Samurai are an integral part of Japanese culture. As such, there are, of course, many series featuring them. Everyone knows Samurai Champloo and Rurouni Kenshin, but here are 5 more great series about samurai that you might not have seen!
Gintama is definitely well known, but it seems daunting to get into. Multiple seasons with hundreds of episodes in total may seem like too much commitment for modern otaku.
However, Gintama is extremely worth it. It combines quirky Japanese comedy and great action (though it takes a while to get to its serious arcs). Its strongest asset is the protagonist, Gintoki Sakata, who is the last samurai left, now doing odd jobs.
Blade of the Immortal (Mugen no Juunin: Immortal) is a ruthless action series about a traveling samurai who fights evil people. He does it to atone for his sins — for which he was cursed with immortality.
The series deals with very heavy topics and is definitely violent, so be prepared. Just be sure to watch the 2019 adaptation, as it’s much closer to the manga than the 2008 one.
Sengoku Basara is an anime that loosely retells the Japanese history of the Sengoku period. It takes the historical genre and adds the “Rule of cool” flavor to it.
The result is very unique — you get your historical tidbits for the history buffs, but you also get men standing on horses and entire armies performing crazy dances. Seriously, check it out, it’s very fun.
House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou) is a very mature take on the samurai genre. Combining realistic character drama with an exceptionally unique art style, the series is definitely worth your time, as it tells a complete story.
While House of Five Leaves doesn’t contain much action, it is beautiful in its own way. It conveys the samurai aesthetic very well, something that many series struggle with.
Shigurui has a reputation of being one of the most violent anime on TV. It is very realistic in that sense — many fights between samurai were extremely bloody, and the anime doesn’t shy away from showing that.
Despite that, it is actually a thoughtful psychological drama on the inside, although some people probably won’t be able to stomach the sheer amount of blood.
Sadly, we aren’t getting many of these nowadays.
Samurai are an integral part of Japanese culture. As such, there are, of course, many series featuring them. Everyone knows Samurai Champloo and Rurouni Kenshin, but here are 5 more great series about samurai that you might not have seen!
Gintama is definitely well known, but it seems daunting to get into. Multiple seasons with hundreds of episodes in total may seem like too much commitment for modern otaku.
However, Gintama is extremely worth it. It combines quirky Japanese comedy and great action (though it takes a while to get to its serious arcs). Its strongest asset is the protagonist, Gintoki Sakata, who is the last samurai left, now doing odd jobs.
Blade of the Immortal (Mugen no Juunin: Immortal) is a ruthless action series about a traveling samurai who fights evil people. He does it to atone for his sins — for which he was cursed with immortality.
The series deals with very heavy topics and is definitely violent, so be prepared. Just be sure to watch the 2019 adaptation, as it’s much closer to the manga than the 2008 one.
Sengoku Basara is an anime that loosely retells the Japanese history of the Sengoku period. It takes the historical genre and adds the “Rule of cool” flavor to it.
The result is very unique — you get your historical tidbits for the history buffs, but you also get men standing on horses and entire armies performing crazy dances. Seriously, check it out, it’s very fun.
House of Five Leaves (Saraiya Goyou) is a very mature take on the samurai genre. Combining realistic character drama with an exceptionally unique art style, the series is definitely worth your time, as it tells a complete story.
While House of Five Leaves doesn’t contain much action, it is beautiful in its own way. It conveys the samurai aesthetic very well, something that many series struggle with.
Shigurui has a reputation of being one of the most violent anime on TV. It is very realistic in that sense — many fights between samurai were extremely bloody, and the anime doesn’t shy away from showing that.
Despite that, it is actually a thoughtful psychological drama on the inside, although some people probably won’t be able to stomach the sheer amount of blood.
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