5 Great Films that are not Studio Ghibli to Watch

When it comes to anime films, films by Studio Ghibli are considered as the top ranked to watch by fans and critiques alike. From beautiful art, well done animation, unforgettable characters and interesting plots, films by this group and more notably by Hayao Miyazaki have been considered a number of times as the ones to watch whether you be an anime fan or not. Still, as high quality as Studio Ghibli films, there are also other artistic and good quality films to watch that have their own memorable impact. Should one be looking for a list of films with great art, plot, and characters and not of Studio Ghibli, here are the top five films that one can go see.

1. Your Name (Kimi no Nawa)

This is the tale of two completely different people living completely different lives yet somehow they are able to form a relationship in a truly unconventional way. A young man in Tokyo named Taki Tachibana and a young woman living in the mountains Mitsuha Miyazumi one day find that they have for seemingly no reason whatsoever, switched bodies with one another. With no idea how this phenomena began or how to fix it, the two begin to learn to navigate each other’s lives and soon begin to get to know one another by leaving messages all the while creating an impact on each other’s lives.

2. Wolf Children

Hana was but simple hard working college student when she one day comes across a mysterious man who attends classes yet seems to be not a student. Her attention captured by him she seeks him out to get to know him and in time the two get together. However, the man is not as he seems as it is revealed that he is in fact, a werewolf. Still though Hana stays with him and soon the two form a life together and in result Hana ends up becoming pregnant only for tragedy to strike. Her love perishes and now she is left to face the challenge or raising her two children, who, like their father have the ability to turn into wolves.

3. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Makoto Kanno is a high school girl that is unsure on what the future brings her. In between trying to handle classes with strict teaches and finding time to spend time with her friends, Makoto seemed like a normal high school student from an outside point of view. This all changes when one day when by accidentally falling on a walnut shaped item, she gains the ability to travel through time or as the story calls it, “time leap.” This is the tale of she handles such a grand power and the consequences that follows with it.

4. Summer Wars

In a world where almost everything is now done through the online world that is simply known as “OZ”, and it is where protagonist Kenji Koiso works as a part time moderator. One day out of the blue, his classmate and crush Natsuki Shinohara requests for him to join her on a summer trip for a summer job yet is given no other details. Upon his arrival at Natsuki’s family home where preparations are being made for her great-grandmother’s birthday, he receives an email that challenges him to crack a code and it is with this that the story truly begins.

5. The Boy and the Beast

A young boy named Ren after having lost his mother and being made to lie with other relatives due to the disappearance of his father decides to run away. While on the run in the streets of Shibuya, he runs into the bear-like beast named Kumatetsu. With an abrupt but brief interaction, Ren decides to follow the beast and in result, finds himself in the strange land known as Shibuten where the beasts roam free in their own kind of community. Once Ren is saved by Kumatetsu from an altercation he had gotten into upon arrival, he is taken under the beast’s wing and is given the name Ren. For the rest of the story is the growth of Ren and his relationship with Kumatetsu.