When it comes to the most successful anime movies of all time, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part 1 — Akaza's Return is up there with the best. This new film kicked off the Demon Slayer's final trilogy, and while fans expected it to be big, not many expected it to blow up as much as it did. With huge success both in Japan and worldwide, the film quickly rose to the top of the Japanese box office. Infinity Castle is now the most successful Japanese anime film of all time, but even though it is huge at the box office, not many people consider it to be the best anime film. Some gems stand out as higher ranked or much more iconic than Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle.
8 Best Lightning Users in Anime, Ranked
Lightning users are fast and destructive. These characters represent some of the best lightning users in anime.
Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc
Chainsawman Reze Arc is a film released around the same time as Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. With that, fans have compared the two which they stand as the best movies of 2025. While Demon Slayer was much bigger at the box office, some would say that Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc was the better film. Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc became the highest rated anime film of all time, and the second highest rated anime ever on MyAnimeList.
This is huge and shows how incredibly well received this film has been. The Chainsaw Man Reze Arc follows the brief romance of Denji and Reze. Reze is the Bomb Devil Hybrid who is actually out to steal his heart.
Your name
Your name is an incredible 2016 anime movie that shook the world when it was first released. Even 10 years later, this film is still regularly talked about. This film was highly acclaimed, and for quite a while it was actually Japan's biggest box office hit.
The story of Mitsuha Miyamizu and Taki Tachibana, who switch bodies, attracted viewers. This story is very different from Demon Slayer, and instead of battles, it focuses on the characters and brings up some interesting topics that revolve around natural disasters that hit Japan.
Who is that character?
Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
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Identify the silhouettes before time runs out.
Easy (7.5s) Medium (5.0s) Hard (2.5s) Permadeath (2.5s)
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train
As many fans know, Demon Slayer's cinematic success didn't just start with Infinity Castle. What paved the way for this movie was actually Demon Slayer's first hit movie, Mugen Train. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train was a monumental hit worldwide. It fell during the pandemic and made Demon Slayer as popular as it is today.
Without the Mugen Train and its setup for villains like Akaza, Infinity Castle would not have been the huge success it is today. Fans also can't forget that Mugen Train was Japan's number 1 movie for a couple of years as well. Fans of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle have probably already seen Mugen Train, but it briefly follows Tanjiro and the others' fight against Enmu on the Mugen Train.
Spirited Away
Spirited Away is undoubtedly one of Japan's greatest films ever. Produced by Studio Ghibli, this film is still, even decades later, the studio's biggest and biggest hit. First released in 2001, this film has come to be considered not only the best animated film of all time, but also one of the greatest films of all time.
Spirited Away's the story is incredible, and the work Ghibli put into animating it made it Japan's number one blockbuster – a title it held for years, but sadly lost in the end. The story of Chihiro as she tries to save her parents from the fate they were cursed to by an evil witch never gets old.
The Boy and the Heron
Spirited Away is Studio Ghibli's biggest hit, but it's not the only one. The Boy and the Heron is Ghibli's latest animated film, having been released in 2023, and it was a pretty incredible animated film by the studio. The Boy and the Heron is arguably Hayao Miyazaki's greatest work since his supposed retirement in 2013.
Fans were definitely excited to see the legend back, and The Boy and The Heron definitely did not disappoint. The story of The Boy and the Heron follows Mahito Maki after his mother's passing. In typical Ghibli style, he meets a gray heron in a fantastic world he has entered.
Akira
Akira is one of Japan's biggest and most iconic animated films ever. It was released in 1988, and yet it still has a huge cultural impact worldwide. Akira has some of the most iconic anime film scenes ever, and the film has cemented itself in Japan's hall of fame, although by today's standards its box office numbers look pretty small, especially compared to the likes of Demon Slayer.
Nevertheless, fans still love the story of Shōtarō Kaneda in a Neo Tokyo after the destruction of the original. Akira has revolutionized the cyberpunk genre.
