Blade of the Immortal: Bakumatsu no Shou - Recommendations

• TV (25 eps)
• 2000

In the mid 1800s, prior to the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate, two men lead very different lives in the city of Edo. Ibuya Manjiro is a would-be samurai who refuses to back down from a fight, and Ryoan Tezuka is the son of a well-known doctor and student of Western medicine. Both are looked down upon by members of the community – Ibuya for his heroic behavior that makes his dojo look bad, and Ryoan for following a form of medicine that Japan, as a whole, shuns. Though the two are on very different paths, their lives inevitably cross in romance, times of need, and the changing of history...

• OVA (1 ep)
• 2004

Historical Japan, the Meiji Revolution: Hijikata Toshizou is a young swordsman fighting for the Shinsengumi and the Tokugawa shogunate. As a lieutenant of the Shinsengumi, Hijikata earns a reputation for his ruthlessness and harsh moral code. Hijikata Toshizou's tale is one of fierce determination, his samurai spirit unfaltering even as the war nears its inescapable conclusion and his comrades fall one by one.

• Movie (1 ep)
• 1997

During the Bakumatsu Period, death filled Japan as people fought for what was in their hearts. A young man took up the sword to fight for the Meiji government: he was known as Hitokiri Battousai. It is now the 12th year of the Meiji Period, and Hitokiri Battousai is now known as Himura Kenshin; he atones for his sins by carrying a reversed-blade sword that will never kill again. During a trip to Yokohama, Kenshin meets a samurai named Takimi Shigure who lost a close friend, Takatsuki Gentatsu, during the conflicts in the past. Takimi blames himself foolishly for his friend’s death, and vows to take revenge upon this corrupt Meiji government who wasted Gentatsu's sacrifice. As swords weave blood from their masters' enemies upon the bloody ground, one thing is certain: revenge will bring only suffering and regret is a miserable feeling.

• DVD Special (1 ep)
• 2003

• TV (24 eps)
• 2003 - 2004

Peace Maker Kurogane takes place in Kyoto in the late 19th century, during the height of the conflict between the Shinsengumi, a shogunal police force, and its enemy, an anti-government faction called the Choshu. This tale follows a young boy named Ichimura Tetsunosuke who is desperate to join the Shinsengumi and avenge his parents' deaths by the hands of the Choshu. But in the midst of the bloodshed, will he be strong enough to survive?

• Other (1 ep)
• 1998

A special episode released on VHS.

• OVA (1 ep)
• 2004

• TV
• 2023

• OVA (2 eps)
• 2011 - 2012

Told from the perspective of Misao Makimachi, this alternate retelling of the Kyoto arc chronicles the adventures of wandering swordsman Kenshin Himura and his quest in putting a stop to the evil Makoto Shishio and his plot to take over Japan.

• Movie (1 ep)
• 2018

Though the Shinsengumi took a huge blow following the Incident at Aburano Koji, they prepare themselves to carry out their devotion to the Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu. Meanwhile, the Imperial Court proclaims the end of the Tokugawa shogunate, and Yoshinobu withdraws to Osaka. The Shinsengumi prepares for battle as well, relocating their station to the Fushimi magistrate's office.