The enormous video streaming service, Netflix, is one of the best places to watch anime. There are numerous TV anime series and anime films that are popular with both Japanese and foreign audiences. However, you may be wondering which anime to watch on Netflix. Well, you’ve come to the right place!
Here are 16 of the best Netflix anime movies. These are the best one-shot anime films, so that you can finish the plot in less than an hour. On this list, you’ll even find, of course, the most recent and original Netflix anime movies. We propose these best anime movies to both newbies and long-time fans alike.
So, without further ado, let’s satisfy your inquisitive mind. We warn you though, you’re in for some all-nighters and sore eyes!
The Best Anime Movies on Netflix to Binge-Watch
The following is a list of some of the best anime movies on Netflix if you are looking for something to stimulate your limitless imagination and intensify your desire to escape reality:
1. A Whisker Away (2020)
- Release Date: June 18, 2020
- IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
- MyAnimeList: 7.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 93%
- Directed By: Junichi Sato, Tomotaka Shibayama
- Leading Stars: Mirai Shida; Natsuki Hanae; Hiroaki Ogi
What’s the most you’ve done for love? No one can beat Miyo Sasaki though because, apparently, she can blur the lines between a human and a cat to get closer to her crush.
2. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)
- Release Date: November 17, 2017
- IMDB Rating: 6.0/10
- MyAnimeList: 6.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 71%
- Directed By: Kōbun Shizuno, Hiroyuki Seshita
- Leading Stars: Mamoru Miyano (voice), Takahiro Sakurai (voice), Kana Hanazawa (voice)
It seems like the human regime is over, the Godzillas have taken over the Earth. Can a desperate group of refugees save the planet, or would they be just another sacrifice for the ultimate cause?
3. Lu Over the Wall (2018)
- Release Date: May 11, 2018
- IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
- MyAnimeList: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 78%
- Directed By: Masaaki Yuasa
- Leading Stars: Kanon Tani (voice), Shôta Shimoda (voice), Minako Kotobuki (voice)
What happens when a lonesome teenager befriends a mermaid who loves some music but hates the sun? The protagonist of the narrative is Kai, a depressed middle school kid whose life is turned upside down when he meets Lu, a mermaid.
4. Mirai (2018)
- Release Date: November 29, 2018
- IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
- Metacritic: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%
- Directed By: Mamoru Hosoda
- Leading Stars: John Cho (English version), Rebecca Hall (English version), Daniel Dae Kim (English version)
If you’ve ever been an older sibling and seen the love you deserve getting stolen right before your eyes, this is for you. With the help of his younger sister from the future, a young boy discovers a magical garden where he can travel across time and visit ancestors from various eras.
5. The Summit of the Gods (2021)
- Release Date: November 24, 2021
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- FilmAffinity: 7.8/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
- Directed By: Patrick Imbert
- Leading Stars: Lazare Herson-Macarel (voice), Eric Herson-Macarel (voice), Damien Boisseau (voice)
When a lonely journalist and mountaineer consolidate, they render a moving story. Follow Fukamachi and Habu in their professional and personal goals to answer what these men get seeking the details of a story and reaching the mountain peaks.
6. Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop (2021)
- Release Date: July 22, 2021
- IMDB Rating: 6.8/10
- MyAnimeList: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
- Directed By: Kyohei Ishiguro
- Leading Stars: Somegorô Ichikawa (voice), Hana Sugisaki (voice), Kimberley Wong (voice)
The contemporary sad romance between a shy boy and an insecure girl makes the audience majorly relate to the movie. So, catch up with the influencer and haiku lover in the up-lifting series of magical events.
7. Stand by Me Doraemon (2014)
- Release Date: August 8, 2014
- IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
- MyAnimeList: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 72%
- Directed By: Takashi Yamazaki, Ryuichi Yagi
- Leading Stars: Wasabi Mizuta (Japanese version), Megumi Ohara (Japanese version), Satoshi Tsumabuki (Japanese version)
Grandma wants to see Nobita’s bride, but he’s only a fifth-grader. So, what do they do? Of course, they travel to the future! But, the sight is not what they were expecting to see where Nobita has fled his own wedding. Tune in to find out how they fix this mess.
8. One Piece: Strong World (2009)
- Release Date: December 12, 2009
- IMDB Rating: 7.5/10
- MyAnimeList: 8.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
- Directed By: Munehisa Sakai
- Leading Stars: Felecia Angelle (English version), Bryan Baker (English version), Jeff Banks(English version)
In order to further his mission of overthrowing the global government, the notorious pirate Shiki kidnaps the crew of the straw hat pirate ship and forces one of them to serve as his navigator. The remaining members of the Straw Hat Pirates have the responsibility of rescuing their friend while also evading Shiki’s grasp.
9. Okko’s Inn (2018)
- Release Date: August 4, 2018
- IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
- MyAnimeList: 7.1/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 80%
- Directed By: Kitarō Kōsaka
- Leading Stars: Seiran Kobayashi (voice), Nana Mizuki (voice), Satsumi Matsuda (voice)
If ghosts give you welcoming vibes, welcome to the world of Okko. After the death of his parents, he moves in with his grandmother and starts making non-human friends who help her out of her grief.
10. Flavors of Youth (2018)
- Release Date: June 11, 2018
- IMDB Rating: 7.0/10
- MyAnimeList: 7.5/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
- Directed By: Yoshitaka Takeuchi, Haoling Li, Jiaoshou Yi Xiaoxing
- Leading Stars: Hiroki Yasumoto, Haruka Shiraishi, Minako Kotobuki, Takeo Otsuka, Mariya Ise, Taito Ban
Can rice noodles help you recount your past and prepare for your future? Seems like it can in this anime movie. Three tales of adolescence from different cities in China: memories trapped in a bowl of hot noodles, a once-beautiful woman finding her path, and a love that is both bitter and sweet.
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Sad Anime Movies on Netflix
Action and adventure, animation, children’s and family programming, classic films, comedy, documentaries, dramas, and even horror are all represented on Netflix. Anime enthusiasts get access to thousands of titles in the library, even a list of Netflix’s saddest and finest animated films for your viewing pleasure, out of which some of the best include:
1. A Silent Voice (2016)
- Release Date: October 20, 2017
- IMDB Rating: 8.1/10
- MyAnimeList: 9.0/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 95%
- Directed By: Naoko Yamada
- Leading Stars: Miyu Irino (voice), Saori Hayami (voice), Aoi Yûki (voice)
A Silent Voice is the story of a young man named Showya and a deaf girl, Shoka. The movie begins with Showya attempting to fall off a bridge and ending his life but deciding against it, queuing to the backstory.
2. Violet Evergarden (2018)
- Release Date: October 20, 2017
- IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
- MyAnimeList: 8.3/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 100%
- Directed By: Haruka Fujita
- Leading Stars: Yui Ishikawa,Erika Harlacher, Raissa Bueno
Violet is a young girl with metal arms and a resting deadpan face. We meet her and realize soon enough that Violet isn’t exactly normal. Indoctrinated as a soldier, she doesn’t understand how to act like a civilian- because she doesn’t remember ever being one.
3. Your Name (2016)
- Release Date: April 7, 2017
- IMDB Rating: 8.4/10
- MyAnimeList: 8.9/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 98%
- Directed By: Makoto Shinkai
- Leading Stars: Ryunosuke Kamiki; Mone Kamishiraishi
Mitsuha is a high-school girl living in a small mountain town. She’s also the mayor’s daughter, but unlike him, she can’t wait to get out of this boring town. Dreaming of one day going to Tokyo, she can’t wait to leave the Shinto rituals and her father’s electoral campaign behind.
If you like to explore more titles on Netflix, here is a comprehensive guide to the Netflix secret codes for 2023.
New Animated Movies on Netflix
These classics were the best out of their times. But, what about the contemporary anime originals? Fret not, we won’t let you be outdated. So, here’s the updated and upcoming list of the best new animated movies on Netflix right now. Check them out!
1. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Adventure (2022)
- Release Date: April 7, 2017
- IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
- Movie Insider: 5/5
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%
- Directed By: Richard Linklater
- Leading Stars: Milo Coy, Jack Black(voice), Lee Eddy
When the lunar module was built a little too small, the covert operation called for half the size of what was supposed to be an Appolo moon landing- unfortunately, it could only fit a child. Fortunately for Stan, a boy living in the suburbs of Houston with intergalactic dreams of his own, he was the only hope for the mission.
2. Bubble (2022)
- Release Date: May 13, 2022
- IMDB Rating: 6.3/10
- Metacritic: 56%
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 50%
- Directed By: Tetsurō Araki
- Leading Stars: Hibiki, Kantō Mad Lobster, Undertaker Leader, Denki Ninja, Usagi, Shin, Kai, Makoto
In Tokyo, bubbles are triggering gravitational abnormalities. All that’s left of Tokyo five years later is a group of teenagers competing in battles of parkour in the skylines. So as Hibiki from the Blue Blazes team jumps, vaults, and rolls, he slips into the sea. Therein, a strange girl, Uta, seemingly appears out of the blue with supernatural abilities and rescues him.
3. Drifting Home (2022)
- Release Date: September 16, 2022
- IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
- Movie Insider: 5/5
- Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 91%
- Directed By: Hiroyasu Ishida
- Leading Stars: Daiki Yamashita (voice), Kana Hanazawa (voice), Inori Minase(voice)
A Whisker Away’s production once again brings another absorbing plot to the screen. When a pair of best friends, Kosuke and Natsume, begin straying from each other, they are trapped together by fate’s unflinching grip.
How to Unlock More Anime Content on Netflix
Why must the American residents have all the fun? Modern problems call for modern solutions, and so follow these simple steps to enjoy animated Netflix movies anywhere in the world by changing your Netflix region with a VPN:
- Subscribe to a VPN. (We recommend ExpressVPN for its excellent performance).
- Connect to a VPN server (based on the library you want to unlock).
- For instance, to access the UK Netflix library, connect to a UK server.
- Launch the Netflix app or visit the website.
- Enjoy streaming your favorite Netflix content!
Wrapping Up
Anime is the most realistic comic expression to get any message through with fun and undying curiosity. Regardless of the cartoony form, anime is anything but. It has double the fantasy and complex storylines that a simple movie just can not have.
So distinct from the western media, it sheds light on more profound, more intense topics with higher quality definitions. So, if you like any of the mentioned Netflix anime movies, follow us for more we’ll be happy to help! Now go on, check it out, and you can thank us later!
