21 Underrated Anime Movies Not Enough People Have Seen

In This Corner of the World is a heartbreaking movie about how ordinary Japanese citizens were affected by World War II. It focuses heavily on slice of life scenes, which only intensify the more painful moments of war. 

Suzu Urano is a gentle young woman who loves to draw. She moves from her hometown of Hiroshima to the town of Kure in order to get married to a man she hardly knows. She struggles to get used to married life and her new home. Just as she's beginning to adjust, the impact of World War II on Japanese life begins to intensify - especially in her hometown of Hiroshima.

Most hardcore anime film connoisseurs know about Satoshi Kon's work, but he's more well-known for films like Perfect Blue and Paprika. But all of his movies are worth watching. If you're looking for something that's more on the heartwarming side, try Tokyo Godfathers. 

On Christmas Eve, three unhoused people - Hana, Gin, and Miyuki - are rummaging through the trash for tossed out Christmas gifts when they find an abandoned baby. At Hana's insistence, the three of them try to track down the baby's family with only two clues - a mysterious key, and a cryptic letter. As they search, they encounter all sorts of obstacles, but they refuse to give up until they deliver the baby to her home.

Mamoru Hosoda's work is fairly well-regarded, but Summer Wars doesn't get nearly as much attention as movies like Wolf Children or Belle. Featuring some of the same themes as another one of Hosoda's films, Digimon: Bokura no War Game, Summer Wars is a slightly more grown-up version of that film. 

OZ is a virtual world that most people can enter freely through the Internet. Convenient, secure, and useful for just about everything, society has become reliant on OZ. Seriously, they even use it to help guide an astronaut home.

While distracted by pretending to be his crush Natsuki's fiance on a summer trip, 17-year-old Kenji Koiso is sent a coded message. As a math genius and OZ moderator, he's more than able to crack the code. Breaking the code has unforeseen consequences - ones that could spell humanity's doom.

Tsuneo Suzukawa and Kumiko “Josee” Yamamura seem different on the outside, but they're bound by one common experience - both of them are trapped by their circumstances.

In Tsuneo's case, he's trapped by his financial situation. He desperately wants to go abroad to study marine biology, but he has to work constantly in order to afford it. That's why he starts working as Josee's “caretaker” - which brings us to why Josee is trapped. She's a wheelchair user who lives in an area that isn't very wheelchair accessible. Not only that, but her overprotective grandmother would rather that she never go out at all. As the two get to know each other, Tsuneo starts trying to help Josee experience the world - meanwhile, she tries to figure out how she can help his dreams come true.

Maquia is part of a long-lived race called the Iorph. Her people try to keep away from humanity, since they believe that humanity only brings trouble. Lonely due to being an orphan, Maquia has always wanted to see the outside world. One day, she's forced into it in the most violent way possible. Her home is invaded by the kingdom of Mezarte and the powerful dragons under their control. Nearly everyone in Maquia's clan is annihilated, and she's carried off by a dragon and dumped in the woods. 

There, Maquia finds an abandoned human baby. Maquia decides to make sure that this child won't be as alone as she is - but she has no idea how to raise any child, let alone a human child who ages much faster than she does. 

Memories is a 1995 film compilation that encompasses three unrelated sci-fi stories. It's directed by Katsuhiro Otomo, the creative force behind Akira. 

Magnetic Rose centers around engineers who investigate a distress signal coming from a seemingly abandoned space station. They soon uncover a terrible secret involving a famous opera singer. 

In Stink Bomb, a lab technician accidentally consumes pills that make his farts so powerful that they're actually lethal weapons. Forced to relocate to company headquarters in Tokyo, he has to keep his flatulence under control during the journey - that and deal with the cops and military officials who are after him.

Cannon Fodder follows a young boy in a heavily armed fortress city who wants to surpass his father by becoming an artillery officer. Despite the fact that the city doesn't seem to have enemies, the city organizes daily cannon bombardment drills, and he takes part gladly.