# Essential anime that isn't Studio Ghibli

> If you've already seen Spirited Away three times, the form goes much deeper. Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, Hideaki Anno, Katsuhiro Otomo, Mamoru Hosoda, Makoto Shinkai — the catalogue is broader than Miyazaki.

Source: <https://nextmovie4u.com/canon/essential-anime-non-ghibli/>

## 30 films in this list

- **[Godzilla vs. Gigan Rex](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/godzilla-vs-gigan-rex-2022/)** (2022) — ★ 8.9 · 15 votes
- **[Shinsei Galverse](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/shinsei-galverse-2025/)** (2025) — ★ 8.9 · 12 votes
- **[Yu Yu Hakusho: Eizou Hakusho](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/yu-yu-hakusho-eizou-hakusho-1994/)** (1994) — ★ 8.8 · 43 votes
- **[Attack on Titan: THE LAST ATTACK](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/attack-on-titan-the-last-attack-2024/)** (2024) — ★ 8.7 · 192 votes
- **[Hunter × Hunter Pilot](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/hunter-hunter-pilot-1998/)** (1998) — ★ 8.6 · 40 votes
- **[Spirited Away](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/spirited-away-2001/)** (2001) — ★ 8.5 · 18,250 votes · foreign-gem, surreal
- **[Leave it to Kero!](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/leave-it-to-kero-2000/)** (2000) — ★ 8.5 · 66 votes
- **[Your Name.](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/your-name-2016/)** (2016) — ★ 8.5 · 12,485 votes · foreign-gem, bittersweet, surreal
- **[Teasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/teasing-master-takagi-san-the-movie-2022/)** (2022) — ★ 8.5 · 143 votes
- **[Grave of the Fireflies](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/grave-of-the-fireflies-1988/)** (1988) — ★ 8.4 · 6,485 votes · foreign-gem, bittersweet, gut-punch
- **[JUJUTSU KAISEN: Hidden Inventory / Premature Death - The Movie](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/jujutsu-kaisen-hidden-inventory-premature-death-the-movie-2025/)** (2025) — ★ 8.4 · 79 votes
- **[Haikyu!! the Movie: The End and the Beginning](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/haikyu-the-movie-the-end-and-the-beginning-2015/)** (2015) — ★ 8.4 · 44 votes
- **[A Silent Voice: The Movie](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/a-silent-voice-the-movie-2016/)** (2016) — ★ 8.4 · 4,456 votes · foreign-gem, bittersweet, outsider
- **[Attack on Titan: The Roar of Awakening](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/attack-on-titan-the-roar-of-awakening-2018/)** (2018) — ★ 8.4 · 338 votes
- **[Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/chainsaw-man-the-movie-reze-arc-2025/)** (2025) — ★ 8.3 · 836 votes
- **[Princess Mononoke](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/princess-mononoke-1997/)** (1997) — ★ 8.3 · 8,936 votes · foreign-gem, bittersweet, cerebral
- **[Pretty Cure All Stars F](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/pretty-cure-all-stars-f-2023/)** (2023) — ★ 8.3 · 11 votes
- **[Made in Abyss: Wandering Twilight](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/made-in-abyss-wandering-twilight-2019/)** (2019) — ★ 8.3 · 138 votes
- **[Perfect Blue](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/perfect-blue-1998/)** (1998) — ★ 8.3 · 3,158 votes · foreign-gem, mindfuck, paranoid
- **[Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Overture to a New War](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/legend-of-the-galactic-heroes-overture-to-a-new-war-1993/)** (1993) — ★ 8.3 · 37 votes
- **[Revue Starlight: The Movie](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/revue-starlight-the-movie-2021/)** (2021) — ★ 8.3 · 34 votes
- **[Cosmic Princess Kaguya!](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/cosmic-princess-kaguya-2026/)** (2026) — ★ 8.3 · 76 votes
- **[Violet Evergarden: The Movie](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/violet-evergarden-the-movie-2020/)** (2020) — ★ 8.3 · 506 votes
- **[Mushi-Shi: The Next Chapter - Drops of Bells](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/mushi-shi-the-next-chapter-drops-of-bells-2015/)** (2015) — ★ 8.3 · 55 votes
- **[Tomorrow's Joe The Movie](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/tomorrow-s-joe-the-movie-1980/)** (1980) — ★ 8.3 · 14 votes
- **[Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A lonely dragon wants to be loved](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/miss-kobayashi-s-dragon-maid-a-lonely-dragon-wants-to-be-loved-2025/)** (2025) — ★ 8.3 · 35 votes
- **[The Quintessential Quintuplets Movie](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/the-quintessential-quintuplets-movie-2022/)** (2022) — ★ 8.3 · 439 votes
- **[Dou kyu sei – Classmates](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/dou-kyu-sei-classmates-2016/)** (2016) — ★ 8.3 · 439 votes
- **[Josee, the Tiger and the Fish](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2020/)** (2020) — ★ 8.3 · 592 votes
- **[Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion](https://nextmovie4u.com/movie/neon-genesis-evangelion-the-end-of-evangelion-1997/)** (1997) — ★ 8.3 · 1,842 votes

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Catalogue: <https://nextmovie4u.com/> — see also <https://nextmovie4u.com/llms.txt> for the full sitemap of LLM-relevant pages.