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TV Shows & Series: Best "samurai" TV Shows/Series

Chanbara (チャンバラ), also commonly spelled "chambara", meaning "sword fighting" films, denotes the Japanese film genre called samurai cinema in English and is roughly equivalent to Western and swashbuckler films. Chanbara is a sub-category of jidaigeki, which equates to period drama. Jidaigeki may refer to a story set in a historical period, though not necessarily dealing with a samurai character or depicting swordplay. While earlier samurai period pieces were more dramatic rather than action-based, samurai films produced after World War II have become more action-based, with darker and more violent characters. Post-war samurai epics tended to portray psychologically or physically scarred warriors. Akira Kurosawa stylized and exaggerated death and violence in samurai epics. His samurai, and many others portrayed in film, were solitary figures, more often concerned with concealing their martial abilities, rather than showing them off. Historically, the genre is usually set during the Tokugawa era (1600–1868). The samurai film hence often focuses on the end of an entire way of life for the samurai: many of the films deal with masterless rōnin, or samurai dealing with changes to their status resulting from a changing society. Samurai films were constantly made into the ... ()
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56 TV shows/series found (page 1/2):

The Unfettered Shogun(1978-2015)

45min per episode | Kids & Family, Drama, Action & Adventure
3.9/5 (with 2 votes)

Set in the 18th century, the show follows the Shogun Yoshimune, who likes to disguise himself as a low-ranking samurai and go into his capital of Edo to see the life of the common man, as well as to seek out and punish evildoers who would hurt his citizens. He is aided by Magistrate Oo'oka and a vivacious fireman, Tatsugoro, as well as a rotating cast of other recurring characters. Along with Zenigata Heiji and Mito Kōmon, it ranks among the longest-running series in the jidaigeki genre. Like so many other jidaigeki, it falls in the category of kanzen-chōaku, loosely, "rewarding good and punishing evil."

With Ken Matsudaira

BLUE EYE SAMURAI(2023-)

TV-MA
| Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama
4.3/5 (with 111 votes)

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.

Directed by Jane Wu

Blade of the Immortal(2019-2020)

TV-MA
| 24min per episode | Animation, Drama, Action & Adventure, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
3.6/5 (with 50 votes)

Manji is a crass, violent samurai with a special ability: he cannot die. Cursed with immortality by the nun Yobikuni as punishment for his ruthless deeds, he has grown weary of his ageless life. The only way to lift the curse is to slay 1,000 evil men. So Manji wanders Japan, shedding the blood of the wicked on his quest to finally die.

Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles(2022)

TV-Y7
| 25min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure
2.9/5 (with 13 votes)

A teenage rabbit aspiring to become a real samurai teams up with new warrior friends to protect their city from Yokai monsters, ninjas and evil aliens.

Subscription Netflix

Rurouni Kenshin(2023-)

TV-14
| 23min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure
4.2/5 (with 33 votes)

Ten years have passed since the end of Bakumatsu, an era of war that saw the uprising of citizens against the Tokugawa shogunate. The revolutionaries wanted to create a time of peace, and a thriving country free from oppression. The new age of Meiji has come, but peace has not yet been achieved. Swords are banned but people are still murdered in the streets. Orphans of war veterans are left with nowhere to go, while the government seems content to just line their pockets with money.

Shogun(1980)

2h 40min per episode | Action & Adventure, Drama, War & Politics
3.8/5 (with 76 votes)

An English navigator becomes both a player and pawn in complex political games in feudal Japan.

Directed by Jerry London - With Richard Chamberlain, Toshirō Mifune, Frankie Sakai, Michael Hordern, John Rhys-Davies, Yōko Shimada, ...

Dororo(2019)

TV-MA
| 24min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure
4.3/5 (with 523 votes)

A samurai lord has bartered away his newborn son's organs to forty-eight demons in exchange for dominance on the battlefield. Yet, the abandoned infant survives thanks to a medicine man who equips him with primitive prosthetics—lethal ones with which the wronged son will use to hunt down the multitude of demons to reclaim his body one piece at a time, before confronting his father. On his journeys the young hero encounters an orphan who claims to be the greatest thief in Japan.

Directed by Kazuhiro Furuhashi

Kabaneri of the Iron Fortress(2016)

TV-MA
| 22min per episode | Action & Adventure, Animation, Science-Fiction & Fantasy, Drama
3.4/5 (with 61 votes)

As the world is in the middle of an industrial revolution, a monster appears that cannot be defeated unless its heart, which is protected by a layer of iron, is pierced. By infecting humans with its bite, the monster can create aggressive and undead creatures known as Kabane. On the island Hinomoto, located in the far east, people have built stations to shelter themselves from these creatures. People access the station, as well as transport wares between them, with the help of a locomotive running on steam, called Hayajiro. Ikoma, a boy who lives in the Aragane station and helps to build Hayajiro, creates his own weapon called Tsuranukizutsu in order to defeat the creatures. One day, as he waits for an opportunity to use his weapon, he meets a girl named Mumei, who is excused from the mandatory Kabane inspection. During the night, Ikuma meets Mumei again as he sees Hayajiro going out of control. The staff on the locomotive has turned into the creatures. The station, now under attack by Kabane, is the opportunity Ikoma has been looking for.

Directed by Tetsurō Araki

Rurouni Kenshin(1996-1998)

TV-14
| 25min per episode | Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy
4.3/5 (with 350 votes)

The Meiji Era was one of great renewal for Japan, where swords and killing were outlawed. However, many survivors from the time of Revolution still live, lurking in the shadows and waiting for a chance to use their killing blades again. Only Kenshin Himura, formerly one of the most brutal of killers, hopes to keep his swordsman's honor and still live in the new era.

Air(2005)

TV-14
| 24min per episode | Animation, Drama, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
3.0/5 (with 26 votes)

Yukito Kunisaki is on a journey in search of the Winged Maiden who was bound to the sky centuries ago after hearing the old childhood tale from his mother. As Yukito shows his puppet show to people in an attempt to make some money, he finds himself in a small town in which he did not expect to stay very long. However, when he meets an unusual girl named Misuzu, things take a drastic turn as he is invited to stay with her.

Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Kings(2009-2010)

25min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure, War & Politics
3.2/5 (with 8 votes)

During the Sengoku period, there are many factions constantly at war. One of these is led by a one-eyed man named Date Masamune and another by the imposing Takeda Shingen. The latter has a fiercely loyal subordinate named Sanada Yukimura who goes head to head against Date Masamune multiple times, but the battles between them tend to get interrupted. One such battle occurs when both men try to go after another leader named Imagawa, and they’re forced to break off their heated duel when Imagawa attempts to flee the scene with his body doubles. Yukimura and Masamune go after separate Imagawas, but all of the doubles are killed by a third party, and when their paths cross again, they are in front of the menacing Oda Nobunaga and his army. It was Nobunaga’s subordinates that killed those body doubles, and Nobunaga himself proceeds to kill the real Imagawa with a shotgun blast to the head.

Peacemaker(2003-2004)

24min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure, Comedy, Drama
3.4/5 (with 5 votes)

For 15-year-old Tetsunosuke Ichimura, childhood innocence has given way to a blinding thirst for revenge. Haunted by the vicious slaying of his parents, Tetsu decides to seek out the Shinsengumi, an elite group of swordsmen sworn to protect the capital. The Shinsengumi are engaged in a brutal conflict with the Choshu rebels, the same ruthless killers who murdered Tetsu's parents. In the name of justice - and against the will of his older brother - Tetsu desperately hopes to join the Shinsengumi. But an incident late one night forces him to face reality. The Shinsengumi show themselves capable of the same brutality as his parents' murderers. Wading through a sea of espionage, intrigue, and flowing blood, the young boy must decide whether to shed his humanity and become a demon of the Shinsengumi, or to relinquish his hatred and become a Peacemaker in the spirit of his father. Revenge is sweet, but is it worth losing your soul?

Directed by Tomohiro Hirata
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Samurai Sentai Shinkenger(2009-2010)

25min per episode | Science-Fiction & Fantasy, Action & Adventure, Kids & Family
3.6/5 (with 7 votes)

Takeru Shiba, the head of the Shiba family and Hikoma Kusakabe call four teenagers in order to battle the Gedoushu. They transform into Shinkengers by using Shodo Phones. Genta Umemori, a childhood friend of Takeru joined Shinkengers as Shinken Gold.

With Miyuki Sawashiro

Yasuke(2021)

TV-MA
| 28min per episode | Animation, Drama, Action & Adventure, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
3.8/5 (with 109 votes)

In a war-torn feudal Japan filled with mechs and magic, the greatest ronin never known, Yasuke, struggles to maintain a peaceful existence after a past life of violence. But when a local village becomes the center of social upheaval between warring daimyo, Yasuke must take up his sword and transport a mysterious child who is the target of dark forces and bloodthirsty warlords.

Hakkenden: Legend of the Dog Warriors(1990-1991)

30min per episode | Animation, Drama, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
3.3/5 (with 1 vote)

During the war-torn feudal wars in Japan, the Awa clan faced certain extinction from a rival clan backed by demonic forces. However, a careless promise by their lord leads to both salvation and disgrace when their family dog brings back the head of the enemy warlord and insists on marrying the lord's daughter. Their unnatural union bears fruit but when both are killed, the eight unborn pups are reincarnated as the eight Dog Warriors - The Hakkenden. As they slowly find each other and come together as a group, these eight warriors, who represent the eight separate aspects of Bushido, engage in bloody battles with demonic entities and evil samurai in a final attempt to redeem their clan!

Fena: Pirate Princess(2021)

TV-MA
| 24min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
3.6/5 (with 21 votes)

Fena Houtman remembers little about her childhood. Orphaned and raised as a servant in a brothel, her life changes when she escapes to an island of pirates where she discovers the truth behind her family. With Fena being the only one able to unlock her family’s secrets, and a formidable crew of female pirates on her tail, she must take her place as captain of her Samurai crew for a high seas adventure!

What Will You Do, Ieyasu?(2023)

43min per episode | Drama, War & Politics
3.9/5 (with 2 votes)

The drama series depicts the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu (January 31, 1543 – June 1, 1616). Takechiyo (who later becomes Tokugawa Ieyasu) was born as the son of a poor and powerless daimyo. Takechiyo lost his father during a war. He grew up lonely and away from his mother. Takechiyo didn't have a clue about what his future would hold. He then has a dramatic meeting with the young Oda Nobunaga.

With Jun Matsumoto, Junichi Okada, Kasumi Arimura

Orient(2022)

TV-14
| 24min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
4.0/5 (with 24 votes)

During the Warring States era, the feuding generals were suddenly struck down one after another by the demonic Kishin. In the 150 years since, groups of individuals have continued to resist Kishin control. They are called Bushi bands. When they were young, Musashi and Kojiro would hear tales about the Bushi from Kojiro's father, and the two of them dream to form the strongest Bushi band. One day, as Musashi struggles with his choices, he witnesses humans being torn apart by oni. Forced to face the truth, Musashi rises up against the powerful oni to make his dream with Kojiro come true!

Directed by Tetsuya Yanagisawa

Lone Wolf and Cub(1973-1976)

45min per episode | Action & Adventure
3.8/5 (with 3 votes)

Ogami Itto is a master swordsman who holds a position of high power in the Tokugawa Shogunate. Highly trusted by the Shogun, he serves as the official decapitator, assisting lords and samurai who have been ordered by the Shogun to commit seppuku. One day, Itto’s wife and members of his household are brutally murdered by a clan seeking to avenge their lord’s execution, which had been carried out by Itto. In the wake of the attack, two items are left in Itto’s home: his unhurt infant son, Daigoro, and a symbol meant to signify Itto’s betrayal of the Shogun. Disgraced by the false symbol, Itto is labeled a traitor and forced to forfeit his position. He becomes a ronin, wandering the country with his son, searching for the men who killed his wife, seeking to clear his name and avenge her death.

Onihei Hankachō(1989-2001)

Drama, Action & Adventure, Crime
3.7/5 (with 2 votes)

Hasegawa is a chief police of big heart who leads a band of samurai police and cultivates reformed criminals as informants to solve difficult crimes.

Samurai 7(2004)

TV-PG
| 25min per episode | Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
3.4/5 (with 24 votes)

Samurai 7 is a 2004 anime TV series, produced by Gonzo and based on Akira Kurosawa's highly regarded 1954 movie Seven Samurai. The series was directed by Toshifumi Takizawa and its music was composed by Kaoru Wada and Eitetsu Hayashi. There are 26 episodes, each costing around ¥32,500,000 to produce. The series premiered across Japan on the anime satellite television network, Animax, as an exclusive high definition CS-PPV broadcast, and was also later aired by the network across its other respective networks worldwide, including Southeast Asia, South Asia, Latin America and other regions. Funimation Entertainment acquired the dubbing rights for the North American release. It previously aired in America through the Independent Film Channel in April 2006 and in high definition on Dish Networks Animania HD channel. It has also been broadcast across Canada by specialty channel Razer and across Hong Kong by TVB Jade. The Funimation Channel aired the series on September 6, 2010. It began airing on Adult Swim's revived Toonami block on August 19, 2012. and ended its run on February 10, 2013.

Drifters(2016)

TV-MA
| 24min per episode | Animation, Science-Fiction & Fantasy, Action & Adventure
3.7/5 (with 37 votes)

Shimazu Toyohisa is a real-life samurai who fought in the pivotal Battle of Sekigahara. In his dying moments, Shimazu is transported to a world of magic with other famous warriors throughout history. These warriors are forced to fight each other in an endless battle.

Charge! Men's Private School(1988)

24min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure
3.9/5 (with 3 votes)

Otokojuku, a private school for juvenile delinquents that were previously expelled from normal schools. At this school, Japanese chivalry is taught through the feudal and military fundamentals. Similar to an action film, the classes are overwhelmed by violence. Only those who survive it become true men.

Directed by Tak Sakaguchi

Carried by the Wind: Tsukikage Ran(2000)

24min per episode | Animation, Comedy
4.0/5 (with 2 votes)

Wandering the lands of Japan - Ran is a master swordsman with a strong sense of honor combined with the courage and strength to right wrongs and battle injustice.​ But that doesn't stop her from having a good time! Stuck with an unwanted traveling companion,​ Myao,​ the two will bring law and order to the countryside.​.. if they don't kill each other first.​ A comedic,​ action drama from start to finish - the way of the Samurai will never be the same!

Directed by Akitarō Daichi

Manyu Scroll(2011)

TV-MA
| 24min per episode | Animation, Comedy, Science-Fiction & Fantasy, Action & Adventure
4.0/5 (with 79 votes)

It is currently the Taiheimeji era, during the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate. In this era, breasts mean everything. If you have breasts, you are guaranteed wealth and popularity, but if you lack them, you are rarely considered human. Inside the shogunate, there is a group of warriors that support the government—the Manyuu Clan, which helps raise the future big breasts. Written on a secret scroll possessed by the clan, there are said to be various techniques on how to grow big and beautiful breasts. Chifusa is the heir of the clan. However, she takes the secret scroll and runs away with it, hoping to fight against the cruel world that the Manyuu Clan has created…

Directed by Hiraku Kaneko

Blood Shadow(2001-2002)

TV-MA
| 30min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure, Comedy, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
5.0/5 (with 1 vote)

In a world where demons lurk behind every shadow, ready to ravage any woman who crosses their path, murder and bloodshed are a way of life. A team of feisty female fighters known as the Crimson Lotus is humanity's last hope for survival. When tragedy strikes and one of their members is slaughtered, it's time for the Crimson Lotus to destroy the demons at their source, and bathe the underworld in the blood of vengeance!

Hyouge Mono(2011-2012)

25min per episode | Animation, Comedy
5.0/5 (with 1 vote)

Sasuke Furuta is a vassal of the great warlord Nobunaga Oda and a man obsessed with tea ceremony and material desires in his pursuit of a fortuitous life. Having learned from Nobunaga and the legendary tea master Soueki Senne, Sasuke walks the way of the Hyouge Mono.

Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan(2021)

TV-MA
| 45min per episode | Documentary, War & Politics
3.6/5 (with 137 votes)

Dynamic reenactments and expert commentaries bring to life the tumultuous history and power struggles of a warring 16th-century feudal Japan.

Subscription Netflix

Shine On! Bakumatsu Bad Boys!(2022)

TV-14
| 24min per episode | Animation, Action & Adventure, Drama
2.9/5 (with 3 votes)

In the era when samurai controlled Japan... The Masked Demons annihilated all but one member of the Shinsengumi, who had worked to maintain the peace and public order in Kyoto. Seven criminals are chosen as substitutes for the deceased Shinsengumi members, and they are led by Ichibanboshi, whose parents were also killed by the Masked Demons. He becomes a substitute for Commander Isami Kondo and goes after the Masked Demons with the other substitutes to avenge his parents' deaths. Former criminals rise up to restore peace and order as their crazy story begins! Now is the time to shine the brightest!

Hakuoki(2010-2012)

24min per episode | Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama, Science-Fiction & Fantasy
3.4/5 (with 12 votes)

Yukimura Chizuru is the daughter of a doctor who works in Edo; her father leaves Edo to work as a volunteer doctor and moves to Kyoto without his daughter. As time passes by, Chizuru starts worrying about losing contact with her father, so she decides to go to Kyoto in search of him. On the way, Chizuru is attacked by few criminals and witnesses a fight between an oni and the Shinsengumi. Taking her into custody and saving her, the Shinsengumi debate on what to do with Chizuru when they discover that she is the daughter of the doctor they are also looking for. So they decide to become Chizuru's protectors and help her look for her father (the doctor). Lots of events happen while she stays with the Shinsengumi, as they discover mysterious secrets and also fight against the Bakumatsu group.

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