5 Anime Movies That Need to Head West

Kuroko’s Basketball: Last Game

5 Anime Movies That Need to Head West

Kuroko’s Basketball: Last Game made headlines in Japan for its successful run in theaters. In only 9 weeks the movie was able to pull in more than 1 billion yen (just over 9 million USD). The run was considered so successful that the Shinjuku Piccadilly theater in Tokyo ran another special screening of the film with the three main voice actors in attendance. It’s proof that the film did well over seas but the real reason why the movie should come to the West is the simple fact that the anime is a beloved series here as well.

Kuroko’s Basketball is available on Crunchyroll and has overwhelmingly positive ratings. In a sea of sports centered anime that tend to fall flat, Kuroko’s Basketball has always managed to break the mold and stand out. It seems like the movie may capture that very same essence.

Laughing Under the Clouds: Side Story

5 Anime Movies That Need to Head West

Laughing Under the Clouds is a popular manga that was eventually adapted into an anime series in 2014. While the series is available on Funimation, there hasn’t been a lot of word on a worldwide release for the upcoming animated film. The film Laughing Under the Clouds: Side Story will release in Japan this December and is slated to be the first of three films that are all based on the popular manga.

It takes its audience through a country filled with disarray, rebellion and conflict. In the midst of all the chaos, the Kumo brothers have been tasked with the responsibility of rounding up the many criminals that are currently running free and taking advantage of a government that is experiencing a particularly vulnerable moment. The manga and the anime series show of great action scenes all while failing to let the story dwindle away. Now the movie is bringing the animators of Attack on Titan on board to give the animated films the same breath of life and we’re just hoping that fans in the West will get to witness it soon too.

Detective Conan: The Crimson Love Letter

5 Anime Movies That Need to Head West

Detective Conan: The Crimson Love Letter only recently hit theaters on Japan in April of this year. Since then, however, it’s been a huge success. Of course, this should come as no surprise considering how loyal and massive the fanbase is when it comes to the Detective Conan series.

The Crimson Love Letter marks the 21st feature film for the series and it managed to beat out is predecessor at the box office—as every good sequel should. Last year’s Pure Black Nightmare pulled in roughly 6.33 billion yen (around 57.4 million USD) at the box office while Crimson Love Letter hit more than 6.35 billion yen (approximately 57.6 million USD). The Detective Conan series, after all these years, just still manages to give fans enough of the familiarity they’re looking for while also giving them new reasons to come back 20 films later.

Monster Strike: The Movie

5 Anime Movies That Need to Head West

Gamers know all too well how horrendous movies based on video games tend to be. Anime series and movie adaptations of your favorite game usually lack all the magic that made you fall in love with the game in the first place while stuffing the content with whatever overused tropes producers think are necessary to push tickets. Monster Strike: The Movie, however, shows quite a bit of promise. An anime series for Monster Strike was released on the web in October of 2015 and was met with quite a bit of praise. By the time December 2016 rolled around, Monster Strike received its very own feature length film. The movie was number two at the box office during its opening weekend but topped its competition in number of attendance.

 Doraemon the Movie 2017: Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi

5 Anime Movies That Need to Head West

If you were impressed with Detective Conan reaching 21 successful films, you’ll be extremely impressed with Doraemon. Doraemon the Movie 2017: Great Adventure in the Antarctic Kachi Kochi is the 37th movie in the Doraemon series. Sure, the series may be for kids but think about all the other American films that were made for kids that we all watch anyway. Doraemon starts to feel the same way—even if you’re ashamed to admit it. So whether you’re inner child has secretly been watching Doraemon when nobody is around or you really just want a quality anime to take the kids to, having Doraemon the Movie 2017 come to the States would be a great treat.