9 best anime on HBO Max (#3 is one of the greatest psychological thrillers of all time)
Overview & Key Takeaways
Some are genre staples, while others are overlooked gems.
Anime has always found a way to cater to different tones and moods. With summer anime season just around the corner, there are several genres worth dabbling in. Science Saru’s The Ghost in the Shell reboot awaits, along with a brand-new adaptation named Jaadugar: A Witch in Mongolia, which could very well be a sleeper hit. There’s also Netflix’s Fool Night adaptation, whose intriguing first look promises layered visual symbolism. While Crunchyroll continues to be home to most new and returning anime, Netflix and Amazon are doing their utmost to catch up. Meanwhile, HBO Max has a comparatively smaller selection of anime to choose from, but some titles are worth checking out if you already have a subscription.
The first thing you’ll notice is that HBO Max is partial to anime movies. To that end, the streaming service offers almost every Studio Ghibli film, including Kiki's Delivery Service (which is soon getting the live-action treatment) and Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. You’ll also find several Makoto Shinkai movies, like the deeply moving Your Name and the devastating 5 Centimeters Per Second. With that in mind, here are 9 best anime you can stream on HBO Max.
1 Angel’s Egg
Image: Studio Deen
Mamoru Oshii, known for 1995’s Ghost in the Shell and Patlabor 2: The Movie, creates an unforgettably unique vision inAngel’s Egg. Featuring sparse spoken dialogue and a tale steeped in lush imagery, Angel’s Egg centers on a young girl who roams through a strange and desolate land to scavenge for survival. The girl carries a giant egg, which she goes to great lengths to protect because she believes it will hatch into an angel. The stark contrast between the bleak, hollowed-out city and the budding hope that the egg represents is the crux of Oshii’s masterwork, which uses a gorgeously moody art style to convey its meaning. At its heart, Angel’s Egg might feel like a simple story about faith and the duality of existence, but its thematic complexity becomes clear once you immerse yourself in the film’s dense symbolism.
2 Lazarus
Image: MAPPA
Lazarus might play out like the best hits that make up Shinichirō Watanabe’s (Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo) illustrious career, but this MAPPA anime makes the best out of an intriguing premise. Set in the year 2052, Lazarus grapples with Hapna, a miracle drug that seemingly eradicates all physical and emotional pain. The creator of the drug, Dr. Skinner, makes an ominous announcement after more than half of the population is hooked on this mass-produced drug. He claims that anyone who has ever ingested Hapna will die. The titular Lazarus team is assembled in response, which includes Axel, an incredibly agile parkour expert. While Axel mirrors the “whatever happens, happens” philosophy echoed by Bebop’s Spike Spiegel, Lazarus tries a bit too hard to sell this stylized nonchalance. Even so, this 13-episode series unfolds like a gripping mystery rife with kinetic fight choreography and dramatic stakes.
3 Perfect Blue
Image: Madhouse
Satoshi Kon has fascinated audiences with entries likeMillennium Actress, Paranoia Agent, and Paprika, all of which indulge in psychological impulses that make humans tick. Kon’s acclaimed directorial debut, Perfect Blue, does the same by dissecting celebrity voyeurism and toxic idol culture with searing intensity. Mima, a former pop idol, decides to transition into acting, but this shift destabilizes her public perception along with her hold on objective reality. Kon uses the dream-reality divide to take us on a disorienting ride where Mima experiences a harrowing loss of autonomy. The true merits of Perfect Blue lie in Kon’s unprecedented mastery over the animated medium, allowing him to accommodate the most disturbing and thought-provoking imagery filtered through a riveting psychological thriller.
4 Children Who Chase Lost Voices
Image: CoMix Wave Films
If you liked the tender magical realism of Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume, his 2011 fantasy film, Children Who Chase Lost Voices, might be right up your alley. The story revolves around a lonely young girl named Asuna who spends her days listening to the music that flows out of her the radio her late father had gifted her. After being ambushed by a mythical creature, Asuna is rescued by a boy named Shun, who claims to have traveled from another realm in search of something in Asuna’s world. Shinkai delves into the themes of grief and the pain of moving on, which he had previously tackled in 5 Centimeters Per Second and would go on to explore again in The Garden of Words and Weathering With You. No child should have to think about death or the anxieties connected to it, but Children Who Chase Lost Voices is hopeful that those like Asuna can find the strength to heal and keep moving forward.
Prime Video is a treasure trove for anime blind spots and overlooked gems
5 Ponyo
Image: Toho
The full breadth of the Studio Ghibli experience can only be felt once you venture beyond certified classics. Titles like Princess Mononoke or Grave of the Fireflies are seminal entry-point films, but overlooked entries like Pom Poko or The Secret World of Arrietty offer wonders that might leave you pleasantly surprised. Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo, however, emerges as a curious case. Despite its astounding box office success, the film doesn’t quite have the same cultural pull as Spirited Away or My Neighbor Totoro. That said, Ponyo is a magical film about an unlikely friendship, the kind that exists between 5-year-old Sosuke and a goldfish named Ponyo. Miyazaki’s knack for poetic dynamism remains unparalleled, and Ponyo is a solid example of a world that thrives on dreamlike imagination.
6 Wolf Children
Image:Studio Chizu
Fairy tale settings are often inherently magical, but a story can remain heartwrenching even within that escapist framework. Mamoru Hosoda’s Wolf Children is a worthwhile exploration of found family and self-discovery, understood through the lens of Hana, who falls in love with a wolf man during her second year of college. Giving birth to two hybrid children named Ame and Yuki, Hana has to undergo arduous challenges after her lover meets a tragic demise. Wolf Children’s spellbinding animation helps temper some of its trope-heavy storytelling, but it is the sincerity of Hosoda’s view on parenthood that grants the film its unique charm. The emotional weight of Hana’s story never falters, as Wolf Children portrays the messiness of human emotion without restraint. The result is a bleak, beautifully crafted anime about the inevitable nature of change and the freedom that comes with it.
7 The Colors Within
Image: Science Saru
Science Saru’s The Colors Within is many things. It is a tender coming-of-age tale, a celebration of adolescent creativity, and a stirring musical. High school student Totsuko can see people as vibrant colors, and this unconventional perspective allows her to meet people halfway with the emotional depth they deserve. Totsuko befriends her classmate Kim and a boy named Rui, who strike a beautiful friendship and decide to practice as a band. The Colors Within relishes the mundane intimacy that comes with formative friendships, as the trio shares their hopes and dreams without the fear of being judged or ridiculed. Growing up can feel challenging in restrictive environments, but there’s solace to be found in like-minded people who believe in the same things that these kids do.
8 The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Image: Kadokawa Herald Pictures
Another Mamoru Hosoda gem, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time resists the conventional tropes of a time travel story. Here, teenager Makoto uses her time travel abilities for frivolous problems like retaking a test to score higher or manipulating time to perform karaoke for ungodly hours. Beneath these carefree actions is a sense of unease, as Makoto’s growing pains cannot be side-stepped with time travel. This is a story about the fleeting nature of youth and the truly irreversible nature of time — although Makoto can relive moments she deems precious, her preoccupation with the past alienates her from the present. With great power comes great responsibility, which is why accepting the consequences of one’s actions is an integral part of the process. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time might be more slice-of-life than mystery thriller, but that doesn’t detract from its effective portrayal of cyclical cause and effect.
9 The Tale of the Princess Kaguya
Image: Studio Ghibli
Isao Takahata’s The Tale of the Princess Kaguyais nothing short of an artistic triumph. One would think that a reinterpretation of a well-known (and oft-adapted) 10th century Japanese literary tale would have nothing novel to say, but Takahata reinvents this classic with postmodern themes. Apart from boasting dreamy visual beauty, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya tells the moving story about a doll-like creature that transforms into a human baby after a bamboo-cutter finds her in the forest. This child, later called Kaguya, grows at an alarming rate, but the joy of this transitional period is ruined by patriarchal misogyny and the horrors that come with it. The Tale of the Princess Kaguya lays bare the dangers of well-intentioned ignorance and the shackles that are a part of regressive social conventions.
