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Academy Award-nominated Japanese director Mamoru Hosoda‘s latest film, “Scarlet,” has landed a Dec. 12 domestic release date from Sony Pictures. The film centers on a brave princess who transcends time and space.

Hosoda’s previous feature films include “Digimon: The Movie” (2000), “One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island” (2005), “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” (2006), “Summer Wars” (2009), “Wolf Children” (2012), “The Boy and the Beast” (2015), and “Mirai” (2018), which was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 91st Academy Awards. “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” earned the inaugural Japan Academy Prize for Best Animation, while “Summer Wars” (2009) earned him an Annie Award nomination for Best Director and screened at the Berlin International Film Festival.

“Scarlet” follows Hosoda’s 2021 film “Belle”, which premiered at Cannes and became his highest-grossing film to date. “For more than 20 years, Hosoda has been refining a vision of the way that virtual realms extend, enhance and complicate modern life,...

A prolific medium with titles to suit whichever form of entertainment the viewers desire, anime has no shortage of wide-ranging epics one could spend months catching up to, short and sweet one-cour shows to watch over the weekend, and multi-seasonal series perfect to enjoy at one’s own pace. An equally multifaceted category, anime movies offer self-contained, impactful narratives with minimal time commitment required.

Embarking on a completely new adventure and losing oneself in a novel, gripping story every day is entirely possible with anime films, leaping from imaginative high fantasy to grounded drama to thought-provoking science fiction. Some of the medium’s most acclaimed, trailblazing exemplars come as feature films, and, in today’s age of streaming, most of them are readily available to enjoy from the comfort of one’s home. With these incredible anime films, all a part of Crunchyroll’s expansive catalog, an entire week of riveting ventures awaits.

The 2005 anime film One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island is one of the most successful One Piece movies ($10.5 Million Box Office revenue), that brought Eiichiro Oda’s beloved series to life with a refreshing Hosoda touch. But beneath its grandeur success, there lies a thrilling revenge story within that no one could ever imagine.

A still from One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island | Credits: Toei Animation

Rumor has it that there was this one time when director Mamoru Hosoda targeted Hayao Miyazaki and made him the antagonist of his movie as his revenge on him & Studio Ghibli as a whole. But how legit is this piece of information, or is this all just speculation?

Howl’s Moving Castle was initially planned to be directed by Mamoru Hosoda! Sophie and Calcifer | Credits: Studio Ghibli

In the year 2000, Studio Ghibli approached Mamoru Hosoda to direct their newest film, Howl’s Moving Castle.

Hayao Miyazaki is the face of Studio Ghibli, and fans of the famous studio are familiar with the director’s indomitable vision. His auteurship shines through every film he directs, as they explore some common themes and motifs that he strongly believes in. For many, it would be a dream to have a personality as sharp as Miyazaki.

Sophie and Howl from Howl’s Moving Castle | Credits: Studio Ghibli

However, it can also cause a clash of opinions and someone unyielding like Miyazaki would rarely budge, leaving the other person with a disadvantage. Popular director, Mamoru Hosoda, experienced something similar with the fan-favorite Ghibli film, Howl’s Moving Castle.

Before Miyazaki took over the reins for the film, Hosoda was the director in charge. However, he couldn’t finish the project and had to leave it as a result of the circumstances. The director spoke about his brief experience with Studio Ghibli during an interview.

One Piece, one of the most beloved anime series created by Eiichiro Oda, also features several movies to support the ongoing anime. There’s an endless plethora of stories within the One Piece universe, but not all of them carry the same light-hearted tone. One movie in particular, One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island, is possibly one of the darkest movies created. The director, Mamoru Hosoda, flipped the script and made fans uneasy.

The Straw Hat crew in One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island. [Credit: Toei Animation]

Many spectate the grim direction of One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island is partly due to the director’s frustration during his feud with Studio Ghibli. There’s an entire history between Hosoda and the studio after the director, who was originally set to direct Howl’s Moving Castle, left allegedly due to creative differences and pressures from the studio.

Few works of modern fiction have the kind of legendary reputation or the wealth of stories as "One Piece." Whether the original manga by Eiichiro Oda or the anime adaptation of the same name, "One Piece" has outlasted many of its would-be successors and several of the titles it inspired.

"One Piece" follows Monkey D. Luffy, a young boy who dreams of becoming king of the pirates and finding the titular One Piece, a legendary treasure left behind by the previous pirate king, Gold Roger. To achieve his dreams, Luffy sets out to assemble a crew and navigate the Grand Line, a treacherous ocean route home to many dangers, and occasionally gets involved in toppling local governments and inciting revolutions. 

The animated "One Piece" adaptation is so good it's transcended mediums and even became the rare anime to get a live-action remake that is actually genuinely good. Still, the length...

Director Mamoru Hasoda nearly led Howl's Moving Castle, but left due to creative differences. Hasoda's departure allowed Miyazaki to infuse his distinct style into the film successfully. Hasoda's different style suited his own projects more, showing the importance of artistic integrity.

Hayao Miyazaki's masterpiece Howl's Moving Castle is one of Studio Ghibli's most timeless and comforting films. The film has made history and continues to capture fan's hearts and earn new viewers, even two decades later. Howl's Moving Castle captures everything that makes Studio Ghibli films magical: the soothing music, the moving story, the lovable characters, and the pastel-toned and visually pleasing animation. However, few fans know that Mamoru Hasoda almost directed the movie.

After smash hit successes like My Neighbor Totoro in 1988 and Spirited Away in 2001, viewers were delighted to receive another extraordinary film from the groundbreaking Ghibli director. Most fans could not dream of Howl's Moving Castle...

Inarguably one of the most iconic offerings of Japanese animation as a medium, One Piece is a behemoth of a franchise that has gone on to produce over 1,000 episodes, which is why it’s all the more surprising that its darkest moment didn’t come from the series at all, but the theatrically released spin-off feature film One Piece: Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island (the 6th feature film of the franchise). Naturally, this begs several questions regarding the continuity of the series, but the only thing that’s important to remember is that in addition to a lifetime’s worth of episodes to catch up on, there’s an additional 15 theatrically released feature films that deviate from the central narrative and are technically non-canon, even if the master creator Eiichiro Oda himself had a hand in getting some of the latest (such as One Piece: Red) off the ground.