Hidamari no Ki

Shows/Movies of all kinds that are either meant for or can be enjoyed by an older audience. A treasure trove of excellence covering a wide range. Story-driven thrillers, well researched historical shows, brilliant world-constructions, poetic narrations, gripping thrillers, dark comedies, complex future visions, tightly packed action, avant-garde art, solid entertainment, tear-jerking dramas to light-hearted slices of lives.
No big-boob dumdums, high-pitched VAs, fan-/lip-service or plot-around-the-holes-type shows. Teenage angst and school-settings are rarities in these two lists.

Only series that are ranked below 2,000 in 'Popularity' on MAL.
Check out part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/8280

Collection of historical semi-realistic (minimal fantasy) or realistic (no superpowers or fantasy) works that detail the historical events of Japan or daily life of people in Japanese historical context.

Reference:

794 – 1185 - Heian period
1185 – 1336 - Kamakura period
1336 – 1573 - Muromachi period
1336 – 1392 - Nanbokucho period
1467 – 1590 - Sengoku period
1568 – 1603 - Azuchi-Momoyama period
1603 – 1868 - Edo period
1853 – 1868 - Bakumatsu (final years of the Edo period)
1868 – 1912 - Meiji period
1912 – 1926 - Taisho period
1926 – 1989 - Showa period
1989 – 2019 - Heisei period

Japan is popular to have honorable swordsmen, and they are evidently known as Samurai. Just as we’d love to explore the Japanese culture, we also tend to show more love towards Samurai anime shows.

These Samurai anime series have always been amazing at storytelling and depicting some insane action scenes. So, if you’re here looking for some of the best Samurai anime series of all time, we’ve got the perfect list waiting for you.

I love samurai anime not just because we have some cool actions (well, that’s one of the reasons), but they depict history in the most realistic way.

So, these are the Top 25 Samurai Anime that I think are really good and worth at least a single watch.

Avoided a bit of the really obvious ones (The Big 3 and Death Note) and some that were really similar to something already present on this list. These are anime I recommend you not miss out on in your lifetime.

The Edo period (1603-1867) is a time in Japanese history characterized by economic growth, isolationist foreign policies, and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. The period derives its name from Edo (now Tokyo), where the shogunate was officially established by Tokugawa Ieyasu.

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Think there's an entry that should be added/removed? Let me know.

Anime series that covers all of the original source they're based on, with some notes.

Check out the other parts at this link:
https://myanimelist.net/profile/Yuriko_Sakai/stacks
The Stacks are updated constantly so check them every once in a while :)

A big "thank you" to my friend Lorissagg for helping me with some researches :D
Here's his profile if you're interested: https://myanimelist.net/profile/Lorissagg

Medical Anime + Anime based on Science

Imagine you've just watched "Harakiri", or perhaps "Yojimbo", and now you're thinking to yourself: "I wonder how Samurai Cinema would translate into anime" - Next you're scrolling the anime database, and you've searched for anime with the theme "Samurai", only to be met with entries containing people spitting fireballs, and giant robots shooting lasers.

If this is something you've experienced, then this interest stack is for you. I've scoured every entry (as of October 2024) listed under the theme "Samurai", as well as tried to find others not listed there, to fit the following more narrow definition:

"Swordfighting anime set in historical Japan with a realistic setting."

Some anachronism is okay, but futurism like mechas and RPG launchers are excluded. Trying to keep supernatural elements at a minimal. Allowed to a certain extent, but trying to avoid full on superpowers. This list contains no sequels, one entry per franchise only.

Anime might be excluded for other reasons, such as not adhering enough to the style. Also skipping a lot of <~10 minute shorts. Some (most) of the anime I haven't yet seen, so there's a possibility an anime that should've been excluded has slipped by into the list.

PS. "Lone Wolf and Cub" + "Vagabond" anime when??

Tags: Chambara, Samurai, Jidaigeki, Ninja, Katana, Meiji, Edo, Azuchi–Momoyama, Muromachi, Ashikaga, Nanboku-chou, Sengoku, Kamakura, Heian, Nara,

Every anime I could find that still used cel animation during the early 2000s

Educational Anime
- (contains Anime that aren't educational for everyone or shows that are educational in a wider sense).
- excluding adaptations of western literature like Heidi, Three Musketeers etc.

Anime with Japanese cultural and historical values: art, folklore, tradition, games, changing world, etc.

There seem to be a lot of ways to watch anime but sometimes there are certain outliers that don't make their way to any legal streaming service OUTSIDE OF JAPAN (these criteria are mainly made using LiveChart.me as they list official streaming services to view anime and The Streamable), this stack aims to shine a light on these series, however, some rules are to be followed:

•No 'Kids' demographic, there's a reason MAL makes the distinction for those series, sure they're anime but I don't expect streaming services to lump them with other 'anime' and drown their servers with thousands of episodes (Ojarumaru, Anpanman, Nintama Rantaro). As well as other long-running series that don't fit the demographic rule fully (Sazae-san, Doraemon, Chibi Maruko-chan).
•Avoid recommending retro anime to be added to the stack, we're not counting physical releases or that they used to air in some regions, just that they're currently available in a streaming service (Kinnikuman, Kochikame). Feel free to do an interest stack about them, I'm thinking this one can only go as early as the 2000s for the anime on the stack.
•No lost media, there are better interest stacks for that.
•No series uploaded to Youtube by unofficial channels (Official channels count as legal streaming services, again, outside of Japan that don't require a VPN to view).
•No unofficial doujin anime/fan-made anime.
•No commercials and ads.
•No OVAs or specials, not every OVA such as Hellsing: Ultimate or TV Specials make its way to streaming services as sometimes they're bundled to specific manga volumes, other media, or sold separately from a series.
•No short anime, 5 minutes or less (Gag Manga Biyori, Popee the Performer, Gregory Horror Show).
•No ONA or web anime (Gift ±).
•No donghua (Chinese animation), aeni (South Korean animation), and animation that isn't from Japan, yes we all know many works are outsourced to different studios and animation outside of Japan but this is to make the stack not as loaded and confusing more than it is.
•Sequels not on any streaming services allowed.
•Movies are welcomed albeit sometimes have a similar problem to OVAs, I don't expect things like Gothicmade to ever be on a streaming service let alone outside of Japan. And well... not planning on oversaturating the stack with them.
•Series available as purchase only are not counted on the stack such as Supernatural The Animation: https://thestreamable.com/shows/supernatural-the-anime-series-2011
•If a series seems to be available but it redirects you to a 404 page or simply doesn't appear to be on the streaming service it's eligible for the stack.

As of now Ao No Orchestra (Blue Orchestra) isn't on any streaming service in the West but is available in the French streaming service 'Anime Digital Network' (ADN) therefore isn't considered for the stack.

Why do I use The Streamable for the "Marked as Unavailable" tag? Well, it actually sometimes shows the episode's name and thumbnail so it helps to know if at some point they're available or if there's a record of them being in an streaming service. And it helps a lot in knowing where some shows are available (like Kobato. is in Peacock of all places).

I do not know every anime not on a streaming service and may commit mistakes so please help this stack grow if you know of any series and feel free to call out any and all mistakes I make, I may make changes to the stack in the future as well. This already seems so messy so please bear with any slow progress to the stack and sorry for the inconvenience.

The process to add an anime: Look at LiveChart.me and The Streamable for available streams and purchase-only options (This isn't a promotion of either site in any way they just serve as tools for the process of finding anime not on streaming services), look at ANN for any physical release outside of Japan (if I miss this one let me know though the priority of the stacks is to look for series not in streaming), and look up the Japanese title to see if it's available on the region's streaming services (this one is an extra, usually LiveChart tells you if it's on Japanese Amazon, Hulu or Netflix). If a series gets added to an streaming service it's off the stack. The stack aims to be a mix of different genres and stories so I won't overstuff them with a particular franchise, but rather highlight some series and spread a big franchise not on streaming over other parts of the stack.

Part 1: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29552
Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/29552
Part 4: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/49195 (made in collaboration with eblf2013)
Part 5: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/52751 (made in collaboration with eblf2013)

Anime taken off the stacks/Examples:
-Katanagatari (on Netflix, some regions)
-Planetes (on ITV)
-Area no Kishi (Youtube Indonesia)
-The Laws of the Universe - The Age of Elohim (Tubi TV)
-Whistle! (Anime Onegai) credit: eblf2013

All 2000s anime entries that mainly used cel animation, as opposed to digipaint, for all their episodes.

Part 2: https://myanimelist.net/stacks/43987

Osamu Tezuka was a Japanese manga artist, cartoonist, animator, and film producer. His prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the father of manga," "the godfather of manga" and "the god of manga." Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years.

Tezuka began what was known as the manga revolution in Japan with his New Treasure Island published in 1947. His legendary output would spawn some of the most influential, successful, and well-received manga series including Tetsuwan Atom, Jungle Taitei, Black Jack, and Hi no Tori, all of which won several awards.

This list includes Must Watch Anime Adaptations of God of Manga Osamu Tezuka's Works

Anime that have a complete story.

but some of them are not accurate representations of historical events at all.