Experimental Anime List
I started this list in 2008, when I began curating short films for a small local exhibition. Through this experience, I discovered amazing creators whom I still admire today, expanding my understanding of the anime genre. This work, shaped by my personal tastes and biases, is intended as a starting point to inspire your own exploration of new works and creators.
| Preview | Title | Year | Director(s) | Studio(s) | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Belladonna of Sadness | 1973 | Eiichi Yamamoto | Mushi Production | 81 minutes |
 |
Broken Down Film | 1985 | Osamu Tezuka | Tezuka Productions | 5 minutes |
 |
Angel's Egg | 1985 | Mamoru Oshii | Studio Deen | 71 minutes |
 |
Robot Carnival | 1987 | Anthology (Katsuhiro Otomo, Koji Morimoto and others) | Bandai Visual | 85 minutes (total for 9 shorts) |
 |
Legend of the Forest | 1987 | Osamu Tezuka and Takashi Ui (first part), Makoto Tezuka (second movement) | Tezuka Productions | 29 minutes |
 |
Metal Skin Panic MADOX-01 | 1987 | Shōji Kawamori | Anime International Company (AIC) | 47 minutes |
 |
Ginga no Uo URSA minor BLUE | 1993 | Shigeru Tamura | Project Team Sarah | 23 minutes |
 |
Memories | 1995 | Anthology (Katsuhiro Otomo, Koji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura) | Madhouse / Studio 4°C | 113 minutes (3 shorts: Magnetic Rose, Stink Bomb, Cannon Fodder) |
 |
Tobira wo Akete | 1995 | Kôji Morimoto | Studio 4°C | 25 minutes |
 |
Eternal Family | 1997 | Koji Morimoto | Studio 4°C | 28 minutes |
 |
Noiseman Sound Insect | 1997 | Kōji Morimoto | Studio 4°C | 15 minutes |
 |
Kujira no Chouyaku | 1998 | Shigeru Tamura | Project Team Sara / Tamura Shigeru Studio | 22-23 minutes |
 |
She and Her Cat | 1999 | Makoto Shinkai | CoMix Wave Films | 5 minutes |
 |
Nekojiru-sou | 2001 | Tatsuo Satō | J.C.Staff | 32 minutes |
 |
Trava: Fist Planet | 2001 | Katsuhito Ishii & Takeshi Koike | Madhouse / Grasshoppa! | 4 episodes, 10-15 min. each |
 |
Mizu no Kotoba | 2002 | Yasuhiro Yoshiura | Studio Rikka | 9 minutes |
 |
Atama Yama | 2002 | Kōji Yamamura | Yamamura Animation / Studio Deen | 10 minutes |
 |
Digital Juice | 2002 | Anthology (Kōji Morimoto, Hiroaki Ando and others.) | Studio 4°C | 20 minutes (total for 6 shorts) |
 |
Hoshi no koe | 2002 | Makoto Shinkai | CoMix Wave Inc. | 25 minutes |
 |
Blame! (ONA) | 2003 | Koichi Mashimo | Group TAC | 6 episodes, 3-4 minutes each |
 |
The Diary of Tortov Roddle | 2003 | Kunio Katō | (Director's own production) | 16-22 minutes (total for multiple episodes, each 3 minutes) |
 |
Dead Leaves | 2004 | Hiroyuki Imaishi | Production I.G | 52 minutes |
 |
Mind Game | 2004 | Masaaki Yuasa | Studio 4°C | 103 minutes |
 |
Portable Airport | 2004 | Yoshiyuki Momose | Studio Kajino | 3 minutes |
 |
Space Station No. 9 | 2005 | Yoshiyuki Momose | Studio Kajino | 5 minutes |
 |
A Flying City Plan | 2005 | Yoshiyuki Momose | Studio Kajino | 5 minutes |
 |
Dore Dore no Uta | 2005 | Osamu Tanabe | Studio Ghibli | 3 minutes |
 |
Tekkonkinkreet | 2006 | Michael Arias | Studio 4°C | 110 minutes |
 |
Amazing Nuts! | 2006 | Anthology (Daisuke Nakayama, Takashi Yamashita and others.) | Studio 4°C | 4 episodes, 10 min. each |
 |
Deep Imagination | 2006 | Anthology (Hidekazu Ohara, Osamu Kobayashi and others.) | Studio 4°C | 57 minutes (total for 5 shorts) |
 |
G-9 | 2006 | Keita Amemiya | Toei Animation | 17 minutes |
 |
Pale Cocoon | 2006 | Yasuhiro Yoshiura | Studio Rikka | 23 minutes |
 |
Franz Kafka’s Inaka Isha | 2007 | Koji Yamamura | Yamamura Animation, Inc. and Imagica | 20-21 minutes |
 |
Genius Party | 2007 | Anthology (Atsuko Fukushima, Shōji Kawamori and others.) | Studio 4°C | 102 minutes (total for 7 shorts) |
 |
Iblard Jikan | 2007 | Naohisa Inoue | Studio Ghibli | 30 minutes |
 |
Ani*Kuri15 | 2007–2008 | Anthology (15 directors including Makoto Shinkai, Satoshi Kon, Mamoru Oshii, Shinichirō Watanabe and others.) | NHK / Various Studios | 15 episodes, 1 minute each |
 |
La Maison en Petits Cubes | 2008 | Kunio Katō | Oh! Production and Robot Communications | 12 minutes |
 |
Genius Party Beyond | 2008 | Anthology (Mahiro Maeda, Kazuto Nakazawa and others.) | Studio 4°C | 81 minutes (total for 5 shorts) |
 |
Cencoroll | 2009 | Atsuya Uki | Anime Innovation Tokyo / Aniplex | 26-30 minutes |
 |
Coffee Samurai | 2009 | Chang Hyung-yun, Toshikazu Matsubara and Akio Watanabe | CoMix Wave Films | 30 minutes |
 |
Fumiko no Kokuhaku | 2009 | Hiroyasu Ishida | (Independent) | 2 minutes |
 |
REDLINE | 2009 | Takeshi Koike | Madhouse | 102 minutes |
 |
Tailenders | 2009 | Hisashi Sasaki, Makoto Ohta, Masaru Kawahara, mebae | Picograph | 27 minutes |
 |
Ojii-san no Lamp | 2011 | Teiichi Takiguchi | Telecom Animation Film | 24 minutes |
 |
Rain Town | 2011 | Hiroyasu Ishida | (Independent) | 9-10 minutes |
 |
Tansu Warashi | 2011 | Kazuchika Kise | Production I.G. | 23 minutes |
 |
Patema Inverted | 2013 | Yasuhiro Yoshiura | Studio Rikka / Purple Cow Studio Japan | 99 minutes |
 |
The Garden of Words | 2013 | Makoto Shinkai | CoMix Wave Films | 46 minutes |
 |
Kick-Heart | 2013 | Masaaki Yuasa | Independent / Production I.G. | 12 minutes |
 |
Harmonie | 2014 | Yasuhiro Yoshiura | Studio Rikka / Ultra Super Pictures | 26 minutes |
 |
Yoru wa mijikashi aruke yo otome | 2017 | Masaaki Yuasa | Science SARU | 93 minutes |
 |
Puparia | 2020 | Shingo Tamagawa | Independent | 3 minutes |
 |
Inu-Oh | 2021 | Masaaki Yuasa | Science SARU | 98 minutes |
 |
Look Back | 2024 | Kiyotaka Oshiyama | Studio Durian | 60 minutes |
 |
Mononoke: The Phantom Under the Rain | 2024 | Kenji Nakamura | EOTA / Toei Animation | 89 minutes |
 |
Mononoke the Movie: The Ashes of Rage | 2025 | Kenji Nakamura | EOTA / Crew-Cell / Toei Animation | 89 minutes |
Sources & References
- Nishikata Film Review
- Yamamura Animation
- 2DAniCritic's Review Library
- Studio 4°C Works
- Science SARU Works
- Young Animator Training Project
- Short Anime Movies
Content on this site is under CC0 1.0 license.