15 Greatest Shonen Anime Movies Of All Time, Ranked

One of the most dominant forces grabbing the public’s interest in anime today is that of works adapting or channeling the shonen demographic. While often characterized by the explosive, spectacular fights for which shonen anime is known, plenty of audiences know of its potential for immensely gratifying storytelling with zero blows exchanged.

In the world of shonen anime films, though, feature-length budgets expand the potential of this spectrum of content to its natural extent. Simple battle spectacles become earth-shattering events worth a trip to the cinema, and emotional journeys including coming-of-age and deep personal trauma are given the space to flourish, whether on the big screen or streamed at home. The best shonen anime movies don’t necessarily skew in one particular direction, but rather they excel in blazing trails wherever they go.

15

The Last: Naruto The Movie

Original Story By Masashi Kishimoto

Out of the 11 films adapted from the legendary Shonen Jump ninja manga, only one was considered fully canon, particularly benefiting from being written by its creator, Masashi Kishimoto. Creating an arc that helped bridge the gap between the Fourth Great Ninja War’s conclusion, and crafting the scenario that fully brought Naruto Uzumaki and Hinata Hyuga together forever, The Last: Naruto the Movie was a strong achievement for Pierrot.

Generally speaking, plenty of the Naruto franchise’s films are not to be slept on, with its first movie, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, laying the visual groundwork for what could be achieved in feature-length Naruto stories. While others have come close or produced memorable arcs like Road of Naruto or Boruto: Naruto the Movie, the emotional conclusion of The Last, after confronting Toneri Otsutsuki’s threat, rescuing Hinata’s sister, and the hero getting the girl in between some utterly gorgeous scenes makes this the movie to see.

14

The First Slam Dunk

Based On The Manga By Takehiko Inoue

2022’s The First Slam Dunk was the long-awaited conclusion to Slam Dunk‘s anime adaptation. With series creator Takehiko Inoue writing and directing, The First Slam Dunk adapts the manga’s final story with excellent CG animation and creative direction, and expansion on the characters to add even more emotional weight and catharsis to the story.

Takehiko Inoue has long since proven himself as an amazing author, and The First Slam Dunk shows that he’s just as talented a director, as well.

13

Jujutsu Kaisen 0

Based On The Manga By Gege Akutami

Another great shonen movie adaptation to discuss is the Jujutsu Kaisen prequel story, 2021’s Jujutsu Kaisen 0. The film adapted Jujutsu Kaisen‘s prequel on-eshot, and, in addition to reworking the story to better connect with Jujutsu Kaisen, Jujutsu Kaisen 0 had its story executed with incredible music, animation, and overall direction that stands out as some of the best in the entire franchise.

Jujutsu Kaisen 0 was the only project released in the two years between Jujutsu Kaisen seasons 1 and 2, and all in all, it was the perfect way to fill the gap. It became especially essential viewing ahead of the recent release of season 3, given its proper introduction of Yuta Okkotsu, one of the most pivotal allies and foundational figures behind Jujutsu Kaisen’s sequel.

12

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle

Based On The Manga By Koyoharu Gotouge

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is the highest-grossing anime movie of all time, and it more than earns that stellar box office. What’s most impressive about Infinity Castle is the animation. It’s clear that Ufotable put everything they had into this, and the result is a visual feast. Particular praise needs to go to the titular Infinity Castle itself, which moves and twists in consistently fascinating ways.

While Infinity Castle does have its flaws, none of them are fatal, ensuring that Infinity Castle will be talked about for decades to come. Its release was an event, particularly due to it being the only animated adaptation of the final Demon Slayer arc, with two more planned films on the way, making it required viewing for fans of the franchise, while also being too visually stunning for others to skip.

11

Madoka Magica Rebellion

Original Story By Akiyuki Shinbo, Yukihiro Miyamoto, & Gen Urobuchi

Not every great shonen movie is adapted from a manga, and one notable example of that is 2013’s Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion.

The film was a sequel to Puella Magi Madoka Magica, and with animation and visuals even more surreal and overall fantastic than the anime, in addition to a story that constantly tops itself with one twist after another, Puella Magi Madoka Magica The Movie: Rebellion was the best possible follow-up to the original anime.

Rebellion‘s sequel is set to finally premiere in 2024, and hopefully, it’ll more than succeed at living up to its legacy.

10

Gurren Lagann

Based On The Anime By Hiroyuki Imaishi & Kazuki Nakashima

Another great example of a shonen movie not adapted from a manga is 2009’s Gurren Lagann the Movie: The Lights in the Sky Are Stars.

A compilation film covering the second half of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, not only did The Lights in the Sky Are Stars make the already stellar art and animation of the series even better, but it also changed the story to remove its weakest elements and create a finale even more bombastic than the original.

Compilation films are rarely ever worth watching, but Gurren Lagann‘s second film does plenty to make itself worth anyone’s time.

9

Look Back

Based On The Manga By Tatsuki Fujimoto

Despite being somewhat shorter, Look Back is one of the most universally-lauded anime films of the 2020s, due in large part to adapting a particularly personal one-shot by the Chainsaw Man creator, Tatsuki Fujimoto. The story in question follows two young girls, Fujino and Kyomoto, as they engage their mutual interests in manga, sparking a friendship, mutual admiration, and rivalry as well.

Look Back beautifully executes its visual storytelling thanks to Studio Durian’s careful animation, rendering a certain comfortable vibes while setting up a dark story ahead. Look Back’s excellence is certainly aided by Fujimoto’s story laden with tragedy and introspection on how one’s life can be changed by others close to them, but it’s also exceptionally well-directed on a technical level, a truly unmissable 2024 anime film in any case.

8

Summer Wars

Original Story By Mamoru Hosoda & Satoko Okudera

Many great shonen anime movies aren’t part of any preexisting franchises, and one notable example is 2009’s Summer Wars.

The film was Mamoru Hosoda’s first major project following The Girl Who Leapt Through Time‘s success, and sure enough, Summer Wars has Mamoru Hosoda’s signature art and animation style, resulting in a gorgeous film that effortlessly balances stellar sci-fi action and poignant family drama that’s still relevant over a decade later.

The themes of Summer Wars would reappear in many of Hosoda’s future works, and it speaks wonders to how great the film is.

7

Weathering With You

Original Story By Makoto Shinkai

Weathering with You followed the breakout success of Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name, and not only did Weathering with You vastly improve on the already stellar writing of its predecessor, but its art and animation came together to perfectly sell its emotional moments and have some of the best direction in any anime film of the past decade.

While it’s often overshadowed by his other works, it’s hard to see Weathering with You as anything other than one of Makoto Shinkai’s best films.

6

Dragon Ball Super: Broly

Based On The Manga By Akira Toriyama

Dragon Ball is a shonen anime franchise with an incredibly expansive film catalog, and one of its best films is 2018’s Dragon Ball Super: Broly.

The film was the first follow-up to the Dragon Ball Super anime, and while it’s notably light on story, Dragon Ball Super: Broly more than makes up for any shortcomings in its writing with its amazingly fluid and vibrant art and animation, resulting in some of the best visual spectacle in all of anime.

Every new Dragon Ball story naturally has a lot of hype attached to it, and Broly completely delivered on all fronts.