If you’re a fan of anime, you’re in for a treat in 2023! Even if you haven’t been keeping up with all the latest releases, we’ve got you covered. Our curated list features the top anime releases of the year, and we’ve included convenient links to streaming services so you can catch up on all the excitement. As we say farewell to 2023, there’s much to look forward to in the new year, including our selection of the best anime movies of 2023 and a carefully chosen list of honourable mentions. Get ready for an anime-filled adventure in the coming year!
Sugar Apple Fairy Tale
Candy maker Anne Halford aspires to be a Silver Sugar Master, a designation reserved for nobility, and wants to follow in her mother’s footsteps. She hires the attractive but ill-mannered fairy Challe as her bodyguard so she can go to the capital and fulfil her goal. Anne wants to get to know her new buddy, Challe, but in this realm where fairies are considered property, she doesn’t want to interact with people.
Cast: Yuka Nukui, Celeste Perez, Masaaki Mizunaka, Ivan Jasso, Rie Takahashi, Tomoaki Maeno, and Takuma Terashima
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Director: Yōhei Suzuki
Genre: Drama
Also Read: Upcoming OTT Releases
Scavengers Reign
Scavengers Reign focuses on the human drama that arises after a party of survivors crashes on a terrible new planet. The survivors see both beautiful and scary native plants and animals when they gather at their spacecraft’s landing site, and they get a firsthand look at the kind of intricately linked ecological web they have fallen into. As they travel farther and learn to adjust to their new home, the brilliantly animated world gradually embraces them into its surroundings.
Cast: Sunita Mani, Wunmi Mosaku, Alia Shawkat, Bob Stephenson, and Ted Travelstead
IMDb Rating: 8.8
Where to watch: Jio Cinema
Director: Joseph Bennett
Genre: Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix
The series centres on Dolph Laserhawk, a former soldier turned criminal whose explosive heists make him one of the most sought-after men in the world. It is set in a dystopian future where the United States has become an authoritarian technocracy referred to as Eden. Laserhawk and his boyfriend, Alex Taylor, have little trouble beating fleets of Eden’s policemen as an enhanced sharpshooter with cyber advantage.
Cast: Nathaniel Curtis, Caroline Ford, Balak, Boris Hiestand, David Menkin, Mark Ebulue, Sam Fisher, Nigel Barber, Adi Shankar, and Courtney Mae-Briggs
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Where to watch: Netflix
Director: Mehdi Leffad
Genre: Action
Also Read: Upcoming Bollywood Movies on OTT with Release Dates
Blue-Eye Samurai
Meet Mizu, the Blue Eye Samurai—a lone warrior with a score to settle and no time for friends. Mizu, who hides her gender and mixed race, navigates life with a vendetta against four white men in Japan, one of whom might be her potential father. It’s a captivating and entertaining tale of intrigue and revenge.
Cast: Maya Erskine, Masi Oka, Darren Barnet, Brenda Song, George Takei, Randall Park, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, and Kenneth Branagh
IMDb Rating: 8.8
Where to watch: Netflix
Director: Jane Wu
Genre: Action
Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End
After defeating the Demon King, the brave explorers Frieren, an elf wizard, and their companions have restored peace to the region. After the epic battle, they all go their separate ways in hopes of leading calm lives. However, Frieren, being an elf, is almost eternal and will outlive the rest of her previous group. Frieren sets off on a quest to reconcile: how can she accept that her friends are mortal, how will she find fulfilment in her own life, and how can she discover the significance of life to those around her?
Cast: Atsumi Tanezaki, Kana Ichinose, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Hiroki Tôchi, Yôji Ueda, Chiaki Kobayashi, and Kento Shiraishi
IMDb Rating: 8.9
Where to watch: Disney+Hotstar
Director: Keiichirô Saitô
Genre: Adventure
Pluto
In the futuristic world of Pluto, humans and robots coexist, but there’s a hierarchy favouring humans. Robots, skilled in various jobs, face mistreatment despite legal recognition of their rights. As AI becomes crucial, humans also see it as a potential threat, creating a complex dynamic in this society.
Cast: Shinshū Fuji, Yoko Hikasa, Mamoru Miyano, Hidenobu Kiuchi
IMDb Rating: 8.3
Where to watch: Netflix
Director: Toshio Kawaguchi
Genre: Drama
My Daemon
The protagonist of the story, Kento, a cute little boy who lives alone with his mother and his pet daemon, Anna, is a person who isn’t terrible. Let’s just get this explanation over with now. In this universe, radioactive pollution gave rise to daemons. For reasons unique to the plot, humans despise them. Everyone believes Kento is a loser, but he loves them because he is an optimist. Despite Anna’s peculiar appearance, Kento finds her adorable. It’s about humans attempting to live in harmony with little animals, each of which has unique powers. Permission to use them as pets has been granted to some people. The only way the creatures can communicate is by repeatedly uttering their names in different tones.
Cast: Miyuri Shimabukuro, Cassandra Lee Morris, Kokoro Kikuchi, Cristina Vee, Fumiko Orikasa,Amber Lee Connors, Ayane Sakura, Ryan Bartley, Wataru Hatano, Robbie Daymond, Naoya Miyase, Benjamin Diskin, and Jouji Nakata
IMDb Rating: 8
Where to watch: Netflix
Director: Nat Yoswatananont
Genre: Science Fiction
Onimusha
An original Netflix production, Onimusha animation is centred around the renowned swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. Musashi’s desire to improve his swordsmanship is at the center of this eight-episode tale. But after he starts a quest to restore justice to the people, Hamlet is terrorized. The main character, Musashi, has an intentionally unclear fate, reflecting one of the show’s central themes of combating both evil and one’s nature. All things considered, it’s a fascinating show that’s well worth seeing.
Cast: Akio Otsuka, Alain Mesa, Toshihiko Seki, Greg Chun, Hōchū Ōtsuka, Kirk Thornton Sahei, Daiki Yamashita, Yuri Lowenthal, Subaru Kimura, Christopher Swindle, Katsuyuki Konishi, and Matthew Yang King
IMDb Rating: 6.9
Where to watch: Netflix
Director: Takashi Miike
Genre: Action
Onmyoji
The legendary folklore surrounding Abe no Seimei, a gifted diviner thought to have truly existed in ancient Japan, forms the basis of the supernatural mystery adventure series. This story follows the fairly aloof and secretive Seimei as he successfully forges a deep connection with Minamoto no Hiromasa while solving several paranormal riddles. It is loosely based on certain Japanese books on this subject written by Baku Yumemakura. Fans of fantasy adventure and anime will undoubtedly like watching Onmyoji because it is entertaining overall.
Cast: Greg Chun, Howard Wang, Todd Haberkorn, Armen Taylor, Ben Lepley, Michael Sorich, and Rebeka Thomas
IMDb Rating: 6.5
Where to watch: Netflix
Director: Soubi Yamamoto
Genre: Drama
The Apothecary Diaries
Maomao is the daughter of an apothecary who has been taken from her tranquil life and sold to the lowest levels of the imperial palace. Maomao, who is now just a maid, adjusts to her new routine and keeps her vast medical knowledge a secret to keep people from noticing her. Shortly after Maomao arrives, the emperor’s young children mysteriously start to exhibit severe symptoms, almost as though a curse has been placed on them. In an attempt to stay out of the spotlight, the inquisitive Maomao leaves an anonymous tip after solving the puzzle with ease. Due to her talent, Maomao received a promotion. As Maomao continues to treat the various illnesses plaguing the imperial court, her knowledge of medicine quickly becomes invaluable.
Cast: Aoi Yūki, Emi Lo, Takahiro Sakurai, Kaiji Tang, Kenjiro Tsuda, Katsuyuki Konishi, Alex Hom, Yoko Hikasa, Atsumi Tanezaki, and Molly Zhang
IMDb Rating: 8.5
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Director: Norihiro Naganuma
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Romance
Spy x Family: The Movie
Spy X Family Code: White tracks the Forgers, an unusual trio consisting of a telepath, an assassin, and a spy, as well as their telepathic pet dog, Bond. Loid, Yor, and Anya make up the family. Loid arranges a family vacation as part of his undercover operation, Operation Strix. With Anya’s help, the trip becomes an exhilarating adventure that the three of them go on in an attempt to save the world.
Cast: Yūko Kaida, Tomoya Nakamura, Takuya Eguchi, Shunsuke Takeuchi, Saori Hayami, Natsumi Fujiwara, Kento Kaku, Kensho Ono, Kenichirō Matsuda, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Hiroyuki Yoshino, and Emiri Katō
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Where to watch: Crunchyroll
Director: Takashi Katagiri
Genre: Action Comedy
Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King
The protagonist, Asta, is the only person without magical abilities in this universe. The small child continues to dream of being the next Wizard King, the most powerful magician in Clover Kingdom, despite this. Yuno, a student of Wind Magic, and he both grew up in an orphanage managed by the church. They view each other as competitors while having different innate abilities. Asta makes an effort to maintain his physical strength while not knowing magic, and one day he finds a five-leaf grimoire that allows him to use an anti-magic sword. Their journey towards destiny commences when he and Yuno arrive in the city and become members of several magic knight teams.
Cast: Gakuto Kajiwara, Dallas Reid, Nobunaga Shimazak, Micah Solusod, Kana Yūki, Jill Harris, Junichi Suwabe, Christopher Sabat, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Robert McCollum, Toshihiko Seki, Chris Niosi, and Hōchū Ōtsuka
IMDb Rating: 7.4
Where to watch: Netflix
Director: Ayataka Tanemura
Genre: Action Fantasy
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The film transports viewers to a vivid and exciting new realm, inspired by the world of Nintendo’s Mario video games. The brothers Luigi and Mario, plumbers from Brooklyn, are carried down an enigmatic route and find themselves in a fantastical new world as they are working below ground to mend a water main. Mario, however, sets out on a heroic mission to locate Luigi after the brothers split apart.
Cast: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Kevin Michael Richardson
IMDb Rating: 7.1
Where to watch: Jio Cinema
Director: Aaron Horvath
Genre: Adventure Comedy
Top Anime Movies of 2023
| Movie Name | Language | IMDb Rating | Release Date |
| Sugar Apple Fairy Tale | English | 7.4 | 6 January 2023 |
| Scavengers Reign | English | 8.8 | 19 October 2023 |
| Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix | English | 7.1 | 19 October 2023 |
| Blue-Eyed Samurai | English | 8.8 | 3 November 2023 |
| Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End | English | 8.9 | 29 September 2023 |
| Pluto | English | 8.3 | 26 October 2023 |
| My Daemon | English | 8 | 23 November 2023 |
| Onimusha | English | 6.9 | 2 November 2023 |
| Onmyoji | English | 6.5 | 20 June 2016 |
| The Apothecary Diaries | English | 5.5 | 22 October 2023 |
| Spy x Family: The Movie | English | 8.4 | 22 December 2023 |
| Black Clover: Sword of the Wizard King | English | 7.4 | 16 June 2023 |
| The Super Mario Bros. Movie | English | 7.1 | 7 April 2023 |
