Summary
If you’re an anime fan, there’s probably at least one film coming out this year that you can’t wait to see, whether it’sChainsaw Man the Movie, the beginning ofDemon Slayer’s final arc, or both. 2025 will see some major franchises heading to cinemas, between hotly anticipated adaptations of their next arcs, to payoffs for some legendary stories more than a decade in the making.
2024 was no slouch either, from the dazzlingMy Hero Academia: You’re NexttoNaoko Yamada’s newest film,The Colors Within, to boldadaptations like Kiyotaka Oshiyama’sLook Back. Looking ahead, the new year stands poised to outshine eventhatimpressive lineup, including a few exciting projects coming this very season that might not even be on your radar yet.
Release Date
2025
Under the command of a new director, the ultra-violent adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s acclaimed manga series is finally back.Chainsaw Man the Movie: Reze Arcfollows Denji’s continued mission to get with a girl while surviving his job as a Devil Hunter, unaware that his personal and professional lives are about to collide… violently. Emboldened with a fresh art direction, this film looks armed to win over fans and detractors of Season 1 alike.
It’s funny thatChainsaw Man’s movie is dropping the same year asDemon Slayer’s finale since the latter truly jumpstarted this new trend of canon anime films for manga adaptations. 2020’sMugen Trainchanged the game, and nowInfinity Castleis getting theFate/Stay Night: Heaven’s Feeltreatment;Ufotable is going all out with a cinematic trilogy. Whether you’re a die-hard fan or not, it’s hard not to get hyped for such a grand sendoff.
It’s been over a decade now sinceMadoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion, but like theEvangelion Rebuildsbefore it, this franchise - mercifully - did not stay in limbo forever. There’s little to be said that hasn’t been said over the past decade already, but to know that the next chapter exists and to see it leaves a fan speechless. Grand, beautiful, yet haunting imagery and Yuki Kajiura’s powerful score alone should secure anyone’s seat in theaters.
Speaking of long waits, were you aware thatLupin IIIhasn’t had a feature-length 2D in nearly three decades?Few anime are as classic asLupin, and fewer have withstood the test of time to be so timeless, but this film, in particular, is unique. It is a continuation of Takeshi Koike’s rather mature take on the anime classic, and will hopefully tie up the loose ends left hanging after his previous three short films.
12-07-2025 (Japan)
This shojo classic follows Marie Antionette and her bond with the captain of the Royal Guard, Oscar Francois de Jarjayes, a woman raised as a man to carry on her family’s military legacy.The Rose of Versailleswas a monumental mangathat created a surge of interest in French culture and tourism among the Japanese, and the new film looks to honor that legacy with gusto. It hits theaters in Japan at the end of the month, with an international release hopefully not far behind.
02-07-2025
Make a Girlis worth mentioning purely basedon the story of its creation. Created by a small team led by director Gensho Yasuda, this crowdfunding success is a feature-length expansion of an animated short from 2020, sporting an impressively realized 3D CG art style. The story follows a scientist who designs a robot girlfriend whose rapidly developing sentience begins to conflict with her programmed feelings, leading to a cyber love story filled with twists and turns.
13-05-2025 (Japan), 11-05-2025 (Worldwide)
This is the second part of theMononokefilm trilogy that began withlast year’sPhantom in the Rain, a colorful and thrilling piece of supernatural suspense and horror. After having exorcised one Mononoke dwelling in the Ōoku, the Medicine Seller realizes that more than one spirit dwells within, forcing him even deeper into the bowels of the harem to lure it out.
Mamoru Hosoda recently announced his newest film, with a projected release toward the end of 2025. Not much is known aboutScarlet, but Hosoda has stated that the film will have a “completely new look beyond 2D anime or Hollywood CG animation.” Interestingly, he also teased that the film’s story is “based on a globally known classic,” while also hinting that the project will be something of a departure from his previous works. Hosoda previously directedThe Girl Who Leapt Through Time,Summer Wars,Wolf Children,The Boy and The Best, andMirai.
