Best Anime Action Films

Probably the best samurai/ninja anime ever created, Ninja Scrolls strongest draw is in its set of memorable antagonists.

The animation and art style in Ninja Scroll still manages to hold up to today's standards and is still one of my most favorite anime films of all time.

If you're reading this, then you are already dead!! A film based on a popular manga which later became a tv series, Fist of the North Star follows the story of Kenshiro successor of the brutal Hokuto Shin Ken martial arts style.

Though the film leaves many important plot points(and characters) in the wind, it is still one of the most entertaining action anime I've seen chock full of violence and over the top fighting action.

Half vampire, half human the hunter known only as D seeks to erase his accursed bloodline which fights to stay alive among their dwindling numbers.

D is hired to retrieve a maiden abducted by a vampire nobleman though he is not the only one in pursuit and there is more to the story then meets the eye.

One of the best combinations of great story and action sequences, Vampire Hunter D is definitely a must see anime!

An orphan caught in a conspiracy of foul play fights to avenge the death of his family and uncover the truth taking him on a journey around the globe.

One of the best ninja anime films, Dagger Of Kamui's animation has received homage from many popular anime titles which include Samurai Champloo and Naruto.

It is a very lengthy anime and dated as well but to me it will always be a classic worth watching.

A young man searches to find a cure after being poisoned by a possessed creature of the forest that attacked his village.

This was the first anime I watched a movie directed by Miyazaki and it was by far one of my favorites.

Very great action and a great message as well.

The cold blooded Golgo 13 takes on a contract that ultimately puts him in an involuntary triangle of death. Will he make it out alive?!

While this anime is dated and the animation is not as amazing as the other films on the list, Golgo 13 makes up for lack of polish with its amazing story line and the main characters anti-hero actions which often times will make you really question whether or not he is the "good guy" in all of this.

Its very dark narrative is whats made me such a fan of this anime and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys assassin films.

It was very befitting that this was my first introductory into the world of motion picture anime and for good reason.

Akira takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where bikers gangs rule the highways and everyday seems like a fight for survival.

A friendship will be tested after an unsuspecting accident happens to unlock a powerful ability in one of them.

I can't really say enough about how amazing this anime was for its time and how it still continues to be one of the most beloved motion pictures of all time for good reason.

Akria has some of the most visually stunning animation on top of a wonderful sound track to boot. If you don't have any of the recommended anime on my list in your collection, then this is a great one to start with!

Every once in a while, an anime comes along that makes you take notice and Sword of the Stranger is definitely one of them.

It's wonderful art style and smooth animation had been something that I greatly missed from anime films so you could imagine my delight watching this title.

While its plot is not quite up to par with the rest of the film, it manages to hold your attention long enough to get you to the final battle which is one of of my all time favorite action sequences ever created.

I definitely recommend this one to folks who have seen most of the ones on the list as this might have slipped past your radar.

While I enjoyed Ghost In The Shell, the second film definitely gave me more enjoyment.

The story follows Batou who has almost become a full cyberborg long after the Major's disappearance. Along with Togusa they must uncover the mystery behind a strange occurrence of homicidal "sexroids" happening throughout the city.

I had a chance to enjoy this title at the cinema and was sucked in by how great everything looked despite the use of CGI. I've since then watched this move a countless amount of times hoping to unlock something I previously missed the last time around.

My only complaint was there just wasn't more!

As someone who enjoyed the original Street Fighter II fighting game, I did not know what to expect coming into this anime and boy was I surprised.

Not only did the anime stay faithful to a great deal of the original source material, it featured some of the best fighting scenes that I've ever witnessed in an anime to this day.

Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie was so well done that it even influenced the art style and game play for the next series in the Street Fighter franchise.

If you're a fan of martial arts anime, you should definitely check this one out immediately!

There are a very few number of video games titles that have great anime adaptation and SNK's Fatal Fury movies managed to at least create two of them.

The second is my favorite movie as it featured the main character Terry Bogard in a very surprising circumstance as he comes to grips with facing an enemy far more stronger then he has ever gone up against.

While the action and fight scenes are not on par with Street Fighter II's masterpiece, I still enjoyed this title a great deal.

The final Fatal Fury movie based on the popular SNK fighting game franchise was an unforgettable adventure featuring many of my favorite characters from the series.

This anime managed to keep me engaged in its story line borrowing from historical figures where the antagonist seeks to obtain ancient relics of their armor to become an unstoppable force of nature.

While the action and fight scenes seemed to suffer a bit the overall anime did enough to entertain and I've watched this film several times enjoying it many times over.

It's very rare to find a good anime film based on a popular series like Cowboy Bebop yet and still this turned out to be a very fun telling of a story based on one of Spike Speigel's and crew hardest bounties.

Like the original series was known for, the movie features a good amount of fight scenes and even a nice space ship battle as well.

While the choice to keep Spike's background story one of mystery was disappointing, I still enjoyed the movie none the less.

Known as Samurai X here in the states, the original OVA was split into two parts titled Trust and Betrayal before receiving a directors cut later on.

Samurai X is a prequel to the Rurouni Kenshin TV series uncovering the story that lead up to him receiving the cross shaped scar and another thing that I won't spoil for those who might be interested in the series.

The movie takes a much darker and more violent tone than the series which I believe works to express what caused Kenshin to go through such a big transformation.

While action scenes are few in and in between, they are some of the best I've seen and makes you really really wish there were more. None the less, this animation was full of emotional roller coasters and I still enjoy revisiting this title ever so often.

A film continuing the saga from the popular Final Fantasy VII game, Advent Children was definitely an epic closure to the series.

Advent Children has some of the best action CG by far and showcased one of the most memorable final battles I've seen in a long a time.

Whether you consider this to be an authentic anime or not is totally up to you but it definitely had all of the characteristics of one. While the story didn't quite stay on par with the action, Advent Children was still a great watch.