 | Spirited Away
Buy new: $23.99 / Used from: $14.49 Welcome to the film world of Hayao Miyazaki. Spirited Away is a coming-of-age film comparable only with classics such as The Lion King. This film is a perfect introduction to anime.
Rating: Ages 6+ (G)
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 | Princess Mononoke
Buy new: $17.99 / Used from: $11.90 Princess Mononoke is accessible by preteens but deals with issues that cause headaches for adults - environmental stewardship, pacifism, and love, constructed in a marvelous setting of 13th Century Japan.
Rating: 13+ (PG-13)
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 | Castle in the Sky
Buy new: $21.99 / Used from: $12.28 This film by Miyazaki (you know and love him now, right?) is more geared towards children with its slapstick humor and whatnot, but is absolutely charming and stunningly beautiful.
Rating: 8+ (PG)
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 | Howl's Moving Castle
Buy new: $21.99 / Used from: $16.99 A perennial theme of Miyazaki's is love, which is extensively treated in this film. It is at once captivating and beautiful, and is profound without becoming sickeningly sweet.
Rating: 10+ (PG)
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 | Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
Buy new: $21.99 / Used from: $20.30 A magnam opus indeed. Miyazaki abandons love for pacifism and environmentalism in the most beautiful way you can imagine. Again, this film has the magic of being appropriate for children but relavant for adults.
Rating: 13+ (PG-13)
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 | Steamboy - Director's Cut (Widescreen Edition)
Buy new: $15.99 / Used from: $3.94 Good film here. By the end, you will probably have seen enough steam valves opening and closing to last the rest of your life, but the movie is worth it, I promise.
Rating: 12+ (PG)
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 | Millennium Actress
Buy new: $7.99 / Used from: $3.42 Fantastic, fantastic anime. Satoshi Kon treats doomed love as good as I've ever seen it. The animation is absolutely gorgeous.
Rating: 12+ (PG)
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 | Paprika
Buy new: $19.99 / Used from: $12.95 What if the line between dreams and reality were blurred? This is a first step into darker anime and it raises harrowing questions about the concious and subconcious mind.
Rating: 16+ (R)
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 | Cowboy Bebop Remix: Anime Legends
Buy new: $39.99 / Used from: $30.03 This series is just plain fun; it's a great way to kick back and relax. Highly, highly recommended.
Rating: 16+ (R)
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 | The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, Volume 1
Buy new: $26.99 / Used from: $17.28 The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is fantastic. It has just about everything one can ask from an anime TV series. Buying the series over the 'Net is prohibitively expensive so try uh, 'alternate' methods of procuring the series and you won't be disappointed.
Rating: 13+ (PG-13)
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 | Neon Genesis Evangelion: Platinum Collection
Buy used from: $44.99 Very complex, beautiful, riveting anime TV series. Best robot anime money can buy. I hear it's very dark but very worth it.
Rating: 16+ (R)
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 | Lain Complete Collection 4 Pak (Amazon.com Exclusive)
Buy used from: $48.00 What and where is the dividing line between the Internet and reality? This series explores that question in depth and is excellent, though disturbing as well. WARNING: it is very very different from anything you've seen previously. It takes getting used to.
Rating: 15+ (PG-13)
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 | Outlaw Star: Complete Collection
Buy new: $39.99 / Used from: $26.95 Time for some good old gritty fun! This is another science fiction anime and is a great way to relax after the harrowing series of Lain. It's not as good in my opinion as Haruhi or Miyazaki's films, but a good anime nonetheless.
Rating: 17+ (R)
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 | Akira
Buy used from: $10.99 Ready for weird? Buckle your seatbelt 'cause it's going to get crazy. This is a very 'anime' anime film based upon a 1200 page manga. DO NOT WATCH THIS IF IT IS YOUR FIRST TIME WATCHING ANIME. You may be ruined. But it is a worthwhile watch, even if it is complex and WEIRD.
17+ (R)
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