The Boy and the Heron (
2023) | IMDb:
0
While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother's tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy's mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the "long-awaited one."
The Wind Rises (
2013) | IMDb:
7.7
A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.
Starring:
Hideaki Anno
,
Hidetoshi Nishijima
,
Miori Takimoto
,
Masahiko Nishimura
,
Stephen Alpert
,
Mansai Nomura
Directed by:
Hayao Miyazaki
Ponyo (
2008) | IMDb:
7.6
When Sosuke, a young boy who lives on a clifftop overlooking the sea, rescues a stranded goldfish named Ponyo, he discovers more than he bargained for. Ponyo is a curious, energetic young creature who yearns to be human, but even as she causes chaos around the house, her father, a powerful sorcerer, schemes to return Ponyo to the sea.
Starring:
Yuria Kozuki
,
Hiroki Doi
,
George Tokoro
,
Tomoko Yamaguchi
,
Yuki Amami
,
Kazushige Nagashima
Directed by:
Hayao Miyazaki
Howl's Moving Castle (
2004) | IMDb:
8.2
Sophie, a young milliner, is turned into an elderly woman by a witch who enters her shop and curses her. She encounters a wizard named Howl and gets caught up in his resistance to fighting for the king.
Starring:
Chieko Baisho
,
Takuya Kimura
,
Akihiro Miwa
,
Tatsuya Gashûin
,
Ryunosuke Kamiki
,
Mitsunori Isaki
Spirited Away (
2001) | IMDb:
8.6
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
Starring:
Rumi Hiiragi
,
Miyu Irino
,
Mari Natsuki
,
Takashi Naito
,
Yasuko Sawaguchi
,
Tsunehiko Kamijō
Princess Mononoke (
1997) | IMDb:
8.3
Ashitaka, a prince of the disappearing Emishi people, is cursed by a demonized boar god and must journey to the west to find a cure. Along the way, he encounters San, a young human woman fighting to protect the forest, and Lady Eboshi, who is trying to destroy it. Ashitaka must find a way to bring balance to this conflict.
Starring:
Youji Matsuda
,
Yuriko Ishida
,
Yuko Tanaka
,
Kaoru Kobayashi
,
Masahiko Nishimura
,
Tsunehiko Kamijō
Porco Rosso (
1992) | IMDb:
7.7
In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.
Starring:
Shūichirō Moriyama
,
Tokiko Kato
,
Bunshi Katsura
,
Tsunehiko Kamijō
,
Akemi Okamura
,
Akio Otsuka
Kiki's Delivery Service (
1989) | IMDb:
7.8
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
Starring:
Minami Takayama
,
Rei Sakuma
,
Kappei Yamaguchi
,
Keiko Toda
,
Mieko Nobusawa
,
Koichi Miura
My Neighbor Totoro (
1988) | IMDb:
8.1
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother, and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros, magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away from home, the older sister seeks help from the spirits to find her.
Starring:
Noriko Hidaka
,
Chika Sakamoto
,
Hitoshi Takagi
,
Shigesato Itoi
,
Sumi Shimamoto
,
Tanie Kitabayashi
Castle in the Sky (
1986) | IMDb:
8
A young boy and a girl with a magic crystal must race against pirates and foreign agents in a search for a legendary floating castle.
Starring:
Keiko Yokozawa
,
Mayumi Tanaka
,
Minori Terada
,
Kotoe Hatsui
,
Fujio Tokita
,
Ichiro Nagai
Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (
1979) | IMDb:
7.6
After a successful robbery leaves famed thief Lupin the Third and his partner Jigen with nothing but a large amount of expertly crafted counterfeit bills, he decides to track down the forgers responsible—and steal any other treasures he may find in the Castle of Cagliostro, including the 'damsel in distress' he finds imprisoned there.
Starring:
Yasuo Yamada
,
Kiyoshi Kobayashi
,
Eiko Masuyama
,
Makio Inoue
,
Gorō Naya
,
Sumi Shimamoto