10 most underrated anime movies to watch

The world of anime films spans a wide range of genres and styles, from fantastical adventures to slice-of-life dramas. While movies like Spirited Away and Your Name have cemented their place in pop culture, many remarkable yet underrated anime movies fail to receive the recognition they deserve from critics and audiences alike.

This article aims to highlight 10 such underrated anime movies that showcase the emotional depth and visual artistry that the medium has to offer. The selections range from surreal comedies to poignant historical tales to avant-garde sci-fi fantasies.

Each film features imaginative animation, resonant themes, and complex character writing, delivered through unique and visionary direction. Read on to discover some of anime’s hidden gems that deserve far more attention than they have received.

10 must-watch underrated anime movies

1) A Letter to Momo

A Letter to Momo (Image via Production I.G)

A Letter to Momo centers on Momo, a shy girl struggling with grief and loneliness after her father's death. Uprooted from Tokyo to a remote seaside village, she begins seeing fantastical creatures that only she can perceive.

These odd spirits seem intent on causing hilarious mischief until Momo realizes how much wisdom they have to offer about loss and living life to the fullest. With its warm tone and expressively animated supernatural beings, A Letter to Momo compassionately explores the challenges of childhood.

The film captures both the turmoil and resilience of a young girl left adrift by loss. It rewards patient viewers with an imaginatively told tale about recovering and moving forward.

2) Mind Game

Mind Game follows Nishi, an unfocused 20-year-old who reunites with his childhood sweetheart—only to die and be reborn after a violent encounter with yakuza thugs.

Lost in a psychedelic realm mixing memories, metaphors, and surreal imagery, Nishi undergoes a spiritual voyage of self-realization guided by an enigmatic entity. With a transformed outlook, he strives to live his life with new ambition.

With experimental animation matching existential themes about life’s endless possibilities, Mind Game stands as an underseen classic waiting to be discovered by fans of underrated anime movies. Those willing to surrender to its breakneck pacing will find messages of hope and rebirth hidden within creative chaos.

3) Children Who Chase Lost Voices

Children Who Chase Lost Voices (Image via CoMix Wave Films)

This fantasy adventure follows Asuna, a lonely girl who spends her time listening to mysterious music from a crystal radio.

When she embarks on a perilous journey to a mythical world, Asuna confronts profound loss while forging connections in an unbelievable land. Helmed by acclaimed director Makoto Shinkai, the movie explores grief, maturity, and human relationships against a backdrop of stunning landscapes.

For those seeking anime that channels the spirit of greats like Hayao Miyazaki, Children Who Chase Lost Voices deserves attention for its resonance and imagination. It captures both the perils and cathartic release found when venturing into the unknown.

4) Ride Your Wave

Ride Your Wave centers on college student Hinako, who forms a star-crossed romance with Minato, a heroic firefighter harboring a passion for surfing. After Minato dies abruptly, a grieving Hinako discovers his lingering spiritual presence living within ocean waves.

Director Masaaki Yuasa brings emotional sensitivity to a story that uses water as a metaphor for impermanence, enduring love, and recovering from tragedy. With its ambitious animation and sincere storytelling, Ride Your Wave deserves high praise.

5) Patema Inverted

Patema Inverted (Image via Studio Rikka / Purple Cow Studio Japan)

Patema Inverted unfolds in a dystopian future split between rival societies separated by divergent gravity zones. Patema lives confined underground due to the danger posed by her "inverted" gravity—until one day she falls into the realm of Age, a student raised to believe that people like Patema represent a threat.

As the pair navigate distrustful societies and apocalyptic secrets, they discover the human capacity for empathy beyond divisions. With spectacular aerial set pieces set against a post-disaster landscape, Patema Inverted uses its bold sci-fi premise to tell a soaring story about overcoming prejudice.

It matches its creative visual imagination with surprisingly poignant themes in an anime original worth discovering, making it one of the most underrated anime movies.

6) Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade (Image via Production I.G)

In an alternate 1950s Japan, Kazuki Fuse is part of an elite paramilitary unit tasked with violently managing civil unrest. After a traumatic mission involving a young girl, Fuse forms a bond with a woman tied to the incident, confronting harsh truths about the cyclical nature of brutality in the name of order.

Set against rendered cityscapes inspired by European aesthetics, Jin-Roh sets its complex allegories and tense action apart from more mainstream political anime titles.

Matched with contemplative pacing allowing its ethical themes to shine, Jin-Roh deserves mention alongside classics like Ghost in the Shell for mature sci-fi storytelling shown through animation’s unique lens. It combines raw kinetic thrills with resonant emotional depth.

7) The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl

The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (Image via Science SARU)

This one-of-a-kind romantic comedy follows an ambitious young woman on a surreal, alcohol-fueled adventure one strange night. Visual gags and absurdist humor abound as she encounters a series of odd and over-the-top characters.

Meanwhile, a young man who's smitten with her attempts to catch up with her throughout the chaotic night. This creatively told tale captures the excitement and possibilities of youth with an artistic flair rarely seen in anime.

For those looking for something truly different, The Night is Short, Walk On Girl stands out for its creative storytelling and abstract art style. It’s a coming-of-age tale like no other.

8) Colorful

Colorful (Image via Sunrise and Ascension)

Upon reaching the afterlife, a spirit is offered a chance at reincarnation with a test—to inhabit the body of a troubled 14-year-old boy named Makoto and, within a limited time, recall the grave sin from its own past life.

What follows is a moving, thought-provoking drama as the spirit experiences Makoto's struggles with bullying, loss, and his own flaws. The spirit races against time to understand Makoto’s life while experiencing it as Makoto himself and influencing events.

Colorful handles heavy themes like depression, guilt, and redemption with a deft hand. It’s a meaningful story about what it means to live life fully and without regrets. The watercolor visuals and emotional story leave a lasting impression.

9) Giovanni's Island

Giovanni's Island (Image via Production I.G)

This historical drama centers on two brothers living a peaceful life on the island of Shikotan during the final days of WWII. When the Soviet Union occupies the island, the brothers are forced to adjust to Communist rule and confront the realities of war.

Giovanni’s Island presents a perspective not often seen in anime—life for Japanese civilians under wartime occupation. It explores themes of resilience, cultural understanding, and humanity’s shared struggles.

With its unique setting and poignant message of overcoming divides, Giovanni's Island is an underrated gem. It tells a resonant story set against a key moment in history, boosted by strong animation and writing.

10) The Princess and the Pilot

The Princess and the Pilot (Image via Madhouse)

Set in an alternate world where the Levamme Kingdom and the Amatsukami Empire are at war, this action romance follows Charles Karino, a skilled pilot discriminated against for his mixed heritage, as he is tasked with transporting Princess Juana across the ocean to safety.

As Charles confronts the empire’s rigid classism and Juana grapples with her duty to her people against her dreams of freedom, the two bond over their desire to control their own fates. With aerial dogfights, political intrigue, and richly drawn main characters, The Princess and the Pilot is an overlooked gem.

It captures the thrill of aviation against an inventive geopolitical backdrop while telling a layered story of defying expectations. More fans of underrated anime movies deserve to discover this unique alternate history.

Conclusion

Beyond the most popular mainstream anime films lies a treasure trove of creative, thought-provoking works that are often overlooked. The 10 movies discussed here demonstrate anime’s emotional depth and versatility, with settings ranging from coming-of-age dramas to fantasy epics to alternate history tales.

From the Ghibli-inspired wonder of Children Who Chase Lost Voices to the romantic melancholy of Ride Your Wave and the thrilling action of The Princess and the Pilot, underrated anime movies offer tremendous variety to viewers.

If you’re an anime fan seeking less familiar recommendations, consider giving these films and other underrated titles a chance. The thematic ambition and visual artistry on display deserve far more recognition.