What is the best Mamoru Oshii film?

From philosophical cyberpunk landmarks to dreamlike experiments and live-action detours, this is one visionary director's singular body of work. Which is his best?

1

Ghost in the Shell

Oshii's landmark 1995 cyberpunk masterpiece about a cyborg policewoman hunting a mysterious hacker.

1000pts

2

Angel's Egg

The hauntingly abstract 1985 film about a girl protecting a mysterious egg in a desolate world.

874pts

3

The Sky Crawlers

The melancholic 2008 film about ageless fighter pilots locked in an endless corporate-staged war.

818pts

4

Avalon

Oshii's 2001 Polish-language live-action film about a gamer immersed in an illegal virtual reality war game.

807pts

5

Patlabor: The Movie

The 1989 mecha thriller about a computer virus that threatens to send giant work robots berserk.

681pts

6

Urusei Yatsura: Only You

Oshii's 1983 debut feature in the franchise, a comedy about an alien forcing a marriage on Ataru.

681pts

7

Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer

Oshii's surreal 1984 feature trapping a town in an endless recurring day before a school festival.

681pts

8

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

The visually opulent 2004 sequel exploring artificial humanity through a case involving murderous gynoids.

499pts

9

Patlabor 2: The Movie

The acclaimed 1993 political thriller in which a coup threatens Tokyo and the Labor patrol police respond.

499pts