There have never been more places to watch anime, and it’s fascinating how the ever-evolving streaming wars have created multiple new homes for audiences to enjoy their favorite anime. There are still services like Crunchyroll that cater specifically to anime, but it’s surprising to see how hard other streamers have worked to match — and even surpass — Crunchyroll’s anime library. Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video have their share of standout anime selections.
However, it’s important not to overlook HBO Max, which has also gradually become a formidable name in anime streaming. HBO Max’s anime library is limited and curated more toward certain directors, studios, and artistic voices rather than simply acquiring the most popular properties. It’s still home to some exceptional anime that any HBO Max subscriber needs to check out.
Millennium Actress Is A Moving Meditation On Life, Legacy & Cinema
Satoshi Kon was a true anime visionary, and all of his films should be mandatory viewing for anime fans. Kon’s feature film debut, Perfect Blue, typically receives the most attention. Praise for this groundbreaking psychological masterpiece isn’t unwarranted, but Kon’s follow-up film, Millennium Actress, is even more accomplished in many respects. Two documentary filmmakers interview Chiyoko Fujiwara, a prolific actress from the golden age of Japanese cinema, who has become reclusive in her later years.
Fujiwara recounts a pivotal experience from her youth about trying to reunite with a mysterious painter that’s echoed throughout her life. Millennium Actress artistically blurs the lines among Chiyoko’s past, the fantastical nature of her memories, and the various roles she’s played throughout her career. What follows is a beautiful stream-of-consciousness character study that spans from Japan’s feudal era to futuristic space exploration. It’s such a powerful way to depict Chiyoko’s life and illustrate how her work has always been a reflection of this subconscious goal.
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The film’s unconventional storytelling draws on Kon’s expertise in expanding the imagination and blurring the line between fantasy and reality. It highlights how memories are driven by emotion, rather than events, which can lead to unreliable stories. Millennium Actress is a touching tale of a life well lived that’s easy for anyone to connect with, even if their lives are just getting started. It’s also such an effusive love letter to 1950s Japanese cinema and the building blocks of the modern anime industry.
Masaaki Yuasa is another anime filmmaker with an impeccable track record that’s full of diverse masterpieces in both film and television. HBO Max has a few Yuasa selections, such as the unconventional supernatural love story, Ride Your Wave. However, Inu-Oh — Yuasa’s most recent feature film — is the streamer’s standout selection by the stylized director. It’s such an impressive statement piece that encapsulates everything that Yuasa represents as a storyteller. Set in 14th-century Japan, Inu-Oh follows two outcasts — a cursed dancer who hides behind a mask and a blind biwa player — who create beautiful music together.
Inu-Oh and Tomona are used to hiding in the shadows and being ignored by society, but their music brings out the best in each other and culminates in bewildering and operatic concerts that unite Japan. Tomona and Inu-Oh’s pure displays of creativity and artistic expression are eventually viewed as an anarchic threat to societal order, which puts a big target on these two pure, kindred souls.
Yuasa never struggles to blend anachronistic ideas, but Inu-Oh is one of his most impressive accomplishments. It turns 14th-century Japanese history into a dazzling glam-rock celebration. Experimental and surreal visuals that play by their own rules are another strength of Yuasa’s films. Inu-Oh is no exception and its stylized spectacles heighten Tomona and Inu-Oh’s musical performances into something sacred. The film’s themes of creative oppression and the dangers of conformity remain just as relevant today and underscore its timeless message.
Angel’s Egg Is Surreal & Experimental Storytelling About Faith & Corruption
Angel’s Egg is a testament to anime’s ability to challenge and provoke its audience through more experimental and thematic experiences. Released in 1985 and only 71 minutes long, Angel’s Egg is still praised over four decades later. There’s a reason that it’s regarded as such an evergreen triumph. Mamoru Oshii, best known for his work on the Ghost in the Shell films, channels his fascination with theology and identity into this distinct saga.
Angel’s Egg understands that less is more. It doesn’t spoon-feed its audience answers and it has the confidence to feature lengthy sequences that are without dialogue where the audience must reach their own conclusions about what’s going on. A young girl wanders a hostile post-apocalyptic world as she carries and protects a large egg. She’s eventually joined by a man whose curiosity gets the better of him and he decides to break the girl’s egg. The girl’s belief and blind faith in the possibilities the egg represents clash with the hollow reality triggered by the man’s selfish actions.
Angel’s Egg is a powerful examination of doubt, disillusionment, and loneliness. There are so many ways to express these themes and yet Oshii’s film stands out as more of an avant-garde visual tone poem. It’s easy to get lost in the film’s detailed, abstract world, the likes of which are even more gorgeous after Angel’s Egg‘s recent 4K restoration. It’s a triumphant turning point for the anime industry, and it’s one of the best selections in HBO Max’s library.
The Colors Within Offers Cozy, Coming-Of-Age Catharsis Through Musical Expression
Anime can tackle any story imaginable, but it is especially powerful when a realistic, grounded story is expertly explored. Naoko Yamada is a filmmaker who excels in this space and her somber reflection on bullying, A Silent Voice, is a must-watch movie. Yamada’s most recent film, The Colors Within, is another tender look at self-discovery, insecurity, and the power of friendship and creative expression.
Totsuko is an introverted outsider who feels especially detached from reality because of her synesthesia, which causes her to see people’s emotions and personalities in vibrant colors. Totsuko finds a sense of belonging and acceptance after she befriends Kimi and Rui, who all form a band together. The Colors Within is such a delicate look at these timid characters who gradually come out of their shells and gain confidence in who they are, rather than the people who society wants them to be. There are endless anime about the healing power of music, but The Colors Within never feels derivative of other band stories.
Totsuko’s earnest friendships and the sweet music that they make together give The Colors Within a grounding emotional core. However, Totsuko’s synesthesia is also conveyed through gorgeous pastel visuals that render ordinary moments into unconventional artistic expressions. It’s such a soothing watch that speaks to anime’s ability to poignantly encapsulate slice-of-life storytelling.
Makoto Shinkai is quietly becoming the next Hayao Miyazaki, especially after his “Disaster Trilogy” that explores humanity’s fragile connection with nature. HBO Max has embraced Shinkai’s filmography and some of his greatest accomplishments are available to stream on the service. There are no wrong answers when it comes to Shinkai’s filmography, but it’s hard to top the heights of Your Name, a bold body-swapping rom-com that’s a mainstream crowd-pleaser. Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana are two high school students from very different backgrounds who have grown bored with their lives and long for more.
Taki and Mitsuha find themselves in each other’s bodies whenever they fall asleep, mystified by the lives that they temporarily inhabit, yet unable to actually communicate with each other. What follows is such an inventive spin on the whole star-crossed lovers trope that helps these individuals understand one another by living their lives. Your Name is effortless with both its romance and comedy, but there’s also a surprising supernatural turn that seriously raises the stakes.
Everything in this coming-of-age story feels genuine and it somehow takes something as broad and absurd as body-swapping shenanigans and uses it for emotional self-discovery and romantic complications. It’s as much of a success for its sincere portrayal of everyday hurdles and stresses as it is for its cosmic love story. Many of Shinkai’s films feature similar characters caught in comparable situations, but Your Name stands out as his creative apex. It builds to an unforgettable emotional climax that solidifies its status as one of the all-time great films of the 2010s, anime or otherwise, and an infinitely rewatchable HBO Max classic.
