The 8 Best Netflix Original Anime Movies to Add to Your Watchlist

If you’re a big anime fan but haven’t explored a lot of anime films beyond Studio Ghibli’s string of movies, there are many anime movies spanning different genres that you might be missing out on.

While you can use dedicated anime streaming platforms such as Crunchyroll to discover new movies, this list of movies is easy to find with your Netflix subscription. Here are eight Netflix Original anime movies that you don’t want to miss out on.

1

A Whisker Away

This magical romance movie is a must-watch if you love great animation, romance, and cats. A Whisker Away follows the story of Miyo Sasaki, a high school girl with a rocky relationship with her stepmother, who has a crush on her classmate, Kento Hinode. When she receives a magical Noh (performing arts) mask from a mask seller, she gets the ability to turn into a white cat. In this animal form, she spends a lot of time with Kento after getting his attention. Their love story, Miyo’s journey with this new magical ability, and coming to terms with her feelings make up the story of this feel-good movie.

2

Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop

For fans of the slice-of-life genre, this Netflix Original movie is an essential watchlist addition. Words Bubble Up Like Soda Pop is a rom-com drama set in a rural part of Japan, following the love story between two people who cannot properly communicate with others. An unlikely summer romance stews between Yui Sakura (Cherry), a shy boy who only communicates through his haikus, and Yuki (Smile), a masked online influencer who hides her braces and buckteeth, when they meet at their town’s shopping mall and accidentally swap phones. This movie’s vivid and eclectic color palette, popping animation, and fun story make it a chill watch for anime fans looking to watch more slice-of-life movies.

3

Maboroshi

Mappa’s 2023 science fantasy and romance movie, Maboroshi, is a gripping and stunning story about Mifuse, a rural steel mill town in Japan, where a factory explosion has its townspeople dealing with a confusing reality. The protagonist, Masamune Kikuri, is a student who stumbles upon a feral girl (Itsumi), who lives in the steel mill blast furnace, isolated from society and cared for by his classmate, Mutsumi. He grapples with Mifuse’s illusory nature and Itsumi’s true identity amid the town’s constant fissures in the sky, reminding the town of the explosion that changed their reality. Maboroshi is an emotional, exciting watch if you love a mind-bending plot with a splash of great animation and strong characters.

4

Bubble

Bubble is a post-apocalyptic film set in a future where gravity-defying bubbles have taken over Tokyo after an explosion at Tokyo Tower, making it inhabitable. Despite the danger, several groups of people try to live there, including parkour groups competing to win tournaments for trading. Hibiki, a talented member of a parkour group, avoids socializing due to his hearing sensitivity. The story follows his journey as he falls into the ocean after climbing the tower to track a singing voice and his meeting with a girl with mysterious talents. Bubble also has a manga adaptation that ran on Shonen Jump+ during the release of the movie on Netflix.

5

Drifting Home

Drifting Home is a coming-of-age fantasy film produced by Studio Colorido. It follows the story of two childhood friends, Kosuke Kumagaya and Natsume Tonai, whose strong bond is tested after an unfortunate event. The sixth-graders, along with a few of Kosuke’s friends, are stuck in an abandoned building, set to be demolished over their summer holiday, when, after heavy rains, they become stranded in the ocean while drifting in the apartment complex. They meet a mysterious boy and deal with the bizarre situation they find themselves in.

6

Flavors of Youth

If you have an appetite for solid storytelling, then Flavors of Youth is an absolute must-watch. This Japanese-Chinese co-production is an anthology romance drama that tells three stories set in three cities. The first story, The Rice Noodles, is about a man’s relationship with his grandmother, noodles, and nostalgia for a noodle shop and the town he grew up in. The second story, A Little Fashion Show, is about two sisters in the fast-paced fashion industry, with the older one working as a model and the younger being a fashion designer. The older sister’s pressure on herself to be the best and her struggle to stand out in the industry lead to tensions between the sisters, testing their relationship. The final story, Love in Shanghai, is a love story between two friends, from their school days to their adult lives, while grappling with distance and family pressures. Flavors of Youth ties up the strings of each story well with an ending where characters from each of the three stories meet.

7

Child of Kamiari Month

Child of Kamiari Month is a supernatural adventure film produced by Liden Films. Although this film was released in theatres in 2021, it was available to stream on Netflix in 2022 after the streaming platform acquired distribution rights. Child of Kamiari Month revolves around an elementary school girl, Kanna Hayama, who is processing the grief of her mother’s death. Her love for running also becomes a source of grief, and soon, she learns that she needs to travel across Japan to Izumo, a sacred land, and attend an annual gathering of gods. Kanna’s journey to collect offerings from various shrines and rediscover her passion for running makes up her journey. This movie has interesting supernatural elements, with the protagonist’s journey through grief and a loss of passion stringing the plot.

8

Bright: Samurai Soul

Set in 1868, during the early years of Japan’s Meiji Restoration, Bright: Samurai Soul is a dark, tragic story about a human Ronin (Izou), who must unite with an orc assassin in order to save an elf girl from a common adversary. The story involves supernatural characters such as elves, orcs, goblins, and dwarves. With depictions of brothels and violence, this film is an action film suited for mature audiences. Bright: Samurai Soul is also a spin-off of Bright (2017), and you can watch it without seeing the latter. An interesting thing about this film’s animation is that, beyond using 3D graphics, the art style is heavily inspired by Japanese woodblock prints.

There are many anime films to explore on Netflix, original or not, with some stellar animation and storytelling. You can find movies related to a movie you like by scrolling down from a movie’s preview. You can also use Netflix’s search code, 7424, to filter out anime content through your Netflix search bar.