Best Anime recommended by Librarian Sarah Houghton
Akira
The film richly imagines the new metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. Two orphan teenagers--slight, resentful Tetsuo and confident, breezy Kanada--run with a biker gang. Meanwhile, a group of scientists, military men, and politicians wonder what to do with a collection of withered children who possess enormous psychic powers, especially the mysterious, rarely seen Akira, whose awakening might well have caused the end of the old world.
Animatrix
From the creators of The Matrix trilogy, this collection of nine short animated films from leading Anime directors gives more backstory to the world of The Matrix and provides a stunning view of the great variety in today's Anime.
Castle in the Sky
The orphan Sheeta inherited a mysterious crystal that links her to the legendary sky-kingdom of Laputa. With the help of resourceful Pazu and a rollicking band of sky pirates, she makes her way to the ruins of the once-great civilization. Sheeta and Pazu must outwit the evil Muska, who plans to use Laputa's science to make himself ruler of the world.
Cowboy Bebop
Lanky antihero Spike Spiegel is a planet-hopping freelance bounty hunter with an ex-cop sidekick named Jet, a vixen-esque fellow hunter named Faye, a teenage computer hacker named Ed, and a genetically enhanced Welsh Corgi, Ein, in tow. The emphasis is on clever twists of plot with as many wisecracks as punches being thrown.
Ghost in the Shell
The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master."
Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
The sequel to 1995's Ghost in the Shell, this film follows Batou as he investigates a series of murders involving gynoids.
Grave of the Fireflies
When their mother is killed in the firebombing of Tokyo near the end of World War II, teenage Seita and his little sister Setsuko are left on their own: their father is away, serving in the Imperial Navy. The two children set up housekeeping in a cave by a stream, but their meager resources are quickly exhausted. Their resources, like their country's, are already overtaxed: anything they spare endangers their own survival.
Kiki’s Delivery Service
13-year-old Kiki is an apprentice witch. With the help of her cat, Jiji, Kiki manages to take on the world headfirst in this charming animated fantasy.
My Neighbor Totoro
While their mother is in the hospital, 10-year-old Satsuki and 4-year-old Mei move into a country house with their father. At the foot of an enormous tree, Mei discovers the nest of King Totoro, a giant forest spirit who resembles an enormous bunny rabbit. Mei and Satsuki's adventures with Totoro and his friends make for a truly engaging film.
Princess Mononoke
Set in medieval Japan, Miyazaki's original story envisions a struggle between nature and man. The march of technology, embodied in the dark iron forges of the ambitious Tatara clan, threatens the natural forces explicit in the benevolent Great God of the Forest and the wide-eyed, spectral spirits he protects.
Sailor Moon R
Kisenian, traveling from a far away galaxy, disguised as a meteor, aims to gather all the "positive" energy from the Earth and plant the seeds of "negativity" leaving Earth full of hatred. Unable to do this on her own, Kisenian preys on the vulnerable heart of Darien's childhood friend, Fiore. Fiore, jealous of Sailor Moon and Darien's passionate friendship, joins Kisenian in her wicked endeavor to gather energy from every star and planet!
Spirited Away
On the way to their new home, Chihiro and her parents find what they think is a deserted amusement park. Her parents stuff themselves until they turn into pigs, and Chihiro discovers they're trapped in a resort for traditional Japanese gods and spirits. An oddly familiar boy named Haku instructs Chihiro to request a job from Yubaba, the greedy witch who rules the spa.
Vampire Hunter D
D, a haunted half-human, half-vampire warrior, wanders the countryside of a feudalistic future, hunting his own kind while battling his own evil nature. Like a rogue samurai, the silent, solitary hero wanders into a small hamlet terrorized by the all-powerful Count, a monstrous vampire lord, and his demonic minions from a castle that casts a long shadow over the countryside.
