The Anime Movie Starter Kit

Let me first start off by saying that I've been watching Anime for a long time, since I was a little kid. I love all kinds of cartoons and animation. I'm not a "hater" and if I don't like something I just won't promote it. There are a variety of tastes out there for the Anime genre, ranging from serious to goofy to "adult". My tastes fall somewhere more towards the serious side with goofy here and there. A lot of these movies you'll find in everyone's top-ten list, but the reason they are there is because they are so good and it would be a disgrace not to mention them. This is a list of the Anime movies that made me fall in love with Anime to begin with.

In no specific order, here are my Essential Anime Movies:

"Grave of the Fireflies" - A serious movie that will touch you in ways you didn't know you could feel. An epic and emotional story.

"Ninja Scroll" - A classic among ninja stories. Everything about Ninja Scroll was good for it's time in 1993 and it still holds true even today almost 16 years later. This is one of those movies that when you watch, you will wish that you could be as cool as Jubei (the main character).

"Ghost In The Shell"- A classic among robotics stories. This is one of those that will grow on you the more you watch it. The Ghost In The Shell movies and series have a way about having confusing and deep philosophical stories as well as amazing graphics that revolve around a world of the future filled with robotic technology.

"Ghost In The Shell 2: Innocence" - Finally, a sequel to the original movie, the animation is over-top amazing and the story was great. If you like GITS, you will love this too.

"Ghost In The Shell: Solid State Society" - A movie made based on the Stand Alone Complex series. The series is terrific and this movie is like one long episode.

"Akira" - I have to say Akira is one awesome movie, it is a legend to many Anime lovers and I am definitely one of them. I saw this when it came out and was blown away. The motorcycle gang chase scene in the movie is by far my favorite vehicle chase in any movie. Not to mention some of the characters get super powers and expand exponentially adds to the fun.

"Cowboy Bebop: Knocking On Heavans Door" - They finally made a Cowboy Bebop movie and I was so happy. The series is great and the movie throws in one more bad guy that can finally stand up with Spike (one of the main characters) in a fight.

"Appleseed: Ex Machina" - If you like CG animation, this movie is good. Add together some big robots, flying suits, John Woo slow-motion and it's a recipe for a fast paced action anime. A lot of people say this movie is terrible for all the reasons I just mentioned but I frankly can't get enough. The original Appleseed movie is also worth mentioning as it is good also but I haven't seen it in years so I can't give a proper review.

"Resident Evil: Degeneration" - Another good CG movie that just came out. If you want to watch some fast paced zombie action and like the RE series, you'll definitely want to see this. It doesn't really hit on much new RE ground with this independent story, but it's still fun to watch.

"Spirited Away" - When you watch this movie, you will be fascinated at how bizarre and surreal it is. I watched this movie when I was in college and loved it. It has comical elements to it while still maintaining a variety of other emotions.

"Princess Mononoke" - This movie actually kind of reminded me of Spirited Away in the animation aspect but it touches on a variety of other deeper subjects in another fantasy anime. If you like Spirited Away, you will almost definitely like this.

"Vampire Hunter D" - This was the original vampire anime that stalked the land. The vampire themes in this movie are great touching on all kinds of the Dracula lore.

"Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust" - An awesome sequel to the original Vampire Hunter D. I personally like the sequel better than the original, I think it has a much more interesting story and amazing graphics.

"Howl's Moving Castle" - Another movie in the weird fantasy realm similar to that of Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke. It's weird and interesting, watch it.

"Street Fighter 2: The Animated Movie" - Forget Van Damage, if you love Street Fighter this is the only movie I've seen that I would consider a good Street Fighter movie.

"Fist of the North Star" - One of those weird movies that you aren't sure why you like it but you know it's terrific. It could be because of the Mad Max overtones or the exploding punches but I remember watching this a bunch of times when I was younger and not getting enough.