1. Spirited Away ( Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi )
Year of Release: 2002
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Hayao Miyazaki, Kirk Wise
Actors: Daveigh Chase, Lauren Holly, Suzanne Pleshette, Michael Chiklis, David Ogden Stiers, Jason Marsden
Plot: A young girl is whisked away to a world of witches, dragons, gods and spirits when her parents stop at a seemingly abandoned amusement park. When her parents are transformed into pigs, it's up to Chihiro to make new friends and believe in herself in order to find the way back to her own world.
2. Seven Samurai, The ( Shichinin no samurai )
Year of Release: 1954
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Adventure/Action
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi, Minoru Chiaki, Daisuke Katô
Plot: A village under attack recruits seven warriors to try and protect their
village.
3. Rashômon
Year of Release: 1950
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama/Crime
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki, Kichijiro Ueda
Plot: A crime is told from four different points of view, through different people - but which version is the truth?
4. Princess Mononoke ( Mononoke-hime )
Year of Release: 1997
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/Action
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Actors: Claire Danes, Billy Crudup, Billy Bob Thornton, Minnie Driver, Jada Pinkett Smith, Gillian Anderson
Plot: A prince leaves his country to find a cure for a disease that was passed onto him by a possessed boar god. He goes east to find a cure and put a stop to what is angering the gods of the forest.
5. Howl's Moving Castle ( Hauru no ugoku shiro )
Year of Release: 2005
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Hayao Miyazaki, Rick Dempsey
Actors: Christian Bale, Jean Simmons, Billy Crystal, Lauren Bacall, Emily Mortimer, Jena Malone
Plot: A young woman finds herself the receipient of a curse and seeks out the secretive wizard Howl in order to break the spell.
6. Ikiru
Year of Release: 1952
Overall Rating: 3.3 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Actors: Takashi Shimura, Shinichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka, Minoru Chiaki, Miki Odagiri, Bokuzen Hidari
Plot: A dedicated old man is an official in the Public Affair division. For the very first time in 30 years of service he skips work to check on a health condition. His distant relationship with his son, along with that of a waiter and also a colleague, will change his perception of life and priorities.
7. My Neighbor Totoro ( Tonari no Totoro )
Year of Release: 1988
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/Fantasy
MPAA Rating: G
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Actors: Dakota Fanning, Elle Fanning, Evan Sabara, Frank Welker, Timothy Daly, Pat Carroll
Plot: Two young sisters move to the country to be closer to their sick mother. In the forest by their house they discover Totoro, a forest spirit, and the adventure begins.
8. Grave of the Fireflies ( Hotaru no haka )
Year of Release: 1988
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Anime/War
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Isao Takahata
Actors: Rhoda Chrosite, J. Robert Spencer, Veronica Taylor, Amy Jones, Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi
Plot: During WWII, a brother and his young sister are forced to survive on their
own after their mother is killed in an air raid and they shun their other
relatives.
9. Godzilla Minus One ( Gojira -1.0 )
Year of Release: 2023
Overall Rating: 3.4 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Action/Adventure
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Actors: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yûki Yamada, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki
Plot: In post-war Japan, the country and its people struggle to recover from the
fallout of war. And yet something much more devastating and dangerous
arises - a monster born from the atomic age that only brings about more
death and destruction.
10. Yojimbo
Year of Release: 1961
Overall Rating: 3.2 out of 4 stars
Language: Japanese
Genre: Action/Drama
MPAA Rating: NR
Director: Akira Kurosawa
Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Tatsuya Nakadai, Daisuke Katô, Yôko Tsukasa, Isuzu Yamada, Seizaburô Kawazu
Plot: A samurai enters a town where two families are feuding, as he develops
plan to play them against each other.
