6 Animated Movies That Definitely Aren’t For Kids

Akira is perhaps one of the most influential animated movies of all time, and you’re doing yourself a disservice if you haven’t seen it yet. This film takes place in a dystopian cyberpunk Japan, where a biker gang leader named Kaneda attempts to save his friend Tetsuo from a mysterious government project.

The Katsuhiro Otomo-directed film is based on his manga of the same name, and it brings the incredible art from that series to life on-screen. It also deftly explores themes such as military experimentation and government corruption while wrapping them in graphic violence and incredible psychic powers. Akira is point-blank considered one of the best films ever made, and its mark on pop culture is immense.

A running theme you’ll see in this article is that a lot of animated movies with adult themes come out of Japan, because they know how to make incredible animated movies over there. Perfect Blue continues that trend with a psychological thriller about a former pop idol who is targeted by a stalker, causing her to lose her grip on reality.

Perfect Blue is directed by the incomparable Satoshi Kon, whose filmography could easily make up over half of this list. As with most entries on this list, definitely avoid watching Perfect Blue around the kids as its scenes of violence and sexual assault are decidedly not for younger viewers.

Japan lands yet another spot on this list with the devastating Grave of the Fireflies. To say this movie is devastating is not an understatement, and having a box of tissues ready is a must. The film is a war drama about two siblings who have to survive in Kobe, Japan, following the bombing of Hiroshima.

The film is beautifully animated by Studio Ghibli and directed and written by the animation studio’s co-founder Isao Takahata. Studio Ghibli is renowned for its incredible animated movies that are made for kids (though they are still wonderful for adults), but Grave of the Fireflies proves they’re more than capable of making something incredibly poignant for just the older audiences.

Not be outdone by its neighbor to the South, Canada made its seminal adult animated movie with Heavy Metal. Heavy Metal is an anthology film that features science fiction and fantasy stories inspired by the magazine of the same name.

The anthology stories are tied together by a theme of an underlying evil force, with numerous scenes of nudity, violence, and sexual content. The film ended up becoming a cult classic. True to its name, it also has a great soundtrack that features artists like Black Sabbath, Blue Öyster Cult, Sammy Hagar, Don Felder, Cheap Trick, DEVO, Journey, and Nazareth.

Richard Linklater is known for several incredible live-action films, including Dazed and Confused, the Before trilogy, Boyhood, and School of Rock. However, his animated films have a much smaller audience, which doesn’t reduce their quality. Waking Life was his first crack at animation, and it follows a young man who is lucid dreaming and has philosophical discussions with various different individuals.

The film is experimental and critically acclaimed by those who have seen it. If you’re looking for something a little different out of your adult animated movie night, this one should fit the bill. The rotoscoping animation style also adds to the intrigue.

Finally, we have the most modern adult animated movie on the list — Anomolisa. This stop-motion film emerged in the mid-2010s and followed a man struggling with his mundane life. He perceived everyone in his life as the same, except for Lisa, a woman he meets in a Cincinnati hotel.

Anomolisa was written and directed by Charlie Kaufman, with co-director Duke Johnson. Fans of Kaufman’s films like Being John Malkovich and the Jim Carrey-starring Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will surely enjoy his foray into animation. As one might expect from a Kaufman film, it also was the first R-rated animated film to be nominated in the Best Animated Feature category at the Academy Awards.