Anime like Saraiya Goyou

ACCA: 13-ku Kansatsu-ka

Also known as ACCA: 13-Territory Inspection Dept..

Studio: MADHOUSE , BS11 , NAS , Bandai Visual , Square Enix , Sony PCL , Contents Seed , Lantis , Banpresto , Medicos Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery , Slice of Life

"ACCA" is a giant unified syndicate residing in a kingdom split into 13 autonomous regions. ACCA was formed back when there was threat of a coup d'etat, and it has continued to protect the peace of civilians for almost one hundred years. Jean Otus, the vice-chairman of the inspections department at ACCA headquarters, is one of the most cunning men in the syndicate's history with the nickname "Jean the Cigarette Peddler." Whimsically puffing his cigarettes, he wanders through the 13 districts, checking to see if there is any foul play afoot.



Tags: Royal Affairs , Politics , Conspiracy , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Travel , Foreign , Work , Detective , Economics , Revenge , Ensemble Cast , Police , Photography , Seinen , Food , Military , Family Life , Office Lady

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu

Also known as Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

Studio: Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

The story revolves around a mature prisoner who was released on good behavior during Japan's Shouwa Genroku era (1960s to early 1970s). He is called Yotarou by others, a term that means an "anti-hero" or a "dim-witted man." When he returns to society, he starts a new life in rakugo (comic storytelling). Touched by Yakumo's role as the "grim reaper," he asks the master to take him in as an apprentice. Most of the season delves into Yakumo's own past during World War II and the years afterward.



Note: The first episode aired with a runtime of 48 minutes as opposed to the standard 24 minute long episode.

Tags: Rakugo , Acting , Tragedy , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Josei , Male Protagonist , Love Triangle , Time Skip , Disability , Meta , War , Suicide , Elderly Protagonist , Primarily Male Cast

Hyouge Mono

Studio: Bee Train , NHK , Sogo Vision
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Drama

The story is set during Japan's Sengoku Jidai (Era of the Warring States) and centers on Furuta Sasuke, a vassal of the great warlord Oda Nobunaga and a man obsessed with tea ceremony and material desires in his pursuit of a fortuitous life. Having learned from Oda and the legendary tea master Sen no Soueki, Furuta walks the way of the Hyouge Mono.





Tags: Historical , Philosophy , Seinen , Biographical , Primarily Adult Cast , Politics , Primarily Male Cast , Male Protagonist , War , Samurai , Religion , Swordplay , Elderly Protagonist

Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu: Sukeroku Futatabi-hen

Also known as Descending Stories: Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju.

Studio: Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Unable to forget a performance of "Shinigami" performed by the rakugo master Yakumo in the prison where he was being held, Yotaro's first act upon his release was go right to the theater, where he begged, pleaded, and was finally accepted as Yakumo's live-in apprentice. After years of refining his art, Yotaro was promoted to the rank of Shinuchi and inherited the title of 3rd Generation Sukeroku. For the sake of his master Yakumo, Konatsu, and to change the image of Sukeroku inside them both, what kind of rakugo will Yotaro discover?

This celebrated human drama, based on a story by Haruko Kumota, offers an honest and sympathetic look into the lives and livelihoods of rakugo storytellers in the Showa era.



Tags: Rakugo , Josei , Primarily Adult Cast , Acting , Male Protagonist , Afterlife , Time Skip , Elderly Protagonist , Historical , Suicide , Yakuza , Gods , Inseki , Memory Manipulation

Heike Monogatari

Also known as The Heike Story.

Studio: Science SARU , Asmik Ace , Dentsu , Fuji TV , bilibili , Pony Canyon , BS Fuji
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Supernatural

A young orphan named Biwa is taken in by the powerful Taira Clan—also known as the Heike—after their leader witnesses her extraordinary psychic abilities. Unfortunately, what she predicts is a future of bloodshed, violence, and civil war. Inspired by the 12th-century epic tale Heike Monogatari.



Tags: Politics , Classic Literature , Tragedy , War , Historical , Philosophy , Military , Religion , Suicide , Ghost , Female Protagonist , Orphan , Conspiracy , Archery , Samurai , Time Skip , Tomboy , Adoption , Ships

Mushishi

Also known as MUSHI-SHI.

Studio: Artland , Marvelous Entertainment , Funimation , Delfi Sound
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Fantasy , Mystery , Psychological , Slice of Life , Supernatural

Neither good nor evil, they are life in its purest form. Vulgar and strange, they have inspired fear in humans since the dawn of time and have, over the ages, come to be known as "mushi." The stories of the Mushi and the people they affect are all linked together by a traveling Mushi-shi, or "Mushi Master," who seeks rare Mushi sightings and uses his shaman-like knowledge of Mushi to help the affected people.

What are the Mushi and what do they want?



Tags: Environmental , Youkai , Mythology , Episodic , Philosophy , Rural , Male Protagonist , Travel , Snowscape , Tragedy , Outdoor , Seinen , Historical , Coastal , Primarily Adult Cast , Amnesia , Urban Fantasy , Cult , Suicide

Hidamari no Ki

Studio: MADHOUSE , VAP
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

A story set in the mid-1800's about a young doctor who has been trained in Western-style medicine and a young samurai who is trying to live up to the old traditions of his class and culture. The story is actually based upon real people - the doctor, Ryo-an, was Tezuka's great grandfather.

During the Second Year of Ansei (1855) in Edo's Koishigawa are two young men, Manjiro Ibutani and Ryoan Tezuka. Ibutani is a low-ranking samurai who is a gifted swordsman and has a straightforward and strong sense of justice. Tezuka has a more carefree attitude. He has an eye for the ladies, but he is passionate about becoming a doctor. The two opposite characters come of age during the backdrop of the turbulent end of the Tokugawa Period (1600-1868 CE).



Tags: Medicine , Historical , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Conspiracy , Pandemic , Seinen , Samurai , Coming of Age , Swordplay , Work , Time Skip , Biographical , Nudity

REVENGER

Also known as Revenger.

Studio: Shouchiku , Ajiado , Nitroplus , AT-X , Kansai TV , Good Smile Company , flying DOG , Marui , TOKYO MX
Status: Finished
Genres: Action

As master assassin Usui Yuen investigates a series of attacks made on the grand samurai clan, the Satsuma, he encounters survivor and clan member Kurima Raizo. Together, they unravel a conspiracy behind the murders, the true nature of which appears far grander than anyone first thought. As they get closer to the truth, will they come out alive to exact revenge?



Tags: Revenge , Historical , Assassins , Male Protagonist , Samurai , Primarily Adult Cast , Anti-Hero , Tragedy , Crime , Religion , Drugs , Philosophy , Primarily Male Cast , Gore , Ensemble Cast , Swordplay , Crossdressing , Anachronism , Archery , LGBTQ+ Themes , Episodic , Guns , Gender Bending , Suicide , Tsundere

Kaguya-hime no Monogatari

Also known as The Tale of The Princess Kaguya.

Studio: Studio Ghibli
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Fantasy , Romance

Okina is a bamboo cutter in ancient rural Japan. One day in the forest, he finds a tiny baby in the folds of a bamboo shoot. He brings the creature home to his wife Ounaa and they decide to keep her and raise her as a princess. She is clearly not of this world. Kaguya grows at an unnatural rate, soon maturing into an uncommonly beautiful young woman. Since Okina has now also found a cache of gold and treasure in the forest, every suitor wants Kaguya. But this is not a fairy tale of courtship and marriage.



Tags: Philosophy , Classic Literature , Tragedy , Historical , Fairy Tale , Female Protagonist , Rural , Family Life , Gods , Religion , Primarily Adult Cast , Amnesia , Travel , Adoption , Heterosexual , Agriculture , Unrequited Love , Environmental , Calligraphy

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku-hen

Also known as Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal.

Studio: Studio DEEN , Aniplex of America
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Romance

In the days before the Japanese Revolution, Hiko Seiijuro, a wandering master swordsman and hermit, encounters a bandit raid on a slave wagon. Hiko kills the raiding bandits in hopes of saving as many lives as possible, but only manages to spare one life from the massacre. Hiko leaves the child, advising him to go to the nearby village and have them take care of him. A few days later, as Hiko comes back to check upon the child he saved, he is shocked to see the child had created graves, both for the slaves he befriended and the bandits who killed them. Seeing potential in the young one, Hiko takes the child under his wing, names him Kenshin, meaning "heart of sword," and teaches him about the art of swordsmanship under the Hiten Mitsuruugi Ryu.

Struggling in a constant challenge with his ideal beliefs reflecting against the harshness of reality, Tsuiokuhen tells the melancholic and dark story of Himura Kenshin as one of the most feared assassins of the Japanese Revolution: the Hitokiri Battousai.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Tags: Samurai , Revenge , Tragedy , Historical , Philosophy , Swordplay , Heterosexual , Male Protagonist , Gore , Primarily Adult Cast , Shounen