At the beginning of the Edo Era, when people enjoyed a time of peace, Lord Tokugawa Tadanaga holds a fighting tournament. In the past, matches were fought with wooden swords. This time, real swords will be used.
One-armed Fujiki Gennosuke and blind Irako Seigen will fight each other in this match. Both are disciples of Iwamoto Kogan, who is known as Japan's greatest swordsman. Each of them are determined to prove himself the successor of Iwamoto's school. However, there can only be one champion.
So begins a story of intertwining fates, conflict, and strange destinies.
Shigurui: Death Frenzy has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: シグルイ, Crazy for Death
Genres: Tokugawa Period , Japan , Earth , Action , Asia , Swordplay , Past , Violence , Samurai , Martial Arts , Historical
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Top 10 Anime Like Shigurui: Death Frenzy (Shigurui) [2024 List]
10. Gantz
If you are chosen by the bizarre black sphere known as Gantz, you are already dead—yet you might be able to reclaim your mortality. First, Gantz demands that you undertake brutal missions of madness, killing aliens hidden among the population. It is your only chance and you have no choice. You must play this disturbing game. And if you die again—and you likely will—it's permanent.
Gantz has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: ガンツ, GANTZ
9. Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku-hen
When mankind's savagery surpasses his fear of death, there is little hope for those who wish to live honest lives. Beneath a full moon, a young boy witnesses the murder of the bandits who had enslaved him, and is then christened with a new name by the man who rescued him. This boy is Shinta, now known as Kenshin Himura, and he is destined to become a swordsman. The softness of his heart does not befit the occupation, but his desire to protect the innocent is absolute.Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan - Tsuioku-hen details the origins of the man who would bear the name of Hitokiri Battousai long before he swore his oath not to kill and before he earned his reputation as an assassin. The young man’s heart is divided between justice and corruption, while the fate of a nation rests on his actions.
Samurai X: Trust and Betrayal has finished airing and it has 4 Episodes. It is also Known as: るろうに剣心―明治剣客浪漫譚―追憶編, Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen, Rurouni Kenshin: Reminiscence
8. Aoi Bungaku Series
The series consists of adaptations of six modern classics of Japanese literature: Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) & Run, Melos! (Hashire, Melos!), Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s Hell Screen (Jigoku Hen) & The Spider's Thread (Kumo no Ito), and Ango Sakaguchi's In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita).
No Longer Human (Ningen Shikkaku) - A high school student becomes lost and alienated. Despondent and aimless, he falls into a cycle of self abuse, depression and drugs that taints his life for years. Told in four chapters, each chapter deals with a different point in his life and the final chapter leaves him standing alone - an empty and hollow caricature of his former self.
In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom (Sakura no Mori no Mankai no Shita) - A love story between a 12th-century woman and a mountain bandit who abducts her.
Kokoro - A 1914 tale of a young man's life journey during the Meiji era. The work deals with the transition from the Japanese Meiji society to the modern era, by exploring the friendship between a young man and an older man he calls "Sensei". It continues the theme of isolation developed in Soseki's previous works, here in the context of interwoven strands of egoism and guilt, as opposed to shame.
Run, Melos! (Hashire, Melos!) - An updated retelling of a classic Greek tale of the story of Damon and Pythias. The most prominent theme of "Run, Melos!" is unwavering friendship. Despite facing hardships, the protagonist Melos does his best to save his friend's life, and in the end his efforts are rewarded.
The Spider's Thread (Kumo no Ito) - The Buddha Shakyamuni chances to notice a cold-hearted criminal suffering in Hell. But this criminal did perform one single act of kindness in not stepping on a spider in a forest. Moved by this selfless act, Shakyamuni takes the silvery thread of a spider in Paradise and lowers it down into Hell, but it falls upon the criminal to seize the opportunity and pull himself out - if he can.
Hell Screen (Jigoku Hen) - A famous artist is commissioned by a great lord to create a series of paintings depicting scenes of the "Buddhist Hell." The artist is unable to paint scenes that he has not seen himself, prompting him to torture and torment the Lord's staff to create his imagined images of hell. His creative efforts taint the household, as the story descends into madness and destruction.
Aoi Bungaku Series has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 青い文学シリーズ, Blue Literature
7. Kurozuka
Adaptation of Takashi Noguchi's manga, which itself adapts Baku Yumemakura's supernatural romance novel.
The original novel is about a 12th-century man named Minamoto no Yoshitsune (Kurou). Kurou flees into the mountains after losing to his brother Minamoto no Yoritomo, the first Shogun to rule all of Japan. History records that he committed suicide, but instead, Kurou meets a strange, beautiful woman named Kuromitsu in her mountain hermitage. Eventually, Kurou falls in love with Kuromitsu, but then realizes she conceals a dark secret. He learns that he is unable to die and continues to live for a thousand years as Japan evolves into a future society.
Kurozuka has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 黒塚, Black Tomb
6. Mugen no Juunin: Immortal
Manji is an immortal swordsman, who has been cursed with eternal life. He has grown tired of living with all the death he has created. He has no skills other than those of killing, thus he forms a plan to regain his mortality: he shall kill one hundred evil men for each good one he has killed. The old witch who afflicted Manji with immortality agrees to Manji’s proposition and Manji is set on his path to kill one thousand evil men. On his journey he meets a young girl, Rin, who has her own vengeance to seek against the sword school whose members slaughtered Rin’s family. Rin and Manji journey together, each hoping to find some kind of peace. In their way are many varied enemies. Rin and Manji are almost constantly under attack and must learn to live their lives, avoiding being consumed by revenge.
Blade of the Immortal has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: 無限の住人-IMMORTAL-, Mugen no Juunin: Immortal
5. Kenpuu Denki Berserk
Born from the corpse of his mother, a young mercenary known only as Guts, embraces the battlefield as his only means of survival. Day in and day out, putting his life on the line just to make enough to get by, he moves from one bloodshed to the next.
After a run-in with the Band of the Hawk, a formidable troop of mercenaries, Guts is recruited by their charismatic leader Griffith, nicknamed the "White Hawk." As he quickly climbed the ranks in order to become the head of the offensive faction, Guts proves to be a mighty addition to Griffith's force, taking Midland by storm. However, while the band's quest for recognition continues, Guts slowly realizes that the world is not as black-and-white as he once assumed.
Set in the medieval era, Berserk is a dark, gritty tale that follows one man's struggle to find his own path, while supporting another's lust for power, and the unimaginable tragedy that begins to turn the wheels of fate.
Berserk has finished airing and it has 25 Episodes. It is also Known as: 剣風伝奇ベルセルク, Kenpuu Denki Berserk, Kenfu Denki Berserk, Sword-Wind Chronicle Berserk, Berserk: The Chronicles of Wind Blades, Berserk: Sword-Wind Tales, Berserk: SWORD-WIND ROMANCE
4. Juubee Ninpuuchou
Jubei Kibagami wanders feudal Japan as an itinerant swordsman-for-hire. After a past betrayal left him masterless, he has no more patience for warring political factions and their schemes. Unfortunately, both past and political intrigue collide when he meets and saves a female ninja named Kagero from a man with the ability to make his body as hard as stone.
The sole survivor of a ninja clan, Kagero continues her team's last mission: investigate a mysterious plague that wiped out an entire village. Jubei wants nothing to do with this, but the stone-like man's allies, a group of ninja with supernatural powers known as the Devils of Kimon, make that option difficult. To make matters worse, a government spy poisons Jubei, promising him an antidote if he can unravel the true intentions of the Devils of Kimon and their connection to the plague. The trail leads to shadow leaders, a plot to overthrow the government, and a man that Jubei thought he would never see again.
Ninja Scroll has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 獣兵衛忍風帖, Wind Ninja Chronicles, Juubei Ninpucho
3. Afro Samurai
When he was a young boy, Afro witnessed his father be cut down in a duel at the hands of a man known only as Justice. After taking the life of Afro's father, Justice cast aside his Number Two headband and took the Number One to claim its godly powers as his own.
Years later, having obtained the Number Two headband which grants him the right to challenge the Number One, Afro moves forward in his hunt for revenge on the man who murdered his father. There is just one thing that stands in his way—everyone else in the world! Though the Number One can only be challenged by the Number Two, the Number Two can be challenged by anyone. As his enemies gather to try and take the title of Number Two, Afro must fight through a myriad of foes and obstacles if he hopes to reach the Number One and claim vengeance once and for all.
Afro Samurai has finished airing and it has 5 Episodes. It is also Known as: アフロサムライ, Afro Samurai
2. Basilisk: Kouga Ninpou Chou
The heirs to the Kouga and Iga ninja clans, Gennosuke and Oboro, hoped the unsteady truce between their tribes would last—but fate denies the lovers, thrusting their people into war after centuries of peace. The terms are set on two scrolls. One bears a list of Kouga warriors. The other holds a list of those who fight for Iga. The names found on these scrolls can only be crossed out in blood.
Basilisk has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: バジリスク 甲賀忍法帖, Basilisk: Koga Nimpo Cho
1. Texhnolyze
Cult-favorite Yoshitoshi ABe tempts us to witness man's downward spiral in a future overrun by violence, greed, and depravity. After Ichise loses an arm and leg, he's equipped with experimental robotic limbs against his will. When an army of men transformed into terrifying machines invades his city, Ichise rages against humanity's demise—but can his actions actually be the catalyst?
Texhnolyze has finished airing and it has 22 Episodes. It is also Known as: TEXHNOLYZE, Technolyze