, and the supporting cast (namely Kei) are really well-done.
Honorable mentions go to Dragon Ball Super Broly, Ghost in the Shell, Paprika, Sword of the Stranger, & Castle in the Sky. Shout-out to Mushishi Drop of Bells, which I like more than a few of these but never consider it a movie since it's essentially just a really long episode of the series.
