What anime movies of TV shows are out there that aren’t just an 1 1/2 or 2 hour episode?
What I’m looking for is for the movie to have things that aren’t in the show. For example, a death of a major character (and they stay dead), or violence or language or other things that aren’t in the TV version.
Martian Successor Nadesico: Prince of Darkness. I don’t want to say too much, but (true to its name) it is significantly darker than the rest of the series; and some of the characters are significantly altered
The Utena movie is something like a reimagining of the show - completely different and yet familiar. It’s also absolutely crazy, and I thought when I’d just seen a raw copy back in the day that it was my shaky Japanese, but then I got a fansub and realized, no, it just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, per se. It’s absolutely beautiful, though.
I think Char’s Counterattack fits the bill quite nicely, considering…
Both Char Aznable and Amuro Ray are dead by the film’s end, after some 15 years of on-and-off dueling between the two of them.
Yes.
Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz does a decent job of wrapping up that series, too.
The Patlabor movies are also a rather extreme departure from the light-hearted nature of the series to a rather philosophical point of view.
Additionally, I second the suggestion of Tenchi 3.
And on the flipside of the coin, avoid the Inuyasha movies. Even if you take them as extended episodes, they all suck. Hard. Except maybe for the third one.