CATDOLL: American media selected the best Japanese animated film, Hayao Miyazaki topped the list again

As a very important part of Japanese anime, theatrical animation is deeply loved by everyone. Moreover, this mode of showing in theaters not only attracts anime fans, but is also very attractive to general audiences. Although Japanese theatrical animation may not be as world-renowned as Disney and other companies, there is definitely no shortage of high-quality works, and many works also have a good influence overseas. Recently, the American media selected what they think are the best Japanese animated theatrical versions, and each one is a masterpiece.

The best Japanese animated theatrical releases selected by American media (ranking in no particular order):

Akira (1988)

"Akira" is based on the original manga by Katsuhiro Otomo, telling the story of the future Tokyo, Japan, where the military has been secretly carrying out the "Akira" project, which leads to a huge disaster. The content of this work is quite profound, and the plot is also deeply loved by European and American audiences. It was later adapted into a live-action movie.

Porco Rosso (1992)

"Porco Rosso" is an animated film released by Studio Ghibli in 1992. The film is adapted from Hayao Miyazaki's manga "Flying Boat Age". The film mainly tells the story of the protagonist who was cursed by himself and turned into a pig to fight against air robbers and protect the people around him.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Adapted from the science fiction manga of the same name by Masamune Shirow, it tells the story of a "parallel world" in 2029 where the entire world is connected by a huge information network, all kinds of human tissues and organs can be artificially created, and various new types of criminal incidents arise. The National Public Safety Commission of Japan sets up a secret operation team called "Ghost in the Shell" to specifically deal with such incidents.

Castle in the Sky (1986)

"Castle in the Sky" is an animated film produced by Studio Ghibli of Japan. Hayao Miyazaki is the original author, supervisor, script designer, character designer and director. The whole film tells the adventure story of the protagonists, the girl Sheeta and the boy Palu, as well as pirates, the army, Muska and others, in their search for the castle in the sky, Laputa.

Princess Mononoke (1997)

"Princess Mononoke" inherits Hayao Miyazaki's long-standing profound thinking about the relationship between man and nature. The film does not stick to the destruction of the environment by humans, but starts from the natural contradictions between humans and nature that cannot be resolved, and explores the ultimate proposition of whether humans and nature can truly achieve harmonious coexistence from the perspective of human survival.

Spirited Away (2001)

Chihiro Ogino, who is only 10 years old, is a fourth-grade elementary school student who looks very ordinary. She moved to a strange town with her parents and prepared to start a new life. However, because she got lost on the way, she and her parents accidentally broke into a mysterious town that humans should not enter. In order to save her parents and the people who are important to her, Chihiro made her own choices again and again in the face of various difficulties and dangers. The film also unfolds with her psychological changes.

Cowboy Bebop: Behind the Scenes (2001)

A fuel truck exploded in the Martian city of Alba. People around the scene of the incident died of strange diseases one after another, and the number of victims has exceeded 400. The police believed that this was a terrorist act using biological weapons and offered an unprecedented high reward of 300 million. By chance, Fei, who was investigating the credit card theft, accidentally took a video, in which the man with a tattoo on his arm was the culprit of this vicious incident.

Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

This animated theatrical film is set on the eve of the war and tells the story of three sisters living in a small town. The eldest sister, Sophie, is an expert in making hats, but she offends the witch and turns from an 18-year-old beautiful girl into a 90-year-old old woman. She fled from home in terror, but entered a moving castle. She and Hal, who cannot fall in love but knows magic, compose a battlefield love song, and work with other people in the castle to find a way to break the spell on her body.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

The story tells about a 17-year-old ordinary high school student named Konno Makoto, who gained the ability to travel through time and space after a car accident. After many practices, Makoto mastered the method of traveling through time and space, and often used this method to solve the troubles in life. Makoto and two boys in the same class, Chiaki Mamiya and Kosuke Tsuda, are very good friends. Chiaki suddenly confessed her love to Makoto, which made her very troubled. Makoto used the method of traveling through time and space to go back to the past to erase this confession, and she hoped to maintain a good friendship with them forever.

Paprika (2006)

The beautiful doctor Chiba Atsuko works in a psychiatric research institute. Together with the genius scientist Tokita Hirosaku, she invented a device called "DC MINI" that can monitor patients' dreams. This device can change patients' dreams and is quite effective in mental treatment. One day, three miniature DCs were stolen. The beautiful medical doctor Chiba Atsuko's other identity is the dream detective "Red Pepper". In order to prevent the thieves from using the miniature DCs to do further evil, she has to sneak into the victims' dreams to find the terrorists. A battle full of fantasy and thrills begins immediately.

5 Centimeters per Second (2007)

The animation is a short story about a boy, and it tells three independent stories in a row. The background of the story is from the 1990s to modern Japan, and it shows the changes in Tokyo and other regions through the boy's life. The description of the boy's love psychology is also very delicate.

Ponyo (2008)

Ponyo on the Cliff is produced by Studio Ghibli and directed and written by Hayao Miyazaki. The film tells the story of the friendship between Ponyo, a mermaid who lives in the deep sea and wants to become a human, and Sosuke, a five-year-old boy who keeps his promise.

The Tale of Princess Kaguya (2013)

The Tale of Princess Kaguya is an animated film produced by Toho Films and directed by Isao Takahata. It was released in Japan on November 23, 2013. The film is based on the oldest Japanese story, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, and tells the story of Princess Kaguya, who was born in a bamboo, grew up under the care of a bamboo cutter and his wife, and finally returned to the Moon Palace.

The Wind Rises (2013)

In the film, in addition to expressing his love for airplanes, Miyazaki also created the turbulent era when Jiro and Caproni met, showing the pastoral scenery, urban sentiments, and the nightmarish Great Kanto Earthquake of Japan's Taisho and Showa eras.