Top Biographical Anime Recommendations

Kaze Tachinu

Also known as The Wind Rises.

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

Although Jirou Horikoshi's nearsightedness prevents him from ever becoming a pilot, he leaves his hometown to study aeronautical engineering at Tokyo Imperial University for one simple purpose: to design and build planes just like his hero, Italian aircraft pioneer Giovanni Battista Caproni. His arrival in the capital coincides with the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, during which he saves a maid serving the family of a young girl named Naoko Satomi; this disastrous event marks the beginning of over two decades of social unrest and malaise leading up to Japan's eventual surrender in World War II.

Tags: Aviation , Historical , Work , Biographical , Male Protagonist , Tragedy , Time Skip , War , Primarily Adult Cast , Heterosexual , Foreign , Drawing , Natural Disaster , Marriage , Trains

Sennen Joyuu

Also known as Millennium Actress.

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

Millennium Actress blurs the lines between the past and the present, and truth and fiction, when a documentary filmmaker fulfills his quest to find the legendary actress Chiyoko Fujiwara, and learn why she mysteriously vanished at the height of her brilliant career. When Chiyoko grants the filmmaker’s request, he, in turn, presents her with a token – a key she had lost and thought was gone forever. The filmmaker could not have imagined that the key would not only unlock the long-held secrets of Chiyoko’s life, but also his own.



Note: The film received an early premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival on July 28, 2001.

Tags: Acting , Biographical , Historical , Meta , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Work , Unrequited Love , Time Skip , Heterosexual , Coming of Age , War , Snowscape , Filmmaking , Class Struggle , Anachronism , Denpa , Fugitive , Swordplay , Age Gap

Omoide Poro Poro

Also known as Only Yesterday.

Studio: Studio Ghibli
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

Taeko Okajima is a typical "office lady" in a big company in a big city. When she takes a sabbatical to the countryside in Yamagata Prefecture, the hometown of her brother-in-law, the journey recalled her memory of her 5th grade year. During her stay in Yamagata, she works hard and happily as a farmer and is surrounded by friendly relatives and villagers, bringing up more memories. Their hospitality makes her to reconsider her choice of life.



Tags: Female Protagonist , Iyashikei , Rural , Coming of Age , Biographical , Philosophy , Family Life , Agriculture , Josei , Historical , Travel , School , Heterosexual , Acting , Baseball , Cohabitation

Sarusuberi: Miss HOKUSAI

Also known as Miss Hokusai.

Studio: Production I.G
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Supernatural

The time: 1814. The place: Edo, now known as Tokyo.

One of the highest populated cities in the world, teeming with peasants, samurai, townsmen, merchants, nobles, artists, courtesans, and perhaps even supernatural things.

A much accomplished artist of his time and now in his mid-fifties, Tetsuzo can boast clients from all over Japan, and tirelessly works in the garbage-loaded chaos of his house-atelier. He spends his days creating astounding pieces of art, from a giant-size Bodhidharma portrayed on a 180 square meter-wide sheet of paper, to a pair of sparrows painted on a tiny rice grain. Short-tempered, utterly sarcastic, with no passion for sake or money, he would charge a fortune for any job he is not really interested in.

Third of Tetsuzo's four daughters and born out of his second marriage, outspoken 23-year-old O-Ei has inherited her father's talent and stubbornness, and very often she would paint instead of him, though uncredited. Her art is so powerful that sometimes leads to trouble. "We're father and daughter; with two brushes and four chopsticks, I guess we can always manage, in a way or another."

Decades later, Europe was going to discover the immense talent of Tetsuzo. He was to become best known by one of his many names: Katsushika Hokusai. He would mesmerize Renoir and van Gogh, Monet and Klimt.

However, very few today are even aware of the woman who assisted him all his life, and greatly contributed to his art while remaining uncredited. This is the untold story of O-Ei, Master Hokusai's daughter: a lively portrayal of a free-spirited woman overshadowed by her larger-than-life father, unfolding through the changing seasons.

Tags: Historical , Drawing , Seinen , Primarily Adult Cast , Female Protagonist , Family Life , Biographical , Disability , Heterosexual , Iyashikei , Time Skip , Oiran , CGI , Firefighters

Hyouge Mono

Studio: Bee Train
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

Kochoki: Wakaki Nobunaga

Also known as Kochoki.

Studio: Studio DEEN
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Romance

The fearsome warlord, the demonic king—Oda Nobunaga! Before he was trying to rule over Japan, he was a teenager who began his path to greatness with his younger brother and faithful followers. Through succession, betrayal, battles, and bonds between one another, the struggles these boys face promise a future where they can blossom into powerful men.



Tags: Historical , Male Protagonist , Biographical , Crossdressing , Politics , Swordplay , Time Skip , Ninja , Samurai , War , Gender Bending , Tragedy

Ihatov Gensou: Kenji no Haru

Also known as Spring and Chaos.

Studio: Group TAC
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Sci-Fi , Slice of Life

A unique biographical sketch of the life of the great modern Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa, SPRING AND CHAOS is highly stylized and intense and draws on Miyazawa's writing techniques to tell his life story. Miyazawa often used animals as the main characters in his stories and poems, and it is this technique that allows director Shoji Kawamori to recreate Miyazawa's fanciful land of Ihatov and use it as the backdrop for Miyazawa`s life. Beautiful and affecting, SPRING AND CHAOS is a fitting tribute to one of Japan's greatest writers.

Tags: Biographical , Classic Literature , Writing , Denpa , Tragedy , Historical , Rural , Animals , Philosophy , Male Protagonist , Time Skip , CGI , Teacher , Anthropomorphism

Hidamari no Ki

Studio: MADHOUSE
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

Kantoku Fuyuki Todoki

Studio: DLE
Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy , Slice of Life

This is the anime adaptation of Kantoku Fuyuki Todoki (Insufficient Direction), the first essay manga by the "queen of the manga world," Moyoco Anno. The comedic and heartwarming autobiographical story follows her everyday married "otaku lifestyle" with Hideaki Anno, "the founder of the otaku cult."



Tags: Otaku Culture , Flash , Primarily Adult Cast , Biographical , Josei

Ling Feng Zhe

Studio: Wawayu Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama , Romance , Slice of Life

The Leader will talk about how Marx met his wife Jenny and their thwarted love story, as well as his friendship with Friedrich Engels, his close companion and co-author of the Communist Manifesto.



Tags: Politics , Historical , Economics , Biographical , Baseball , Male Protagonist , Full CGI , Foreign , Tragedy , Age Gap

Susume, Karolina.

Studio: Studio Colorido
Status: Finished
Genres: Fantasy

Short anime about Karolina Styczynska, the first female foreign shogi player to be able to become a professional.

Tags: Shogi , Female Protagonist , Biographical , Trains , No Dialogue

Idol Fight Suchie-Pai 2

Also known as Idol Fighter Su-Chi-Pai.

Studio: Daume
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Comedy , Ecchi , Fantasy , Sci-Fi , Supernatural

Once a century it is possible to acquire the legendary Pai: ten mahjong tiles that are rumored to be able to grant their possessor any wish. Many bizarre individuals are after the Pai, including a rabbit-shaped alien who wishes for "uniform" domination of Earth; a black magic-using dominatrix; a pop idol, who is really a witch, who wants to return to the magical world; a cyborg who wishes to be human; and a schoolgirl who is really a superhero. When they all track down the same monster that has one of the tiles, there is only one thing for them to do: since they can't all have the tile, they must fight it out!



Tags: Primarily Female Cast , Idol , Kemonomimi , Mahjong , Nudity , Henshin , Isekai , Super Robot , Biographical , Educational , Cute Girls Doing Cute Things

Dae Jang Geum: Jang Geum's Dream

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure , Comedy

Story is about the girl Jang Geum who wants to be a cook. She gets accepted as a palace servant. Clever and cheerful Jang Geum quickly finds friends. But all to soon she encounters intrigue and corruption.

A Korean/Japanese joint production.

Tags: Historical , Biographical , Female Protagonist , Heterosexual , Love Triangle , Swordplay , Travel , Food , Coming of Age , Work , Adoption , Medicine , Ninja , Politics , Assassins , Educational , Maids , Pirates

Hijikata Toshizo: Shiro no Kiseki

Studio: Studio 4°C
Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Drama

A biographical sketch of the life and ideals of Hijikata Toshizou, Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi, fighting to uphold the Shogunate during the Meiji revolution.



Tags: Samurai , Swordplay , Historical , Ships , War , Biographical

Ikkyuu-san

Also known as Ikkyu the Little Monk.

Status: Finished
Genres: Comedy

Ikkyu is a little boy training to be a monk at Ankokuji Temple. Known for being mischievous and a bit of a troublemaker, but also extremely smart, Ikkyu constantly thinks of new ways to outwit his frustrated teachers, helping others at the same time.

Tags: Historical , Biographical , Kids , Male Protagonist

Karate Baka Ichidai

Also known as Karate Master.

Status: Finished
Genres: Action , Adventure , Drama , Sports

Based on Ooyama Masutatsu's early years.

After having survived the war as a Kamikaze pilot, Ken goes on a path to become the strongest martial artist in the world. Fighting bears, bulls and countless other martial arts such as Muay Thai, Tai Chi and many more around the world.

Tags: Shounen , Martial Arts , Tragedy , Male Protagonist , Foreign , Yakuza , Boxing , Wrestling , Judo , Revenge , Guns , Gangs , Delinquents , Biographical , Time Skip , War , Fugitive , Ninja , Prison

Tezuka Osamu Monogatari: Boku wa Son-Goku

Also known as Tezuka Osamu Story: I Am Son-Goku.

Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure

A semi autobiography of Tezuka Osamu.

Tags: Animals , Historical , Male Protagonist , Biographical

Junod

Also known as Junod.

Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

Mii and Yuko, two junior high school students are visiting Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on a school trip when they come upon a monument dedicated to Dr. Marcel Junod standing forlornly in a corner of the park. They wonder who Dr. Junod was and what he did. Just then they are bathed in a strange light and transported back to Europe, more than 70 years before.

It is 1935. The young Dr. Junod, who has been working in a hospital in Mulhouse, France, is heading to Ethiopia as a delegate of the ICRC. Time travelers Mii and Yuko set off along Dr. Junod's path of hardship and turmoil. In Ethiopia, Dr. Junod witnesses attacks on Red Cross workers and the use of poison gas. One after another people are felled. The young doctor sees firsthand the horrors of war, but buoyed by an indomitable spirit he willingly offers a helping hand to those who are suffering as a result of the war.

Dr. Junod's work takes him from Ethiopia to Spain and across the European battlefields of World War II. He works to improve the treatment of prisoners of war and arranges prisoner exchanges. He establishes a method for prisoners and their families to write to each other. He secures routes for the delivery of relief supplies. As a humanitarian, Dr. Junod offers moral support to the weak. Seeing that, Mii and Yuko reflect on their own lives and problems.



Tags: Historical , Biographical , Educational , Medicine , Non-fiction

Xue Yu Xin

Also known as Blood and heart: The legendary life of a Japanese youth in China.

Studio: Unity of Knowledge and Action Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Drama

This work tells the legendary life of Megumi Sunahara, a soldier of the Japanese People’s Liberation Army, and shows the true history of the little-known special group of the Japanese People’s Liberation Army. Sabara Megumi was born in the Kyushu region of Japan in 1933 and came to Northeast China with his parents when he was a child. After Japan's defeat and surrender, he was unable to return to Japan, and lived at a landlord’s house in Liaoning to herd cattle. In 1948, he joined the People’s Liberation Army under the name of “Zhang Rongqing”, where he experienced the battles of Liaoshen and Pingjin and devoted himself to the cause of the proletarian revolution.



Tags: Historical , Biographical , Military , War , Male Protagonist , Foreign

Sougen no Shoujo Laura

Also known as Laura.

Studio: Nippon Animation
Status: Finished
Genres: Adventure

This anime is based on the same work as the famous American live-action TV series Little House on the Prairie.

Tags: Family Life , Classic Literature , Rural , Foreign , Biographical , Female Protagonist