With how big the Japanese Anime Industry has become, it’s obvious that it has now become a global phenomenon. It’s highly unique art style of hand-drawn and computer-generated animation has given birth to various films, anime-based games, books, and much else besides. 

Upcoming Anime Movies in 2023/24

Curious about what’s next to come? Well, you’re in the right place!

Ready to take a walk to your nearest theater or open up your preferred streaming platform? Here’s 10 upcoming anime movies coming out in 2023/2024!

Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window

Movie Date: December 8, 2023 (Japan)
Studio:  Shin-Ei Animation
Director: Shinnosuke Yakuwa

“Totto-chan, the Little Girl at the Window” is a Japanese children’s classic book that teaches us about hope, courage, and happiness in the hardest times of war. Written by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi in 1981, this book has been a part of the Japanese school curriculum for a very long time.

Even though the story was well-known, it was never adapted for television. The news of it’s upcoming anime movie adaptation was good news for all of us, especially for the ones who knew about it.

The story is about an ideal school in Tokyo during World War II which taught it’s students in an unique manner, combined learning with fun, freedom, and love. It was ran by an extraordinary man – its founder and headmaster, Sosaku Kobayashi, who believed in freedom of expression. This school also had old railroad cars for classrooms.

The trailer shows the young girl Totto-chan visiting her new school. She meets the headmaster and gets fascinated by the railroad cars. We get to see her make new friends as she explores all the new things around her.

The Imaginary

Movie Date: December 15, 2023 (Japan)
Studio: Studio Ponoc
Director: Yoshiyuki Momose

Studio Ponoc announced that its latest animated feature film The Imaginary, based on the English novel of the same name by author A.F. Harrold and illustrator Emily Gravett, will be releasing in Japan on the 15th of December, 2023.

We all had “Imaginary Friends” during our childhood (you did… you’re not suffering from amnesia). Wouldn’t it be really awesome if we could get these “friends” in our real life? Being able to talk and interact with them would be really cool! That’s exactly what “The Imaginary” is about.

The official trailer shows us the story of Rudger, an imaginary friend created by a girl who lost love, Amanda. While we get to see them spending their time together, their world of imagination is about to disappear as a mysterious man seeks to destroy Rudger.

Spy x Family Code: White

Movie Date: December 22, 2023 (Japan)
Studio: Wit Studio and CloverWorks
Director: Kazuhiro Furuhashi

The film is set to be released in theatres in Japan on 22 December 2023. Crunchyroll has licensed the film and will release it in North America, Latin America, Australia/New Zealand and select countries in Europe (Austria, Benelux, France, Germany, Italy, the Nordics, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland) in 2024 with both English subbed and dubbed versions.

Loid and Yor keep their double lives to themselves while pretending to be the perfect family. However, their adopted daughter Anya, a telepath, knows both of their exciting secrets unbeknownst to them. (We all know this much I presume)

After receiving an order to be replaced in Operation Strix, Loid decides to help Anya win a cooking competition at Eden Academy by making the principal’s favorite meal in order to prevent his replacement. The Forgers decide to travel to the meal’s origin region, where they set off a chain of actions which could potentially put the world’s peace at risk.

Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp

Movie Date: January 12, 2024 (Japan)
Studio: Studio Shaft
Director: Tatsuya Oshi

The Monogatari fans out there seem to be eating good as that the three-part Kizumonogatari anime films will return to theaters in Japan in a reedited version under the title “Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp”, telling us its story in a completely new way.

The staff from SHAFT and the original Kizumonogatari films return for  Koyomi Vamp with Tatsuya Oishi as director, Hideyuki Morioka as the character designer, Yota Tsuruoka as the sound director and Satoru Kosaki doing the music with the film set to release in theatres on 12th January, 2024 in Japan.

Koyomi Araragi, a second year student at Naoetsu High School befriends Tsubasa Hanekawa, the top honors student at his school. Koyomi, who is usually anti-social, takes a liking to Tsubasa’s down-to-earth personality. One evening, Koyomi encounters a “blonde” vampire who calls out for help as she lies in a pool of her own blood.

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom

Movie Date: January 26, 2024
Studio: Bandai Namco Filmworks
Director: Mitsuo Fukuda

Mobile Suit Gundam SEED FREEDOM is set to open in Japan on January 26, 2024. Mitsuo Fukuda, the director of the previous two series, i.e, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and its direct sequel Mobile Suit Gundam Seed Destiny reurns to the director’s chair at Bandai Namco Filmworks.

After a long awaited 21 years since Gundam SEED aired, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED Freedom is finally making its return. Releasing in January next year, it is surreal to see this happening. Even if it’s not the best time for the fans, they are glad to see the Cosmic Era get a proper wrap-up.

We get to see some significant characters in their promotional video. Even though we saw many characters being worried over what Kira is attempting and wanting to stop him, we’ll have to wait till the 26th of January to really understand what’s happening.

Given: Hiiragi Mix

Movie Date: January 27, 2024 (Japan)
Studio: Studio Lerche
Director: Noriko Hashimoto

The new upcoming Given movie, titled as “Hiiragi Mix” has revealed it’s visuals and premier date of 27th January, 2024 in Japan. Apart from that, it was also revealed that SYH, an in-story band composed of Hiragi Kashima and Shizumi Yagi, will be making its real-life debut with Hiiragi’s VA being the vocalist.

The story revolves around Ritsuka Uenoyama, a high school student with a passion for playing the guitar. One day, he met Mafuyu Sato, a rather shy boy carrying a broken guitar. While fixing his guitar, Ritsuka comes across his incredible singing talent.

Even though Ritsuka has started losing his passion in music, after hearing Mafuyu sing for the first time, the song resonates with his heart and the distance between them start to change. For all the fans of music and anime out there, this will be nothing short of a delicious treat.

Me and Roboco

Movie Date: Winter 2024
Studio: Gallop
Director: Akitaro Daichi

Following the last episode of the Me & Roboco TV anime, the series announced that it will be headed to the big screens in an anime film in Winter 2024.

This year’s 28th issue of Shueisha’s Weekly Shonen Jump magazine also published a “Joyū to Roboco” (Actress & Roboco) story on Monday. In the story, Roboco tries her hand at acting in an independent film.

In a world in the future where everyone has their own maid robots known as “OrderMaids”, Bondo Taira dreams to one day have his own robot. After a lot of convincing, he gets one but what he receives is not something what he expected. He gets an “unable to compute” maid named Roboco who was the most powerful, yet clumsy robot ever created.

It’s no wonder that it’ll be fun to watch the interactions between Bondo, his friends and the very “not-your-average” robotic maid Roboco.

Kimi no Iro

Movie Date: 2024
Studio: Science SARU Story Inc.
Director: Naoko Yamada

We’ll have to wait a little longer as the next full-length anime film Kimi no Iro from beloved director Naoko Yamada, best known for directing K-ON! and A Silent Voice ,was pushed back from its previous Fall 2023 date to 2024.

The story of Kimi no Iro revolves around Totsuko, a high-school student in Nagasaki who can see the hearts of people as colors. Whether they’re happy colors, sad colors, peaceful colors. In order to not darken her friend’s and family’s “colors,” Totsuko is careful to read the room and stretches the truth to keep them all brightly colored.

One day at an antique bookshop in the corner of town, she meets a beautiful woman with an incredibly beautiful color and a music-loving boy trying to put together a band.

Haikyuu!! Gomi Suteba no Kessan

Movie Date: February 16, 2024
Studio: Production I.G
Director: Mariko Ishikawa

A sports anime! The one we all know and love. Haikyu!! Gomi Suteba no Kessen (Haikyu!! the Movie: Decisive Battle at the Garbage Dump) and will depict the epic showdown between Karasuno High and their friendly rivals, Nekoma High.

The anime revolves around Shoyo Hinata, who is determined to become a great volleyball player despite his short stature. Because of his incredible jumping ability, fierce determination and natural athleticism, Hinata becomes a central figure in Karasuno High’s team as the boys’ team plans to make it to the National Volleyball Tournament.

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction

Movie Date: March 22, 2024 (Japan)
Studio: Production +h
Director: Tomoyuki Kurokawa

The official website for the Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction anime adaptation project announced that the anime will be released as a two-part theatrical film in spring 2024, produced by “Production +h”. Tomoyuki Kurokawa serves as director, with the screenplay by Reiko Yoshida. A teaser drawn by animation director Nobutaka Ito was also released.

Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction is a rather unique story revolving around two high-school girls Koyama Kadode and Nakagawa Ouran. Three years before the story starts, a large spaceship is shown appearing over Tokyo. A “one-sided” war starts with the seemingly harmless aliens, sparking dovishness and controversy.

The story isn’t about that war, but about the nature of humans itself. We get to see Koyama Kadode and Nakagawa Ouran growing up and leading their lives normally even though there’s a literal war going on. Selling over 3 million copies by March 2022, Dead Dead Demon’s Dededede Destruction’s film is something you wouldn’t want to miss out!

Blue Lock Episode Nagi

Movie Date: April 19, 2024
Studio: Eight Bit
Director: Shunsuke Ishikawa

Even though the final episode just concluded season two, we have some real problems here. With seven teams qualified, the training now veers from the regular process. This unpredictability is what makes this sports anime worth a go!

Blue Lock itself revolves around the Japanese national football team, which faces a crisis in its inability to score goals. To address this issue, the football association establishes a specialized training facility know as the Blue Lock. (we all know this much)

We get to see some of the main characters for the film in it’s teaser – Yoichi Isagi, Meguru Bachira, Seishiro Nagi, Rin Itoshi, and Jinpachi Ego and ends with a poster announcing the two installments. Blue Lock Episode Nagi will mostly focus on Seishiro Nagi and tell us the events before he joined Blue Lock.

Bloody Escape: Jigoku no Tousou Geki

Movie Date: Spring, 2024
Studio: Polygon Pictures
Director: Goro Taniguchi

The project by Goro Taniguchi was originally announced on September 23, 2021, and was fully announced as a mixed-media project on January 20, 2022, with an anime television series by Polygon Pictures. Originally titled as Estab Life: Great Escape and later changed to the current title, we get to take a look at a dystopian future Tokyo.

The story takes place in the distant future, where the world population has started to decline. The H.D.E.D. (Human Diversity Experimental Department) conducts experiments for the purpose of species prosperity. In addition to ordinary humans, beasts, and various races such as demons and cyborgs have also been born.

After rigorous human experimentation turns Kisaragi into a cyborg, he finds himself pursued by multiple organizations: An undying coven of vampires bent on the conquest of Tokyo, and an immortal order of Knights, and a group of Yakuza, sworn to avenge the killing of their leader. We get to see Kisaragi use his powers and “Blood” to make his great “Escape”.

Mononoke

Movie Date: Summer 2024
Studio: Toei Animation
Director: Kenji Nakamura

The official Twitter account for the MONONOKE anime franchise announced that both English and Japanese that the completely new anime film has been delayed from 2023 and that the lead voice actor for the “Medicine Seller” – a strange being who exorcises supernatural evil with the aid of a mystical sword, will be replaced.

The classic Mononoke is back! With a completely new voice behind him, Mononoke ups our “dosage” in fantasy with it’s new anime trailer for the new upcoming Mononoke film, celebrating it’s 15th anniversary.

Mononoke is spin-off of Bakeneko. We get to see our medicine making a comeback as he continues his travels on the roads of Edo Japan, facing various spirits known as “Mononoke“. With it’s breathtaking story and unique visuals and animation style, it’ll definitely be a good time for the Mononoke fans.