Anime like Onihei

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

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

Samurai Champloo

Also known as Samurai Champloo.

Studio: Manglobe , Fuji TV
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 , Historical , Orphan , Martial Arts , Anachronism , Episodic , Assassins , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Female Protagonist , Anti-Hero , Prostitution , Kuudere , Tanned Skin , Politics , Drugs , Yakuza , Ninja , Religion , Heterosexual , Crossdressing , Nudity , Language Barrier , Zombie , Noir , Baseball , LGBTQ+ Themes

Saraiya Goyou

Also known as House of Five Leaves.

Studio: Manglobe , NIS America Inc. , Doga Kobo , Xebec
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Mystery

Masterless samurai Akitsu Masanosuke is a skilled and loyal swordsman, but his naïve, diffident nature has more than once caused him to be let go by the lords who employ him. Hungry and desperate, he agrees to become a bodyguard for Yaichi, the charismatic leader of a group calling itself “Five Leaves.” Although disturbed by the gang’s sinister activities, Masa begins to suspect that Yaichi’s motivations are not what they seem. And despite his misgivings, the deeper he’s drawn into the world of the Five Leaves, the more he finds himself fascinated by these devious, mysterious outlaws.



Tags: Seinen , Male Protagonist , Samurai , Historical , Primarily Adult Cast , Crime , Primarily Male Cast , Swordplay

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

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

Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan

Also known as Rurouni Kenshin.

Studio: Studio Gallop , Studio DEEN , SME Visual Works , Fuji TV , Media Blasters , Aniplex of America
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Comedy , Drama , Romance

Himura Kenshin is a vagabond with a dark past and sunny disposition. Not a ronin but a rurouni, he was never a samurai, but an assassin of utmost skill in the Meiji restoration, who in the turning point of the war simply walked away. His travels lead him to Tokyo in the 11th year of the Meiji era, where he befriends a female Kendo master, a former thief, a brawler and a doctor all with their own secrets. Together they fight off the enemies surfacing from the dark past that Kenshin cannot escape.



Tags: Swordplay , Martial Arts , Samurai , Historical , Heterosexual , Shounen , Male Protagonist , Cultivation , Tsundere , Politics , Travel , Conspiracy , Rehabilitation

Mugen no Juunin: IMMORTAL

Also known as Blade of the Immortal (ONA).

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

New adaptation of Mugen no Juunin.

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 , Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Gore , Seinen , Prison , Body Horror , Anti-Hero ,

Oooku

Also known as Ōoku: The Inner Chambers.

Studio: Studio DEEN , Netflix
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

In Edo period Japan (1603 to 1868), a strange new disease called the Redface Pox has begun to prey on the country's men. Within eighty years of the first outbreak, the male population has fallen to a quarter of the total female population. Women have taken on all the roles traditionally granted to men, even that of the Shogun. The men, precious providers of life, are carefully protected and the most beautiful of the men are sent to serve in the Shogun's Inner Chambers.



Note: The first episode has a runtime of 1 hour and 18 minutes.

Tags: Historical , Pandemic , Politics , Matriarchy , Samurai , Shoujo , Gender Bending , LGBTQ+ Themes , Primarily Adult Cast , Male Protagonist , Swordplay , Suicide , Crossdressing

Onmyouji

Also known as Onmyoji.

Studio: Marvy Jack
Status: Finished
Genres: Mystery , Supernatural

Yearning, obsession, burning desire…
When people’s uncontrollable emotions begin to overflow, that is when they become demons.

In prosperous ancient Kyoto, court musician Minamoto Hiromasa, grandson of Emperor Daigo, visits the residence of the official onmyoji — the yin-yang diviners — in hopes of unraveling the mysteries of the demons that disturb the city. While there, he is introduced to a man perfectly suited for untangling these enigmas: the great onmyoji Abe Seimei, a man cloaked in an otherworldly aura. Hiromasa is vexed by Seimei’s lack of interest in the mundane world and his reluctance to help, but the two of them confront the demons at the cause of the incidents. They eventually find the onmyoji Ashiya Doman, who lurks in the shadows of the demons. Seimei and Hiromasa are joined by Hiromasa’s flute teacher Imperial Prince Atsumi, the emperor’s onmyoji Kamo Yasunori, and Lady Tsuyuko, who comes to accompany them as a result of a particular case. As their emotions intertwine like threads, will Seimei and Hiromasa be able to restore peace to the capital?

The ordeal of these mismatched friends destined to share the same fate begins now.



Tags: Male Protagonist , Primarily Adult Cast , Youkai , Demons , Anti-Hero , Episodic , Philosophy , Historical , Boys' Love , Gambling