"Japanese animation"

1988 · Hayao Miyazaki · 86 min · Fantasy

My Neighbor Totoro is one of those rare films that does something almost no other movie attempts, let alone pulls off. It tells a story about nothing dramatic and makes it feel like everything. Miyazaki's confidence in quiet moments, his trust that children's joy is compelling enough to carry a film, results in something that feels less like watching a movie and more like remembering what it was like to be small. It won't satisfy everyone, and it doesn't try to. That's part of why it works.

1997 · Hayao Miyazaki · 133 min · Fantasy

Princess Mononoke is Miyazaki at his most ambitious and his most furious. It's a sprawling, violent, morally complex fantasy that refuses to simplify anything, and it's better for it. The pacing asks for patience, and the lack of neat resolution will frustrate viewers who want clear answers. Those who meet the film on its own terms will find one of the most rewarding animated films ever made, a story that trusts its audience enough to leave them with questions instead of lessons.

1988 · Katsuhiro Otomo · 124 min · Science Fiction

Akira is a film built on contradictions. Its animation is peerless, but its story can leave you grasping for connections that aren't always there. It changed the trajectory of an entire medium, but watching it cold in the present day can be a disorienting experience. What holds it together is sheer conviction. Every frame radiates a confidence and ambition that most films, animated or otherwise, never approach. It's a flawed landmark, and there's nothing else quite like it.