Spirited Away

On the way to their new home, 10-year-old Chihiro Ogino's family stumbles upon a deserted theme park. Intrigued, the family investigates the park, though unbeknownst to them, it is secretly inhabited by spirits who sleep by day and appear at night. When Chihiro's mother and father eat food from a restaurant in the street, angry spirits turn them into pigs. Furthermore, a wide sea has appeared between the spirit world and the human one, trapping Chihiro, the sole human, in a land of spirits. Luckily for her though, a mysterious boy named Haku appears, claiming to know her from the past. Under his instructions, Chihiro secures a job in the bathhouse where Haku works. With only her courage and some new found friends to aid her, Chihiro embarks on a journey to turn her parents back to their original forms and return home.

A Letter to Momo

Momo is a young girl who grew up in a big city. However, following the premature loss of her father, she has to move with her mother to the old family house on a remote island. Here, time seems to have stopped: old wooden buildings, holy shrines surrounded by trees, fields painstakingly carved out from steep hills... and no shopping mall. Needless to say, Momo is not too overenthusiastic about this new environment. Most of all, her heart is still feeling uneasy about an unfinished letter left by her father. A letter that contained only two words: "Dear Momo..." What was dad going to say? One day, exploring the attic of her new big house, Momo finds a dusty and worn out book. And from that moment, something really unexpected starts happening around her... (Source: Production I.G Official Website)

The Boy and the Heron

While the Second World War rages, the teenage Mahito, haunted by his mother’s tragic death, is relocated from Tokyo to the serene rural home of his new stepmother Natsuko, a woman who bears a striking resemblance to the boy’s mother. As he tries to adjust, this strange new world grows even stranger following the appearance of a persistent gray heron, who perplexes and bedevils Mahito, dubbing him the “long-awaited one.” (Source: Letterboxd)

My Neighbor Totoro

Follow the adventures of Satsuki and her four-year-old sister Mei when they move into a new home in the countryside. To their delight they discover that their new neighbor is a mysterious forest spirit called Totoro who can be seen only through the eyes of a child. Totoro introduces them to extraordinary characters, including a cat that doubles as a bus, takes them on a journey through the wonders of nature. (Source: Disney)

Suzume

The story follows Suzume, a 17-year-old girl from a quiet Kyushu town who meets a young man looking for a door. They find a door within ruins in the mountain, and Suzume opens it. Soon, more doors begin to open around Japan, bringing disasters from the other side. The film depicts Suzume's liberation and growth, as she closes the doors that are causing disaster. (Source: Anime News Network)

Jarinko Chie

Jarinko Chie is a movie directed by Takahata in 1981. Based on the very popular manga by Etsumi Haruki, it is about ten year old Chie, "the most unfortunate girl in Japan," who manages her family diner while her unemployed yakuza father and her mother are separated. This sounds really depressing, but it's actually a very funny comedy. The story is set in Osaka, which has a totally different culture from Tokyo.

The Masterful Cat is Depressed Again Today

When Saku took in a stray black cat, she never expected that he would become the equivalent of a housekeeping life partner. But Yukichi, a giant cat who towers over Saku, is not your ordinary feline. He takes great pride in his culinary skills, and a good sale at the supermarket always gets his whiskers twitching. Saku may not have her act together yet, but at least she has Yukichi! (Source: Seven Seas Entertainment)

Nijiiro Hotaru: Eien no Natsuyasumi

Yuuta was 12-year-old boy, who had lost his father in the traffic accident one year ago. In the summer vacation, he visited a deserted dam deep in the mountains, where he had a good time with his father before. Suddenly a thunder storm occurred and he slipped on the ground. He lost consciousness and woke up to find a girl and an unfamiliar village. He time-traveled 30 years and reached a village, which sank at the bottom of the dam. This is Yuuta's precious memory of "another" summer vacation.

Natsume's Book of Friends Season 1

Natsume has always been an outcast because he inherited his grandmother's ability to see yokai. After moving to his grandmother's hometown and accidentally releasing a yokai imprisoned in a Lucky Cat statue, he learns about his grandmother's "Book of Friends," which contains the names of the yokai she defeated, and allows its wielder to command the yokai named within. Since then, yokai now visit him on a daily basis, seeking to either get their names back or take possession of the Book of Friends. (Source: NIS America)

Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko

“Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko” is the heartwarming and moving comedy drama of an unconventional family – a not-so-ordinary mother-and-daughter pair who live their lives to the fullest. Easy-going, cheerful, passionate and always ready to eat something delicious, mother Nikuko falls hard for the bad guys. Her happy motto: “Ordinary is best of all!” Naturally Nikuko’s loud and bold spirit embarrasses 11-year-old Kikuko, her daughter on the verge of puberty. With nothing in common except living together on a boat at the port, a miracle occurs when their secret is revealed.

Children of the Sea

One summer vacation, Ruka meets two boys, "Umi" and "Sora," whose upbringing contains strange and wonderful secrets. Drawn to their beautiful swimming, almost more like flying, Ruka and the adults who know them are intertwined in a complex mesh... Meanwhile, an unexplained anomaly is occurring all over the world: fish are disappearing. Thus begins a marine adventure of boys and girls to captivate all the senses!

Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki is an enterprising young girl who must follow tradition to become a full-fledged witch. Venturing out with only her chatty black cat, Jiji, Kiki flies off for the adventure of a lifetime. Landing in a far-off city, she sets up a high-flying delivery service and begins a wonderful experience of independence and responsibility as she finds her place in the world. (Source: Disney)

My Neighbors the Yamadas

Join in the adventures of the quirky Yamada family -- from the hilarious to the touching -- brilliantly presented in a unique, visually striking comic strip style. Takashi Yamada and his wacky wife Matsuko, who has no talent for housework, navigate their way through the ups and downs of work, marriage and family life with a sharp-tongued grandmother who lives with them, a teenage son who wishes he had cooler parents, and a pesky daughter whose loud voice is unusual for someone so small. Even the family dog has issues! (Source: Disney)

Wolf Children

The theme of the film is the love between parents and children. The story covers 13 years and begins with a 19-year-old college student named Hana who encounters and falls in "fairy tale-like" love with a "wolf man." After marrying the wolf man, Hana gives birth and raises two wolf children—an older sister named Yuki who was born on a snowy day, and a younger brother named Ame who was born on a rainy day. The four quietly lived in a corner of a city to conceal the existence of the "wolf children," but when the wolf man suddenly dies, Hana decides to move to a rural town far removed from the city. (Source: Anime News Network)

MUSHI-SHI

Neither good nor evil, they are life in its purest form. Vulgar and strange, they have inspired fear in humans since the dawn of time and have, over the ages, come to be known as "mushi." The stories of the Mushi and the people they affect are all linked together by a traveling Mushi-shi, or "Mushi Master," who seeks rare Mushi sightings and uses his shaman-like knowledge of Mushi to help the affected people. What are the Mushi and what do they want? (Source: Funimation)

The Concierge

“The word ‘no’ doesn’t exist in a concierge’s dictionary.” </i> That’s just one of the demanding rules that Akino must abide by in her new job as a saleswoman at the elegant and expansive Hokkyoku Department Store. It’s a very special store — the customers are all animals, and the most valued among them are of extinct species. Sea minks, laughing owls, Japanese wolves, even an enormous mammoth — that’s Mr. Woolly, the celebrated sculptor whose works are showcased at the store. It’s still a luxury retail space, though, and anxious Akino finds her hands full with the customers’ challenging requests. These range from hard-to-find merchandise to more complicated matters of the heart. Can the inexperienced Akino fulfill their whims and meet their expectations? If she wants to keep her job, she’ll have to succeed while under constant observation by the fussy floor manager Mr. Toudou, a creepy consultant eager to downsize the staff, and the store’s enigmatic president (who is not a penguin, by the way!). (Source: Fantasia International Film Festival, edited)

Okko's Inn

The film will tell a story not told in either the original book series or the television series — specifically, a story about "Okko" and her parents. (Source: Anime News Network)

The House of the Lost on the Cape

17-year-old run-away Yui and 8-year-old Hiyori, who lost her family and her voice, have no place to go when they run into Kiwa, a strange old lady. She offers them a place to stay, in a slightly banged-up old house overlooking the sea, a Mayoiga. Despite joining Kiwa on a whim, the two girls find comfort in Mayoiga, a legendary house, said to look after lost travelers, and the warm hospitality of Kiwa. Both girls' damaged hearts begin to heal little by little. Until one day, a variety of strange beings which Kiwa calls “Fushigitto” begin popping up around the house. (Source: Eleven Arts)