15 Great Anime Movies That Deserve to Be in the Criterion Collection, Ranked

Anime films can range in value anywhere from meaningless filler material loosely attached to the medium’s most popular franchises to transformative standalone films that become solidified as classics over time. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man — The Movie: Reze Arc have dominated conversations in the anime sphere virtually from the moment they were first announced, giving validity to the perspective that anime movies are more than capable of cinematic excellence.

Although The Criterion Collection and other institutions are dedicated to recognizing the world’s most important films, many of the best anime movies lack this distinction. When it comes to the works honored by The Criterion Collection over the last 40 years, it’s just as important to recognize influential classics as it is to scope out modern masterpieces ahead of the curve. Ranking the very best of these films isn’t something every fan will ever agree on, but there are still a handful of anime movies that undeniably deserve to be elevated.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 Is Superior to Every Shonen Big Three Film

Jujutsu Kaisen‘s first feature-length film is one of the weaker modern anime movies that still deserves to be in the Criterion Collection, even if it’s not a standalone movie or deeply profound. Instead, it’s a pretty good action movie with strong production values designed for shonen anime audiences, great humor, and enough emotional power to make it stronger than most Naruto or One Piece movies.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a strong prequel movie with a lead similar enough to Yuji Itadori to feel familiar but different enough to make this movie’s events stand out as Yuta Okkotsu’s origin story. If the captivating visuals from Jujutsu Kaisen 0‘s trailer alone aren’t enough to justify adding it to the Criterion Collection, then its box office performance certainly does. In 2021, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 became Japan’s highest-grossing film at the box office, permanently solidifying its legacy as an international success.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Set Records Only The Anime’s Final Movie Saga Could Shatter

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train easily joins Jujutsu Kaisen 0 as one of the greatest modern shonen anime movies already worthy of the Criterion Collection. Although the strongest anime movies are generally structured as traditional standalone films, Demon Slayer: Mugen Train proves that tie-in movies can still be smash hits at the box office.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train maximizes the franchise’s formulaic and comfortably mediocre premise by harnessing everything that the Demon Slayer anime series does best. Mugen Train didn’t change the world, but it did push shonen anime movies to new heights in ways no tie-in film for the shonen Big Three could. The mingled triumph over Enmu and Kyojuro’s tragic last stand against Akaza make Mugen Train‘s success and merit undeniably clear.

Wolf Children Explores the Pleasures & Hardships of Single Parenthood

Wolf Children is one of those distinctly underrated anime movies that’s very much worth watching, even if neither director Hayao Miyazaki nor director Makoto Shinkai were involved. The hidden gem film, connected to the very short Wolf Children manga series, is a strong anime experience because it imbues the experience of single motherhood with a new kind of power and courage.

After the father of her children dies, Wolf Children‘s protagonist, Hana, is forced to step up as a loving yet overwhelmed mother to two wolf children. The tension that comes from these tragic circumstances is exactly what makes Wolf Children so inspiring. There’s no need to fight monsters or achieve material success here, since the challenges and joys of single motherhood in the countryside are easily enough to keep Hana busy all throughout Wolf Children.

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind Transforms Nature into a Compelling Character

It’s a recurring theme for Hayao Miyazaki’s movies to promote anti-war messages, and few anime movies make that clearer than Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Fans note how this movie has some overlap with Frank Herbert’s Dune, and sure enough, both works transform nature itself into a character.

The natural world can be much more than a mere setting in movies like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and the Dune franchise, even if Nausicaä herself is a worthy heroine in this movie. Above all, the heroine’s efforts to help people preserve and respect nature make her an exciting character whose message feels more resonant with every passing year.

Look Back Comes Across as Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Open Love Letter to Other Creatives

At a glance, the anime movie Look Back feels like a total departure from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s other works, such as Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man, but fans can (and should) still connect them on a basic level. All of these works, along with Goodbye, Eri, are about the tender vulnerability and empathetic desires of the protagonists. It’s Fujimoto’s characteristically simple yet effective approach that makes movies like Look Back so popular.

Look Back is less about devils and is more about the joy of creating art, an endeavor that unites the film’s two young female leads while also exploring their personal arcs in meaningful ways. As the girls grow up, their struggles with isolation and hardships in the world make them even more sympathetic, all while exploring life through the lens of a creator. The sympathetic characterization sets Look Back apart from movies where the creator hero is trying to win a prize or impress people with what they made.

My Neighbor Totoro Celebrates the Innocence of Youth in Whimsical Ways

My Neighbor Totoro is one of several Studio Ghibli movies that deserve a spot in the Criterion Collection. In this case, Mr. Miyazaki’s animated works are an important insight into a child’s life, a welcome break from anime movies about action-oriented teens or overwhelmed adults. Too often, children are someone to protect or inspire in a movie, while movies neglect the child’s own point of view.

My Neighbor Totoro feels refreshing as sisters Satsuki and Mei navigate their new home with eyes of innocence, wonder, and sometimes fear. This atmosphere and perspective makes Totoro and the other critters feel like beings of wonder and kindness, and it also makes the story of the mother’s illness all the more sympathetic, seeing how the sisters are mere kids who can’t do much to help.

Weathering With You Showcases Timeless Themes With Amazing Visual Storytelling

While Weathering With You embodies Director Makoto Shinkai’s recurring themes of young lovers being forced apart by larger forces, this anime movie is doing much more than that. Weathering With You weighs Hina the sunshine girl’s responsibility in choosing between her duty and her new romance with Hodaka.

The constant rain, dark clouds, and flooding of Tokyo in Weathering With You are all fine visual symbols of the cost of abandoning one’s own duty and refusing self-sacrifice. After all, rain is often a visual cue for suffering, sadness, and even hopelessness, with no rays of light to show the happiness of humanity. Hina made everyone else pay the price for her own happiness, hence the rain everyone has to endure, and it means a lot.

Summer Wars Feels Like a Prescient Warning About AI

Summer Wars is another underrated, standalone anime movie that felt somewhat relevant at the time and feels remarkably timely now. The anime started off as a goofy slice-of-life adventure to establish some personal stakes, then shifted to an epic battle against a rogue AI. That will resonate with anyone nervous about how today’s AI programs are reshaping society in profound ways.

The battle against the rogue AI in Summer War feels somewhat impactful when viewers see how it disrupted travel all over Japan, causing enormous traffic jams. But the threat feels a hundred times more real and more exciting when the young heroes confront the sinister program in the virtual world with Avatars. The rogue AI’s composite body is a metaphor for how AI is built on the online presence of millions of people, meaning AI isn’t just a thing, but a weird army of sorts.

Grave of the Fireflies Is an Emotionally Raw Account of War II

It’s tempting to say the famously dark anime movie Grave of the Fireflies is an anti-war movie. That feels true on some levels, given the ghastly experiences of the brother-sister duo Seita and Setsuko in the final months of World War II, but the movie has even more layers. This movie is about the stubborn will to survive and the psychological toll that suffering can have on someone, war or no war.

Grave of the Fireflies is also about the pain of retreating from society and trying to survive on one’s own, and the context of World War II on the losing side makes that struggle even more vivid. During desperate times like those, anyone might lose faith in the military or government and decide to endure the flames of war on their own. It ends badly for Seita and Setsuko, but they were still brave children for trying, and that counts for something.

Akira Helped Establish the Modern Dystopian Genre

A number of famous works of science fiction helped create the modern ideas of dystopia and cyberpunk, including Neuromancer and Blade Runner, not to mention Akira. The Akira movie deserves a slot in the Criterion Collection for its production value alone, making cyberpunk vivid and ultra-cool with its psychedelic and finely crafted visuals.

Akira helped popularize anime in the West with its stunning visual work, not to mention its impressively smart, detailed exploration of what a future dystopia might feel like. Every aspect of this setting makes it feel alive, even if the future is overrun with hardship and urban sprawl, making Akira feel lively and energetic in a twisted, nightmarish way.