Forum - View topicAnime to Watch if You Liked Shogun
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kamisu66
Posts: 10 |
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Another must-see (I think) anime that was excluded from the article is the sublime Hyouge Mono, set in the Sengoku period. The adventures (and misadventures) of the very real historical tea master Furuta Sasuke in the service of successively, Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Ieyasu. Your anime master class on tea ceremony.
The manga is equally recommended. |
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Lord Geo
Posts: 2559 Location: North Brunswick, New Jersey |
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I'm pretty sure the focus was on anime that are currently readily available in English officially, either streaming or physically, with the only real exceptions being Katanagatari & Ninja Scroll, which are both out of print & not streaming anywhere at the moment. I imagine an anime that's never been licensed at all wasn't considered for this article. Still, if we're going to recommend stuff that's out of the exact realm of what was covered, I'll go with Clockwork Fighters: Hiwou's War. It takes place during the Bakumatsu period & puts a heavy emphasis on showcasing the ripple effect of Sakoku being ended, creating differing factions within Japan (those who embrace the influx of outside influences vs. those who who prefered isolation), & the Jyoui movement slowly becomes more of a focus as the story goes on. Yeah, the show stars a bunch of kids who are trying to navigate this point in Japanese history (& the giant clockwork mech that can command), but I think it handles its more historical & political plot elements in an interesting fashion that also works decently well as a large scale history lesson as you watch the show. Bandai Entertainment had released Hiwou back in the late 00s, where the first double-disc single infamously later got sold for $1.99 at FYE stores for a while, but the releases themselves are still relatively cheap to find over on Amazon, and for fans of Bones it's the studio's first ever TV series, and the only one they made using traditional cel animation, instead of digital, giving it a unique look compared to the rest of their catalog. |
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Glordit
 Posts: 481 |
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Intrigue in the Bakumatsu – Irohanihoheto is worth mentioning. Though sadly, it's one of the shows Sentai lost and didn't get back.
Onihei is another, again unsure if it's officially licensed. Shigurui, is also worth watching if you enjoy sword play. |
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MarshalBanana
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Kenchi Narukami
Posts: 3 |
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Why no Mention of the Epic Ruroni Kenshin or its Excellent Remake?
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MartinWisse
 Posts: 11 |
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Might be because the original creator is a pedophile who possessed a collection of actual child porn (nothing as innoceous as loli manga, actual child porn) so vast the Japanese police thought he was a dealer. |
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MartinWisse
Posts: 11 |
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The Hakkenden is an 1990 OVA series based on an 106 volume long Edo period novel, Nansō Satomi Hakkenden written by Kyokutei Bakin:
This and the sequel OVA,The Hakkenden: Shin Shou feature some incredibly gorgeous animation. |
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Kenchi Narukami
Posts: 3 |
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Yes, I know about that, but Ruroni Kenshin still deserves to be on the list. And I would make it a top Recommend as well as a person who's been a fan of the manga since I was in high School over fifteen years ago the same as I would make harry Potter a top recommendation for a fantasy series based around magic despite Rowling being a Bitch. |
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Just Passing Through
Posts: 277 |
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A Heian era show worth mentioning is Production IG’s Otogi Zoshi, whose first cour was set back then, a time bending mystery with a whole lot of Onmyouji mysticism, featuring Abe no Seimei.
The Media Blasters DVD releases came in two disc volumes, packed with historical featurettes on bonus discs. |
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Gina Szanboti
Posts: 11384 |
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Since Chinese history isn't off topic here, I have to go to bat for Kingdom, a fictionalized account of Qin Shi Huang's (he of the famous terra cotta army) unification of China and its first emperor. There are a lot of added players, but the main historical beats are there to be teased out from the fiction. The manga is wildly popular in Japan (over 100 million in circulation), made it into the Guinness Book for most authors, has 3 live action movies, and five seasons of anime.
Unfortunately, the first 2 seasons were crippled by an abomination of cgi (you thought Berserk was bad?) that killed its chances outside of Japan, and was so awful that to this day it's difficult to find anyone who will admit to being part of the English dub. It still necessarily uses some cgi for battle scenes, but subsequent seasons have been vastly improved and are mostly 2D. So if you can tolerate the cgi seasons, or just read the manga chapters they cover and then dive in at season 3, it's worth the effort. Glad to see Blue Eye Samurai mentioned. It really is as good as the article claimed. Hopefully Netflix won't drop the ball on it and gives it a continuation. Likewise House of Five Leaves. It's a weird one, and takes a couple episodes to get used to the freaky character designs, but they grow on you and the story is great. I'd also recommend 2004's Shura no Toki if you can find it. Although the protagonists fight without weapons, it covers three generations of their clan over the course of major events in Japanese history. |
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SaneSavantElla
 Posts: 228 |
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Yes, came here to say this. Glad there's another soul who remembers it. |
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Glordit
Posts: 481 |
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Probably because it's an already well known amime. Excited for the continuation coming later this year. |
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Kenchi Narukami
Posts: 3 |
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Yes, so Am I, well once I finish the first half eventually lol I'm one of those who suffer from "Oooh, Shiny new anime" and "TIME TO REWATCH THIS ANIME" |
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CrypticPurpose
 Posts: 327 |
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It ended when spoiler[the invasion force moved on, with all but two cast members dying. Given that the actual historical invasion force was defeated afterwards after reaching Japanese soil, never to return to Tsushima, and that the actual invasion of Tsushima was pretty much a complete massacre with no significant survivors, there wasn't a lot of room for more. It was a noble fight, but one that was ultimately doomed from the very beginning. That seemed to be the whole point of the story.] I have no idea what a second season could possibly have added, given the historical event it was based on. More information on the actual historical invasion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasions_of_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bun%27ei [/spoiler] |
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Clematis
Posts: 70 |
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The manga is so good, such incredible shame it's not officially translated....but given the difficulty of translating that type of media properly because of countless historical references and high-level culinary vocabulary, it's not even surprising 
That aside, how did this review manage to miss the best of the best when it comes to the Warring States-themed anime, or media in general, which is Rurouni Kenshin Tsuiokuhen?? I'm having a hard time believing how this one didn't make the list, when it should be at the very top of it D: In the manga, Nobuhiro Watsuki describes Kenshin's past that's full of strife and hardship, but with a touch of comedy to help tone down the entire seriousness of the situation. Studio DEEN abolished what little comedy Watsuki went with and, along with flawless animation, a unique art style, and a beautifully composed soundtrack by Taku Iwasaki, Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen is an ideal example of as close to perfection as one can get. RK Tsuiokuhen takes a darker and more grim approach to its presentation than the TV adaptation. The first and most notable change from the TV series is the depiction of the various sword styles and their employment in the scenes, as well as realistic blood splatter. While the TV series emphasizes the effect and abilities of the techniques of these styles, Tsuiokuhen brings realistic swordplay into its story. Another noticeable changeover is the expressions of its characters: although in the TV series these characters are serious but still have comedic tendencies, all this is removed in these OVAs, leaving a serious tone for its story. In addition to these changes, Tsuiokuhen also has more of an emphasis on its setting through its animation. It is undeniably Japan under the Tokugawa Regime, the banners of the Samurai, rags worn by the slaves, and everything down to the buildings and clothes. And that's just the animation side of things... Surprising though it may be, it’s really incredibly rare to find a samurai anime that is actually good. As far as the samurai genre goes, Akira Kurosawa pretty much closed the book with 1954’s “Seven Samurai” and since then, is seems as if whenever anyone attempts to tackle the genre, there exists a mysterious force that compels them to strip away any and all sense of authenticity and add in superpowers, vampires, aliens, or hip-hop (but Champloo is still a very good show regardless). But it's one of the reasons why Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen is so refreshing, it daringly tackles the story of young samurai-turned-assassin Himura Kenshin in the turbulent era of the Meiji Revolution with such bleak realism and solemnity that it’s really hard to believe it originated from a shonen manga. In short: Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen is a masterpiece in the sincerest sense of the word; a true work of art that not only shatters the boundaries of the samurai genre but also what it is possible to achieve in an animated work. As for the most recent adaptation of the manga...I feel the original material did not age well (unlike the OVA), and this adaptation doesn't bring anything to the table that would make it worth the watch. The one good side is that we will be seeing all of the source material adapted, for better or for worse... |
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