Square Enix

Square Enix, as most gamers could tell you, primarily makes video games, not anime movies. This is very true, but they have also made some of the most compelling CG anime movies currently available. While some people would say that they are not strictly anime movies, they fit the generally accepted definition of anime as being “animation originating in Japan”. Whether or not you think Square Enix should technically included in this list, their movies are of unarguably high quality and are just as laudable as their more rigidly defined counterparts in this guide.

Hironobu Sakaguchi

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001)
Fainaru Fantajī (ファイナルファンタジー)

Buy on DVD: [amazon_textlink asin=’B00003CY5D’ text=’Amazon’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’animovgui-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’3c94c894-f657-11e6-ba29-1d9ff9a67f6b’]
Buy on Blu-ray: [amazon_textlink asin=’B000QXDFQM’ text=’Amazon’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’animovgui-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’49438cc9-f657-11e6-ae3b-db22af7a00de’]

Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the creator of Final Fantasy, the world’s first photorealistic CG feature-length movie still holds up well against the other entries in the now saturated CG movie genre. For a movie that came out almost a decade before James Cameron’s Avatar, the visuals still hold up well, avoiding the uncanny valley and remaining impressive as opposed to distracting. The movie’s plot does not directly relate to a specific Final Fantasy game, but instead follows a group of people in the year 2065 as they try to free the world from an alien race called Phantoms that can essentially kill people on contact. While this movie did not perform well financially in its original theatrical run, it is still a great experience and is suggested for anime and film lovers alike.

Tetsuya Nomura

Final Fantasy VII Advent Children (2005)
Fainaru Fantajī Sebun Adobento Chirudoren (ファイナルファンタジーVII アドベントチルドレン)

Buy on Blu-ray: Amazon

Do yourself a huge favour and watch the Final Fantasy VII Advent Children Complete version of this movie on Blu-ray, as it is a full half-hour longer than the original version, nicely touched-up, widely available and now actually quite cheap to buy as well. Directed by Tetsuya Nomura, who has directed and designed many of the games in the Final Fantasy series, Advent Children is one of the most visually stunning movies ever made. The movie’s plot picks up around two years after the end of the Final Fantasy VII game and follows Cloud Strife and his entourage as they try to save Edge City’s children (and some adults) from being corrupted by a disease called Geostigma being perpetuated by three mysterious men looking for their “mother”, Jenova, an alien being of sorts that is the cause of the disease. While the plot may be heavy for those unacquainted with the story of Final Fantasy VII, I went in with no prior knowledge of the game’s story and completely enjoyed every minute of the movie. The action in the movie goes by really fast, so you’ll want to think twice about whether you want to watch the movie in its original Japanese or in English, especially since in an unprecedented move all of the characters’ mouth movements were completely redone to match the English voices. A movie through which you can palpably feel the years of hard work from a very dedicated team of individuals that went into it, Advent Children really is a cinematic milestone that should be on everyone’s “To Watch” list.

Takeshi Nozue

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (2016)
Kingusugureibu: Fainaru Fantajī Fifutīn (キングスグレイブ ファイナルファンタジーXV)

Buy on DVD: [amazon_textlink asin=’B01H2ITXFK’ text=’Amazon’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’animovgui-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’65e306d0-f65c-11e6-9795-d791cf09c0d1′]
Buy on Blu-ray: [amazon_textlink asin=’B01H2ITW2Y’ text=’Amazon’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’animovgui-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’79682017-f65c-11e6-b77c-d1c7c6d5916c’]

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, as opposed to Advent Children which was made as a continuation for fans of the Final Fantasy VII game and The Spirits Within which was made to pioneer realistic theatrical CG movies, was made to entice people to play the game Final Fantasy XV. While visually resplendent and full of some very enjoyable and epic fight sequences, Kingsglaive lacks the gravitas and fun that characterized its predecessors. The not entirely coherent plot of Kingsglaive surrounds Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII, the father of the game’s protagonist Noctis and his Kingsglaive soldiers during the the invasion of their capital Insomnia by an antagonistic empire Niflheim’s army. Many explosions and fancy particle effects are to be had by all, but if you’re looking for deep/relatable characters or situations then this is not the movie for you. What there is of Kingsglaive is enough of a spectacle and enough of an action-packed roller coaster to be plenty entertaining and worth the time so long as you keep your story- and content-based expectations in check — just don’t go in expecting much more than a huge, flashy 115 minute video game cutscene.