Quality level of animation in Japanese films

[F-Man]

Purely on level of animation alone, what are some of the best animes you've seen? And how good were they?

As a huge lover of hand drawn animation and mostly character animation, I've been more and more drawn into Japanese animation lately, after having thoroughly explored American animation.

Because animation quality is the main grip here, I'm mostly aiming at feature-length films rather than TV series (although I loved Eva).

Other than movies I already watched (Paprika), my first attempt was with The Wings of Honneamise, and it quickly became one of my favorite movies, however the characters are a bit stiff and limited in their movements. Otherwise there was plenty to admire about the rest of the animation, background details, and deep story.

Akira was also impressive but didn't do much for me, and once again as I started to think was standard in Japanese animation, character animation was a far cry from Disney or even Don Bluth.

However I was pleasantly surprised with Steam Boy from the same director. Although the whole second half of the film really was one long action scene, animation was the best I'd seen so far from these films, and perfectly melded CGI with hand drawings. A trailer for Metropolis before the movie on the DVD blew me away, and I had rarely been that anxious to watch a movie based on its trailer.

Well, it totally delivered. The detailed backgrounds of Japanese animation was all there, plus the best CGI I've seen to enhance the animation, rather than replace it. The best part though for me was I could say without hesitation that the character animation was some of the best I've seen. It might have been helped from the cute design of the characters, which seems to makes movement rounder and more pleasing to the eyes.

I don't know, maybe I was just too much a fan of the character design. And I know I can thank Osamu Tezuka for it. The picture itself was directed by Rintaro (Astro Boy TV series), and I wonder if he's got other works this impressive.

[MOONPHASE]

If it's movies you want for this thread i'll start with a couple like for instance Origin: Spirits of the Past, Air the movie, 5 Centimeters Per Second, Vocies of a Distant Star, Clannad the movie, and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. These are all movies that shouldn't be missed(even though the tv series for Air is better than the movie version).

[F-Man]

Hmm, I think my question may have made it seem like I was asking what the best Japanese animated films are, but I meant what are the "better animated" Japanese films. Or best animated animes if you prefer (in my language, that would be like saying the same adjective twice, as animé means animated). I edited my original post to make it clearer.

Also would like to add that I forgot to mention Hayao Miyazaki's films, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and especially Spirited Away were pretty well animated, although they're all a notch below Metropolis if you ask me.

[Kyo28]

Some feature length anime I can recommend:
- You can't go wrong with anything put out buy Studio Ghibli. Best hand drawn art animation not just in Japan but worldwide, in my opinion
- Byousoku 5 Centimeter: check the trailer here in 720p
- Brave Story
- Toki o kakeru shoujo

Those are just a few of the more recent ones that popped into my head

[MOONPHASE]

Originally Posted by F-Man

Hmm, I think my question may have made it seem like I was asking what the best Japanese animated films are, but I meant what are the "better animated" Japanese films. Or best animated animes if you prefer (in my language, that would be like saying the same adjective twice, as animé means animated). I edited my original post to make it clearer.

Also would like to add that I forgot to mention Hayao Miyazaki's films, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke and especially Spirited Away were pretty well animated, although they're all a notch below Metropolis if you ask me.

Ah ok well my answer stays the same since the ones I mentioned are among some of the best Japanese anime films and best animated as well

[MikeDaWiz]

I think Gundam 00 is pretty well done. Though i noticed some anime now going the route of incorporating cgi also. I dont know if i would count that as animation.

Although i am not as well versed in anime like some other people i know. For all i know, anime has been using cgi for a long time.

[F-Man]

Well I surprise myself in that from what's been recommended, I've seen Air (both movie and series) and Brave Story (totally agree! I wish the Blu-ray was available here). And I remember that trailer for Byousoku 5 Centimeter; looks nice.

[Kyo28]

I even have a feeling that Brave Story might go out of print in Japan as well. The price of the Blu-ray has steadily dropped so I might pick it up next time I'm there.

[Zen_Amako]

Memories (1995) has some exceptional animation. It's an anthology of three stories by different directors (the third was directed by Otomo (Akira, Steamboy). The first story, "Magnetic Rose", is the standout. It's available on Blu-ray in Japan, but the import doesn't include English subtitles. The film was released on DVD in the U.S. by Sony.

A note about 5cm Per Second: It has lushly detailed backgrounds but the character animation is limited. It is a good movie, however.