FEATURE: 5 Films New to Crunchyroll to Watch on Your Next Movie Night
A couple months ago, I put together a guide to your Crunchyroll Movie Night, celebrating many of my favorite films currently available on Crunchyroll. That list felt definitive to me for about all of five minutes and these upcoming days are only going to exacerbate the problem; as it turns out, we’ve had a diverse slate of films head to the service throughout December. This clearly calls for a new round of recommendations so I can help to guide you all in your perusal of the new offerings.
As I attested last time, anime films often represent the medium at its absolute peak, thrilling with both their dazzling animation and diversity of storytelling. That remains eminently true of this new crop; in fact, this new crowd literally includes my favorite films by two of my favorite anime directors. From expansive fantasy dramas to intimate personal stories, Crunchyroll’s December additions span the breadth of animated excellence and should provide at least one or two selections for basically any audience. Without further ado, let’s highlight some of Crunchyroll’s latest and greatest films!
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Naoko Yamada is perhaps the greatest living anime director, an incomparable talent whose reverence for the tiny details of character acting breathes life into every one of her works. Together with Kyoto Animation, she created a string of staggeringly beautiful animated films, culminating in the masterpiece that is Liz and the Blue Bird. Focused on two secondary characters from Sound! Euphonium, the film conjures the felt experience of anxious adolescence with more acuity and poignancy than anything else I’ve seen. And fortunately, Liz is arriving on the service accompanied by Sound! Euphonium’s recap and continuation films, giving you little excuse for missing one of anime’s greatest recent achievements.
There are few directors who I’d dare to mention in the same breath as Yamada, but Satoshi Kon absolutely qualifies. His collection of films represents a singular fusion of human psychology, self-reflective media commentary, and surrealist beauty that is unmistakably his own, whether he’s exploring the dark side of idoldom, the secret messages of dreams, or the ways we imprint and reflect on the films we love. That last topic serves as the guiding principle of Millennium Actress, a whirlwind tour through a half-century of film productions framed as an interview with a retired actress. In Kon’s hands, the instincts that drive this actress and the motives of her film heroines are vividly entwined, resulting in a thrilling romance that feels like five films in one.
Alongside these titans of animated cinema, Crunchyroll is also acquiring a fantasy epic by a new director, but one whose presence in the industry as a writer has been felt for decades. Mari Okada’s gift for constructing sympathetic characters and towering dramas has elevated shows ranging from Anohana: The Flower We Saw That Day to Mobile Suit GUNDAM Iron Blooded Orphans, and Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms embodies everything that is poignant and powerful about her work. Centered on a young exile from a community of nearly ageless humans, the film offers both a sprawling fantasy world and an intimate tale of family, tugging at the relationships between parents and children, as well as the ways we endure and redefine ourselves in a changing world. If you’ve got any fondness for fantasy or melodrama, Maquia is a must-see.
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Perhaps you’re looking for something a bit more light and cheerful. In that case, you might find what you’re looking for in Penguin Highway, a delightfully ridiculous tale about a town beset by mysterious penguins, which appear at random by transforming from inanimate objects. Our protagonist Aoyama sets off to investigate the cause of this phenomenon, prompting a rigorous scientific inquiry into an utterly absurd penguin crisis. Breezy, colorful and suffused with whimsy, Penguin Highway is a coming-of-age story unlike any other, and a recommended watch for any adventurous anime fan.
My last suggestion also comes with a show attached, and if you haven’t watched it already, I seriously envy you. Director Tsutomu Mizushima (Girls und Panzer, Witch Craft Works, Prison School) has spearheaded some of the most flat-out entertaining productions of the last decade, and SHIROBAKO ranks high among them. This unique drama catalogs the day-to-day crises of an active anime studio, charting their progress through multiple seasons of active production as our five leads all seek to make their own mark in the industry, be it through animation, production management, or voice acting. The series was capped off by SHIROBAKO The Movie, which will be popping up on Crunchyroll on December 22nd. I’ll be first in line to check it out when it drops, and I hope you all will be joining me!
That covers my own personal recommendations, though there are certainly further productions of interest coming down the pipe. I hope you’ve found a film or two that looks interesting among my choices and let me know what films you’re all planning or would like to see in the comments!
Nick Creamer has been writing about cartoons for too many years now and is always ready to cry about Madoka. You can find more of his work at his blog Wrong Every Time or follow him on Twitter.
