Anime like Juubee Ninpuuchou: Ryuuhougyoku-hen

Dororo

Also known as Dororo.

Studio: MAPPA , Twin Engine , Tezuka Productions , Sentai Filmworks
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Supernatural

Dororo, a young orphan thief, meets Hyakkimaru, a powerful ronin. Hyakkimaru's father, a greedy feudal lord, had made a pact with 12 demons, offering his yet-unborn son's body parts in exchange for great power. Thus, Hyakkimaru - who was born without arms, legs, eyes, ears, a nose or a mouth - was abandoned in a river as a baby. Rescued and raised by Dr. Honma, who equips him with artificial limbs and teaches him sword-fighting techniques, Hyakkimaru discovers that each time he slays a demon, a piece of his body is restored. Now, he roams the war-torn countryside in search of demons.

Tags: Demons , Revenge , Disability , Curses , Swordplay , Tragedy , Samurai , Estranged Family , Youkai , Anti-Hero , Orphan , War , Male Protagonist , Parenthood , Historical , Travel , Rural , Urban Fantasy , Gore , Female Protagonist , Philosophy , Crossdressing , Tomboy , Body Horror , Episodic , Kuudere , Shounen , Primarily Adult Cast , Ghost , Primarily Male Cast , Cannibalism , Prostitution , Heterosexual , Nun , Body Image , Martial Arts

Samurai Champloo

Also known as Samurai Champloo.

Studio: Manglobe , Fuji TV , Geneon Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy

Let's break it down. Mugen's a reckless sword-slinger with a style that's more b-boy than Shaolin. He's got a nasty streak that makes people want to stick a knife in his throat. Then there's Jin, a deadbeat ronin who speaks softly but carries a big blade. He runs game old-school style, but he can make your blood spray with the quickness. When these roughnecks bring the ruckus, it ain't good for anybody, especially them. Enter Fuu, the ditzy waitress who springs her new friends from a deadly jam. All she wants in return is help solving a riddle from her past. She and the boys are tracking the scent, but there's 99 ways to die between them and the sunflower samurai.



Tags: Travel , Swordplay , Samurai , Rural , Assassins , Historical , Martial Arts , Orphan , Female Protagonist , Gore , Anachronism , Episodic , Hip-hop Music , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Prostitution , Kuudere , Heterosexual , Calligraphy , Tanned Skin , Religion , Pirates , Ninja , Yakuza , Drugs , Politics , Nudity , Shogi , Language Barrier , Zombie , Baseball , LGBTQ+ Themes , Indigenous Cultures , Guns , Disability

Mugen no Juunin: IMMORTAL

Also known as Blade of the Immortal (ONA).

Studio: LIDENFILMS
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Supernatural

Damned to wander the Earth in an endless cycle of carnage and murder, the fallen samurai known as Manji seeks the chance to win back his mortality. To do so, he must first balance the deaths weighing against him by slaying 1000 evil souls, a task that would take even the greatest warriors a lifetime. Manji, however, has all the time in the world to kill, and his lonely quest leaves a trail of bloody bodies in his wake… until his path crosses with that of Rin, who has sworn vengeance against the murderers of her family and school, even though the cost will almost certainly be her own life.



Tags: Tragedy , Revenge , Swordplay , Samurai , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Gore , Seinen , Male Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Body Horror , Prison , Human Experimentation

Ninpuu Kamui Gaiden

Also known as The Legend of Ninja Kamui.

Studio: Tele-Cartoon Japan , Eiken , Fuji TV
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure

Kamui is a ninja from the Edo period who has decided to leave his clan. After doing so he is pursued relentlessly by the members of his former clan; who consider him to be a traitor and therefore wish to kill him. Kamui then wanders around Japan to escape from them by using his intelligence and great abilities to survive. In the course of the series Kamui begins to suffer from paranoia because of his status as a persecuted man. Kamui then started to believe that everybody wished to murder him and became distrusting of everyone he came across.



Tags: Historical , Male Protagonist , Seinen , Ninja , Fugitive , Samurai , Swordplay

Kurozuka

Also known as Kurozuka.

Studio: MADHOUSE , Sony Pictures Entertainment
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama , Horror , Romance , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Adaptation of Takashi Noguchi’s manga, which itself adapts Baku Yumemakura’s supernatural romance novel.

The original novel is about a 12th-century man named Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Kurou). Kurou flees into the mountains after losing to his brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Shogun to rule all of Japan. History records that he committed suicide, but instead, Kurou meets a strange, beautiful woman named Kuromitsu in her mountain hermitage. Eventually, Kurou falls in love with Kuromitsu, but then realizes she conceals a dark secret. He learns that he is unable to die and continues to live for a thousand years as Japan evolves into a future society.



Tags: Historical , Vampire , Gore , Post-Apocalyptic , Seinen , Urban Fantasy , Time Skip , Swordplay

Makai Tenshou

Also known as Ninja Resurrection.

Studio: ADV Films , Phoenix Entertainment
Status: Cancelled
Genres: Action , Supernatural

Get ready for a nightmarish journey through faith and betrayal as the infamous Jubei Yagyu wields his deadly blades against the forces of good and evil alike. In an orgy of unbelievable savagery, the armies of the Shogun give no quarter as they ruthlessly slaughter their enemies. Trapped on the rocky isthmus of Amakusa, the faithful await divine aid as the demon stirs in their midst. Desperate for vengeance, a Child of Heaven becomes the emissary of Hell.

Tortured by visions of Amakusa's final hour, legendary swordsman Jubei Yagyu returns to his ancestral home seeking respite from the bloody duties of a feudal retainer. Life in the village of Yagyu possesses a serenity ill-befitting days of armed rebellion and unholy alliance. For Jubei the tranquility is far too transparent, and soon, chilling rumors reach him. Four dead heroes renew their claim to life, feeding on the fear and violence of the age. Forced to take up the sword once more, Jubei returns to the path of vengeance and damnation in Ninja Resurrection!



Note: Originally intended to be 4 episodes long, though due to a scene in the first episode being eerily similar to an incident that happened in Japan at the same time, the show concluded as 2 episodes after facing external pressure leaving the story on a cliffhanger.

Tags: Swordplay , Historical , Gore , Mythology , Male Protagonist , Samurai , Religion , Primarily Male Cast , Nudity , Reincarnation , Demons , Necromancy , Snowscape