Best tv shows like Otogi Zoshi
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The time is 972 A.D. in Kyoto, the capital of ancient Japan. Kyoto is becoming a corrupt and run-down city; selfish samurai and onmyoji, who care only about gaining political power are everywhere. To make matters worse the city is suffering from famine and widespread disease. Unable to ignore the condition of the city any longer, the Imperial Court decides to send Minamoto no Raiko, a famous samurai well-known for his archery skills, to recover a legendary gem said to hold mysterious power to save the world. However Raiko also falls ill to disease. Instead his youngest sister, Hikaru, decides secretely to make the journey in his place. Hikaru meets many people, and has many adventures while on her trip for the legendary gem.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 111
Genere: Animation, Action
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, serious, exciting, tense, suspenseful
Best tv shows and movies like Otogi Zoshi (2004):
Similar in 88%
The Dagger of Kamui (1985)
Plot Summary:
Young Jiro finds his mother and sister murdered at home; falsely accused, he flees to a new life and trains to be an assassin.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 770
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure
Country: Japan
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Grenadier: The Beautiful Warrior (2004)
Plot Summary:
Rushuna is a very beautiful gun expert that travels through the world with one purpose which is to make the world a peaceful place by, instead of fighting with weapons, taking away the people's will to fight by giving them a smile. In this quest she meets Yajirou, a mercenary that joins her on the journey.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 226
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, humorous, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 88%
The Book of Bantorra (2009)
Plot Summary:
In a world where dead people turn into books and are stored in the Bantorra Library where anyone who reads a book can learn their past. Bantorra Library is maintained by Armed Librarians who wield psychic powers and their enemy is a religious society known as Sindeki Kyōdan.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 217
Genere: Animation, Action, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, seinen, exciting, captivating, tense, entertaining, offbeat, bleak, humorous, serious
Similar in 89%
Intrigue in the Bakumatsu: Irohanihoheto (2006)
Plot Summary:
The Shogunate is in its final years, and war is fast approaching. When Yojiro Akizuki, a dark and mysterious mercenary, nears something supernatural with some kind of importance to him, the ornament on the end of his sword hilt waves in its direction, his eyes glow mysteriously, and he is driven to go after it. He comes across a traveling theater group who is out for revenge for the killing of the parents of the group's leader, and whose mysterious playwright likes to secretly help along events of history. Yojiro joins them to lend them his skill against their enemies, while dark conspiracy continues to follow behind him.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 117
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration: 26 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, stylized, atmospheric
Similar in 75%
Bleach the Movie 2: The Diamond Dust Rebellion (2007)
Plot Summary:
When an artifact known as the "King's Seal" is stolen during transport from Soul Society, Hitsugaya Toushirou is assigned to retrieve it. Toushirou goes missing after a battle with the thieves, leading Seireitei to suspect him of treachery. They order his immediate capture and execution. Unwilling to believe him capable of such a crime, Ichigo, Rangiku, Rukia, and Renji set out to find Toushirou.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Action, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, stylized, manga, entertaining, shounen, heroic
Similar in 87%
Sengoku BASARA: Samurai Kings (2009)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 535
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, tense, captivating, bleak
Similar in 82%
The Severing Crime Edge (2013)
Plot Summary:
Killing Goods are murder weapons handed down from generation to generation within the families of their owners. They are cursed to compel their current owners to repeat the original murders. The curse also makes them indestructible. Kiri Haimura is the current owner of a pair of shears that can cut seemingly anything, although the only thing he wants to cut is hair. One day he meets Iwai Mushanokoji, a girl of whom he has only heard rumors that her hair cannot be cut, a girl who can grant one wish, any wish, but only to the person who murders her. Every morning he cuts her hair, which grows back every night; and every day he helps protect her from people who know about her curse and who want a wish granted.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 96
Genere: Animation, Action, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, exciting, rough, suspenseful, captivating, suspense, disturbing, serious
Similar in 82%
Legends of the Dark King: A Fist of the North Star Story (2008)
Plot Summary:
The world has been reduced to a wasteland, populated by desperate villagers, marauding bandits, and ruthless warriors. One such warrior, Raoh, dares to challenge the Demon King.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 212
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, captivating, tense, suspense, bleak, serious, suspenseful, stylized, splatter
Similar in 82%
Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit (2007)
Plot Summary:
Balsa the spearwoman is a wandering warrior, who takes on the task of saving lives, in atonement for a past sin. On her journey, she happens to save a prince, and is tasked with becoming his bodyguard. And he is going to need one, for his own father, the emperor, wants him dead. Throughout the story, Balsa's past will come to light and they will uncover mysteries about Chagum's condition while developing a family-like relationship with each other and others.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, stylized, captivating, tense, manga, fantasy anime, super sentai
Similar in 79%
Tenkai Knights (2013)
Plot Summary:
Tenkai Knights is a 2013 Japanese-Canadian-American anime series, produced by Shogakukan Productions and Spin Master. Initial reports, according to Anime News Network, indicated the series was being animated by Bones, according to an entry on Studio Wanpack's Blog back in May 2013, although has been since removed. While the series was broadcast on Cartoon Network in the United States in August 2013, there is no word as to when the series will air in Japan.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 129
Genere: Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
Country: Canada, Japan
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, stylized, captivating
Similar in 90%
Bleach: Memories of Nobody (2006)
Plot Summary:
In Karakura Town, unidentifiable spirits begin appearing en mases. While attempting to deal with these strange souls, Ichigo Kurosaki and Rukia Kuchiki meet Senna, a mysterious shinigami who wipes out most of them. Senna refuses to answer any questions, so Ichigo is forced to follow her while Rukia tries to find out what's going on.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, atmospheric, suspenseful, scary, serious, manga, shounen, stylized
Similar in 85%
Strike Witches (2008)
Plot Summary:
The story takes place in year 1944 and the world lives in fear of unidentified flying objects called neuroi. A young heroine Named Yoshika miyafuji joins the 501st joint wing, known as the strike witches to fight and defeat the neuroi so that way she can protect the world.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 460
Genere: Animation, Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, suspenseful, stylized, ecchi
Similar in 90%
Saint Seiya The Lost Canvas (2009)
Plot Summary:
Saint Seiya: The Lost Canvas – The Myth of Hades, also known as simply The Lost Canvas, is a manga written and illustrated by Shiori Teshirogi. It is a spin-off based on the manga series Saint Seiya, which was created, written and illustrated by Japanese author Masami Kurumada. The Lost Canvas was published by Akita Shoten in the Weekly Shōnen Champion magazine since August 24, 2006, concluding after 223 chapters on April 6, 2011, with twenty-five tankōbon released. Originally envisioned as a comic book whose purpose was to work simultaneously with Kurumada's Saint Seiya Next Dimension as a multi-angle interpretation of the shared elements of its storyline, which stems from an event mentioned in Kurumada's original Saint Seiya manga; the approach was quickly abandoned, as both works greatly diverged, Kurumada's Next Dimension stayed as the canonical telling of these events, and The Lost Canvas as a separate alternate retelling. The story takes place in the 18th century, and focuses on how an orphan known as Tenma becomes one of Athena's 88 warriors known as Saints and finds himself in a war fighting against his best friend Alone who is revealed to be the reincarnation of Athena's biggest enemy, the God Hades.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, suspenseful, stylized, exciting, serious
Similar in 89%
Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai (2020)
Plot Summary:
A long time ago, there was a valiant swordsman who came to be known simply as "the hero." There was a demon who has caused people suffering. The hero and his companions arrived to challenge the demon to a battle and by combining their powers, the battle was brought swift conclusion. With no one around to cause trouble, the island became a quiet place where everyone could live together in peace. Several years later, the demon is revived. Our present-day protagonist, Dai, lives on a remote island in the southern seas and dreams of becoming a great hero. When he hears about the demon's revival, Dai and his friends take it upon themselves to stop him and the evil force that revived him. Along the way, Dai discovers the identity of "the hero," the truth behind the evil force who revived the demon, and Dai's own hidden powers that surface in times of peril.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, captivating, futuristic, suspenseful, stylized, manga, shounen
Similar in 79%
Karakuri Circus (2018)
Plot Summary:
Narumi is certain that Masaru will be kidnapped by wooden puppets with supernatural strength after fighting them with all his strength. Masaru inherited his father's wealth which has brought many enemies out of the shadows, too many for Narumi to defend him alone. When Narumi is feeling discouraged, Masaru's watcher, Shirogane, arrives with a powerful weapon, the puppet Arlequin.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 447
Genere: Animation, Action, Fantasy
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, captivating, serious, entertaining, suspense, suspenseful, shounen, intense, dark fantasy
Similar in 89%
Beyond the Boundary (2013)
Plot Summary:
The dark fantasy follows a high school sophomore named Akihito Kanbara. Although the boy appears human, he is half Youmu and invulnerable to wounds because he can heal quickly. One day, Akihito meets freshman Mirai Kuriyama when it seems she is about to jump from the school rooftop. Mirai is isolated because of her ability to manipulate blood, which is considered heresy among members of the spirit world. Disturbing events begin to unfold after Akihito saves Mirai.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Animation, Action, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, light, tense, captivating, manga, scary, serious, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 87%
Samurai Girls (2010)
Plot Summary:
The story takes place in Japan in the early 21st century, in an alternate reality where the Tokugawa Shogunate has remained in power. In this reality, student councils are tasked with oppressing schools. Yagyuu Muneakira is a high school student who rebels against his student council with the help of girls who've had the names of famous samurai heroes passed on to them.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 424
Genere: Animation, Action, Comedy
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, ecchi, exciting, humorous, semi serious, captivating, tense
Similar in 81%
Iron Man (2010)
Plot Summary:
When Tony Stark branches his company into Japan, he is opposed by the nefarious Zodiac organization. It's up to Stark's Iron Man to defeat the Zodiac, and defend Japan.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, suspenseful, saga
Similar in 84%
Noein (2005)
Plot Summary:
Noein: To Your Other Self, also known simply as Noein, is a science fiction anime television series directed by Kazuki Akane and Kenji Yasuda and produced by Satelight. The series has 24 episodes which comprise a complete storyline. The English version was produced by Manga Entertainment.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, stylized, captivating, apocalyptic
Similar in 85%
Blue Submarine No. 6 (1998)
Plot Summary:
The once famous and well respected scientist Zorndyke has bred a new genre of living being, one that thrives on the oceans and lives to destroy humans. Zorndyke believes it is time that the humans were relieved of their rule of the earth. It is up to Blue Submarine No. 6 and the rest of the Blue fleet to put an end to Zorndyke's madness and creations.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, futuristic, computer animated
Similar in 77%
Akira Kurosawa's: Samurai 7 (2004)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan, USA
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, serious, futuristic, epic, stylized, manga, adult animation, shounen
Similar in 76%
Fafner in the Azure: Dead Aggressor (2004)
Plot Summary:
Tatsumiyajima is the central island in the middle of a small cluster of islands, in a sleepy backwater of the Japanese isles. Not much happens there, and the island's young people go to school knowing that their lives are likely to remain peaceful and undisturbed. Or so they have been taught...but the truth is different. The fate of mankind is on the line, and Tatsumiyajima is the last line of defense against a hostile and incomprehensible enemy. At the center of it all, fighting for Humanity's continued existence, is the giant robot Fafner, the dragon that guards this final treasure of mankind.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 218
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, serious, suspenseful, captivating, mecha
Similar in 84%
Rurouni Kenshin (1996)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, manga, exciting, shounen, brutal, serious, stylized, period piece
Similar in 87%
Jormungand (2012)
Plot Summary:
Jonah is a child soldier and the newest bodyguard for Koko, an international arms dealer with an entourage of hired guns. The cold-blooded kid hates Koko’s line of work, but following her into the darkest corners of the black market might be the only way he can find those responsible for his family’s slaughter. Besides, his employer isn’t like most merchants of death. She uses guile and cutthroat tactics to keep her clients armed to the teeth—all while cultivating her own warped plan for the future of world peace. With the CIA desperate for her capture, assassins eager to collect her head, and the potential for every contract to end in ultra-violence, Koko and her comrades in arms bring the boom to every corner of the world.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Crime, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 24 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, serious, realistic, rough, suspenseful, seinen, manga
Similar in 85%
Hakuoki (2010)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 746
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, tense, captivating, atmospheric, shoujo, adult anime, rough, touching, serious
Similar in 75%
Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (1988)
Plot Summary:
Ronin Warriors, originally Yoroiden Samurai Troopers in Japan, is one of the oldest anime series to air largely uncut to international markets. Since its U.S. re-broadcast in the summer of 1995, its popularity and fan-following has grown tremendously. The story is about five young men with mystical armor fighting to save modern-day Japan from the evil Talpa, who wants to take over the mortal world. The series contains 39 half-hour episodes and 3 movies: Gaiden, Kikoutei Densetsu, and Message. It is one of the most faithful animes to be broadcasted on basic cable; the footage was never cut or edited, and the dialouge remains true to the original.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 894
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 90%
Night Raid 1931 (2010)
Plot Summary:
Night Raid 1931, is a Japanese anime television series produced by A-1 Pictures and Aniplex and directed by Jun Matsumoto. The 13-episode anime aired in Japan on the TV Tokyo television network starting April 5, 2010. Senkō no Night Raid is the second project of Anime no Chikara. Sentai Filmworks acquired the series and released it on Blu-ray and DVD in August 2011.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 82
Genere: Animation, Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration:
Plot tags: anime, exciting, captivating, tense, suspense, atmospheric, bleak, serious, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 84%
Wolverine (2011)
Plot Summary:
Wolverine is a mutant, possessing animal-keen senses, enhanced psychical capabilities, three retracting bone claws on each hand and a healing factor that allows him to recover from virtually any wound, disease or toxin at a accelerated rate.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 23 min
Plot tags: anime, stylized, exciting, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 83%
s-CRY-ed (2001)
Plot Summary:
The aftermath of a mysterious environmental catastrophe has left the land in complete desolation! While mankind has been able to rebuild the city, the catastrophe has caused some humans to undergo genetic mutations granting them special powers and abilities. These genetically enhanced humans are known as Alters. Kazuma has spent his entire life in the wastelands relying on his special powers to survive, but when a secret organization called ‘Holy’ threatens to take away his freedom, he will be left with a choice to join or die. His fight to seek the truth behind the ‘Holy’ will rage and consume humanity and Alter alike!.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
Country: Japan
Duration: 629 min
Plot tags: anime, serious, captivating, exciting, tense, suspense, suspenseful, manga
Similar in 89%
Sirius the Jaeger (2018)
Plot Summary:
Imperial Capital, 1930. A strange group of people carrying musical instrument cases landed on Tokyo station. They are called the "Jaegers", who came to hunt vampires. Amongst them, there stood a young man with striking serenity and unusual aura. His name is Yuliy, a werewolf whose home village was destroyed by vampires. Yuliy and the Jaegers engage in deadly battle over a mysterious holy arc only known as "The Arc of Sirius". What truth awaits them at the end...?.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Animation, Action, History, Horror
Country: Japan
Duration: 25 min
Plot tags: anime, exciting, suspenseful, stylized, serious, perverse