Not content with simply announcing new simulcasts, Crunchyroll rolled out a new slate of anime movies for the refined anime customer hoping to be entertained by digital monsters and witches who strike whilst wearing swimsuits and other lingerie. Crunchyroll provides plenty of opportunities for anime fans to avoid the December chill by staying inside with some anime movies to watch.
Streaming December 1st
Strike Witches: The Movie
Strike Witches first took off as a series of magazine illustrations by Fumikane Shimada, and landed on the manga pages on September 26th, 2005. The movie first aired on March 17th, 2012, and saw Miyafuji Yoshika and her friends take on a dangerous new opponent.
Streaming December 8th
As the Gods Will
This movie was adapted from the first arc of the series by Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Akeji Fujimura, which ran between 2011 and 2012. The movie, which originally aired on November 15th, 2014, sees a bored student named Shun Takahata get his wish for a more exciting time, where he and his friends play a series of deadly children’s games, all as a “god” watches.
Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern: Part 1
This beloved title was adapted from the shōjo manga series by Waki Yamato, which ran from 1975 to 1977. Benio Hanamura is a free-spirited girl who prefers to choose her own husband. She runs into a lieutenant named Shinobu Ijuin and discovers that he is her fiancé as part of an arranged marriage, much to her chagrin. The movie originally premiered on November 11th, 2017.
Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern: Part 2
A follow-up to Haikara-San: Here Comes Miss Modern: Part 1, this sequel follows Benio as she tracks down her husband, after discovering that he survived a battle in Siberia, and is now fighting his own people. Part 2 first premiered on October 19th, 2018, but it’s never too late for Crunchyroll to get the rights to stream such a fine movie duology.
Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Welcome to the Kitauji High School Concert Band
An adaptation of the novel series written by Ayano Takeda, and a recap of the first anime season that aired between April 8th, 2015 and December 16th, 2015. The plot sees Kumiko Oumae, a musician who plays the euphonium, strive to be the best with the rest of her band. The movie first aired on April 23rd, 2016, and thanks to Crunchyroll, it can find a new audience, or reunite with an old audience who enjoyed it when it first aired.
Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – May the Melody Reach You!
Just as before, this movie is a recap of the Sound! Euphonium anime, but this one cover’s its second season, that ran from October 6th, 2016 to December 28th, 2016. The movie itself first aired on September 30th, 2017.
Sound! Euphonium: The Movie – Our Promise: A Brand New Day
A Sound! Euphonium movie that isn’t a recap of the anime series, Crunchyroll brought on this movie that first premiered on April 19th, 2019 for anime music fans to enjoy. Kumiko Oumae returns in the new school year juggling her work as a senpai to first-year band members, an upcoming concert, and her budding relationship with Shuuichi Tsukamoto.
Streaming December 15th
Big Fish & Begonia
Known in China as The Big Fish and the Chinese Flowering Crabapple, and originally released on July 8th, 2016, the story follows a mystical girl named Chun whose race lives beneath the waves and controls the tides. When she goes to the surface to experience humanity, a human boy sacrifices himself to save her. Feeling guilt over the loss, Chun goes on an adventure while guarding the boy’s soul to give him a second chance at life.
Liz and the Blue Bird
This is an adaptation of the Sound! Euphonium novel Hibike! Yūfoniamu Kitauji Kōkō Suisōgaku-bu, Haran no Dainigakushō Kōhen, which was first published on August 26th, 2017, while the film aired a year later on April 21st, 2018. Liz and the Blue Bird acts as a spin-off sequel to the anime series, following the bond between Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki, and how it might take shape during the last year of high school.
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
Known in Japan as Let’s Hold the Promised Flowers in the Morning of Farewells, officially abbreviated as Sayoasa, and unofficially another movie Crunchyroll is streaming to make anime fans cry, this movie first premiered on February 24th, 2018. The story follows Maquia, a woman who is part of a race known for their longevity, and the trials and hardships of raising a human son and trying to rescue her friend after she was abducted by a human king seeking the secret of her race’s longevity.
Millennium Actress
Originally premiering on September 14th, 2002, and another attempt by Crunchyroll to make anime fans cry, the movie was co-written and directed by Satoshi Kon and loosely based on the lives of actresses Setsuko Hara and Hideko Takamine. After Ginei Studios goes out of business, television interviewer Genya Tachibana and his cameraman Kyoji Ida go to interview the studio’s best actress, Chiyoko Fujiwara. Chiyoko tells them her life story, and pulls them into her memories to give them a firsthand account of her life 30 years prior.
Overlord: The Undead King
Released on February 25th, 2017, this movie is a recap of the first seven episodes of the Overlord anime, which is itself an adaptation of the light novel series written by Kugane Maruyama and illustrated by so-bin. It began its run in 2010.
Overlord follows the online isekai adventure of Ainz Ooal Gown as he becomes stuck in his favorite DMMO-RPG Yggdrasil well after the servers officially shut down. He explores his familiar world to discover how he became locked in the game, and why it seems more lifelike than ever before.
Overlord: The Dark Warrior
Another recap movie provided by Crunchyroll, this one covers episodes eight through thirteen of the Overlord anime series.
Penguin Highway
An adaptation of a science fiction novel written by Tomihiko Morimi that was first published in 2010, this movie first premiered on August 17th, 2018. The movie follows a brilliant young man named Aoyama, his budding relationship with the mysterious and mystical Lady, and a bunch of penguins.
Streaming December 22nd
Digimon Adventure tri. 1: Reunion
A six-part movie series acting as a sequel to the wildly popular Digimon Adventure that first aired between March 7th, 1999 through March 26th, 2000 (though there is discussion if it is canon or just another part of a multiverse). The first movie was released on November 21st, 2015, and saw the DigiDestined take up their mantle after years of inactivity.
Digimon Adventure tri. 2: Determination
First airing on March 12th, 2016, and getting a second turn in the limelight this December thanks to Crunchyroll, the DigiDestined head out for some rest and relaxation, at a time when an Ogremon attacks. Joe and Mimi must also come to terms with their own issues.
Digimon Adventure tri. 3: Confession
Things looked dark when this part first aired on September 24th, 2016. The Digimon partners are kept isolated after Meicoomon goes wild and kills Leomon.
Digimon Adventure tri. 4: Loss
Part 4 aired on February 25th, 2017, and saw the Digital World rebooted, a new enemy to fight, and Sora’s partner acting strangely.
Digimon Adventure tri. 5: Coexistence
Meicoomon’s rampage continued on September 30th, 2017 after seeing her partner get injured by a man who looked like a known ally: Gennai.
Digimon Adventure tri. 6: Future
The fate of the world was decided on May 5th, 2018, and fans get to bear witness again thanks to Crunchyroll. The DigiDestined stand together to save the Digital and Real worlds, and shut down the worlds-ending plot once and for all.
Isekai Quartet The Movie -Another World-
A full-length movie of a comedic chibi-style crossover anime that include characters from different isekai series, such as KonoSuba, Overlord, Re:Zero, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, The Rising of the Shield Hero, and Cautious Hero. The anime series first began airing on April 9th, 2019, while the movie premiered in June 2022.
Shirobako: The Movie
Shirobako began life as an anime series that ran from September 27th, 2014 to November 27th, 2015, and followed Aoi Miyamori and her friends as they worked at their school’s animation club. The movie, which hit theaters on February 29th, 2020, sees Aoi lead her team on a theatrical production.
The Wonderland
Known in Japan as Birthday Wonderland, and based on the novel Chikashitsu Kara no Fushigi na Tabi (Strange Journey from the Basement) by Sachiko Kashiwaba, which was published in 1988. The movie first aired on April 26th, 2019, and saw Akane meet an alchemist named Hippocrates, and worked with him and his student to save the world.
Are you excited for any of these movies? Do you want Crunchyroll to stream any other movies in the near future? Let us know in the comments (then just tell Crunchyroll, because we don’t work with them, and have no way of relaying your requests to them).
