What distinguishes sweet anime movies from TV series with real actors is its amazing expressive ability for the viewer, keeping them excited and on the edge of their seats in an exciting way. These scenes visually express a wide spectrum of emotions and reactions that are impossible to execute in the same way with real actors and live cinematography.
With the boom and popularity of the anime industry, many directors have ventured into experimentation, showcasing their capabilities in displaying the aesthetics and unique abilities of this wonderful and beautiful art form, discovering new narrative techniques, with a wealth of film genres adopted. All of this leads us to this moment where anime shines as a new triumph of imagination and an exceptional medium for the human stories we need in our current time. In this article, part of the Top 10 series, we will talk about 5 sweet anime movies that will take you on an exceptional journey to worlds of anime that are both beautiful and powerful.
Anime Film: 5 Centimeters Per Second
It is a Japanese dramatic romantic animated film released in 2007, written and directed by Makoto Shinkai. The film consists of three parts, each following a period in the life of the protagonist, Takaki Tono, and his relationships with the girls around him. The film won the Best Animated Feature Film award at the 2007 Asia Pacific Screen Awards. It was adapted into a novel in November 2007 and later adapted from the manga drawn by Seiki Yukiuko in 2010. The story takes place in Japan, starting from the early 1990s, focusing on a boy named Takaki Tono.
The first part in 1991 shows how Takaki Tono became fast friends with Akari Shinohara after she moved away to Tokyo for her parents’ work and he also moved there just a year ago. They became very close due to similar interests in reading books and situations like both preferring to stay indoors during vacations due to seasonal allergies. Takaki and Akari start to refer to each other by their first names, indicating a close and intimate friendship in Japanese culture.
The two stay in touch by writing letters but eventually begin to drift apart. When Takaki learns that his family will move to Kagoshima on the other side of the country the following year in 1995, he decides to personally visit his friend for one last time as they’ll be too far apart to see each other after the move. He also writes a letter to confess his feelings for her. However, Takaki loses the letter during the trip, delayed by a severe snowstorm that postpones his train for several hours. When the two finally meet late that night, Takaki realizes they will never be together. They find a shed to spend the night in due to the heavy snowstorm and fall asleep after talking late into the night. Takaki leaves the train station the next morning, promising to continue writing to each other.
In 1999, Takaki is now in his third year of high school in Tanegashima, where the Tanegashima Space Center is located. Kanae Sumida, Takaki’s classmate, has liked him since they first met at middle school but has never had the courage to confess her feelings to him. She tries to spend time with him, waiting long after school until she finally gets a chance to ride home with him. However, it seems Takaki is oblivious to Kanae’s feelings and only treats her as a good friend.
In 2008, Takaki works as a programmer in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Akari prepares to marry another man. Takaki still longs for Akari at the expense of his lifestyle. He receives a call from his current girlfriend but doesn’t answer, indicating the end of the relationship. Takaki quits his job depressed as he is unable to cope with his feelings for Akari. Akari searches through her old belongings and finds the letter she wrote to Takaki thirteen years ago in 1995. Takaki finds himself in a small shop reading a magazine about the long journey of the rocket launched in the second chapter. Takaki and Akari begin a mutual narration where they recall their last meeting in snow-laden Iwafune and remember watching cherry blossoms together again one day. The third part follows the fate of the three characters that distinguishes the film by its wonderful and interconnected storytelling, with great emotional depth and stunningly beautiful visual details.
Anime Film: The Tale of Princess Kaguya
It is a Japanese historical fantasy animated film released in 2013, co-written and directed by Isao Takahata, based on the literary tale of Princess Kaguya, a Japanese literary tale from the tenth century. Produced by Studio Ghibli for Nippon Television, it is the last film starring Chii, who passed away in June 2012, and also the last film directed by Isao Takahata, who died in April 2018.
The Tale of Princess Kaguya anime film was released in Japan on November 23, 2013, by Toho. With a budget of $49.3 million, it was the most expensive Japanese film. The film received critical acclaim and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Film at the eighty-seventh Academy Awards. The film follows Isao Takahata’s long documentary about the princess Kaguya. Miyatsuko and his wife find a small girl inside the glowing bamboo saplings that miraculously grow, they decide to raise her to be their princess, calling her “Princess.” The girl grows rapidly, earning her the nickname Takenoko among the village children. Both the husband and wife allowed the girl to have emotional relationships with others, as she met Sutemaru, who is the eldest among Takenoko’s friends, and developed a close relationship with him. Takenoko enjoyed rural life.
Miyatsuko comes across a soft golden piece of cloth in the bamboo grove in the same way he found a princess. He takes this as evidence of her divinity and begins planning to make her a “noble princess.” Moving with his family to the capital forces the girl to leave her friends behind. The family moves to a palace full of servants. The girl undergoes strict upbringing and conditioning to become a noble girl. The girl struggles with the restrictions of nobility and their lifestyle, yearning for her previous life in the countryside rather than returning to the eternal luminous kingdom where she belongs.
Anime Film: When Marnie Was There
It is a Japanese psychological dramatic animated film released in 2014, co-written and directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, produced by Studio Ghibli and distributed by Toho. Based on Joan G. Robinson’s 1967 novel of the same name, the film tells the story of Anna Sasaki, a 12-year-old adopted girl living with her adoptive parents in Sapporo. Her mother sends her to a rural area because of an asthma attack at school, as per the doctor’s recommendation, telling Anna’s family that it’s important to send her to a place with clean and pure air.
Anna Sasaki moves to the town located in the Kushiro Marshlands in Hokkaido, Japan, on the doctor’s recommendation. During her stay with her relatives Setsu and Kiyomasa Oiwa, Anna Sasaki comes across an abandoned mansion near her relatives’ house, where she meets the mysterious girl Marnie, who asks her to promise to keep her secrets from everyone. As summer approaches, Anna Sasaki spends more time with the mysterious girl Marnie and learns the truth about her family and adoption. It’s a journey of a girl’s deep loneliness and isolation away from everyone, as she discovers the truth about her parents’ death.
Anime Film: Gridman Universe
It is a Japanese animated film from 2023 produced by Trigger Studio. The events of the anime film take place in the Gridman world originally created by Tsuburaya, released on March 24, 2023, by Toho. After saving their world and Akane Shinjo returning to the real world, Yuta, Rikka, and Utsumi return to their normal lives, although Yuta still has to adjust to losing two months of memories due to Gridman’s control during that time. Rikka and Utsumi work on writing a script for a play their class will perform at the upcoming school festival based on their experiences with Gridman.
While Yuta tries to gather the courage to confess his feelings to Rikka. Suddenly, a kaiju attack on the city interrupts that. Yuta willingly merges with Gridman again to fight the kaiju, aided by the return of the Neon Genesis Junior High students, who now consider the recently revived Gauma, who leads DynaRex as their newest member. Gridman and NGJHS defeat the kaiju, clarifying that some unknown phenomena are causing the interference of different worlds in a potentially major crisis.
Anime Film: The Boy and the Heron
It is a Japanese film among the sweet anime films released in 2023, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. Produced by Studio Ghibli, the Japanese title of the film refers to the novel Genzaburō Yoshino released in 1937 with the same name, albeit not adapted from it. The film tells the story of a boy named Mahito Maki who moves to the countryside after his mother’s death, discovering an abandoned tower near his new home, entering a fantasy world with the sad gray owner capable of speaking. And then conflicts and surprises unfold.
In conclusion… We talked about the top 5 sweet anime movies we watched and these movies varied in presenting the story in an exciting and beautiful way. We loved their wonderful characters who played a central role in the film’s events. There are still more of these movies that we will continue to discuss in the upcoming part, and until then, we leave you with reading our previous article titled “Top 10 Funniest Anime Ever” and share your opinions and comments in the comment section below, telling us about the sweet anime movies that you loved and why?
