10 Great Anime Films Of The 21st Century (That Aren't Studio Ghibli)

10. Night Is Short, Walk On Girl (Masaaki Yuasa, 2017)

Anime has no shortage of particularly distinctive styles, but this effort from veteran director Masaaki Yuasa stands out from the crowd with its rather unique shadings and naturalistic flavour, delivering a rom-com that, true to its university setting and life, is in no hurry to get to where it's going. It may have met with more mixed reviews outside of its native Japan, but its adaptation of the Tomihiko Morimi book was warmly received at home for good reason.

Something of a spiritual follow-up to its director's prior television series The Tatami Galaxy - also adapted from a Morimi light novel - it follows the stories of two unnamed students across one evening, ahead of a date, as they are waylaid by various misadventures involving parties, guerilla theatre, perverts and spirits, to name a few.

Yuasa is a particularly respected figure in the industry - he was one of only a handful of outside people brought in to helm episodes of the acclaimed television series Adventure Time - and even though this film hits the occasional misstep along the way, it's still an intriguing creative work that's worth checking out.