Long before Demon Slayer and Chainsaw man crushed it at the box office, many other shonen anime films flew under the radar. That's not to say they were obscure releases, but the kind of global appeal and recognition we've seen from movies like Mugen Train, Infinity Castle, and Reze Arc just didn't happen 20 years ago.
The 2000s saw some great shonen anime movies come out, with some of the heavy hitters of the time putting out several solid entries. Here's a look at each year of the 2000s and which saho9nen anime movies stood out.
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2000: Detective Conan: Captured In Her Eyes
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With almost 30 anime films Detective Conan franchise has had its fair share of great, solid, and mediocre anime films. The 21st century Caught in her eyes is one of the better films in the series.
Caught in her eyes centers around Ran, who is caught up in a serial killer's spree, where the killer targets the police, and Ran, who deals with amnesia after a failed assassination attempt. It's a great set-up and a really fun, high-stakes mystery that makes it one of the more engaging watches in the series.
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2001: Inuyasha the Movie: Affections Touching Across Time
Rumiko Takahashi is one of the most prolific mangaka in history, having found success with several series throughout her decades-long career. One of her later works, Inuyasha, remains one of her most popular, although it still has stiff competition from the likes of Urusei Yatsura, Ranma 1/2and Maison Ikkoku.
Affections that touch time tells an original story not included in the manga. It sees Inuyasha and Kagome encounter Menomaru Hyouga, a demon out to avenge his father and steal Inuyasha's sword, the Tessaiga. The film is the first of four Inuyahs films, and while they are all good in their own right, this is one of the better ones.
2002: Detective Conan: The Phantom of Baker Street
There are so many Detective Conan movies that it's hard not to bring up more than one when discussing the best shonen anime movies of the 2000s. But 2002's The Phantom of Baker Street's inclusion is well-deserved. It's considered one of the best films in the franchise, even all these years later, and it's easy to see why.
When a group of children are trapped in a virtual world by a rogue AI, Conan and his friends set out to rescue them before the AI kills them all. Now stuck in a virtual version of Victorian London, Conan must solve the Jack the Ripper mystery if he hopes to beat the game and save everyone involved.
2003: One Piece: Dead End Adventure
The fourth One Piece film, Dead End Adventure, is a really fun ride. It's a classic One Piece adventure, and if you're ever feeling nostalgic for some of the early One Piece magic, this movie has it all.
With some money on the Straw Hats, the crew decides to participate in a race made up of different pirate crews called the Dead End Race. They face plenty of powerful enemies, the most dangerous of which is an ex-Marine named Gasparde Can Luffy and crew defeat Gasparde and claim the prize money for themselves?
2004: Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow
The very first one Naruto movie, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow isn't the best movie the franchise has to offer, but it's still a fun watch. The film was directed by Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow, who before this directed a couple of episodes of The Gospel and would go on to direct episodes of Soul Eater, Blue Exorcist and The Seven Deadly Sins.
Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow takes place after episode 101 of the anime, with Team 7 tasked with escorting actress Yukie Fujikaze, who will be filming in the Land of Snow. But things are not as they seem with Yukie, and Naruto and his friends must rise to the occasion and protect her from evil forces.
There is a debate among Fullmetal Alchemist fans as to whether the original 2003 anime, which deviated from the source material at the request of mangaka Hiromu Arakawa, is better or Brotherhooda more faithful adaptation that covers the entire manga, is the better way to go. Honestly, you can't go wrong with either, as both do a lot of things really well and offer a unique and rewarding viewing experience.
Set in the 2003 series continuity, Conqueror of Shamballa follows the events of the anime's finale. It follows Edward, now in Munich trying to return to his home world after being sent through the gate. It's a great ending to the 2003 series, with a completely different tone than the 2009 series.
2006: Bleach: Memories of Nobody
We've already had 2 of the “Big 3” on this list, so it was only a matter of time before Bleach showed up as well. Memories of Nobody tells a film-original story and was written by Masashi Sogo rather than series creator Tite Kubo.
Memories of Nobody has Ichigo and Ruika encounter “blanks”, strange souls without memories in Karakura Town. When they meet a mysterious Reaper named Senna, they decide to stop a group called The Dark Ones from destroying the human world and Soul Society while trying to find out Senna's connection to the “blanks”.
2007: JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Phantom Blood
This is an interesting case. While most anime fans familiar with JoJo's Bizarre Adventure will associate it with the David Production adaptation, there is actually another, much more obscure adaptation of Part 1 of the manga. The reason it's so obscure is that it's essentially lost media.
Studio APPP's 2007 adaptation of Phantom Blood was released in Japanese theaters for a limited time and never received any kind of home media release afterwards. This means that most people who saw the film only saw it in theaters during its run. Thanks to an incredibly dedicated group of fans, we know quite a bit about the film due to their tracking of fan testimonials and revealing things like a 16-minute work print and various trailers. Some have even claimed to have downloaded and watched the footage when it was allegedly leaked online, although this is difficult to verify. From everything we know about it, the Phantom Blood movie seems like an interesting adaptation of the manga, and whatever scenes we have from it that have found their way online look fantastic. Maybe we'll get the whole thing one day.
2008: Major: The Winning Shot of Friendship
Major is a fun but often overlooked sports series. The manga ran in Weekly Shonen Jump for nearly two decades from 1994 to 2010. And while the manga was still going strong, an anime adaptation aired from 2004 to 2010.
The Winning Shot of Friendship takes place right after season 4 of the anime. It follows Goro, who returns from the US, heads to his old stomping ground in Fukuoka, and meets some familiar faces. It's a must-watch if you're planning or currently watching the anime series.
2009: One Piece Movie: Strong World
One Piece Film: Strong World stands as the only film in the series that had Oda come up with the story himself, as fun and faithful to the main series as you'd expect it to be.
The film has Shiki taking on the role of the main antagonist, with the legendary pirate kidnapping Nami to exploit her navigational abilities, and the rest of the Straw Hat team fighting to get her back. It might start off a little slow, but Strong World builds to a great watch and is for many one of the stronger One Piece movies out there.
