Best Samurai Anime: 19 Must-Watch Picks, Ranked

There is something about a samurai story that just works in animation. The stillness before a sword is drawn.

Snow falling on a duel. A lone ronin walking into town looking for trouble. Anime can stretch all of that into something cinematic, and the best samurai anime stand right alongside the genre’s greatest live-action films.

Here is the thing, though.

Samurai anime rarely means a show about literal feudal warriors.

More often it is about the aesthetic of old Japan, the code of bushido, and that wandering-swordsman spirit.

That spirit shows up across every kind of anime genre. Some of these are historically grounded. Others throw samurai into sci-fi, hip-hop, or full-blown fantasy.

All of them are worth your time.

This is my ranked list of the best samurai anime, sorted by popularity.

I flagged the must-watch classics alongside a few hidden gems other lists skip. One quick note: streaming shifts around, so check current listings before you settle in.

The Best Samurai Anime, Ranked

House of Five Leaves

House of Five Leaves is the slow burn of the bunch. It centers on Masanosuke, a skilled but painfully shy ronin who gets pulled into a mysterious kidnapping gang called the Five Leaves. Based on Natsume Ono’s manga, it trades flashy fights for character study, atmosphere, and quiet tension. If you like your samurai anime thoughtful and a little melancholy, this one is a treasure.

An art style all its own. Natsume Ono’s sketchy, elegant character designs make this stand apart from anything else on the list. It also aired on the noitaminA programming block, which built its name on mature, artful anime aimed at older viewers rather than the usual shonen crowd.

Brave 10

Brave 10 is set during the Warring States period and draws on the legend of the Sanada Ten Braves. The ninja Saizo Kirigakure and a shrine maiden named Isanami gather a team of ten warriors to protect her from dark forces. It is a straightforward, fast-moving action show built on camaraderie and big fights, with a colorful cast that makes it easy to binge.

Rooted in real legend. The Sanada Ten Braves are folk-hero warriors tied to the real daimyo Sanada Yukimura, one of the most romanticized figures of the era. Their story has been retold countless times across Japanese games, film, and manga, and Brave 10 is one of the more approachable versions.

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna

The Ambition of Oda Nobuna is the lighthearted, slightly absurd entry. A modern high schooler named Yoshiharu gets yanked back to the Sengoku period. There he discovers that the legendary warlord Oda Nobunaga is a teenage girl named Oda Nobuna. From there it mixes real historical drama with rom-com energy. It is fluffy, fun, and a painless way to absorb some Sengoku history.

Nobunaga, reimagined for the hundredth time. This is far from the only anime to gender-swap Oda Nobunaga. The real warlord is one of the most adapted figures in all of Japanese fiction, showing up as everything from a demon to a gun-toting heroine, so a teenage-girl version fits right into a long tradition.

Hakuoki

Hakuoki blends romance, action, and historical fiction during the turbulent Bakumatsu period. It follows Chizuru, a young woman searching for her father in Kyoto. She falls in with the Shinsengumi, the famous samurai police force, here reimagined with supernatural abilities. It is a great pick if you want your samurai drama with a heavy dose of romance and intrigue.

The Shinsengumi were real. The swordsmen here are based on the actual Bakumatsu-era police force, whose members like Hijikata Toshizo are real historical figures. Hakuoki reimagines them with supernatural twists, and it began life as an otome game, a romance title aimed at women, before becoming a full anime franchise.

Yaiba

A real throwback, this one. Yaiba is a classic shonen samurai series from a late-1980s manga. It follows a wild young samurai named Yaiba, who grew up in the jungle before crashing into city life and making a name with his swordsmanship. It is goofy, energetic, and one of the more kid-friendly historical samurai picks on the list.

Yes, it is by the Detective Conan guy. Yaiba was created by Gosho Aoyama before he made the mega-hit Detective Conan. The series got a fresh start in 2025 with Yaiba: Samurai Legend, a full reboot from WIT Studio of Attack on Titan and Spy x Family fame. So a 1980s classic just got a glossy modern makeover, which is a great excuse to finally discover this samurai anime classic.

Sengoku Basara

Sengoku Basara takes Japan’s chaotic Warring States period and cranks every dial to eleven. Based on the Capcom video game, it pits real historical warlords against each other in absurdly over-the-top battles. Historical accuracy is not the point here. Spectacle is. If you want flashy, loud, adrenaline-soaked samurai action with zero homework required, this delivers.

Real figures, zero real history. The warlord Date Masamune fights with six swords at once and shouts English one-liners like “Let’s party.” This is the Sengoku era reworked into pure video-game spectacle, so treat it as a hype reel rather than a history lesson and you will have a blast.

Samurai 7

Samurai 7 reimagines Akira Kurosawa’s legendary 1954 film Seven Samurai in a world where samurai fight alongside giant mecha. Seven warriors are hired to defend a poor village from bandits. The show keeps the heart of the original while going big on spectacle. It is a fun, ambitious take on one of the most influential stories ever told.

The blueprint for a hundred stories. Kurosawa’s original Seven Samurai is one of the most copied films in history, directly inspiring The Magnificent Seven, A Bug’s Life, and more. Samurai 7 was also one of the first anime series produced in high definition, so it was a showcase piece for its era.

Katanagatari

Katanagatari, written by Nisio Isin, is a gorgeous oddity. It follows Shichika Yasuri, a martial artist who fights using a sword style with no sword at all. He teams up with Togame, a sharp-tongued strategist, to hunt down twelve legendary blades. The art is bold and flat and unlike anything else, and it leans into dialogue and scheming as much as combat.

A monthly event. Katanagatari came from Nisio Isin, the writer behind the wildly popular Monogatari series. Rather than air weekly, it released one roughly 50-minute episode a month across 2010, so each of its twelve installments plays more like a mini-movie than a standard episode.

The Elusive Samurai

Here is one a lot of “best samurai anime” lists have not caught up to yet. The Elusive Samurai is a 2024 series from CloverWorks, based on the manga by Yusei Matsui, the creator of Assassination Classroom.

Set in 1333, it follows young Hojo Tokiyuki, the last heir of a fallen clan. His story kicks off after the warlord Ashikaga Takauji betrays and destroys his family. The twist is that the hero’s “power” is running away. Tokiyuki survives by being impossibly slippery and hard to hit, turning escape into an art form. It is a refreshing change from the usual brute-force samurai anime protagonist.

It is gorgeous, and award-winning. The animation is some of CloverWorks’ most ambitious work, with several sequences that look like moving paintings. The series is based on real history, comes from an award-winning manga, and a second season is on the way. If you want a modern samurai anime to dive into, start here.

Drifters

Drifters is gloriously bonkers. It pulls legendary warriors from across history, including the samurai Shimazu Toyohisa, the warlord Oda Nobunaga, and the archer Nasu no Yoichi.

Then it drops them into a fantasy world full of elves and dragons. They get swept into an epic war between good and evil.

History’s greatest fighters, all at once. Drifters comes from Kohta Hirano, the creator of Hellsing, so expect the same stylish ultraviolence and pitch-black humor. Half the fun is recognizing the real historical figures he throws together, from samurai and warlords to famous archers, all reimagined as fantasy warriors.

Blade of the Immortal

Blade of the Immortal follows Manji, a samurai cursed with immortality. He can only earn the right to die by slaying a thousand evil men. It is bloody, moody, and surprisingly grounded outside of that central curse. The original Hiroaki Samura manga ran from 1993 to 2012 across thirty volumes.

There have been two anime adaptations, an early one in 2008 and a slicker 24-episode version in 2019.

Even Takashi Miike took a swing at it. The story is so beloved that the legendary, prolific director Takashi Miike adapted it into a live-action film in 2017. Manji’s immortality comes from “bloodworms” that knit his wounds back together, which makes for some wonderfully gruesome fights where losing a limb is only a minor inconvenience.

Sword of the Stranger

Sword of the Stranger is a 2007 film directed by Masahiro Ando. It contains one of the best-animated sword fights ever committed to screen.

The story is simple: a nameless ronin and a young boy on the run are hunted by a fearsome group of Chinese warriors. Simple, but the execution is flawless.

The final duel is required viewing. Made by Studio Bones, the film’s climactic snowy showdown gets brought up constantly in “best anime fight scene” debates, and for good reason. The choreography, the weight, the sound design, it all comes together. If you want to show someone what animated action can do, this is the clip you pull up.

Afro Samurai

Afro Samurai is pure style. Set in a strange, futuristic version of feudal Japan, it follows Afro on a brutal quest to avenge his father.

His only company is a foul-mouthed imaginary sidekick named Ninja Ninja. It is violent, slick, and built around a killer atmosphere.

Serious star power behind the mic. Samuel L. Jackson voices both Afro and Ninja Ninja, and he produced the show too. The soundtrack was handled by RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, which is about the most fitting pairing imaginable. That blend of Hollywood and hip-hop is a big part of why Afro Samurai feels so distinct.

Dororo

Dororo is dark, and I mean that as a compliment. Based on a classic manga by Osamu Tezuka, the “God of Manga,” it follows Hyakkimaru. He is a young warrior whose father struck a deal with demons that left his body literally taken apart.

He hunts those demons one by one to reclaim his stolen body parts, picking up a scrappy orphan named Dororo along the way. The 2019 remake is stunning and surprisingly emotional.

One of the God of Manga’s darkest tales. Osamu Tezuka is best known for the sunny optimism of Astro Boy, which makes this grim, bloody revenge story a striking outlier in his catalog. The manga dates back to the late 1960s, and the gorgeous 2019 remake reframed it for a modern audience without losing its edge.

Ninja Scroll

Ninja Scroll is a 1993 landmark, one of the films that defined anime for a generation of Western fans back when the medium was breaking through overseas. It follows the ronin Kibagami Jubei. His simple journey turns deadly when he is dragged into a war against the Eight Devils of Kimon and their leader, Genma.

The animation still holds up, and it is relentlessly intense.

The Eight Devils of Kimon are nightmare fuel. What makes Ninja Scroll stick with you is its villains. The Eight Devils each have a grotesque supernatural power, from a man with stone skin to a woman who hides snakes in her body. They are deeply disturbing, and they push the film into outright horror territory at times. This is not one for the kids.

Gintama

Gintama is the funniest show on this list by a mile. Created by Hideaki Sorachi, it follows Gintoki Sakata, a broke, lazy samurai-for-hire living in an alternate-history Edo where aliens have taken over Japan.

The premise sounds insane, and it is, but underneath the comedy are some of the best dramatic arcs in all of shonen.

It knows it is an anime, and never lets you forget it. Gintama is famous for shattering the fourth wall, roasting its own publisher, and parodying every other big Shonen Jump series it can reach. With well over 350 episodes plus movies, it is also one of the longest-running anime out there, so there is a frankly intimidating amount of it to enjoy.

Rurouni Kenshin

Rurouni Kenshin follows Kenshin Himura, a wandering swordsman set in Japan’s Meiji era.

Once a feared assassin called the Hitokiri Battosai, Kenshin now wanders the land trying to atone by protecting people instead of killing them. It is one of the all-time great redemption stories, and the emotional beats hit just as hard as the action.

His sword is sharp on the wrong side. Kenshin’s signature weapon is the sakabato, a reverse-bladed sword with the cutting edge on the inner curve, so he physically cannot kill with a normal strike. It is a brilliant piece of character design baked right into his vow. If you only know the 90s version, the faithful 2023 reboot by Liden Films is gorgeous and well worth a rewatch.

Demon Slayer

Demon Slayer might be more “swordsman” than strict samurai, but the bushido spirit runs all the way through it. Based on Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga, it follows Tanjiro Kamado. He is a kind-hearted boy who takes up a blade to avenge his family and cure his demon-turned sister.

The Ufotable animation is some of the most jaw-dropping work in the medium.

It rewrote box office history. The 2020 film Mugen Train became the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time and the first non-American movie to top the global annual box office. That worldwide crown then held until Demon Slayer’s own 2025 Infinity Castle film overtook it to become the highest-grossing anime film ever. For a franchise about a kid with a sword, that is staggering.

Samurai Champloo

If you only watch one show on this list, make it Samurai Champloo. It blends Edo-era Japan with modern hip-hop culture, and somehow it works perfectly. We follow Mugen, Jin, and Fuu, a mismatched trio crossing the country in search of “the samurai who smells of sunflowers.” The fights are gorgeous, the tone bounces from hilarious to heartbreaking, and the whole thing has a swagger nothing else matches.

The soundtrack basically invented a genre. Samurai Champloo came from Shinichiro Watanabe, the director behind Cowboy Bebop, and the score leaned heavily on the late producer Nujabes. That mellow, jazzy, sample-driven sound went on to become the blueprint for the entire “lo-fi hip-hop to study to” movement you hear everywhere today. Not bad for a show about sword fights.

Iconic Samurai Anime Characters

If you are here for the characters as much as the shows, a handful of samurai anime characters have become true legends.

Kenshin Himura and his reverse-blade vow.

Mugen and Jin, the odd-couple duelists at the heart of Samurai Champloo. Gintoki, the lazy hero who fights with a wooden sword.

Afro, Manji, and Hyakkimaru round out a roster of unforgettable swordsmen.

These protagonists are a big part of why the genre never gets old. And if it is that laid-back, genre-blending energy you love most, anime like Samurai Champloo are the perfect place to start.

More Samurai Anime Worth Watching

This list could be twice as long, so here are a few more to keep on your radar. Shigurui: Death Frenzy is a brutal, beautifully grim period piece for viewers who want something serious and unflinching. Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai is technically a Western production rather than true anime. But its revenge story and stunning visuals scratch the exact same itch. And if you have not seen them yet, the live-action Rurouni Kenshin films are some of the best manga-to-film adaptations ever made.

Your Turn

That is my rundown of the best samurai anime out there, from hip-hop classics to award-winning newcomers. The samurai never really goes out of style, and anime keeps finding fresh ways to put a sword in someone’s hand.

So which samurai anime is your favorite, and what did I leave off the list?

Let me know in the comments.