What is this genre all about? The Shinsengumi were a special police force of the late shogunate period.
We present you the list of Shinsengumi anime you should watch right now.
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Top 10 Shinsengumi anime you should watch right now. [2024 List]
10. 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
9. Hakuouki
In 1860's Edo, Japan, 16-year-old Chizuru Yukimura lives a simple life as the daughter of a doctor. When her father's work takes him away from home and into the capital of Kyoto, Chizuru is left alone with only the letters from her father as a means to stay in contact with him. After the letters stop coming though, Chizuru becomes gravely concerned. Disguising herself as a man for safety, she travels to Kyoto to find him, only to find herself being attacked by a group of samurai and a strange, almost inhuman man. Chizuru is saved by a mysterious member of a group known as the Shinsengumi, but because of what she witnessed, she's taken back to their base of operations to be interrogated and possibly silenced…forever.Hakuouki features the striking young men of the Shinsengumi and their secret clan of warriors, who decide to spare Chizuru upon finding out who her father is, revealing that they too are looking for him, but for different reasons. Now Chizuru must not only continue the search for her father among her new friends, but discover secrets bigger than she ever imagined, all the while forming bonds with the handsome young men that will forever change the course of their lives.
Hakuoki ~Demon of the Fleeting Blossom~ has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 薄桜鬼, Hakuoki,Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan, Hakuoki, Hakuouki: Shinsengumi Kitan
8. Hakuouki Hekketsuroku
The continuation of Hakuoki.
The Edo Era has ended after 260 years of history and the Meiji Era begins. However, bitter strife still continues between the soldiers of the new government and former Tokugawa retainers. This is the stage in which the surviving members of the Shinsengumi find themselves upon their return to Edo following their defeat at Tobafushimi.
(Sources: ANN, AniDB)
Hakuoki ~Demon of the Fleeting Blossom~ Record of the Jade Blood has finished airing and it has 10 Episodes. It is also Known as: 薄桜鬼 碧血録, Hakuouki 2, Hakuoki 2, Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan Hekketsuroku
7. Hakuouki Reimeiroku
The year is 1863 and as Japan's long festering wounds of political discord erupt into violent waves of street clashes and murder, the Tokugawa Shogunate sends a new force of masterless samurai called the Roshigumi to the aid of the Aizu forces in Kyoto. However the new "police" are anything but a cohesive force and assassination has already split them into two opposing factions. The stronger is led by the brutal Serizawa Kamo and the lesser by the more honorable but less assertive Isami Kondo. It is into this pack of wolves that Ryunosuke Ibuki is dragged by the rabid Serizawa. Forced to be a virtual slave by blood debt, he hates the samurai and everything they stand for. But as he sees how the other half of the samurai live, he begins to believe that there may still be a chance, for both himself and Japan, if only Kondo will step up and take down the mad dog Serizawa!
Hakuoki ~Demon of the Fleeting Blossom~ Dawn of the Shinsengumi has finished airing and it has 12 Episodes. It is also Known as: 薄桜鬼 黎明録, Hakuouki 3, Hakuoki 3, Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan Reimeiroku
6. Peace Maker Kurogane
Although traumatized by witnessing the murder of his parents by one of the Choushuu, Ichimura Tetsunosuke's thirst for revenge lead him to desire strength. At the age of 15, Tetsunosuke approached the Shinsengumi, wanting to become one of its members. However, Tetsunosuke lacked the skill, mind and will to emotionlessly cut down whoever threatened peace and the Shinsengumi. Even with the support of his brother Tatsunosuke and his newfound friends of the Shinsengumi, little did Tetsunosuke know the blood and pain he would have to face being part of this historical group.
Peace Maker Kurogane has finished airing and it has 24 Episodes. It is also Known as: PEACE MAKER 鐵, Peacemaker Kurogane, PMK
5. Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken TV
Set in an alternate version of the Meiji Era, a boy named Sakamoto Ryunosuke returns to Kyoto from Shanghai with his monster (youkai) Nekomaru. The law states that in order to live freely with humans, a youkai must be liscensed. The Kidou Shinsengumi Co. Ltd. is responsible for the capture of unliscensed youkais but must fight with the Tsubamegumi, who resents the new law. It turns out that Ryunosuke is the son of the owner of the Shinsengumis.
Moeyo Ken TV has finished airing and it has 13 Episodes. It is also Known as: 機動新撰組 萌えよ剣 TV, Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken TV
4. Hakuouki Movie 1: Kyoto Ranbu
Chizuru Yukimura has come to Kyoto looking for her father, a doctor who has gone missing. While there, she witnesses a fight between an Oni and the Shinsengumi. Taking her into custody, the Shinsengumi debates on what to do with Chizuru, when they discover that she is the daughter of the doctor for whom they are also looking. The Shinsengumi then take Chizuru along on their search after the missing doctor, from adventure to adventure.
Hakuoki ~Demon of the Fleeting Blossom~ Wild Dance of Kyoto has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 劇場版 薄桜鬼 第一章 京都乱舞, Hakuoki Movie 1, Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan Movie 1, Hakuoki: Wild Dance of Kyoto
3. Hijikata Toshizou: Shiro no Kiseki
A biographical sketch of the life and ideals of Hijikata Toshizou, Vice Commander of the Shinsengumi, fighting to uphold the Shogunate during the Meiji revolution.
Hijikata Toshizou: Shiro no Kiseki has finished airing and it has 1 Episodes. It is also Known as: 土方歳三 白の軌跡, Hijikata Toshizo: Shiru no Kiseki, Hijikata Toshizo Shiro no Kiseki, Hijikata Toshizo: The White Trail, Toshizo Hijikata: Cornerstone of Understanding
2. Hakuouki Sekkaroku
This OVA takes place in between episodes 8 and 9 of the first season of Hakuouki.
Yukimura Chizuru goes on a reconnaissance mission in Shimabara as a geiko for the Shinsengumi. Each episode unfolds the events of the days leading up to, during, and after the operation. It intermittently reveals each captain's involvement as well as that of a few demons in the affair. Each individual episode primarily focuses from the third person perspectives of: Okita Souji, Saito Hajime, Harada Sanosuke, Toudou Heisuke, Hijikata Toshizo, and Kazama Chikage.
Hakuoki ~Demon of the Fleeting Blossom~ A Memory of Snow Flowers has finished airing and it has 6 Episodes. It is also Known as: 薄桜鬼 雪華録, Hakuouki Hekketsuroku OVA
1. Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken
Set in the Meiji era, Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken tells the story of Kondou Yuuko, Hijikata Toshie and Okita Kaoru. These three are the daughters of former Shinsengumi members and, in the same fashion as their fathers were, they get called upon to protect Japan from its current problems. Much of their work deals with vanquishing the mysterious paranormal phenomena springing up ever more frequently in the Kyoto area and defending the city from any other dangers that may arise.
Moeyo Ken has finished airing and it has 4 Episodes. It is also Known as: 機動新撰組 萌えよ剣, Kidou Shinsengumi Moeyo Ken