Hbo Max Anime Movies: Confirmed Release Date, Trailer And Everything We Know in 2022!

By Mathhew Paul Last updated May 28, 2022

HBO Max has steadily grown into one of the most popular streaming services, and these are the top 10 anime films according to MyAnimeList. While being just two years old, HBO Max has steadily grown into one of the best streaming options available. It also has a lot to offer anime enthusiasts, thanks to the large collection of content available. Aside from TV series, the portal also offers a diverse variety of anime films. Studio Ghibli, led by Hayao Miyazaki and his collaborators, is unsurprisingly the dominant force in this field. Other anime, in addition to the studio’s critically renowned films, excel in portraying intensely personal and moving stories that merge slice-of-life, fantasy, and romance.

The Night Is Short, Girl, So Get Moving! (8.20)

The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl is a romantic comedy anime from director Masaaki Yuasa (of Ping Pong: The Animation and Devilman: Crybaby renown) and studio Science SARU. The film follows two college students, a man named Senpai (senior) and a lady named Kohai (junior).

The former falls in love with the latter and wants to reveal his feelings to her, but his attempts to run into her on the street repeatedly fail catastrophically. Senpai tries everything he can to persuade Kohai that everything is fated in his favor. It has a compelling tale and is one of the best relationship anime on HBO Max thanks to its original visual style and use of comedy and romance.

Princess Kaguya’s Story (8.21)

The Tale of Princess Kaguya, directed by/written by Isao Takahata, is one of Studio Ghibli’s most recent anime films, and it maintains the studio’s high standard of quality. Thanks to its graphical style, it’s yet another imaginatively picturesque animation. To complement its fairytale-like aesthetic and concept, The Tale of Princess Kaguya opts for a more simplistic — but no less breathtaking — watercolor visual approach.

The story is very moving, touching on environmental issues, cultural progressivism, and feminism while focusing on a couple and the titular young girl they find in a bamboo shoot and decide to raise as their own.

Heart’s Whisper (8.22)

Whisper of the Heart, directed by Yoshi nofollowfumi Kondo and written by Hayao Miyazaki, puts a musical spin on their regular coming-of-age/slice-of-life storyline. This film is based on Aoi Hiiragi’s manga of the same name, and it follows a young hyperactive girl who sets out to discover a little boy who appears to share her love of reading, as he’s been checking out the same books she has.

Totoro, My Next-Door Neighbor (8.26)

In My Neighbor, Totoro, Satsuki, and Mei catch fish with the Totoros. My Neighbor Totoro is another Miyazaki masterpiece, and despite the fact that he has others that receive better praise from reviewers and fans, this film’s iconic stature has helped it become a symbol for Studio Ghibli. Although it isn’t one of the director’s most thematically deep films, it nonetheless has lots of emotional depth.

The film follows two professor’s daughters and their encounters with the titular Totoros, or friendly woodland spirits. My Neighbor Totoro doesn’t have much drama or suspense, but it uses the lens of Japanese fantasy to sentimentally showcase the beauty of childhood wonder and the simplicity of tranquil rural living.

The Sky-Castle (8.27)

Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky is a colorfully magnificent voyage that throws a steampunk twist on Studio Ghibli’s fantasy conventions. The story follows Pazu, an orphaned adolescent who catches and meets Sheeta as she falls from the clouds.

Weathering the Storm with You (8.32)

Weathering with You is a romantic fantasy film by CoMix Wave Films and director/writer Makoto Shinkai that is comparable to 2016’s Your Name. It’s a good follow-up to Shinkai’s later original novel, as it portrays the heartbreaking story of a runaway young kid seeking to find work in Tokyo during a mysterious downpour.

While there, he encounters an orphaned girl who has the ability to manipulate the weather but at a high price. Weathering with You is a lovely film about young love and environmental activism that may easily rank with Miyazaki’s and Studio Ghibli’s classics.

Princess Mononoke (Japanese: Mononoke (8.68)

Princess Mononoke is often compared to Ghibli films such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, as it is another critically acclaimed masterpiece by Miyazaki. Princess Mononoke, like many of his films, has an environmentalist message, but it’s cleverly woven in as one of the story’s intricacies.

Ashitaka, the Emishi tribe’s last Ainu prince, is on a mission to reverse a curse cast on him by a demon intent on destroying the forest. Along the way, he meets San, the titular princess and one of the best female Studio Ghibli characters, who was reared by wolves and has grown to despise humanity for the destruction they have caused. The plot develops into a morality clash that will stand the test of time.

Away from It All (8.79)

For many admirers, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirit Away is still undoubtedly one of the best Studio Ghibli films, even by the studio’s monumentally high standards. The film was a watershed moment for the studio and the anime genre in general, as it was the first to receive an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

Spirited Away tells the narrative of Chihiro, a young girl who, after her parents are transformed into pigs in a spirit world, embarks on a fantasy journey with her spirit companion No-Face to rescue them (Kaonashi). Its sympathetic protagonist, thematic investigation of Japanese folklore, and critiques of current Japanese culture and Western consumerism have all left an indelible mark.