Jin-Rou

The Animation Film Award (アニメーション映画賞) is an award given to the best animated feature film at the Mainichi Film Awards. The award was established to reward large scale cinematic animation, enabling the Oofuji Noburou Award to focus on shorter pieces. This award was first presented in 1989 for Kiki's Delivery Service by Hayao Miyazaki.

(Source: Wikipedia)

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R E T R O = at least 20 years old, but not yet 40 years old!
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░{ 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟐-𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟐 }
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It does what it says on the tin. All movies here can be seen stand alone with no context needed.

This list contains all movies that aren't related with any anime series. (Pre 2014)

Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/1267
Part 3: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/7998

I watched 35 movies from this list and these are my most favorites:

- Wolf Children
- The Tale of Princess Kaguya
- Tokyo Godfathers
- The Wind Rises
- The Girl who Leapt Through Time
- Kiki's Delivery Service
- 5cm Per Second
- Perfect Blue

Every animated media that has been made, in some way has the idea to tell a story, and to express a feeling onto the watcher. But then, there are some series which has a particular way to evocate it's emotions, and they use different tools to do that. Thought provoking writing, displaying the characters' internal monologues, their struggles and fears, using very particular cinematographic angles, and using contrasting styles of animation, colouring and highly symbolical and metaphorical imagery - these are some of the few hallmarks that the said animation is having psychological themes, and that it is avant-garde in it's approach. This is not limited to any genre, as well.

I do realize that animation like this may not be for everyone, but I do firmly believe in it's artistic merits and integrity. Media like this allows us to peek into the human psyche and probably our own too, and it does provides us with often interesting viewpoints of our world, even if fractured through the prism of the animated fiction. Shows like that also likes to ask us questions without answers, to give us moral dilemmas without solid conclusion, or to put it short, to make us think.

The shows that were picked follows a pattern, the ones which are more straightforward, less abstract and easier to get into will be first, while the list goes down, the more complex and obscure the works will get.

This list consists of psychological titles, which helped me to accept inevitability and cope with fears, thus affected my personality above all others. Anime that makes you realise a lot about the meaning of human life and death, relationships, principles and most important: "self-concept".

Nearly all of them induce depressive thoughts, portray social problems that we face IRL, have biblical references and slow pacing. So be sure that you are in the right mood and prepared to face dark side of reality.

P.S. Despite the hopelessness and predestination you may feel while watching, these works of art still bestow warmth and hope through understanding the uniqueness of existence. The world is truly a cruel place and life is lacking meaning and purpose, yet we got the flustering chance to experience ourselves and the universe we share.

Art direction, harmony with the narrative, framing and uniqueness.

Most unic anime form 1990s

Darker and sadder animated shows that exceeds in not being edgier. Juxtaposing the aestetic, atmosphere and theams to acomplish a broadher human perspective.

Varing trough: Mecha, Post-apocalypse, War, Psychological, Colorful, Monochrome, Fast pace, Slow burn, Methodic and Experimental.

Notorie authors: Konaka(7), Oshii(5), Yuassa(4), Kon(4), Amano(3), Choi(3), Nagahama(3), Hamasaki(2), Otomo(2), Ryuutarou(2), Nakamura(2), Yamamura(2), Oomori(1), Tomino(1), Anno(1), Takahashi(1), Harada(1), Matsumoto(1).

This is the kind of stuff you'll want to show to your older relatives or a friend / significant other who isn't into anime in particular but is open to new experiences. Not necessarily to hook them on anime but simply to share a good time together.

What helps an anime end up on this list:
* either subdued or distinctly avant-garde appearance that transcends common anime design sensibilities;
* mature, adult-life-related themes;
* well-crafted, compelling story and character interactions;
* fresh and daring ideas or their execution;
* being otherwise remarkable as an art piece;
* moderate length.

What DOESN'T help an anime end up on the list:
* referencing or pandering to otaku culture, incessant fan service, and all that crap;
* slow-burn slice-of-life narrative;
* overly random, absurdist, reference-heavy humor;
* being too long or narratively incomplete;
* being too tropey;
* not being very good in general (regrettably, this includes bad and mediocre adaptations of good manga/LNs, so no Berserk, My Home Hero, or Golden Kamuy on the list).

These aren't absolute rules but they're hard enough that I would only consider minor exceptions. There is most certainly not enough room for every single piece that fits the bill, so take this as my personal, heavily curated top-50. If there is a sequel or a side-story that also deserves attention (or, conversely, one you should skip), I will mention it in the annotations, so please watch them.

List is subject to revisions and reordering.

Anime with morally gray characters

Shows/Movies of all kinds that are either meant for or can be enjoyed by an older audience. A treasure trove of excellence covering a wide range. Story-driven thrillers, well researched historical shows, brilliant world-constructions, poetic narrations, gripping thrillers, dark comedies, complex future visions, tightly packed action, avant-garde art, solid entertainment, tear-jerking dramas to light-hearted slices of lives.
No big-boob dumdums, high-pitched VAs, fan-/lip-service or plot-around-the-holes-type shows. Teenage angst and school-settings are rarities in these two lists.

The romance as a genre, in it's typical sense, is a hit or miss for most of us, and this is understandable. Each of us had different outlook on life, our experience has shaped our personalities by particular ways, and the way we comprehend the fragile and gentle feelings of love within ourselves is something very personal.

But then again, some stories, despite not having entirely romantic focus, can portray relationships and can be felt deeply. Shows like these rarely does get the spotlight for this reasons, and are oftenly skipped by people who're usually interested in the romance aspect of things, which is one of the reasons this collection was made.

Some of these works have interesting variety of genres, themes and moods, but in each of them you can find a hint of, if not well explored, romance. As well as that, some romances that are breaking the mold of the usual adaptations are included, since they're rarely well explored within the fandom, and deserve our appreciation.

If you want Ghibli Movies, go to my another stack https://myanimelist.net/stacks/5992

Anime made by the first generation of anime fans.

I’m coining the term Anime New Wave in reference to the French New Wave and the Japanese New Wave in film canon. Like both of these movements, the first generation of creatives to achieve any kind of mainstream success were establishing the medium themselves and were drawing inspiration from outside their art form, such as how Osamu Tezuka was inspired by the work of Fritz Lang or how Hayao Miyazaki’s adaptation of Lupin III was deeply entrenched in film noir and Golden Age Hollywood aesthetics. With the rise of an otaku culture punctuated by the first doujin anime and the development of Studio Gainax, anime began to have its ideas and themes codified into a replicable series of cinematic references. Dezaki’s beautiful use of intense lighting and postcard memories, Tomino’s frantic paneling and action set pieces, Takahata’s evocative pastoral landscapes and slow takes, the language of anime was being written one word at a time. In the late 80s we saw the rise of talented creators who speak that language as their first tongue, and the results were inimitable and immediate.

Some directors I am considering under the term include Hideaki Anno, Shinichiro Watanabe, Kunihiko Ikuhara, and Satoshi Kon, just so there’s a point of reference here. I’m trying not to include directors who are usually lumped in with others on this list but were actively working as primary creatives in the studio system in the 80s, such as Mamoru Oshii. Lastly, I’m trying to keep the list centered on the initial wave of anime created even though plenty of these creatives have gone on to work on other things, just so I don’t have it be too confusing to look at. Arbitrary, I know.

Feel free to post comments on my page if you have any suggestions.