Tales of dragons, ancient curses, and powerful magic.
Fantasy is one of the most popular genres in all fields, be it books, movies or TV series. Magic, alternate history, other worlds – all this can become an inexhaustible source of inspiration for the viewer and help to distract from the routine of everyday life.
In anime, this is a huge layer of content that can sometimes be difficult to sort out.
1. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms, 2018
A girl named Maquia, from a race of immortals, lives in an unusual settlement where all humans stop growing when they reach puberty. Despite the peaceful atmosphere of these lands, Maquia feels lonely and alienated.
Throughout the centuries, many armies have tried to capture her people for the secret of eternal life. One day, people seeking immortality invade the settlement and begin to sow chaos and destruction.
Left without a home, Maquia flees into the depths of a dark forest, where she meets a boy named Ariel, who has lost his parents, and begins to take care of him.
2. Tales from Earthsea, 2006
Strange plagues strike the people of Earthsea. Crops fail due to drought, humans and animals fall ill, wizards forget their spells. Suddenly, 17-year-old Prince Arren kills his father, the king, and flees the palace with a magic sword he cannot draw from its sheath.
Wandering through the desert, the young man stumbles upon a lonely elderly wanderer, who turns out to be the supreme wizard nicknamed Sparrowhawk. The wizard embarks on a journey to find the source of Earthsea's woes.
Together, Arren and Sparrowhawk reach a large city not far from where a black mage lives in his castle, trying to find eternal life with the help of forbidden magic.
3. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 1984
A thousand years ago, civilization perished in a global war fought with biological weapons. Now most of the Earth is covered by a toxic forest where only mutants can survive.
Where the forest has not yet reached, the remnants of humanity huddle together, still divided into warring states. One of these states is led by the young princess Nausicaa, since her father, the ruler, is ill. The girl tries to unravel the secrets of the forest and find out how to stop its advance towards her Valley of the Wind.
However, she must become a warrior when a neighboring airship carrying an ancient weapon crashes in the Valley and the neighbors use it as an excuse to invade the peaceful Valley.
4. The Boy and the Beast, 2015
The Boy and the Beast is the story of an orphan who ends up in a parallel world populated by beast-like creatures and becomes the apprentice of a bear-like martial artist.
If you're unfamiliar with Mamoru Hosoda's work, The Boy and the Beast is the perfect place to start: it has his typical coming-of-age story and a carefully crafted, vibrant world that's a joy to immerse yourself in.
5. Princess Mononoke, 1997
A small village is suddenly attacked by a huge boar – a forest deity that has turned into a demon. The son of the tribal leader, Ashitaka, kills the boar, but it bites him and injects its poison. After examining his hand, the healer concludes that the young man is doomed – medicine is powerless against the curse.
Determined to use the rest of his life wisely, Ashitaka leaves the village and follows in the boar's footsteps. He wants to find out what drove the deity mad and whether his village is threatened by new attacks.
The search soon leads the warrior to a settlement led by Lady Eboshi. In order to smelt metal, the steelworkers cut down the forest, bringing down the wrath of the forest deities, led by the wolf goddess and her human adopted daughter.