Kara Dennison
May 29, 2025 
Time files when you’re an anime fan! One minute a show is premiering, the next it’s organizing anniversary events. And 2025 marks big anniversaries for lots of classics. It’s been ten years since One Punch Man premiered, twenty years since the infamous School Days, and a whole half century since that one Little Mermaid movie. You know, the one Rifftrax covered.
Along with dozens of titles big and small, these three anime films are celebrating special anniversaries this year. Join us for a run-down of these vintage releases, and find out where you can watch (or re-watch) them for yourself!
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
It feels a little strange to lump Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children in with vintage anime films. But this CG-animated sequel to hit video game is a whole twenty years old! The film, directed by Final Fantasy VII co-writer Tetsuya Nomura, debuted all the way back in 2005. It would serve as a follow-up to Nomura’s first game as character design lead and co-writer. And it would be a major landmark for Final Fantasy fans.
Set two years after the original version of Final Fantasy VII, Advent Children once again stars Cloud Strife. This time, he’s searching for a group of kidnapped children who, like him, are infected with Geostigma. And, of course, there’s a plot to resurrect Sephiroth. The “Complete” version premiered four years later, with 26 extra minutes of footage and a new song featuring Gerard Way.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is available via Fandango at Home.
Ghost in the Shell
Before Ghost in the Shell was a franchise (and a divisive Hollywood feature starring ScarJo), it was one of the most celebrated anime films of all time. The movie, released in 1995, turns 30 this year. It marks one of the greatest directorial turns for Mamoru Oshii… but not his only appearance on this list. (And certainly not his strangest.)
The cyberpunk noir flick adapts Masamune Shirow’s manga of the same name, taking place just four years from now in the far-flung future of 2029. Cybernetic human Motoko Kusanagi is on the hunt for someone known only as the Puppet Master, believed to be a master hacker who can take control of cybernetic humans. Besides being action-packed and gorgeous to look at, Ghost in the Shell is a deeply philosophical piece, exploring themes of identity.
Ghost in the Shell is available on Apple TV.
Angel’s Egg
We’re not done with Mamoru Oshii! This director of some of the most stunning (and weirdest) anime films and series of all time has another anniversary this year. Angel’s Egg premiered in 1985, sporting stunning visuals by Yoshitaka Amano and a mind-bending story. The plot, such as it is, began as a pitch for a very surreal Lupin the Third movie. (And you can see the remains of those ideas in the Part VI episode “Darwin’s Bird.”) When the pitch was rejected, it became this.
The film features only two main characters: a girl protecting what she believes to be an angel’s egg, and a boy in search of a bird. The two bond in the film’s strange, run-down world. But things soon fall apart when the boy betrays the girl’s trust. If you’re interested in experiencing this strangely beautiful film for yourself, you’ll have the chance soon! GKIDS will be releasing a 4K remaster for the film’s 40th anniversary.
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