Top Anime films based on Anime/Manga franchises

[Fantastische Hure]

Most of them suck, but sometimes there are good ones. Do you gais have favourite list?

Just to name a few notable ones:

Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (Hayao Miyazaki)

Digimon movie 1 which is more of a pilot episode though and Movie 2 (Mamoru Hosoda)

One-Piece Movie 6 (Mamoru Hosoda)

Urusei Yatsura Movie 1 & 2 (IIRC, done by the person that did Ghost in the Shell I think)

Obviously these were all done by acclaimed directors, in some cases which the films turned-out to be their big break (Lupin III). It can be whatever though I just thought those were some notable films.

From what I heard I'd assume the Lupin III film would top most people's list.

Funny thing about all those besides perhaps Digimon Movie 2 is that most fans of the series/franchisees didn't like or even hated to those movies because they were very different from the series (tone and all) and didn't think that is what they thought a movie about their favourite franchisee should be like. Even when the films were great films in-general but just not good [instert name] films. Digimon Movie 1 was different and liked by all though.

Personally I'd say it's more important for the film to be good as a stand-alone work too instead of just being fan-service for the fans of the series.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

As for my list:

#1 - Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion

Provides a solid ending for the series that the anime was lacking, as well as necessary catharsis for the character arcs of Rei, Gendo and Misato. Combining it with episodes 25 and 26 of the anime, you have an excellent conclusion to the series filled with ideas of what paradise truly means and the great anti-escapism message the series is known for.

#2 - Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Excellent psychological/philosophical piece that actually improves on the source material of the manga (which was just a mediocre action series with a lot of fanservice before having the tonal whiplash of becoming this big existential piece right at the end without any build up). Definitely holds up on its own as a stand-alone work better than the other entries on this list.

#3 - Mobile Suit Gundam Movie trilogy

Essentially a retelling of the original anime with the filler cut out for far better pacing and the ending not being rushed.

#4 - Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack

A good ending to the rivalry between Amuro and Char with very cool action. Whilst many complain about things such as the Quess story line, I'd say that was fine as it helped with the theme exploration of Newtype psychology and did it in a far better way than Rosamia from Zeta.

#5 - Hokuto no Ken (1986)

Nowhere near as consistent a story as the original anime/manga and only better when it comes to art/violence, though when it comes to a cool, stand alone gory action anime with a lot of 80s charm, it's one of the best movies you can find.

Honourable mentions:

Berserk Golden Age III: Descent - Only good for not ending on a cliffhanger like the original anime, though that alone is worth mentioning for the eclipse.

Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro - Cool action and not much else, but it did that well. Fujiko was heavily out of character in it though.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars - Haven't seen it yet, though it being a more detailed version of the first two episodes of the OVA and a good prelude to the series itself speaks enough about its quality.

Funny thing about all those besides perhaps Digimon Movie 2 is that most fans of the series/franchisees didn't like or even hated to those movies because they were very different from the series (tone and all) and didn't think that is what they thought a movie about their favourite franchisee should be like.

I'd only say that seems to be the case with the 6th OP movie (which was in its benefit by not being the same forgettable type of action/adventure as the rest of the series' movies). Urusei Yatsura Movie 2 is liked enough for it to make it into the top 100 anime chosen by the Japanese public, whilst Castle of Cagliostro receives a lot of praise and nostalgia value within both Japan and more anime-centric parts of Europe such as France and Italy.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

good list

Perhaps it'd have been better to say at the time of release. Especially Urusei Yatsura Movie 2 I heard was hated by hard-core fans. How well did the Lupin III movie do or did it only gain recognition later?

 

[Captain Cadaver]

How well did the Lupin III movie do or did it only gain recognition later?

Not too sure. I imagine there was some negative reception, given the massive change in tone Miyazaki's take on the franchise had and Fujiko not really doing anything in-character in the film, though the fondness it holds in a lot of discussion with Japanese audience and the seemingly universal praise it has amongst western audiences would suggest even at the time of release, its negative reception was of a vast minority.

 

[sei'taer]

#3 - Mobile Suit Gundam Movie trilogy

Essentially a retelling of the original anime with the filler cut out for far better pacing and the ending not being rushed.

To the point where it's actually considered the canon version of events now.

 

[Let's Go Fearless!]

Only Hokuto No Ken movie that I watched falls into this category.

 

[Fantastische Hure]

What about Ashita no Joe (2)?

 

[Fantastische Hure]

First Pokémon movie was also good I think I think.

 

[Captain Cadaver]

What about Ashita no Joe (2)?

The movie for it is just a condensed recap of the series' highlights. Whilst those alone are great, it's told in too rushed a manner to stand on its own as anything but an advertisement of the anime.

First Pokémon movie was also good I think I think.

To some extent, though it's more of a mixed bag. Mewtwo's existential goals are more interesting in the Japanese version, though it has the problem of the moral conflict of the film being absent in place of the far more biased motivation of Mew being Original > Clones. The dub fixes this and adds some good lines about the value of life, but in turn removes a lot of the more interesting aspects of Mewtwo's character. Ash's deus ex machina revival was terrible in both versions.

Overall, even within the vacuum of Pokemon movies, I'd say Movies 3 and 8 have a far more solid plot.

 

[SSJ2]

Dragon Ball Z Bio Broly

 

[Captain Cadaver]

Dragon Ball Z Bio Broly

Far more tolerable than the DBS Broly movie, at least. 2

 

[Kyo]

The second Urusei Yatsura movie is decent. Oshii kinda did his own thing there and it made it more interesting than it otherwise could've been. I feel it could've been better if he had even more freedom. The first one is more true to the series's nature and while I'm not familiar with the original series, I find the first one to be whatever. It's not bad, it's just okay. I wasn't into it.

First Pokemon movie is okay yeah.

I like some of the Dragon Ball specials like the Future Trunks one and maybe the original Bardock one. They're alright.

EoE is more of a sequel to NGE but yeah it's good.

 

[ahill1]

I found some OP movies decent enough, notably the one in which Luffy fights an archer pirate (forgot the name) and the animation change was good for a refreshing view on fights (although I dunno if it were used for a long time) and one of the recent (not so much so) movies in which Luffy fights the ex admiral Zetto (I think that was his name), and the song from the final battle got in my head for a while, I can rmemeber.

Besides those, I'd probably cite some DB movies as OP and DB are the only franchises I've bothered to watch the movies.

On a side note, firstly I thought you were asking about live action movies haha.