Anime like Dae Jang Geum: Jang Geum's Dream

Saiunkoku Monogatari

Also known as The Story of Saiunkoku.

Studio: MADHOUSE , NHK , Sogo Vision
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Saiunkoku is a world of eight provinces or houses, each named after a different colour. The new Emperor, Shi Ryuuki, has gained a reputation for being uninterested in courtly matters and for flaunting his love for men. Shuurei, although born of the important Kou family, has difficulty making ends meet. She easily accepts an invitation to be the Emperor's concubine in order to turn him into a good ruler. The mysterious Seiran, a young man who was adopted by her father, goes with her as Ryuuki's bodyguard. Entering the imperial palace revives Shuurei's dream of being a court official, and, together with the many companions she meets along the way, continues moving bravely forward while trying to fend off the Emperor's advances.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Politics , Historical , Kingdom Management , Ancient China , Unrequited Love , Royal Affairs , Urban , Mythology , Work , Shoujo , Philosophy , Ensemble Cast , Foreign , Coming of Age , Swordplay , Bullying , Ghost , Family Life , Assassins , Primarily Adult Cast , Travel , Bisexual , Arranged Marriage , Primarily Male Cast , Male Harem , War , Heterosexual , Marriage , Crime , Dissociative Identities , Found Family

Chuuka Ichiban!

Also known as Cooking Master Boy.

Studio: Nippon Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama

The story takes place in 19th century China during the Qing Dynasty, where the Emperor was weakened and the country was close to chaos. It is also during a fictitious era called "The Era of the Cooking Wars". It was an era in which top chefs with different cooking styles tried their best to improve their skills and to become the best chef in China. It is a country where insulting a high-grade chef or fooling around with cooking could land a person in a jail, and impersonating a top-chef is as good as usurpation of authority. Chefs compete with each other in order to gain respect and even power, but also with the risks of losing everything.

The country of China has four major regions: Beijing, Szechuan, Shanghai, and Guangdong.

The beginning of the story takes place in Szechuan, Mao's birthplace.

After the death of Mao's mother, Pai, who was called the 'Fairy of Cuisine', Mao becomes a Super Chef in order to take the title as Master Chef of his mother's restaurant. However, before he takes his mother's place as Master Chef, he continues to travel China in order to learn more of the many ways of cooking, in the hopes of becoming a legendary chef, just like his mother. During his journey, he meets great friends and fierce rivals who wish to challenge him in the field of cooking.



Tags: Shounen , Historical , Foreign , Food

Kemono no Souja Erin

Also known as Erin.

Studio: Production I.G , Trans Arts , NHK Enterprises
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy

In the land of Ryoza, the neighboring provinces of Shin-Ou and Tai-Kou have been at peace. Queen Shinou is the ruler of Ryoza and her greatest general, Grand Duke Taikou, defends the kingdom with his army of powerful war-lizards known as the "Touda." Although the two regions have enjoyed a long-standing alliance, mounting tensions threaten to spark a fierce civil war.

Within Ake, a village in Tai-Kou tasked with raising the Grand Duke's army, lives Erin, a bright girl who spends her days watching the work of her mother Soyon, the village's head Touda doctor. But while under Soyon's care, a disastrous incident befalls the Grand Duke's strongest Touda, and the peace that Erin and her mother had been enjoying vanishes as Soyon is punished severely. In a desperate attempt to save her mother, Erin ends up falling in a river and is swept towards Shin-Ou.

Unable to return home, Erin must learn to lead a new life with completely different people, all while hunting for the truth of both beasts and humanity itself, with tensions between the two regions constantly escalating.



Tags: Coming of Age , Tragedy , Animals , Conspiracy , Veterinarian , Female Protagonist , Environmental , Politics , Teacher , Matriarchy , Boarding School , Philosophy , Time Skip , Rural , War , Adoption , Historical , Kids

Akatsuki no Yona

Also known as Yona of the Dawn.

Studio: Studio Pierrot , TOKYO MX , Docomo Anime Store , Hakusensha , VAP , Marvelous , AT-X , Age Global Networks , TOP-INSIGHT , Delfi Sound
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Since Yona is the only princess of a grand kingdom, she has been raised with great care by her doting father and protected by her childhood friend/guard Hak and others. However, her fate changes on her 16th birthday, when her beloved cousin Soo-won murders her father to claim the throne. She flees the castle to Hak's hometown and begins her new life.



Tags: Shoujo , Female Protagonist , Dragons , Royal Affairs , Ensemble Cast , Fugitive , Travel , Coming of Age , Primarily Male Cast , Mythology , Reincarnation , Politics , Historical , Revenge , Tragedy , Male Harem , Found Family , Heterosexual , Swordplay , Archery , Primarily Adult Cast , Foreign , Orphan , Gods , Pirates , Crossdressing