Anime action movies are impeccable, and leave you feeling absolutely thrilled and amazed. Over the years, we have had some incredible classics that have taken the world by storm and have created legions of fans. Here is a list of the best action movies you can watch, curated by us for you :
1. One Piece Film: Strong World
Munehisa Sakai’s 2009 Japanese animated fantasy action adventure movie, One Piece Film: Strong World, is commonly known as One Piece: Strong World or simply Strong World. It is the eighth theatrical motion picture adaptation of Eiichiro Oda’s shnen manga collection One Piece. The film stars Scott McNeil in the English version and Naoto Takenaka in the Japanese as Shiki, the crew’s wicked captain who kidnaps Nami and forces her to join his crew in an effort to rule the East Blue. Shiki must be prevented from carrying out his intentions by Monkey D. Luffy and company. It is one of the best action anime movies of all time.
2. Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door
The 2001 Japanese adult animated science fiction film Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, also known as Cowboy Bebop: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, is based on the 1998 Hajime Yatate anime series Cowboy Bebop. The film’s director Shinichir Watanabe, writer Keiko Nobumoto, character designer/animation director Toshihiro Kawamoto, and composer Yoko Kanno are among the original series staff who contributed to the project. The roles were also recreated by the original Japanese and English voice casts. Between episodes 22 and 23 of the original series, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie takes place. The main character of the story is an enigmatic terrorist who schemes to wipe off all of the people on Mars using an unidentified pathogen.
3. Akira
Based on Katsuhiro Otomo’s 1982 manga of the same name, Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk action movie. It was directed by Otomo, produced by Suzuki and Kat, and written by Otomo and Izo. It tells the tale of Shtar Kaneda, a biker gang leader in a dystopian 2019, whose childhood friend Tetsuo Shima develops extraordinary telekinetic abilities following a motorcycle accident, endangering an entire military complex while causing chaos and uprising in the vast, futuristic metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. A movie that has gone on to be a worldwide classic, it would be unforgivable to not mention Akira when compiling a list of the best action movies of all time.
A 2014 Japanese animated action-romance film called The Last: Naruto the Movie was produced by Studio Pierrot and directed by Tsuneo Kobayashi. It features Junko Takeuchi, Nana Mizuki, Chie Nakamura, Showtaro Morikubo, Satoshi Hino, Kazuhiko Inoue, and Noriaki Sugiyama and is based on Masashi Kishimoto’s comic and anime Naruto. The movie, which takes place before Naruto’s climactic battle, centres on Naruto Uzumaki’s ninja team as they attempt to stop the moon from falling and save Hanabi Hyuga, Hinata Hyuga’s sister, from Toneri Otsutsuki, who wants to wed Hinata and exact revenge on humanity for turning chakra into weapons. Throughout their voyage, Naruto and Hinata fall in love. After episode 493, the film is set.
5. Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
The 1994 anime film version of the Street Fighter II fighting game, written by Kenichi Imai, directed by Gisabur Sugii, and drawn by Group TAC, is titled Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie, also known as Street Fighter II Movie in Japan and Australia. The movie, which debuted in Japan on August 6, 1994, was dubbed and subtitled into English for Manga Entertainment and then released in theatres in the United Kingdom, France, and Spain. While 20th Century Fox also distributed it in other nations, Toei Company handled distribution in Japan. This too, is one of the best anime action movies you can watch.
6. Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society
A 2006 anime film, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society is based on Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell manga. It is a part of the Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex series. Kenji Kamiyama served as the film’s director, while Production I.G. produced it. The movie takes place in 2034, two years after the 2nd GIG’s events. Togusa is currently in charge of the significantly larger Public Security Section 9 staff. Section 9 covers a complex chain of circumstances, such as the murder of Ka Rum, a former ruler of the Siak Republic, which sparks a terrorist plot to use kids as carriers of a cybernetic virus.
Based on the manga series Jujutsu Kaisen 0, a precursor to the Jujutsu Kaisen manga series, both by Gege Akutami, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a 2021 Japanese animated dark fantasy film. Starring Megumi Ogata, Kana Hanazawa, Mikako Komatsu, Kiki Uchiyama, Tomokazu Seki, Yuichi Nakamura, and Takahiro Sakurai, it was directed by Sunghoo Park and written by Hiroshi Seko. It centres on Yuta Okkotsu, a teenage student who develops magical powers and works with other talented classmates at Jujutsu High to try to subdue Rika Orimoto’s cursed spirit. The team chose to incorporate new sequences focusing on their master Satoru Gojo and his former buddy and foe Suguru Geto in addition to the story centred on Yuta and his buddies in the original manga.
Japanese animated jidaigeki-chanbara adventure movie Sword of the Stranger was released by Shochiku in 2007 and was made by Bones. In it, a young orphan named Kotaro who is being pursued by Ming swordsmen finds unexpected refuge from a troubled ronin named Nanashi. Masahiro And directed and Fumihiko Takayama wrote the 2005-commissioned movie. Tomoya Nagase and Yuuri Chinen provide the voices for it. Megumi Endo directed the animation, Atsushi Morikawa created the characters, and Naoki Sat composed the symphonic score.
9. Ninja Scroll
The voices of Kichi Yamadera, Emi Shinohara, Takeshi Aono, Daisuke Gri, Toshihiko Seki, and Shichi Moriyama appear in Yoshiaki Kawajiri’s 1993 Japanese animated jidaigeki-chanbara film Ninja Scroll. Madhouse served as the animation studio for the movie, which was a joint venture by JVC, Toho, and Movic. On June 5, 1993, Ninja Scroll was released in Japan’s theatres. In 1995, Manga Entertainment distributed an English-dubbed version of the film in Western nations. Ninja Scroll is definitely an amazing action anime movie.
10. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie : Mugen Train
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie : Mugen Train, commonly known as Demon Slayer: Mugen Train or Demon Slayer: Infinity Train, is a 2020 Japanese animated dark fantasy action film based on the “Mugen Train” chapter of the shonen manga series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba by Koyoharu Gotouge. Directed by Haruo Sotozaki and written by Ufotable crew, the movie is a direct continuation of the anime television series’ first season. The movie was made by Ufotable in collaboration with Aniplex and Shueisha.
This list can definitely not encompass all the amazing action anime movies that exist, but we hope that it helps you find some fun stuff that you can watch and rehash your memory of the classics if you are already an avid watcher.