Eureka (Japan, 2000)

Eureka tells the story of the lasting effects of a violent experience on three people, a teenage brother and sister, Naoki and Kozue, and a bus driver, Makoto Sawai. These three are the sole survivors when a bus is hijacked by a deranged killer. Naoki and Kozue looses their parents and do not return to school. The two children continue to live alone in the family home. Meanwhile Makoto is finding it impossible to carry on normal life, and short thereafter, Makoto moves in with Naoki and Kozue.

A great drama in many ways. Eureka follows a group of people who've experienced something horrible, and are trying to live again. Cinematography and acting are all fantastic. It should be said that it's quite a long film, clocking in at 3h40m, but it's an investment you definitely won't regret.

Genre: Drama  

Wolf Children (Japan, 2012)

Nineteen-year-old college student Hana meets a young man who sneaks into her classes for lessons and falls in love with him immediately. They soon start dating. One day, the man reveals his identity to Hana; he is a Wolfman and the only surviving descendant of the extinct Japanese wolf. Undeterred by this fact, Hana invites him to live with her. A year later, when Hana becomes pregnant, she decides not to visit a hospital out of fear that her child would be a wolf. Their daughter, Yuki, is thus born at home on a snowy day, along with her brother, Ame, who is born a year after her.

Wolf Children is one of the best anime films to be released in a long time. It's directed by the man who also made Summer Wars (2009) and The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006), so your expectations runs high from the get-go. A rememberable and emotional journey full of heart. 

Genre: Animation/Drama/Fantasy