Updated August 15, 2023 970 votes 217 voters 79.7K views
Over 200 Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of 20 Anime To Watch For Unique And Gorgeous Animation
Voting Rules
Vote up the anime with the most gorgeous art and animation.
Look, we all love anime. It's over-the-top, high energy, and can serve as a much needed reprieve from the doldrums of everyday life. After a while, though, much of the genre starts to look a little... derivative. If you're not paying attention, you can watch multiple episodes of different high school dramas or action-adventures from different series and they all sort of blend together. There are, however, some glowing exceptions to this rule. Aside from an anime’s fascinating story line or imaginative setting, the distinctive art style is a huge reason viewers become immersed in a show.
Additionally, not all anime has to be vibrant or cheerful to be enjoyed. In fact, there are some anime titles that share a darker, more complex atmosphere. However, this doesn’t mean that its art style can’t be admired. Awaken your senses with these visually stunning anime titles that will tug at your heart-strings and open your mind. At the very least, it's something new.
A critically-acclaimed film from CoMix Wave Films, Kimi no Na wa (Your Name) is a supernatural drama about a boy and girl who switch lives in a miraculous way. The art style utilizes rich colors and pays super close attention to detail. This is especially prevalent in the background structures and intricate architecture work.
Perhaps the most interesting quality of Your Name is the character’s overall design. They are created with less exaggeration than is typical, but they don’t lose the characteristic features that anime characters are well known for. Their overall design fits in wonderfully with the film’s realistic setting.
This award-winning film from Studio Ghibli is, quite simply, an animated masterpiece. Spirited Away follows a young girl as she learns to overcome her fears and take responsibility for her actions. The character designs and layouts are so gorgeous, they're visually addicting. Adorned with vivid colors and intricate details, these images are impossible to get out of your head.
Take the bathhouse, for example. The walls, ceilings, and floors have so many complex details added to them it’s hard to keep your eyes focused solely on the action in the foreground. The unique hand-drawn art style of the film has an old-school animated feel to it, which is pure magic and exactly what Studio Ghibli and Hayao Miyazaki are known for.
Pretty much everything Kyoto Animation makes is gorgeous, but Violet Evergarden is the studio at its peak. The story takes place in a fictional European nation and follows a former child soldier as she learns about human emotion through her job writing letters on the behalf of clients. From her graceful movements as she's typing these letters to the explosive moments on the battlefield, the animation is absolutely beautiful.
This 45-minute film from The Answer Studio and CoMix Wave Films focuses on a deep connection between a high school student following his dreams and a teacher who is trying to escape her worries. Much like the verse used in the film, Kotonoha no Niwa is pure poetry in motion. This is especially evident in the film's captivating and eye-catching scenery.
The landscapes and diverse locations portrayed throughout the film are masterfully created. The urban and residential settings are designed with intricate details and solid line work, while the garden scenes are saturated in cool colors and dynamic details.
In fact, the lush greenery and tranquil waters are created in such a realistic fashion you could easily mistake them for being real. Overall, the scenic atmosphere depicted in the film allows the viewer to become totally immersed in a world of natural beauty.
Demon Slayer is an excellent shonen series about a young man named Tanjiro who is trying to figure out how to turn his sister Nezuko back into a human after a demon attacked their family and transformed her into one of them. Without its great animation, it would still be a decent show - but it's the animation that makes it stand out from other shows in its genre. Managed by the infamous ufotable, the fights feature spectacular special effects that make what could be ordinary exhilarating. The animation doesn't take a dive during quieter scenes either - if you want to be entranced by wisteria petals floating in the breeze, watch this show.
This much-beloved animation follows the story of a young woman who falls in love with a mysterious man. She's forced to raise their two children on her own after he abandons her. From Studio Chizu, this beautiful film is an absolute joy to look at.
The artistic details in Wolf Children are abundant, displaying richly colored scenes and uniquely styled characters. It’s also another film that uses some CGI to help entrance the audience. In addition, there are many beautiful landscape shots and even some intricate cityscapes that help give this film a realistic touch without losing its fairytale-like feel.
It’s also flat-out spectacular to see moments where the characters and frames are still, allowing the viewer a chance to admire the scenery. If the Grand Canyon was an anime, this would be it.
