Anime has a diverse range of genres and themes that appeal to people of all ages. It contains all of the content that any type of person could desire. In all of the anime’s diverse genres, the anime that showcase Ancient Japan is quite fascinating because of its overall vibes.
If we talk about what ancient Japan is, then it is an era of nobility and military power in Japan. The Shogun, warlords, and samurai warriors were some of the prominent figures during that feudal period of Japanese history.
Everything about Japanese history is great to explore, but that particular period had a massive impact on the country, and there are many ways to learn about it. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the most well-known and incredible Top 15 Anime That Showcase Ancient Japan that you must watch.
15. Grenadier
Grenadier is a comedy/girls with guns anime series produced by Studio Live and Group TAC that aired on WOWOW networks from October 14, 2004–January 13, 2005. This anime follows the journey of Rushuna, who is a blonde and very beautiful gun expert who travels through the world with one purpose.
This is to make the world a peaceful place instead of fighting with weapons, taking away the people’s will to fight by smiling at them. Although she doesn’t want to fight, she is forced to and shows amazing gun skills. On this journey, she meets Yajiro, a mercenary that uses a sword to fight and joins her on her journey.
14. Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu
Katsugeki/Touken Ranbu is an action/fantasy anime television series produced by studio Ufotable and directed by Toshiyuki Shirai, with music composed by Hideyuki Fukasawa. It is based on the video game Touken Ranbu. The anime series aired between July 1 and September 23, 2017. An anime theatrical film project is currently in production.
This anime is set in the year 1863 when Japan is split between the warring pro-shogunate and anti-shogunate factions. Izuminokami Kanesada is a Sword Warrior, which is a tsukumogami of a historical Japanese blade brought to life by the Saniwa.
Together with recruit Horikawa Kunihiro, they chase after the Time Retrograde Army to reclaim a mysterious cargo capable of changing history. Joined by Tonbokiri, Yagen Toushirou, Mutsunokami Yoshiyuki, and Tsurumaru Kuninaga, the Second Unit fights to maintain the rightful course of time.
13. Rurouni Kenshin
Rurouni Kenshin is an adventure/martial arts anime series produced by studio Gallop and Deen that aired on Fuji TV, Toonami, and Cartoon Network from January 10, 1996, to September 8, 1998.
Rurouni Kenshin tells the story of a wanderer named Kenshin, who used to be called Hitokiri Battousai during the Japanese civil war. His tale is about redemption from his past and all his murders by helping those in trouble with his reverse-blade sword, the sakabato.
12. Inuyasha
Inuyasha is produced by Sunrise Studio and its first series ran for 167 episodes on Yomiuri TV from October 2000 to September 2004. The second series, Inuyasha: The Final Act, ran for 26 episodes from October 2009 to March 2010.
The series begins with Kagome Higurashi, a fifteen-year-old middle school girl from modern-day Tokyo who is transported to the Sengoku period after falling into a well in her family shrine, where she meets the half-dog demon, half-human Inuyasha. After the sacred Shikon Jewel re-emerges from deep inside Kagome’s body, she accidentally shatters it into dozens of fragments that scatter across Japan.
Inuyasha and Kagome set out to recover the jewel fragments, and in their quest, they are joined by the lecherous monk Miroku, the demon slayer Sango, and the fox demon Shippo. Together, they journey to restore the Shikon Jewel before it falls into the hands of the evil half-demon Naraku.
11. Katanagatari
Katanagatari is an adventure/martial arts anime series produced by studio White Fox that aired on Fuji TV from January 26, 2010–December 11, 2010. Katanagatari is the story of Yasuri Shichika, a swordsman who fights without a sword, and Togame, an ambitious young strategist who seeks to collect 12 legendary swords for the shogunate.
Shichika is the son of an exiled war hero and the seventh head of the Kyotouryuu school of fighting who lives on the isolated Fushou Island with his elder sister, Nanami. Togame seeks him out because his bare-handed fighting style means that he will not be corrupted by the power of the swords.
Togame, who has been betrayed before, convinces Shichika to accompany her on a mission to locate the Deviant Blades. They embark on a journey together across Edo-era Japan to collect the Deviant Blades, all wielded by formidable opponents.
10. Peacemaker Kurogane
Peacemaker Kurogane is a historical/samurai anime series produced by studio Gonzo K.K that aired on TV Asahi and TV Kanagawa from October 7, 2003, to March 24, 2004. This anime follows Tetsunosuke Ichimura, who is an energetic, short, and very childlike fifteen-year-old. He and his older brother Tatsunosuke are left to fend for themselves after the vicious murder of their parents.
While Tetsunosuke wants to get revenge, his pacifist brother is not so inclined. As “Tatsu” joins a special police force dubbed the Shinsengumi, as an accountant to earn a living, his brother “Tetsu” wishes to join as a soldier to seek his revenge.
The story chronicles Tetsu’s trials and tribulations as a struggling page, craving redemption. He develops relationships with all the legendary members of the Shinsengumi army, helping them with their various struggles as he constantly battles his own against himself. At the story’s climax, Tetsu discovers himself and the overwhelming responsibility that the power he is searching for holds.
9. Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou
Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou is a historical/action anime series produced by studio Gonzo K.K that aired on TV Saitama, TV Kanagawa, Chiba TV, KBS, and AT-X from April 13, 2005, to September 21, 2005.
The plot follows two clans. The Kouga and the Iga These clans have been at each other’s throats for centuries. Both clans are after these scrolls. Whoever possesses these scrolls will live on for thousands of years to come.
The elders decided it was best to marry two members from each side to each other to end the constant bloodshed between both sides and form a no-hostility pact between both sides until the marriage by their chosen leaders was finalized.
8. House Of Five Leaves
House Of Five Leaves is a drama/martial arts anime series produced by studio Manglobe that aired on Fuji TV from April 15, 2010–July 1, 2010. This anime Set during Japan’s Edo period, House of Five Leaves follows Masanosuke Akitsu, a wandering samurai and a skilled swordsman, whose timid personality often causes him to be let go by his employers.
One day, he encounters Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a group of bandits calling themselves the Five Leaves, and is offered a job as his bodyguard. Although he is worried about their intentions, Masanosuke is intrigued by the group and agrees to work with them.
7. Miss Hokusai
Miss Hokusai is a 90-minute historical anime movie produced by Production I.G and released on May 9, 2015. The anime’s story begins in Edo in 1814, during the Edo period. O-He is one of the four daughters of the painter Tetsuzo, who later became known as Hokusai. The film takes place when O-Ei reaches adulthood, while her father, aged about fifty, is already a recognized artist in his country.
6. Nobunaga Concerto
Nobunaga Concerto is a drama/martial arts anime series produced by Noriko Ozaki that aired on Fuji TV from July 12, 2014, to September 20, 2014. This series was inspired by the manga of the same name, which is written and illustrated by Ayumi Ishii. The story of this anime centers around Saburō, a high school boy who time-travels to Japan’s Sengoku Era. He must become Oda Nobunaga, the famed warlord who helped unite Japan.
5. Mononoke
Mononoke is an avant-garde anime television series produced by Toei Animation. A spin-off of 2006’s horror anthology series Ayakashi: Samurai Horror Tales, Mononoke follows the character of the medicine seller as he continues to face a myriad of supernatural perils.
Mononoke takes place between the end of the Edo period and the Meiji Era of Japan with the four-class system, with samurai being the highest class and merchants (such as the medicine seller himself) being in the lowest class. Only samurai were permitted to carry swords, which is why it comes as a shock to many of the characters that the medicine seller would be carrying a sword.
4. Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings
Sengoku Basara: Samurai Kings is an action/historical anime television series based on the Capcom video game series of the same name, made by Production I.G., planned and written by Yasuyuki Muto, and chiefly directed by Itsuro Kawasaki. The series started airing on Japan’s Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting (CBC) station in April 2009; other networks broadcast the episodes within a few days, including TBS, MBS, and Animax.
This anime is set in the bloody Warring States period of feudal Japan. Many generals fought in an endless power struggle, but one man proved to be too big a threat—the dark lord Oda Nobunaga. Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune, two young warriors from different regions who become heated rivals, begin to form an unlikely alliance with the rest of the generals to take down the Devil King.
3. Gin Tama
Gin Tama is an action comedy anime series produced by Sunrise that aired from Apr 04, 2006, to Mar 25, 2010. The plot revolves around Gintoki, a handyman who has no regard for the rules imposed by the invaders and is willing to take any job to survive.
He and his gang, on the other hand, are among the few who have not forgotten the morale of a swordsman. It is one of the most popular action-comedy series in anime history, capable of taking comedy to new heights.
2. Hakuouki
House Of Five Leaves is an Otome/historical fantasy anime series produced by studio Studio Deen that aired on TV Kanagawa, Chiba TV, TV Saitama, KBS Kyoto, Sun TV, AT-X, Tokyo MX TV, and TV Aichi from October 10, 2010–December 12, 2010.
This anime follows Chizuru Yukimura as she heads to Kyoto to search for her father, finding herself attacked by mad men before they are cut down by members of the Shinsengumi, who mistake her for a boy and take her into custody for interrogation. Upon learning that she is a girl and the daughter of a doctor who developed the Water of Life elixir that turns those that drink it into invincible blood-lusting berserkers called Furies.
1. Samurai Champloo
Samurai Champloo is an adventure/historical anime series produced by studio Manglobe that aired on Fuji TV and many English-language networks from May 20, 2004, to March 19, 2005. This anime tells the story of three strangers in the Tokugawa era (also known as the Edo Period) who come together on a journey across Japan. A young woman named Fuu is working as a waitress in a tea shop when she is harassed by a band of samurai. She is saved by Mugen, a mysterious rogue, and Jin, a young ronin.
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