Summary
- Anime often blends history with fiction, especially those set in Japan or alternate realities related to it.
- Rurouni Kenshin narrates a tale post-Bakumatsu, and Vinland Saga delves into Viking lore.
- Apothecary Diaries and Baccano offer a mix of historical events with fiction in vivid storytelling.
Anime that mixes fiction and historical events is not hard to track down, since most of them combine one or two historically accurate events to add some context to their worldbuilding, more so if the setting happens in Japan (at any of its periods) or in alternate realities related to the land of the rising sun.
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This list spotlights the best anime that blends historical events with fictional storytelling. Some of them have impeccable storytelling, and the way they integrate fiction with reality seamlessly makes them rank among the top in the genre. The series listed here are ideal for those who love fantasy, action, and a certain degree of historical accuracy.
1 Rurouni Kenshin
Set In The Meiji Restoration Period
Rurouni Kenshin
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 7, 2023
Rurouni Kenshin lives rent-free in the hearts of every fan of samurai anime, and it is considered one of the must-watch anime that mixes historical events with fiction. Set in the early years after the Bakumatsu, known as the Meiji Restoration period, it narrates the story of Kenshin, a vagabond ronin who keeps his identity in secret: that of a former revolutionary assassin.
Kenshin has sworn never to draw blood again, but when he crosses paths with the young Kaoru, the sole inheritor of a local dojo and a full-time kendo teacher, he decides to help her deal with a local gang whose members gather around someone who calls himself Hitokiri Battosai. Kenshin, who knows all too well that this person is a fake, reveals himself as the legendary Hitokiri who once filled the streets of Tokyo with blood. From that moment on, Kaoru decides to take Kenshin in, forcing him to settle in and to leave behind his life as a ronin. Little do they know that this is only the beginning of the adventure.
2 Vinland Saga
Mixes Historical Events From The Viking Era In An Epic Journey
Vinland Saga
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2019 - 2023
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 2
Set in the Viking Era, in the years previous to the rule of Canute the Great, Vinland Saga follows various characters as they wage a cruel and unforgiving war at such an absurd cost that it would break the hearts of even the most resilient fans. A child, left alone after a political assassination, decides to take revenge by following the mercenary who executed his father.
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Askeladd, who takes Thorfin under his wing, only sees the former as a tool, and the young boy only sees the mercenary captain as the object of his most profound desire: revenge on his father's murderer. But to do that, he needs to grow strong on the battlefield, performing infiltration and assassination missions in exchange for the right to challenge Askeladd to a duel. The story is a chronicle of the horrors of war, and it has been written to showcase how the Vikings lived and died by their creed.
3 The Apothecary Diaries
Set In 15th Century China
The Apothecary Diaries
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2023 - 2025-00-00
- Network
- Nippon TV, RAB, TVI, YBC, JRT
The Apothecary Diaries has conquered the hearts of fans all around the world. With a mild level of historical accuracy, the story transports viewers to 15th-century China, during the Tang Dynasty. The protagonist of this wondrous tale is Maomao, an illegitimate daughter of one of the quirkiest courtier clans in the Empire, and a really talented young girl who has a knack for traditional medicine.
This anime itself doesn't follow any particular historical events, but it mixes in a lot of cultural accuracy about life in the court during the rule of the Tang Dynasty, which is quite an intense political period, full of betrayal, debauchery, assassination, and coup attempts. So, yes, quite an interesting show to watch, more so if fans are into historical dramas.
4 Baccano
Alchemists And Gangsters All Share A Certain Ambition
Baccano
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- July 27, 2007
- Studio
- Brain's Base
- Based On
- Light Novel
Baccano is a strange series that can be a little bit confusing for fans. It starts in the Early 18th Century with a group of Alchemists seeking to perform a dark ritual that involves summoning a demon and killing themselves to obtain the legendary Elixir of Immortality. Then, it jumps to New York during the Dry Law in 1930, where one of the surviving alchemists of the Advenna Avis massacre is recreating the formula of the elixir of immortality.
His success is thwarted by the intervention of a local gangster who steals the elixir, and, as the alchemist desperately tries to recover it, a chain of dramatic events is set in motion. The series is incredibly entertaining, thrilling, and never misses the cue for surprising the viewers with the stories of dozens of characters that are intertwined and merged with historical events.
5 Orb: On The Movements of the Earth
An Anime About The Copernican Revolution
Orb: On the Movements of the Earth
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2024 - 2025
Cast
-
Maaya SakamotoRafał -
Kenjiro TsudaNovak
-
Show HayamiHubert
-
Katsuyuki KonishiOczy
WHERE TO WATCH
Orb: On The Movements of the Earth is set in the middle of the Copernican Revolution, and narrates the story from the point of view of several people who are passionate about the study of the movements of celestial bodies, in an era where that knowledge could lead to a certain death at the hands of the brutal Christian Church Inquisition.
The true protagonist of Orb is the knowledge about the truth, which passes from one hand to the other, despite the vicious efforts of the Inquisition to stop it in its tracks. It is a powerful tale about seeking truth at all costs,
6 Drifters
Heroes From Different Historical Periods Summoned To Another World
Drifters
Display card tags widget Display card community and brand rating widget Display card main info widget- Release Date
- 2016 - 2018-00-00
- Main Genre
- Anime
- Seasons
- 1
Drifters is an Isekai anime from the creator of Hellsing, and that phrase could define the entire story pretty well. It's bloody, controversial, hardcore, and puts historical characters like Oda Nobunaga and Nasu Suketaka Yoichi to save a world on the brink of destruction due to a full-scale war against non-human creatures.
Of course, the historical accuracy of how the characters are constructed is questionable, and the enemies these Drifters have to beat (the ones called Ends) are also historical figures, like Akechi Mitsuhide, and a very deranged and dangerous Joan of Arc.
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