The Japanese animation industry – anime – is not to be taken lightly. Traditional notions attached to animation don’t always apply to it. Anime isn’t immature, naïve, and inane. It’s not just meant for children. While there is bad content is every genre, we must try and look past it to find the gems and masterpieces that will help us change our attitude towards that genre.

Anime is a diverse medium with distinct production methods. It has birthed some of the best speculative fiction movies to see the light of day, movies that left an indelible mark of film studies and cinema culture. Can’t believe it? Here are two anime movies that deal with serious and mature themes, at the same time being excellent examples of cinematography, scriptwriting, and graphic art.

1) Spirited Away: The tale of young Chihiro is a must-watch. Combining fantasy and folk, this movie is probably the greatest anime movie to exist. What’s more: it won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2003.

2) Metropolis: This futuristic dieselpunk drama will transport you to a different world. Combining captivating visuals and gritty storytelling, it has rightly earned its place in film critic Roger Ebert’s “best animated films” list.