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We present you the list of Samurai anime you should watch right now.
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Top 19 Samurai anime you should watch right now. [2026 List]
- 19. Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi 2nd Season
- 18. Jigokuraku 2nd Season
- 17. Jigokuraku
- 16. Gintama
- 15. Princess Mononoke
- 14. Appare-Ranman!
- 13. Samurai Champloo
- 12. Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi
- 11. Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan
- 10. Gintama°
- 9. Shin Gintama Movie: Yoshiwara Daienjou
- 8. Drifters
- 7. Gintama'
- 6. Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi
- 5. Afro Samurai
- 4. Blue Eye Samurai
- 3. Gintama Movie 2: Kanketsu-hen - Yorozuya yo Eien Nare
- 2. Lupin III
- 1. Drifters (OVA)
19. Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi 2nd Season
The second season of Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi.
The Elusive Samurai Season 2 is currently airing and will have 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 逃げ上手の若君 第二期, Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi 2nd Season
18. Jigokuraku 2nd Season
The second season of Jigokuraku.
In search of clues to the elixir, Gabimaru and his group arrive at the castle of Tensen, the monsters who rule the island. Meanwhile, the shogunate sends additional expeditions to Shinsenkyo led by Yamada Asaemon Shugen, which are joined by the Iwagakure. Gabimaru must try to find the elixir and escape from the island as an all-out showdown between humans and celestial immortals looms near.
Hell's Paradise Season 2 has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 地獄楽 第二期, Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku Season 2, สุขาวดีอเวจี, Адский рай
17. Jigokuraku
The Edo period is nearing its end. Gabimaru, a shinobi formerly known as the strongest in Iwagakure who is now a death row convict, is told that he will be acquitted and set free if he can bring back the Elixir of Life from an island that is rumored to be the Buddhist pure land Sukhavati. In hopes of reuniting with his beloved wife, Gabimaru heads to the island along with the executioner Yamada Asaemon Sagiri. Upon arriving there, they encounter other death row convicts in search of the Elixir of Life... as well as a host of unknown creatures, eerie manmade statues, and the hermits who rule the island. Can Gabimaru find the Elixir of Life on this mysterious island and make it back home alive?
Hell's Paradise has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 地獄楽, Heavenhell, Paradition, Hell's Paradise: Jigokuraku
16. Gintama
The Amanto, aliens from outer space, have invaded Earth and taken over feudal Japan. As a result, a prohibition on swords has been established, and the samurai of Japan are treated with disregard as a consequence.
However one man, Gintoki Sakata, still possesses the heart of the samurai, although from his love of sweets and work as a yorozuya, one might not expect it. Accompanying him in his jack-of-all-trades line of work are Shinpachi Shimura, a boy with glasses and a strong heart, Kagura with her umbrella and seemingly bottomless stomach, as well as Sadaharu, their oversized pet dog. Of course, these odd jobs are not always simple, as they frequently have run-ins with the police, ragtag rebels, and assassins, oftentimes leading to humorous but unfortunate consequences.
Who said life as an errand boy was easy?
Gintama has finished airing and it has 201 Episodes. It is also Known as: 銀魂, Gin Tama, Silver Soul, Yorinuki Gintama-san
15. Princess Mononoke
A calm village residing in the mountains comes under attack from a demon-possessed boar one day.
Ashitaka, a young man and prince of the tribe, engages the creature in an attempt to save his village. During the battle, the boar bites him on the arm, leaving it blackened and cursed. Following his village's traditions, Ashitaka is exiled and becomes a wanderer, looking for a solution to the curse before it engulfs him.
Iron Town is a fortress under the leadership of Lady Eboshi. Through the clearing of the surrounding forests, Iron Town produces large amounts of Ironsand, used for gunpowder and other machinery. However, because of the forests destruction, nearby animal clans seek revenge led by a human girl of the Wolf clan called San.
When Ashitaka comes to Iron Town, he discovers the area consumed in battle. Horrified, he attempts to create peace and befriend the Wolf Clan. However, after the forest's eradication and the ongoing war between Human and Beast, will the Spirit of the Forest be forgiving and accept Ashitaka's request to expel his curse?
Princess Mononoke has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: Mononoke Hime, もののけ姫, Princess Mononoke
14. Appare-Ranman!
The story is set at the end of the 19th century and on the eve of the next one. After a certain mishap, the brilliant but socially inept engineer Sorano Appare (family name first) and the shrewd but cowardly samurai Isshiki Kosame find themselves drifting on a boat from Japan to America. Broke, the two decide to compete in the Trans-America Wild Race to win the prize and return to Japan. The two battle crazy rivals, outlaws, and the great outdoors itself as they race through the wild West from the starting line in Los Angeles to the finish line in New York — in the steam-powered car they built.
Appare-Ranman! has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 天晴爛漫！, Appare-Ranman!
13. Samurai Champloo
Fuu Kasumi is a young and clumsy waitress who spends her days peacefully working in a small teahouse. That is, until she accidentally spills a drink all over one of her customers! With a group of samurai now incessantly harassing her, Fuu desperately calls upon another samurai in the shop, Mugen, who quickly defeats them with his wild fighting technique, utilizing movements reminiscent to that of breakdancing. Unfortunately, Mugen decides to pick a fight with the unwilling ronin Jin, who wields a more precise and traditional style of swordfighting, and the latter proves to be a formidable opponent. The only problem is, they end up destroying the entire shop as well as accidentally killing the local magistrate's son.
For their crime, the two samurai are captured and set to be executed. However, they are rescued by Fuu, who hires the duo as her bodyguards. Though she no longer has a place to return to, the former waitress wishes to find a certain samurai who smells of sunflowers and enlists the help of the now exonerated pair to do so. Despite initially disapproving of this idea, the two eventually agree to assist the girl in her quest; thus, the trio embark upon an adventure to find this mysterious warrior—that is, if Fuu can keep Mugen and Jin from killing each other.
Set in an alternate Edo Period of Japan, Samurai Champloo follows the journey of these three eccentric individuals in an epic quest full of action, comedy, and dynamic sword fighting, all set to the beat of a unique hip-hop infused soundtrack.
Samurai Champloo has finished airing and it has 26 Episodes. It is also Known as: サムライチャンプルー, SAMURAI CHAMPLOO
12. Nige Jouzu no Wakagimi
In the year 1333, the Kamakura shogunate government comes crumbling down. A trusted vassal, Ashikaga Takauji, betrays the shogunate and organizes a rebellion. Hojo Tokiyuki, the rightful heir, escapes the massacre with a Shinto priest named Suwa Yorishige to Kamakura. On the run and fighting to stay alive, Tokiyuki sets in motion his plan to reclaim his birthright.
The Elusive Samurai has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 逃げ上手の若君, นายน้อยจอมโกยก้าวสู่เส้นทางแห่งวีรบุรุษ, Héroe fugitivo, Беглый самурай
11. Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan
In the final years of the Bakumatsu era lived a legendary assassin known as Hitokiri Battousai. Feared as a merciless killer, he was unmatched throughout the country, but mysteriously disappeared at the peak of the Japanese Revolution. It has been ten peaceful years since then, but the very mention of Battousai still strikes terror into the hearts of war veterans.Unbeknownst to them, Battousai has abandoned his bloodstained lifestyle in an effort to repent for his sins, now living as Kenshin Himura, a wandering swordsman with a cheerful attitude and a strong will. Vowing never to kill again, Kenshin dedicates himself to protecting the weak. One day, he stumbles across Kaoru Kamiya at her kendo dojo, which is being threatened by an impostor claiming to be Battousai. After receiving help from Kenshin, Kaoru allows him to stay at the dojo, and so the former assassin temporarily ceases his travels.Rurouni Kenshin: Meiji Kenkaku Romantan tells the story of Kenshin as he strives to save those in need of saving. However, as enemies from both past and present begin to emerge, will the reformed killer be able to uphold his new ideals?
Rurouni Kenshin has finished airing and it has 94 Episodes. It is also Known as: るろうに剣心 -明治剣客浪漫譚-, Samurai X
10. Gintama°
Gintoki, Shinpachi, and Kagura return as the fun-loving but broke members of the Yorozuya team! Living in an alternate-reality Edo, where swords are prohibited and alien overlords have conquered Japan, they try to thrive on doing whatever work they can get their hands on. However, Shinpachi and Kagura still haven't been paid... Does Gin-chan really spend all that cash playing pachinko?
Meanwhile, when Gintoki drunkenly staggers home one night, an alien spaceship crashes nearby. A fatally injured crew member emerges from the ship and gives Gintoki a strange, clock-shaped device, warning him that it is incredibly powerful and must be safeguarded. Mistaking it for his alarm clock, Gintoki proceeds to smash the device the next morning and suddenly discovers that the world outside his apartment has come to a standstill. With Kagura and Shinpachi at his side, he sets off to get the device fixed; though, as usual, nothing is ever that simple for the Yorozuya team.
Filled with tongue-in-cheek humor and moments of heartfelt emotion, Gintama's fourth season finds Gintoki and his friends facing both their most hilarious misadventures and most dangerous crises yet.
Gintama° has finished airing and it has 51 Episodes. It is also Known as: 銀魂°, Gintama' (2015)
9. Shin Gintama Movie: Yoshiwara Daienjou
Movie remake of the Yoshiwara Enjou arc.
Upon meeting a young boy named Haruta who makes a living as a pickpocket, Gintoki discovers that he is pickpocketing out of a desire to meet his long-lost mother, Hiwa, Yoshiwara's number one courtesan. Gintoki and his friends venture to Yoshiwara to fulfill Haruta's wish, but standing in their way is Housen, the Night King who rules Yoshiwara.
Note: This anime was announced at the "Gintama Multiverse Festival," an event held on August 16th, as part of the "Gintama 20th Anniversary Project." This movie features volumes 25 and 26 of the manga, and the TV anime series spans eight episodes, from episodes 139 to 146.
Shin Gintama Movie: Yoshiwara Daienjou has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 新劇場版 銀魂 -吉原大炎上-, New Gintama the Movie: Yoshiwara in Flames, Gintama Movie 3: Yoshiwara in Flames
8. Drifters
Shimazu Toyohisa, whilst involved at the Battle of Sekigahara, manages to mortally wound Ii Naomasa, but is critically wounded in the process. As he walks from the field broken and bleeding, Toyohisa finds himself transported to a corridor of doors, where a bespectacled man at a desk waits for him. This man, Murasaki, sends Toyohisa into the nearest door where he wakes up in another world. There, Toyohisa meets other great warriors like him who have been transported as well, to be part of a group known as "Drifters."
Drifters has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: DRIFTERS, Drifters: Battle in a Brand-new World War
7. Gintama'
After a one-year hiatus, Shinpachi Shimura returns to Edo, only to stumble upon a shocking surprise: Gintoki and Kagura, his fellow Yorozuya members, have become completely different characters! Fleeing from the Yorozuya headquarters in confusion, Shinpachi finds that all the denizens of Edo have undergone impossibly extreme changes, in both appearance and personality. Most unbelievably, his sister Otae has married the Shinsengumi chief and shameless stalker Isao Kondou and is pregnant with their first child.
Bewildered, Shinpachi agrees to join the Shinsengumi at Otae and Kondou's request and finds even more startling transformations afoot both in and out of the ranks of the the organization. However, discovering that Vice Chief Toushirou Hijikata has remained unchanged, Shinpachi and his unlikely Shinsengumi ally set out to return the city of Edo to how they remember it.
With even more dirty jokes, tongue-in-cheek parodies, and shameless references, Gintama' follows the Yorozuya team through more of their misadventures in the vibrant, alien-filled world of Edo.
Gintama' has finished airing and it has 51 Episodes. It is also Known as: 銀魂', Gintama (2011)
6. Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi
On the way home from school one day, Konoha Koga rescues Satoko Kusagakure, a ninja who escaped her village. Soon, pursuers from the village show up in search of Satoko only to be deftly dealt with by Konoha. As it turns out, the unassuming high schooler is actually an assassin. Thus, the potentially cutthroat cohabitation of a ninja and an assassin begins!
A Ninja and an Assassin Under One Roof has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 忍者と殺し屋のふたりぐらし, Ninja to Koroshiya no Futarigurashi
5. 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
4. Blue Eye Samurai
Driven by a dream of revenge against those who made her an outcast in Edo-period Japan, a young warrior cuts a bloody path toward her destiny.
Blue Eye Samurai has finished airing and it has 8 Episodes. It is also Known as: ブルーアイ・サムライ, Blue Eye Samurai
3. Gintama Movie 2: Kanketsu-hen - Yorozuya yo Eien Nare
When Gintoki apprehends a movie pirate at a premiere, he checks the camera's footage and finds himself transported to a bleak, post-apocalyptic version of Edo, where a mysterious epidemic called the "White Plague" has ravished the world's population. It turns out that the movie pirate wasn't a pirate after all—it was an android time machine, and Gintoki has been hurtled five years into the future! Shinpachi and Kagura, his Yorozuya cohorts, have had a falling out and are now battle-hardened solo vigilantes and he himself has been missing for years, disappearing without a trace after scribbling a strange message in his journal.
Setting out in the disguise given to him by the android time machine, Gintoki haphazardly reunites the Yorozuya team to investigate the White Plague, and soon discovers that the key to saving the future lies in the darkness of his own past. Determined to confront a powerful foe, he makes an important discovery—with a ragtag band of friends and allies at his side, he doesn't have to fight alone.
Gintama Movie 2: Kanketsu-hen - Yorozuya yo Eien Nare has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 劇場版 銀魂 完結篇 万事屋よ永遠なれ, Gintama: The Final Chapter - Be Forever Yorozuya, Gintama Movie 2
2. Lupin III
Hard-boiled, cocky, classy and silly. These words only begin to describe the amazing master thief Lupin the Third. With the help of some quick gunplay by his partner Jigen, Lupin takes on the world in elaborate heists, classic car chases, and nasty explosions. Fujiko, a buxom redhead with a penchant for betrayal, always gets tangled up in Lupin's capers. The stoic but swift swordsman Goemon is just as inclined to kill Lupin as he is to help him. And Lupin can never seem to lose the relentless Tokyo Police Inspector Zenigata. What sort of trouble will this band of misfits get into next?
Lupin the Third has finished airing and it has 23 Episodes. It is also Known as: Lupin Sansei, ルパン三世, Rupan Sansei, Lupin the Third, Lupin III: Part 1
1. Drifters (OVA)
Unaired episode 13 and 14 of Drifters released only on BluRay. They were not bundled with the volume 1-7 BD releases of the main show nor were they labeled as "volume 8" on the official website.
Drifters (OVA) has finished airing and it has 2 Episodes. It is also Known as: DRIFTERS, Drifters: Battle in a Brand-new World War , Drifters Second Season , Drifters 2nd Season
